House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested Tuesday that ‘MAGA Republicans’ are attempting to ‘crash’ the United States economy via debt ceiling negotiations because it is in their political interest to do so. 

‘Right now we’re focused on making sure that we avoid a catastrophic default, that we don’t allow the extreme MAGA Republicans to crash the economy and trigger a job killing recession, which to this day, many of them clearly want to do because they believe that it is in their political interests in 2024,’ the New York Democrat told reporters on Tuesday as Republicans and Democrats continue to debate raising the debt limit on Capitol Hill.

‘That is incredibly irresponsible, is unpatriotic, and it’s un-American and I’m thankful for President Biden’s leadership and making sure that he protects the U.S. economy.’

Jeffries was responding to a question about whether Democrats would step in and help vote McCarthy out of the speakership if conservatives move to hold a vote forcing him to vacate the speakership.

Jeffries’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital regarding what specific Republicans he believes are attempting to intentionally tank the economy for political gain.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been attempting to gin up Republican support for a deal with President Biden that is facing strong opposition from conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus, including Rep. Chip Roy, who said the agreement doesn’t make meaningful cuts and violates the agreement between McCarthy and caucus members to secure his speakership. 

‘It’s not a good deal,’ Roy tweeted Tuesday. ‘Some $4 Trillion in debt for – at best – a two year spending freeze and no serious substantive policy reforms.’

‘I’ll debate this bill with anybody,’ McCarthy said over the weekend. ‘Is it everything I wanted? No, because we don’t control all of it. But it is the biggest rescission in history. It is the biggest cut Congress has ever voted for in that process.’

The agreement between Biden and McCarthy would keep nondefense spending roughly flat in the 2024 fiscal year and increase it by 1% the following year, as well as provide for a 2-year debt-limit increase.

The agreement would also rescind about $30 billion in unspent coronavirus relief money that Congress approved through previous bills, with exceptions made for veterans’ medical care, housing assistance, Indian Health Service and some $5 billion for a program focused on rapidly developing the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

McCarthy has said the House will vote on the legislation Wednesday evening, giving the Senate time to consider it before June 5 – the date when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. could default on its debt obligations if lawmakers did not act in time.

The House Rules Committee is set to meet on Tuesday afternoon to prepare the debt ceiling bill for floor debate on Wednesday.

Republicans and Democrats have traded barbs in recent days pointing to the other party as being responsible for the debt ceiling impasse.

‘It’s pretty obvious who to blame here – the extremist Republicans who control Kevin McCarthy. I mean, they’re the ones who made him go through 17 votes to get elected Speaker. They’re holding the country hostage,’ said Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass. ‘We didn’t like Donald Trump, we didn’t like his tax cuts. It’s created much of this deficit. And yet we raised the debt limit three times under Trump because it’s the right thing to do for the country.’

Asked if Americans would feel the same, Moulton said, ‘Look I hope they do, because that’s the truth.’

‘President Biden waited 97 days to speak with Kevin McCarthy about this debt ceiling stuff, so if anything untoward happens, this is 100% the Biden-Schumer shutdown,’ said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Asked if he believes Americans would feel the same way, he added, ‘I think if more media outlets report it honestly like you’re doing, they would, if they’re told the truth.’

Fox News’ Patrick Hauf contributed to this report

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is taking steps to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress after the Bureau notified the panel it will not comply with its subpoena related to a possible criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden.

The FBI, though, said Tuesday evening it remains committed to cooperating with Congress, and will provide access to the document ‘in a format and setting that maintains confidentiality and protects important security interests and the integrity of FBI investigations.’ 

Comer, R-Ky., has subpoenaed the FBI for a document that allegedly describes a criminal scheme involving Biden and a foreign national and relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions. The document is an FBI-generated FD-1023 form.

Comer first subpoenaed the document earlier this month. The FBI did not turn it over and instead explained that it needed to protect the Bureau’s confidential human source program.

Comer set another deadline last week, giving Wray until Tuesday, May 30, to turn over the document. After the deadline was set, Wray set up a call with Comer for Wednesday, May 31.

However, the FBI notified the panel it would not provide the document to the committee by the Tuesday afternoon deadline.

‘Today, the FBI informed the Committee that it will not provide the unclassified documents subpoenaed by the Committee,’ Comer said Tuesday. ‘The FBI’s decision to stiff-arm Congress and hide this information from the American people is obstructionist and unacceptable.’ 

