Politics
GOP Rep. Bill Posey won't seek re-election, endorses former Florida Senate President as replacement
Florida GOP Rep. Bill Posey announced Friday that he would not be seeking re-election, joining a slew of other GOP lawmakers also not seeking re-election.
“It has been the greatest honor of Katie’s and my life to represent you in Congress. And, polls suggest that because of YOUR support, I could remain in the job forever, and we were looking forward to another spirited campaign for a final term in office,” Posey said in a statement released. “However, earlier this week circumstances beyond my control now require me to suspend my re-election campaign.”
“I will continue to devote all possible resources to continue representing you through the end of my current term, helping President Donald Trump return to the oval office, and supporting former Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos, in whom I have the greatest trust and confidence, to take up my battles against the swamp and replace me as your Congressman,” Posey continued in the statement.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS EYE CRACKDOWN ON FAMILY-SPONSORED IMMIGRATION
The GOP representative then shared his endorsement of former Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos. Haridopolos announced his campaign on Friday, thanking Posey in a Facebook post announcing his run.
“For many years, Mike has served as my Congressional Finance Committee Chairman, while I have mentored him to replace me. Mike was, and remains, my first choice to represent you, me, and our district in Congress,” Posey said in the statement.
EX-HOUSE REPUBLICAN WHO VOTED TO IMPEACH TRUMP DROPS MICHIGAN SENATE BID
“Without going into a lot of personal details, stars aligned during the past week, and Mike decided he was ready for Congress. I enthusiastically endorse him and will do everything I can to help him get elected,” he continued.
“I wish to thank our incredible Congressman Bill Posey for his faithful service to our community, state, and nation. I will work every day to live up to his legacy of service and serve the people of District 8 with integrity and honor,” Haridopolos said in a statement to Space Coast Daily upon his announcement.
Posey was first elected to Congress in 2008 and worked in the Florida State Legislature for 18 years prior. The Florida Republican was a supporter of former President Donald Trump.
He recently voted against the foreign aid package supported by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson as well as the FISA renewal earlier this month.
“Our nation is facing an unprecedented border security crisis and a crippling national debt putting undue strain on our cities and jeopardizing the safety and security of Americans,” Posey said in a statement after voting against the foreign aid package. “Defending our borders and balancing our budget should be THE top priority in Washington. I’ve voted against 99% of all spending over the past four years because those bills failed to secure our border. The American people expect Washington to put America first.”
Politics
Shots fired at Border Patrol agents investigated as ‘assault on a federal officer’: FBI
U.S. Border Patrol agents came under fire while working on the southern border from gunmen operating inside Mexico, according to various officials.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed to Fox News that shots were fired from the Mexican side of the El Paso, Texas sector on Wednesday afternoon. The CBP said that agents were involved in a “use of force incident while responding to reports of shots fired near the border in the Ysleta Station area of responsibility in Texas.” Sources confirmed that CBP agents returned fire.
The FBI later confirmed the shooting in a statement to Fox News, saying it happened “by the Ysleta USBP Station – Lopez Gate” and that their agents are investigating it as an “assault on federal agents.”
“FBI El Paso was notified of the May 8th shooting that occurred by the Ysleta USBP Station – Lopez Gate. The FBI El Paso Violent Crime Task Force and the FBI Evidence Recovery Team were deployed to collect evidence at the crime scene.,” the FBI said. “The FBI El Paso’s Violent Crime Task Force is working closely with the U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility on this assault on a federal officer investigation. As this is an ongoing investigation, no further details may be given at this time.”
MASSIVE NUMBER OF MIGRANTS FROM THIS FOREIGN ADVERSARY ARE ILLEGALLY ENTERING US
CBP said that no agents were injured during the incident and that an investigation is underway.
“There are no reported injuries at this time,” the CBP said in a statement. “The incident is under review by Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility.”
The shocking incident is not the first time agents have come under fire during a patrol.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
The CBP said that this was the second incident in recent weeks.
The incident comes as tens of thousands of illegal immigrants have evaded Border Patrol so far this fiscal year.
According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources, there have been 175,000 “known getaways,” meaning illegal immigrants who have evaded Border Patrol agents but have been picked up by other forms of surveillance but not apprehended, since the fiscal year began in October.
That means there have been an average of nearly 800 gotaways each day at the border.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
Politics
California AG plans how to thwart Trump with lawsuits if he wins another term
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said he and his staff have been reviewing former President Trump’s second-term agenda in detail to prepare a potential onslaught of environmental, immigration and civil rights lawsuits in the event Trump defeats President Biden.
