Politics
Column: Everyone’s talking about Reps. Boebert and Greene because they stuck out like sore thumbs
Many individuals are outraged that Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) heckled President Joe Biden throughout his first official State of the Union handle.
Me, I’m delighted. Not solely was it an exquisitely shameless seize for consideration, even by their usually shameless attention-grabbing requirements, nevertheless it fell fully flat.
If Boebert and Greene had proven up on the Oscars carrying scuba gear, they couldn’t have extra clearly misinterpret the room.
I’m not curious about pearl-clutching over the sacred nature of the Home chamber in the course of the State of the Union; a president’s annual accounting of the yr will not be sacred and has, over time, seen its share of heckling, audible groans and stony silences from each side of the aisle. After President Trump delivered his final SOTU, Speaker of the Home Nancy Pelosi publicly, with nice fanfare, tore her onerous copy of the speech into items (although at no level did she try to interrupt the president).
I’m not even referring to the absurdly inept timing of Boebert’s outburst. The truth that the president selected to not point out this nation’s very messy withdrawal from Afghanistan is open to reliable criticism, however Boebert wasn’t curious about reliable criticism. As a substitute she yelled an accusation that Biden is personally answerable for the deaths of 13 troops throughout that withdrawal. And she or he did so whilst Biden was calling for higher healthcare for veterans affected by most cancers doubtlessly brought on by burn pits. Together with his son Beau, who died of mind most cancers in 2015.
It was fairly stunning, nevertheless it was additionally type of hilarious, in an “is Lauren Boebert truly a wind-up toy programmed with incendiary ‘own-the-libs’ non sequiturs?” type of manner.
It’s attainable she simply had a Pavlovian response to the phrase “Afghanistan.” It’s additionally attainable she learn the speech upfront and nonetheless selected that second to step on the president’s reference to struggling veterans together with his lifeless son. She might not care what the press thinks, however Biden was discussing a horrible state of affairs for a lot of veterans, and interrupting that will not go down effectively together with her base.
Many Republicans, together with Home Minority Chief Kevin McCarthy, had been known as out for showing to pay extra consideration to their telephones than the president. Which appears impolite, however who is aware of? Perhaps they had been fact-checking Biden as he spoke, or speaking with constituents, or having baby care points.
Boebert and Greene, then again, made it clear they’d their very own agenda, one which appeared to have little to do with present occasions — and by present, I imply of this decade. Boebert wore a “Drill Child Drill” scarf (2008, come get your scarf), which didn’t even come shut, in style or affect, to the “I actually don’t care, do u?” jacket First Girl Melania Trump wore … in 2018. In the meantime, Greene, who lately spoke at a conference organized by a white nationalist, truly tried to get an equally dated “Construct the Wall” chant going.
Don’t they know Russia simply invaded Ukraine and everyone seems to be freaked out by inflation? Nobody is speaking in regards to the wall!!
In different phrases, they got here spoiling for a combat — and stood out like sore thumbs in a room the place stoking partisan divisions was not on the agenda. If something, Biden’s constant, insistent alternative of unity over division left the 2 ladies wanting outplayed.
Opening with a name for continued assist of Ukraine, he took some credit score for working to maintain NATO united in its condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s resolution to invade a sovereign nation. However as an alternative of stating that Trump and lots of of his supporters have typically expressed assist for Putin, Biden assumed everybody in Congress and the nation was on the identical web page. America would stand as one to assist finish the unfold of tyranny.
Biden didn’t point out Afghanistan, however neither did he point out the Jan. 6 rebellion, wherein a Trump-supporting mob, buoyed by lies fed to them by folks like Boebert and Greene, threatened the American authorities within the very chamber the place they had been all sitting.
In the course of the portion of his speech dedicated to COVID-19, he careworn the success of the nation’s 70% vaccination price, passing no judgment on the campaigns of disinformation from many conservative politicians which have stored far too many Individuals from getting vaccinated.
He celebrated the 80 bipartisan payments he signed final yr and thanked Republicans for serving to to go them. His solely point out of his predecessor was in regard to “the $2 trillion tax lower handed within the earlier administration that benefited the highest 1% of Individuals.”