‘While I have a call scheduled with FBI Director Wray tomorrow to discuss his response further, the Committee has been clear in its intent to protect Congressional oversight authorities and will now be taking steps to hold the FBI Director in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a lawful subpoena,’ Comer said.

He added, ‘Americans deserve the truth, and the Oversight Committee will continue to demand transparency from this nation’s chief law enforcement agency.’

In response, the FBI told Fox News Digital that the bureau ‘remains committed to cooperating with the Committee in good faith.’ 

‘In a letter to Chairman Comer earlier today, the FBI committed to providing access to information responsive to the Committee’s subpoena in a format and setting that maintains confidentiality and protects important security interests and the integrity of FBI investigations,’ the FBI said. ‘Last week, Director Wray scheduled a telephone call for tomorrow to provide additional details of the FBI’s extraordinary accommodation to satisfy the subpoena request.’ 

The FBI added: ‘Any discussion of escalation under these circumstances is unnecessary.’

The document is being sought after a whistleblower approached Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, alleging that the FBI and the Justice Department were in possession of it and that it would reveal ‘a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed as well as its purpose.’

‘Chairman Comer and I have been more than patient with the FBI,’ Grassley told Fox News Digital. ‘The bureau’s failure to comply with our constitutional oversight duty comes with consequences.’ 

Grassley added: ‘I hope to hear a different tune from Director Wray tomorrow, but if not, Congress must defend its oversight prerogatives. The American people deserve an accountable government.’

Last week, Comer attempted to ‘narrow the breadth of the subpoena’ in response to FBI staff criticisms, and the committee determined ‘additional terms based on unclassified legally protected whistleblower disclosures that may be referenced in the FD-1023 form.’ The terms included ‘June 30, 2020’ and ‘five million.’

The back-and-forth came after Comer and Grassley notified Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland this month about the ‘legally protected and highly credible unclassified whistleblower disclosures.’

Comer and Grassley said that based on ‘the alleged specificity within the document, it would appear that the DOJ and the FBI have enough information to determine the truth and accuracy of the information contained within it.’

‘The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people. Releasing confidential source information could potentially jeopardize investigations and put lives at risk,’ the FBI said in a statement. ‘The FBI remains committed to cooperating with Congress’s oversight requests on this matter and others as we always have.’

The White House has maintained that the president never spoke to his son, Hunter Biden, about his business dealings and that the president was never involved in them. Officials also say the president has never discussed investigations into members of his family with the Justice Department.

The Texas House of Representatives on Monday delivered articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton to the state Senate. 

The delivery came after the GOP-led House named the board of managers – comprising five Democrats and seven Republicans – who will oversee the impeachment proceedings. Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, is leading the board, The Dallas Morning News reported.  

The House approved 20 articles of impeachment on sweeping allegations of wrongdoing against Paxton that have trailed the state’s top lawyer for years, including abuse of office and bribery. The vote immediately suspended Paxton from office.

Among those who opposed the impeachment was State Rep. Brian Harrison. He argued that House leadership ‘made no attempt to adequately document [Paxton’s] guilt nor to demonstrate that this is anything other than a sham railroading of a political enemy.’ 

The House needed just a simple majority of its 149 members to impeach Paxton, and the final 121-23 vote was a landslide. But the threshold for conviction in the Senate trial is higher, requiring a two-thirds majority of its 31 members.

If that happens, Paxton would be permanently barred from holding office in Texas. Anything less means Paxton is acquitted and can resume his third term as attorney general.

Later Monday, the Senate unanimously adopted a measure that called for the trial to begin no later than Aug. 28. 

Paxton bitterly criticized the chamber’s investigation as ‘corrupt,’ secret and conducted so quickly that he and his lawyers were not allowed to mount a defense. He also called Republican House Speaker Dade a ‘liberal.’

The AG’s office tweeted Saturday that the impeachment was based on ‘totally false claims.’ 

‘After an internal investigation, the OAG retained an outside law firm to further investigate, which culminated in a report. The OAG offered it to the House, but they refused,’ the AG’s office said. 

The impeachment charges include bribery related to one of Paxton’s donors, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, allegedly employing the woman with whom he had an extra-matrial affair in exchange for legal help.

Another Republican senator with a potential conflict is Sen. Bryan Hughes. The House impeachment articles accuse Paxton of using Hughes as a ‘straw requestor’ for a legal opinion used to protect Paul from foreclosure on several properties.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is expected to set a trial date in the Senate and name committee members to establish rules that will govern the impeachment proceedings. The Senate will ultimately decide whether Paxton stays in office. Patrick, who is president of the Senate, will preside as judge.  

