House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, tussled with high-profile Soros-backed Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephen Descano over soft-on-crime policies that critics said let illegal immigrant criminals back on the street.

Descano was seated two spots away from Cheryl Minter, mother of Stephanie Minter, who was allegedly murdered by Sierra Leone national Abdul Jalloh at a bus stop not far from George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

Minter’s case, following several similar incidents and the failure by Descano or fellow witness Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Ann Kincaid to honor ICE detainers, spurred lawmakers to haul them across the river to testify about the rapidly deteriorating safety of what the prosecutor called one of America’s safest counties.

Jordan began by pressing Kincaid on why she “let” illegal immigrant suspect Marvin Morales-Ortiz out of her jail: “Because the guy beside you wouldn’t prosecute him, right?”

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“You’d have to talk to him,” Kincaid replied, adding a judge later ordered his release, before bristling at Jordan’s follow-up question about law enforcement morale in Fairfax.

Jordan then turned to Descano, questioning changes to language on his website about considering immigration consequences in charging decisions.

Descano said the excerpt was part of a “campaign” statement and not an actual law enforcement policy, leading Jordan to incredulously ask whether people should believe his campaign statements will translate into policies upon election.

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Descano countered.

“This is almost laughable,” said Jordan. “This is your policy. You said it right here. You told the voters, if you elect me, I will take into account immigration consequences when making, charging and pleading [decisions].”

Descano’s exchange with next Republican to ask questions, Rep. Jeff Van Drew of South Jersey, also quickly escalated into near-shouting.

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Van Drew criticized sanctuary policies, including in his home Garden State, and told Minter that his own condolences could not do justice to what happened to her daughter in Descano’s territory.

He called the conditions in sanctuary jurisdictions “bizarro world” and asked the prosecutor if communities are safer when illegal immigrant criminals are deported or when they are released.

“Well, sir, that’s not –” Descano began before Van Drew cut him off. “Yes or no – I’m asking the questions.”

“You’re a human being. You’re sitting next to a woman who lost her daughter. Can you tell me if illegal criminals are removed from the country; if we’re safer,” Van Drew said, prompting a fiery response from Descano:

“To suggest I don’t care about what happens in my community…” he began before more crosstalk ensued.

“Dammit, answer my question,” Van Drew eventually fumed.

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“Explain to the lady next to you (Cheryl Minter). Abdul Jalloh was charged in your county more than 40 times. Not four times. 40 times. Your office dropped the charges in almost every single case. That’s fact. We have it documented. We can look at it your own. Fairfax County Police Department wrote your office [in] May 2025 saying he had shown a, quote, ‘blatant disregard for human life and was a danger to the community’ and that if he wasn’t detained and deported, he would seriously hurt someone or kill someone,” Van Drew said.

“The very man went out and then killed someone. So the question is, couldn’t’ve we done better there?”

Another panelist also elicited occasional rifts with the lawmakers. Libertarian analyst David Bier of the Cato Institute often defended the idea of counties making their own decisions about whether to cooperate with federal law enforcement.

Part of Bier’s opening statement drew some eyebrows on X, as he appeared to suggest as much as 20% of Fairfax County’s population is deportable – when trying to argue against mass deportation.

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“The first step would be to give up on the mass deportation fantasy. About 1 in 5 Fairfax residents is someone who could be deported or who lives with them. It would destroy neighborhoods, rip Americans away from their spouses, parents, friends, families, customers, employees, employers, nurses, nannies, and teachers,” Bier said.

Bier also accused DHS of ignoring the Laken Riley Act and instead of “racially profiling Americans at Home Depot” and shooting people like Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

President Donald Trump opened his high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping by predicting a “fantastic future together” — striking an unusually warm tone as his administration pursues new trade and investment deals with Beijing.

“In fact, the longest relationship of our two countries that any president and president has had,” Trump said at the start of the bilateral meeting Thursday local time. “We’ve had a fantastic relationship. We’ve gotten along.”

“And whenever we had a problem, we worked that out very quickly,” he continued. “We’re going to have a fantastic future together.”

Trump also praised Xi directly, calling him “a great leader” and emphasizing the personal relationship between the two leaders as a foundation for future cooperation.

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Xi, in his own opening remarks, emphasized cooperation and shared interests between the two countries.

“As leaders of major countries, this year is the 250th anniversary of American independence,” Xi said, according to a translator. “Congratulations to you and to the American people. I always believe that our two countries have more common interests than differences.” 

“Success in one is an opportunity for the other, and a stable bilateral relationship is good for the world,” he continued.

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“China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. We should be partners, not rivals. We should help each other succeed and prosper together, and find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era.”

Xi added that he looked forward to working with Trump “to set the course for and steer the giant ship of China–U.S. relations so as to make 2026 a historic landmark year that opens up a new chapter in China–U.S. relations.”

The comments came as Trump arrived in Beijing accompanied by a delegation of top American executives, underscoring the administration’s focus on economic dealmaking even as broader tensions between the two countries remain unresolved.

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“I just want to say, on behalf of all of the great delegation that we have … we have the greatest businessmen,” Trump said. “We ask the top 30 in the world. Every single one of them said yes.”

The delegation includes executives from major U.S. firms spanning aerospace, finance, technology and agriculture, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon.

White House officials said ahead of the trip that Americans should expect the president to “deliver more good deals,” with talks expected to include aerospace, agriculture and energy, as well as continued work on a proposed U.S.-China “Board of Trade” and “Board of Investment.”

A senior administration official said the potential trade framework under discussion could involve “double-digit billion” levels of commerce, along with possible purchase commitments from China in areas such as aircraft and agricultural products.

The emphasis on dealmaking comes after years of friction between Washington and Beijing over trade, technology and military competition.

Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods — a policy he has continued into his second term — while repeatedly accusing Beijing of unfair trade practices.

He also has criticized past U.S. policy that helped integrate China into the global trading system, arguing Beijing benefited from open markets without offering the same access in return.

But in his opening remarks Thursday, the president emphasized business ties and personal rapport, highlighting what appeared to be an effort to stabilize economic relations between the world’s two largest economies.

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The comments came as administration officials said trade discussions with China are ongoing, alongside talks on issues including Iran, artificial intelligence and other security matters.

Trump’s praise of Xi is consistent with his longstanding approach of using personal diplomacy with foreign leaders, including rivals, as a negotiating tactic — though whether that approach will translate into concrete agreements with China remains to be seen.