There have been some boos over that — and honest sufficient. Congress is and has all the time been divided on taxes. Like most State of the Union speeches, this one was interrupted many, many instances by applause and standing ovations that got here principally from one facet of the aisle whereas the opposite sat in grim silence. Once more, honest sufficient, although Biden acquired extra bipartisan ovations than his predecessor.
Certainly, the president’s speech was clearly an try to meet not less than one in all his marketing campaign guarantees — to finish all of the partisan bickering, name-calling and ugly assaults which have been the hallmark of American politics in recent times. Political disagreement between the events, and between Individuals, is a essential a part of the democratic course of. Private vitriol, conflict-baiting and obsessive attachment to the notion of pink versus blue will not be.
He was aided on this by a basic outrage over Russia’s assault on Ukraine, however Boebert and Greene clearly didn’t get even that memo. They may not even faux for one hour to need a nation able to negotiating political variations with out going straight to a road brawl. Some would possibly say that is how they received their seats and please their base, or that one particular person’s heckling is one other’s talking reality to energy.
However they regarded ridiculous, partly as a result of they had been being ridiculous, but in addition as a result of they had been being ridiculous alone.
Many individuals within the Home chamber should not completely satisfied about a lot of what Biden has finished throughout his first yr as president, and lots of disagree with the plans he laid out. But even with all of the telephone staring, virtually all had been content material with withholding their applause, remaining seated and infrequently shaking their heads. And when Biden stated one thing they agreed with, they too stood and clapped.
The truth that everyone seems to be speaking about Boebert and Greene is proof that they had been alone of their ill-timed, ill-conceived outbursts. And that’s truly an excellent factor. Apart from them. For them, it’s simply embarrassing.
Politics
Appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration: 'Huge win'
A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that Texas has the right to build a razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration into the Lone Star State.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the ruling on X, saying President Biden was “wrong to cut our razor wire.”
“We continue adding more razor wire border barrier,” the Republican leader wrote.
Wednesday’s 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for Texas to pursue a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of trespassing without having to remove the fencing.
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It also reversed a federal judge’s November 2023 refusal to grant a preliminary injunction to Texas as the state resisted federal efforts to remove fencing along the Rio Grande in the vicinity of Eagle Pass, Texas.
Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee during the president-elect’s first term, wrote for Wednesday’s majority that Texas was trying only to safeguard its own property, not “regulate” U.S. Border Patrol, and was likely to succeed in its trespass claims.
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Duncan said the federal government waived its sovereign immunity and rejected its concerns that a ruling by Texas would impede the enforcement of immigration law and undermine the government’s relationship with Mexico.
He said the public interest “supports clear protections for property rights from government intrusion and control” and ensuring that federal immigration law enforcement does not “unnecessarily intrude into the rights of countless property owners.”
Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling a “huge win for Texas.”
“The Biden Administration has been enjoined from damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas’s border fencing,” Paxton wrote in a post on X. “We sued immediately when the federal government was observed destroying fences to let illegal aliens enter, and we’ve fought every step of the way for Texas sovereignty and security.”
The White House has been locked in legal battles with Texas and other states that have tried to deter illegal immigration.
In May, the full 5th Circuit heard arguments in a separate case between Texas and the White House over whether the state can keep a 1,000-foot floating barrier on the Rio Grande.
The appeals court is also reviewing a judge’s order blocking a Texas law that would allow state officials to arrest, prosecute and order the removal of people in the country illegally.
Politics
Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations
U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) secured a temporary restraining order Tuesday against a former boyfriend, saying in dozens of pages of court filings that he had bombarded her, as well as her family and colleagues, with hundreds of messages that she described as “persistent abuse and harassment.”
Porter, 50, alleged in a filing with Orange County Superior Court that her ex-boyfriend Julian Willis, 55, was contacting her and her family with such frequency that she had a “significant fear” for her “personal safety and emotional well-being.”
Judge Stephen T. Hicklin signed a restraining order Tuesday barring Willis from communicating with Porter and her children until a mid-December court hearing. He also barred Willis from communicating about Porter with her current and former colleagues.
In the court filing, Porter said that Willis had been hospitalized twice since late 2022 on involuntary psychiatric holds and had a history of abusing prescription painkillers and other drugs.