‘Today, the Texas Senate received Articles of Impeachment for Attorney General Ken Paxton,’ Patrick tweeted. ‘The Senate will follow its constitutional duty and I appointed a committee to develop proposed rules and procedures for the matter.’ 

Fox News Digital has contacted Phelan, Murr, and Paxton for further comment. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will join several other declared Republican presidential candidates at Sen. Joni Ernst’s Roast & Ride fundraiser in Des Moines on Saturday, an aide to Ernst told Fox News.

In addition to DeSantis, Ernst’s event will include former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., conservative radio host Larry Elder, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and businessman Perry Johnson.

‘I’m thrilled to welcome Ron DeSantis as a special guest to Roast & Ride this year!’ Ernst said. ‘Despite Democrats ditching Iowa, Republicans are fired up for 2024 as we host the FIRST in the nation caucus. This year’s Roast & Ride will be my biggest yet – with eight exciting special guests – making it the can’t miss event of 2023!’  

DeSantis is kicking off his presidential campaign in Iowa on Tuesday by hosting a campaign event in Des Moines – his first since announcing his candidacy last week.

The Iowa Republican hosts the Roast & Ride event each year and donates its proceeds to a veteran’s charity. This year’s charity of choice is the Freedom Foundation of Cedar Rapids.

DeSantis said he is ‘delighted’ to be attending the event, which will cap a week of touring throughout the state.

‘I’m delighted to be joining Senator Ernst in Des Moines. As military veterans, Joni and I both understand the importance of supporting those who have served our nation — and I’m excited to get the chance to do just that at the annual Roast & Ride,’ DeSantis said. 

He added: ‘Over the past few months, Casey and I have had the pleasure of getting to know hard-working patriots across the great state of Iowa. Florida and Iowa have led the way in the fight for our way of life — and I’m running for president to take that fight to the White House. Our mission is simple: We are building a movement to restore America.’

DeSantis’ visit to Iowa will be followed by stops in early primary states New Hampshire and South Carolina later this week. His campaign said the overall trip will take him to 12 cities in the three states.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is also scheduled to attend the Des Moines event on Saturday. He has not yet revealed if he is seeking the Republican nomination.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott revealed agenda items for the state legislature’s first special session late Monday evening – a list that includes cutting property taxes and providing funds to secure the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

On Twitter, Abbott said he would be ‘signing laws that advance our state and the future of all Texans.’

The agenda items included formally ending COVID restrictions and mandates; providing more than $5.1 billion for border security and the Texas National Guard; protecting female collegiate athletes and women’s participation in sports; and, barring children from having life-altering gender mutilation.

Abbott also plans to label Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and allow fentanyl deaths to be prosecuted as murder, he said.

The Republican governor said his first priority would be ‘cutting property taxes and cracking down on illegal human smuggling.’

‘We must cut property taxes,’ Abbott said. ‘During the regular session, we added $17.6 billion to cut property taxes. However, the legislature could not agree on how to allocate funds to accomplish this goal.’

He continued: ‘Texans want and need a path towards eliminating property taxes. The best way to do that is to direct property tax reduction dollars to cut school property tax rates.’

Abbott also commended the work of the Texas legislature but said additional special sessions would be held to further his agenda.

‘Despite these major achievements, more must be done for the people of Texas. Many critical items remain that must be passed,’ the governor wrote. ‘Several special sessions will be required. To ensure that each priority receives the time and attention it deserves to pass into law, only a few will be added each session.’

Earlier Monday, the Texas governor spent Memorial Day paying tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice during an event at the Georgetown-Williamson County Veterans Memorial Plaza.

‘Today, we remember their sacrifice and honor their families,’ he wrote on Twitter, sharing photos of the event. ‘Texas will never forget the price they paid so that we can be free.’

In a separate tweet, he added: ‘Memorial Day reminds us that freedom is not free.’

And, ‘Today, we remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the liberties we enjoy every day in America. May God bless them and their families.’

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Now comes the hard part. 

If you thought it was hard for President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to marshal a debt ceiling deal, wait to see if it’s even more challenging to advance the bill through Congress.

Both the president and speaker will test their powers of persuasion to line up the votes for the deal.

It’s pretty clear the wings of both parties – the far right and far left – are incensed about this pact.

No one truly knows how many yeas and nays there are for this plan until the House whip operations begin to hum as lawmakers roll back into Washington after an abbreviated Memorial Day recess. 

