Politics
This Is What ‘Productive’ Looks Like in Washington as Default Deadline Looms
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said this week that he did not believe Republicans and Democrats were anywhere close to a deal on raising the debt ceiling. President Biden said little in public. As the risk of default drew closer, Republicans got together and auctioned off a tube of used cherry lip balm, which sold for six figures.
Welcome to the latest week of “productive” negotiations in Washington, a town that has an entire glossary — cliffs and ceilings and X-dates — of shorthand for its periodic dance with ticking financial time bombs.
“Nothing forces Washington’s hands like a deadline,” said Eric Schultz, a former deputy White House press secretary under President Barack Obama.
In recent days, talks have started and stopped and started again as Mr. Biden, Mr. McCarthy and their teams of negotiators worked to discuss a plan. So far, there are few specifics: “We both agree we want to be able to come to an agreement,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters on Monday after leaving his White House meeting with the president.
Both men seem intent on preventing their relationship from sliding into scorched-earth territory, though they remain far apart on the particulars of striking a deal by June 1, when the Treasury has indicated the government may run out of money to pay its bills.
That’s one week away — practically an eternity by Washington-saga standards.
And lest anyone think the lack of a breakthrough was a sign of intransigence or dawdling or typical government dysfunction, both sides insisted that everyone involved agreed that they wanted to agree. In a divided Washington, this is what passes for progress.
Mr. McCarthy said the meeting with the president had been “productive.” Not only that, it had been “better than any other time we’ve had discussions.”
Mr. Biden, in a brief statement after the meeting, also used the word “productive.” Nothing had changed by the next afternoon, when the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, would repeat it yet again: “The meeting that the president had with the speaker yesterday was indeed productive,” she affirmed.
Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, who has shown little willingness to join in on the productivity, weighed in from his home state of Kentucky: “Everybody needs to relax,” he told reporters.
“The last 10 times we raised the debt ceiling, there were things attached to it,” he said, referring to concessions or compromises that are usually — but not always — agreed to. “This is not that unusual. It is almost entirely required when you have divided government.”
According to the White House, this was not a very productive thing to say.
“What’s unusual is for our economy and the American economy to be held hostage and to be connected in this way to the budget process,” Ms. Jean-Pierre commented from the briefing-room podium.
Perhaps these conversations actually are productive, compared with past president-speaker relationships. (President Donald J. Trump once called Speaker Nancy Pelosi a “third-grade” politician during a meeting at the White House in 2019. It ended soon afterward.)
But are they normal?
Sort of, according to William Howell, a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
“It’s normal in the sense that it’s familiar, but it’s not normal in the sense that it’s especially healthy or in keeping with how other countries attend to their debt obligations,” he said.
Outside of Washington, Americans have signaled that they would like both Republicans and Democrats to make progress in other ways. On Tuesday, CNN published a poll that said that, while a majority of Americans supported raising the debt limit, only 31 percent thought Mr. Biden had the right priorities, and 29 percent thought Republicans did.
Nevermind that. Debt-ceiling productivity continued throughout the day on Tuesday, even as members of the restive right flank of the Republican Party, which Mr. McCarthy will have to pacify in order to strike a deal, let it be known that they were in no particular hurry.
When a reporter from Semafor asked Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, about the talks, he replied that he and his fellow conservative colleagues “don’t feel like we should negotiate with our hostage.”
It was unclear whether Mr. Gaetz was talking about the president or the federal government.
On Tuesday, Politico reported that Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia bid $100,000 to buy a tube of Mr. McCarthy’s used lip balm at a Republican fund-raising auction.
The high-dollar purchase drew public outrage from Democratic lawmakers who accused them of frivolous behavior as the country hurtled toward default.
“Spending $100,000 on chapstick while working overtime to gut the programs that working families rely on. GOP priorities in a nutshell,” Representative Nydia Velazquez of New York said on Twitter.
Allies of Mr. Biden say they believe real, tangible progress could take place when one of two things happen: the financial markets begin to put pressure on Republicans, as they did in 2011, or the holiday weekend beckons.
“Nothing motivates Congress like the smell of jet fumes as we get close to the weekends,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to Mr. Obama who was at the White House during painful debt-ceiling negotiations in 2011 and 2013.