She said in a statement to The Times that Willis’ mental health and struggles with addiction seemed to have gotten worse since she asked him in August to move out of her Irvine home. She said she sought the court order after his threats to her family and colleagues “escalated in both their frequency and intensity.”
“I sincerely hope he gets the help he needs,” Porter said.
Willis declined to comment. He will have an opportunity to file a legal response to the temporary restraining order and challenge Porter’s allegations.
Porter is leaving the House of Representatives in January after losing in California’s U.S. Senate primary in March. She has been discussed as a front-runner in the 2026 governor’s race in California after Gov. Gavin Newsom is termed out, but has not said whether she will launch a campaign.
The 53-page court filing, first reported by Politico, included 22 pages of emails, text messages and other communications among Porter, family members and colleagues who had received messages from Willis, as well as messages that Willis sent to Porter’s attorney and to her political mentor Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
The filing also included messages between herself and Willis’ siblings as they discussed trying to help him during his psychiatric holds and while he was staying in a sober-living facility.
Porter said that since she ordered Willis to move out, he had sent her more than 1,000 text messages and emails, including texting her 82 times in one 24-hour period in September, and 55 times on Nov. 12 before she blocked his number.
Porter said in the filing that her ex-boyfriend had “already contacted at least three reporters to disseminate false and damaging information” about her and her children, which she said “poses a serious risk to [her] career and personal reputation.”
The filing includes an email that Porter said Willis sent to her attorney late Monday, in which Willis said he had visited Porter’s son at college in Iowa and told him that he would “bring the hammer down on Katie and smash her and her life into a million pieces.”
Another screenshot shows Willis telling Porter’s attorney that he would file a complaint about Porter, who has children ages 12 and 16, with child protective services.
One of Porter’s congressional staff members received a text message from Willis saying he would “punish the f—” out of him if he did not agree to “cooperate” with a New York Times reporter and Willis’ attorneys, according to a screenshot included in the court document.
Willis previously made the news in 2021, when he was arrested after a fight that broke out at a Porter town hall at a park in Irvine.
Times staff writer Christopher Goffard contributed to this report.
Politics
Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats
Incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan reacted to news of death threats against Trump nominees on Wednesday and said he now takes the death threats he has previously received seriously.
“I have not taken this serious up to this point,” Homan told Fox News anchor Gillian Turner on “The Story” on Wednesday, referring to previous death threats made against him and his family.
“Now that I know what’s happened in the last 24 hours. I will take it a little more serious. But look, I’ve been dealing with this. When I was the ICE director in the first administration, I had numerous death threats. I had a security detail with me all the time. Even after I retired, death threats continued and even after I retired as the ICE Director. I had U.S. Marshals protection for a long time to protect me and my family.”
Homan explained that what “doesn’t help” the situation is the “negative press” around Trump.
HARRIS NEVER LED TRUMP, INTERNAL POLLS SHOWED — BUT DNC OFFICIALS WERE KEPT IN THE DARK
“I’m not in the cabinet, but, you know, I’ve read numerous hit pieces. I mean, you know, I’m a racist and, you know, I’m the father of family separation, all this other stuff. So the hate media doesn’t help at all because there are some nuts out there. They’ll take advantage. So that doesn’t help.”
Homan’s comments come shortly after Fox News Digital first reported that nearly a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted Tuesday night with “violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” prompting a “swift” law enforcement response.
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The “attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,’” according to Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” she told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “In response, law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.”
Sources told Fox News Digital that John Ratcliffe, the nominee to be CIA director, Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, were among those targeted. Brooke Rollins, who Trump has tapped to be secretary of agriculture, and Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to be EPA administrator, separately revealed they were also targeted.
Threats were also made against Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee, GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and former Trump attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz’s family.
Homan told Fox News that he is “not going to be intimidated by these people” and “I’m not going to let them silence me.”
“What I’ve learned today I’ll start taking a little more serious.”
Homan added that he believes “we need to have a strong response once we find out is behind all this.”
“It’s illegal to threaten someone’s life. And we need to follow through with that.”
The threats on Tuesday night came mere months after Trump survived two assassination attempts.
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report
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