There have been multiple press calls, a few news conferences by the speaker outside his office, conference calls with lawmakers and remarks from Mr. Biden. But until everyone really huddles at the Capitol, the vote count is unclear. Especially after a whirlwind weekend of behind the scenes political intrigue and negotiations.

On its face, the bill should be able to pass. It earned the endorsement of the president, the speaker, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other prominent lawmakers. There is a wide, bipartisan swath of members in the middle who could vote to pass this plan – even if no one is truly excited about the measure. In fact, Fox was told that there could be a scenario where 240-270 members could vote yes – and maybe more.

But it is a delicate balance to find the right vote mixture for this parliamentary cocktail. There is a lot of potential for things to go wrong or for there to be a dramatic miscalculation on either side when relying on those across the aisle to provide the necessary votes. 

Telephone calls over a holiday weekend are one thing. But leaders want to look fellow lawmakers in the eye to understand where they really stand on the issue and if they can count on their vote.

Here’s the lead question for the GOP: Will conservative interest groups and outraged constituents begin to light up the phones at the Capitol, tearing into middle of the road Republicans for supporting the plan? There could be attrition on the right if those lawmakers take too much heat and walk away. 

Here’s the lead question for Democrats: In fact there are two: What exactly did they get out of this deal? And why should they be called upon to bail out Republicans who are in the majority?

This is why the stakes for miscalculation are high. Both sides will expect the other side to provide a certain number of votes.

McCarthy has significantly added to his political capital and bolstered his bona fides with Republican House members since the rocky vote for Speaker in January. So, this conversation may be a little different if the vote were coming say, back in late January or February. Therefore, McCarthy should be able to deliver a sizable chunk of votes from his conference. It’s unclear how many votes House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., can deliver. But in fairness, this is not really about Jeffries. This is about President Biden. He is the President. He is the leader of the party. It’s a problem if Mr. Biden can’t deliver the requisite votes to lug this across the finish line.

But like McCarthy, President Biden has political barnacles, too. His standing is weak in the polls. In fact, one of the most compelling arguments Mr. Biden could make to reluctant Democrats is ‘don’t tank my presidency and the economy’ by voting no.

And we probably would not even be discussing the political wattage of President Biden and McCarthy to cajole members to vote yes were it not for two factors. Democrats are blasé about Mr. Biden. McCarthy endured the longest race to become Speaker since 1859. 

This takes us back to the infamous vote on TARP (the Troubled Assets Relief Program) in late September 2008. President George W. Bush and Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress reluctantly decided to spend more than $700 billion to salvage the American economy and stave off a nationwide fiscal meltdown. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had a sizable chunk of Democrats who were willing to vote yes. But Mr. Bush could not deliver House Republicans. The GOP had fatigued of President Bush. The party abandoned their president. No one truly knew how many votes Republicans had. But they didn’t deliver their end of the bargain.

Could Democrats abandon President Biden here?

The original version of TARP was failing on the House floor. And the market cratered in synchronicity with the House vote. The Dow finally lost what was then a single-day record, down 777 points. 

Trust between the sides plummeted, too.

Yours truly asked McCarthy if he would withhold putting the debt limit bill on the floor until the market closed.

‘You spend a lot of time thinking of crazy stuff,’ responded McCarthy.

The other issue is just moving the bill from the House Rules Committee and onto the floor.

Nearly every piece of legislation which hits the House floor must first get a ‘rule’ from the Rules panel. The Rules Committee establishes how the House will handle a given piece of legislation. That includes time and if any amendments are in order. If the committee doesn’t adopt a rule – and if the House itself doesn’t approve the rule, then there’s no bill.

Most speakers have run the Rules Committee with an iron fist. But as part of his concessions to conservatives, McCarthy awarded three seats on the panel to firebrand conservatives whose views sometimes deviate from those of the Speaker: Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Chip Roy, R-Tex., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky. 

McCarthy namechecked Massie Sunday as he touted a provision to hold the line on appropriations bills pushed by Massie as an item in the legislation. In other words, if Massie scored his idea in the legislation, how could he oppose it?

But Norman and Roy seethed about the legislation.

Norman called the bill ‘idiotic.’ Roy characterized the legislation with less than salivating language. 

One senior House GOP source told Fox before McCarthy touted the Massie language that they believed that ‘Massie is the most likely to vote for the rule in committee and on the floor.’ But if all three balk, Republicans will need a Democrat on the Rules Committee to vote in favor of jettisoning the measure to the floor.

No rule, no bill. 