“We can’t be caught flat-footed,” Bonta said in in interview Thursday in Washington. “Fortunately and unfortunately, we have four years of Trump 1.0. We know some of the moves and priorities; we expect them to be different.”
Bonta, a Democrat who is mulling a run for governor, said he has been reviewing the work of his predecessor, Xavier Becerra, who filed more than 100 suits against Trump policies before leaving the office to become Biden’s secretary of Health and Human Services. Bonta and his deputies are also looking closely at a document drafted by the Heritage Foundation, a Trump-aligned think tank, known as “Project 2025,” that offers a blueprint for Trump’s second-term policy goals.
California’s slate of Democratic politicians have long seen themselves as a bulwark against conservative policies, never more so than during Trump’s presidency, when the state became the de facto headquarters of the so-called resistance. The challenges to Trump, while popular with many supporters, at times put Democrats in the awkward position of asserting states’ rights after long advocating for standards that would apply across the country. Critics said the constant lawsuits were politically motivated and distracted from the attorney general’s other duties, including protecting consumers.
The challenges also helped Trump politically at times, as it allowed him to use the state as a foil when he failed to carry out some of his agenda.
With states growing increasingly polarized, attorneys general from both red and blue states now play high-profile roles in feuding with the federal government when it’s run by the opposite political party. The Obama administration was sued 58 times by Republican attorneys general, according to a tally maintained by Paul Nolette, a political science professor at Marquette University. Since Biden has been in office, GOP attorneys general have filed 55 lawsuits against his administration’s policies.
The figures represent a substantial increase from prior administrations. And the lawyers have generally won. Republican attorneys general beat Obama in court 64% of the time, and they are defeating Biden at a 76% rate, according to Nolette. Democratic attorneys general, who sued Trump 155 times, won 83% of the time.
Bonta singled out several efforts to thwart Trump, including former Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to sign the Paris climate accord after Trump dropped out “to maintain that leadership role in the world that we’re gonna continue with climate action.”
Becerra challenged Trump’s power on a number of fronts, including climate, healthcare, immigration, gun control and civil rights. He won many of those battles, including Trump’s plan to repeal an Obama administration order to protect so-called Dreamers from deportation. Trump abandoned plans to add a citizenship question to the census after a multistate lawsuit that included California.
A second Trump term would likely also invite new challenges on abortion laws, LGBTQ+ rights and the rights of parents and children to seek transgender treatment, Bonta said.
“So there’s a whole lot of contingencies and then, you know, looking at the different constitutional clauses and component parts of the Constitution that would be the groundwork and the basis for our potential challenges,” he said.
There are limits to the legal strategy that even Bonta acknowledged. The federal government has control over immigration enforcement, Trump’s top priority. While states can decline some assistance to the federal government, they cannot protect immigrants who are in the country illegally from deportation.
“If it’s the federal government’s job, they can do it,” he said.
The state can provide legal assistance and ensure that people get due process, but “immigration has long been an area of federal law.”
Asked for comment on Bonta’s plans, Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said, “California liberals will try anything to spread their failed, fringe-left agenda far and wide, but they won’t stop President Trump from making America great again.”
Bonta was in Washington for an event with Vice President Kamala Harris, another one of his predecessors, to celebrate Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month. He acknowledged that he is considering a run for governor in 2026 and said he would decide after the November election. He could also run for another term as attorney general.
Politics
US Border Patrol agents come under fire in 'use of force' while working southern border
U.S. Border Patrol agents came under fire while working on the southern border from gunmen operating inside Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed to Fox News that shots were fired from the Mexican side of the El Paso, Texas sector on Wednesday afternoon.
The CBP said that agents were involved in a “use of force incident while responding to reports of shots fired near the border in the Ysleta Station area of responsibility in Texas.”
Sources confirmed that CBP agents returned fire.
MASSIVE NUMBER OF MIGRANTS FROM THIS FOREIGN ADVERSARY ARE ILLEGALLY ENTERING US
The agency said that no agents were injured during the incident and that an investigation is underway.
“There are no reported injuries at this time,” the CBP said in a statement. “The incident is under review by Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility.”
The shocking incident is not the first time agents have come under fire during a patrol.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
The CBP said that this was the second incident in recent weeks.
The incident comes as tens of thousands of illegal immigrants have evaded Border Patrol so far this fiscal year.
According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources, there have been 175,000 “known getaways,” meaning illegal immigrants who have evaded Border Patrol agents but have been picked up by other forms of surveillance but not apprehended, since the fiscal year began in October.
That means there have been an average of nearly 800 gotaways each day at the border.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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