The Rules Committee has not failed to approve a rule in its panel in recent memory. Once in a blue moon, a member of the majority has a problem with the bill at hand or the rule itself. So rather than vote nay, those members simply ‘take a walk’ or are mysteriously absent from the committee meeting.

Late House Speaker Tip O’Neill, D-Mass., sat on the Rules Committee in the 1960s. In his biography ‘Man Of the House,’ O’Neill recounts how he and future Rules Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Delaney, D-N.Y., broke ranks with their party and voted no on an education bill in the early 1960s. Such a move is rare.

No one Fox asked could track down any recent instance of any minority member ever voting to support a rule in order to help the majority put a bill on the floor. 

This all makes for a very interesting Rules Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon. 

So, will they have the votes?

This is reminiscent of the legendary Life cereal commercials in the 1970s and 1980s.

Three brothers are sitting at the breakfast table, pushing a bowl of Life cereal around, refusing to eat it. 

‘I’m not going to try it. You try it!,’ says one boy.

Finally, they push the bowl in front of the most finicky bother of all. Mikey. 

‘Let’s get Mikey,’ says one brother. ‘He hates everything.’

Suddenly, Mikey begins to devour the cereal.

‘He likes it!’ exclaims one brother. 

The taste test, complete, they all dig in.

This bill is kind of like the Life cereal commercial. Some members are reluctant to vote for the bill until they see someone else vote for it first.

The only difference is that Mikey actually liked the cereal he was eating. This legislation isn’t nearly as pleasing to the political palette.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was fact-checked by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ spokesman after he blamed the Memorial Day shooting in Hollywood, Florida, on laws DeSantis signed that are not yet in effect. 

At least nine people, including minors, were hospitalized Monday after an altercation escalated into gunfire at the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, police said. Police detained one person of interest in the shooting while another remains at large.

Newsom reacted to reports of the shooting on social media, blaming gun violence on a bill DeSantis signed in April that eliminates the requirement for an individual to obtain a permit to carry a concealed firearm.

He claimed the permit-less carry bill DeSantis signed ‘removes requirements’ for background checks, instruction, training and oversight. 

‘Until our leaders have the courage to stop bowing down to the NRA and enact common sense gun safety this kind of senseless violence will continue,’ Newsom tweeted.

However, DeSantis press secretary Jeremy Redfern replied shortly afterward, noting that the bill Newsom referenced is not yet in effect.

‘Hi Gavin,’ Redfern said. ‘How does a law that doesn’t take effect until July 1st change this outcome?’ 

Newsom’s claims about the constitutional carry law removing requirements for background checks are also misleading.

The law allows eligible citizens 21 years of age and up to carry without asking the government for a permit and without paying a fee. The legislation does not change who is eligible to obtain a carry permit, and those who still wish to get a permit may do so under the law. 

Under existing Florida law, people who wish to obtain a license to carry concealed weapons in public must:

Be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United StatesBe at least 21 years old’Desire a legal means to carry a concealed weapon’ for lawful self-defensePass a fingerprint-based background checkComplete a firearms training class, among other requirements.

Though the constitutional carry bill makes getting a license — and these requirements — voluntary, the federal government still requires licensed firearms dealers to run a background check on prospective buyers. Neither federal nor state law requires private sellers to conduct background checks.

Monday’s shooting in Hollywood, Florida, happened on the Hollywood Oceanfront Broadwalk near a convenience store, a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream store and a Subway sandwich shop.

The nine people injured included six adults and three children, a spokesperson for Memorial Healthcare System told the Associated Press.

Police spokesperson Deanna Bettineschi said four children between the ages of 1 and 17 were hit, along with five adults between 25 and 65. One was in surgery late Monday while the others were stable, she said. It was not immediately clear if the hospital was counting a 17-year-old as an adult.

Several of the wounded were taken to a children’s hospital, Bettineschi said.

Police are searching for more suspects. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Tim Scott is rolling out legislation that would require app stores to display the country where apps are developed and owned before users download them amid worries some of the most popular apps in America were developed in China.

Scott, R-S.C., the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, is introducing the ‘Know Your App Act.’ Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., are original co-sponsors for the bill.

The bill is aimed at protecting national security and giving parents the information they need to protect their children and help them make ‘informed decisions.’

‘Americans should be able to make informed decisions about the online services they use in order to protect their data and security,’ Scott told Fox News Digital. ‘Requiring app stores to display an app’s country of origin is a common-sense solution that can help them do just that.’

Scott, who announced his 2024 presidential bid last week, said parents ‘shouldn’t fear that their family’s online privacy and security could be compromised when unknowingly using an app owned by a foreign adversary.’

The bill would require the Treasury Department and the Department of Commerce to produce a list of adversarial governments that may have undue control over application content moderation, algorithm design or user data transfers.

Under the bill, app stores would be required to provide users the ability to filter out applications from these adversarial countries and warn users about the risk of downloading one of the foreign apps on the list.

If an app developer failed to provide sufficient information to the app store about its country affiliation, the app store would be required to issue multiple warnings over a designated period. If the developer still refused to comply, the app store would be required to remove the app from its store.

The rollout of the bill comes amid findings that, as of March of this year, four of the five most popular apps in the United States were developed in China. Those apps were Temu, CapCut, TikTok and Shein.

Scott said this is ‘particularly concerning’ because China’s national security laws provide a pathway for the Chinese Communist Party to compel application developers to control an application’s content or user data.

China’s national intelligence law of 2017 compels businesses registered in China, or with operations in China, to turn over information and data to Chinese intelligence agencies. U.S. officials and lawmakers have warned that the Chinese Communist Party could compel the company to turn over American users’ data or expose them to propaganda.

Supporters of the bill say people need more information so they can opt out of supporting these apps.

‘Our adversaries will exploit every available tool, including popular apps that gather huge amounts of data on Americans, to gain an advantage over the United States,’ Wicker told Fox News Digital. ‘It is crucial for users to take steps to limit their exposure and be made aware of the risks associated with using foreign-controlled apps.’ 

Wicker added that the legislation would bring ‘much-needed transparency to app stores, empowering Americans to safeguard their families from exploitation.’

‘Seeing ‘Made in China’ on nearly any product nowadays is frustrating to Oklahomans trying their best not to prop up the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese government with their hard-earned money,’ Lankford told Fox News Digital, adding TikTok is a ‘dangerous extension of the CCP.’

‘I want the ‘Made in China’ label and labels for any other countries where apps like TikTok originate to be clearly marked when and where they are downloaded,’ Lankford said. ‘Americans should remain free to buy items from wherever they want, but the least Big Tech can do is label where Americans’ money is going when they download in the app store.’

TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is based in Beijing, is facing an ongoing security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency group that evaluates threats to U.S. national security posed by foreign investments or transactions.

CFIUS has been looking into TikTok since 2019. In 2020, it unanimously recommended that ByteDance divest from TikTok’s U.S. operations, and it has been threatening to ban TikTok until that happens.

TikTok has created ‘Project Texas,’ an initiative dedicated to addressing concerns about U.S. national security. The initiative creates a stand-alone version of the TikTok platform for the United States isolated in servers in Oracle’s U.S. cloud environment. It was developed with CFIUS and cost the company approximately $1.5 billion to implement.

President Biden signed a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill last year that included a measure to ban TikTok from federal government devices.

TikTok has also been banned for use on state-owned electronic devices in more than a dozen states, both Republican- and Democrat-led.

A bipartisan group of senators unveiled a bill in March that would restrict technology — including software, hardware and social media platforms, such as TikTok — developed in adversarial nations like China and Russia from being available to users in the U.S. due to the national security risks.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, is expected to sign legislation on Tuesday that would legalize recreational marijuana in the state.

The bill is headed to the governor’s desk after passing through the state legislature on May 20. His signature would make Minnesota the 23rd state, plus Washington, D.C., to legalize recreational marijuana.

Starting Aug. 1, the bill would allow those 21 years of age and older to carry up to two ounces of marijuana in public and possess up to two pounds at home.

These adults could also grow home plants, but possessing more than those limits or selling the product without a state license could result in criminal penalties and civil fines.

The bill still does not allow public consumption, so violators could be hit with a misdemeanor. Adults may only consume the product in a personal residence, on private property where the owner has granted permission or in a place licensed for on-site consumption.

The measure would also automatically expunge low-level cannabis convictions and set up a board to consider expungement or re-sentencing of felony crimes. 

People previously convicted of marijuana-related crimes would be given priority when it comes to obtaining a license to sell marijuana, though lawmakers say it will likely take more than a year to issue licenses to retailers for selling marijuana as a new state agency works to set up the legal market.

Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura will join Walz for Tuesday’s signing, according to FOX 9. Ventura, a vocal advocate of marijuana legalization, advocated for the bill during the legislative session. 

Last year, Ventura said Walz had promised to invite him to the signing after a marijuana legalization bill was passed through the legislature.

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