“So we’ll see what happens in a couple days.”
Aishvarya Kavi contributed reporting.
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
Border Patrol agents have been fired upon in a series of targeted attacks this month, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said. (Getty Images)
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.”
New sections of the steel bollard-style border wall, comprising primary and secondary barriers, stands along the US-Mexico border between San Diego and Tijuana (L) during a tour with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on May 10, 2021 in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego County, California. ((Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images))
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.
A group of over 100 migrants attempting to enter the US illegally rush a border wall Thursday, March 21, 2024. (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)
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.
Democratic mega-donor and Hollywood media mogul Haim Saban slammed President Biden’s decision to put a shipment of weapons to Israel on hold because they could be used in an offensive against a densely populated city in southern Gaza.
“Let’s not forget there are more Jewish voters who care about Israel than Muslim voters who care about Hamas,” Saban wrote in an email to senior Biden aides Steve Ricchetti and Anita Dunn, Axios reported Thursday.
The comments drew condemnation from Muslim American leaders, who described Saban’s email as “unhinged, hateful and petulant” and “virulently anti-Muslim.”
“The White House should reject Mr. Saban’s threatening email, condemn his hateful message and cut ties with him,” said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the deputy executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “Mega-donors like Haim Saban should have no more access to policymakers or influence over public policy than the average American.”
Biden on Wednesday told CNN that while the United States would continue to support Israel’s defense, as it has historically done, it would not supply bombs and artillery shells that the Middle East nation could use in an assault on Rafah in the Gaza Strip. More than 1 million civilians are sheltering in the southern Gaza city, which is the last major stronghold of Hamas, the militant group that carried out the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment. But White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated the president’s stance Thursday.
“What the president made clear on CNN is that we do not want to provide material support to such an operation,” she told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We have held a shipment of high payload, unguided munition and we discussed with Israel all concerns about their use in dense urban environments.”
The debate over the weapons shipment reflects a broader, growing rift between the Biden administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attack and attempt to defeat Hamas amid demands that it limit civilian casualties in Gaza.
It is unfolding during an election year when Biden is in a tight contest with former President Trump. Jewish Americans and Muslim Americans are parts of the Democratic coalition Biden needs to keep intact to win reelection, particularly in states such as Michigan.
Saban, an Israeli American billionaire who hosted the last fundraiser Biden held in Southern California at his sprawling Beverly Park estate in February, reacted to Biden’s comments by urging Dunn and Ricchetti to forward his message to the president.
In his email, Saban wrote that Biden’s decision to stop sending munitions to Israel “sends a terrible message to our allies in the region” and shows that the U.S. “can flip from doing the right [thing] to bending to political pressure.”
He urged the president to reconsider his decision, which he called “bad … on all levels,” and closed with “Thank You. With respect.”
Saban did not respond to a request for comment.
Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail.
What’s happening?
– Biden faces backlash for reported plan to withhold some weapons from Israel…
– Hunter Biden loses attempts to dismiss criminal charges…
– Trump’s stormy day in court…
‘We are so innocent’
Stormy Daniels wrapped up her testimony in the Trump trial, before a smattering of other witnesses were called to the stand. Judge Juan Merchan also handed Trump a double denial – rejecting motions for a mistrial, and defense attorneys’ request to modify the gag order now that former porn performer Daniels has finished her testimony.
Trump’s team argued that Daniels’ time on the stand was highly prejudicial, and had nothing to do with the charges about falsifying business records for a $130,000 payment to Daniels to sign and NDA, and not share her story of having sex once with Trump.
Trump has denied Daniels’ claims consistently, and defense attorney Susan Necheles worked hard Thursday to point out how Daniels’ story has changed over the years. Trump’s attorneys argued that now, with the porn actress’ testimony concluded, he should be able to defend himself publicly. But Merchan disagreed, saying that though Daniels was a difficult witness to control, and much of some of her testimony was “unnecessary” and “irrelevant,” the gag order would stand.
“We are so innocent,” Trump said after court adjourned Thursday. He railed against Merchan as “totally conflicted” and “corrupt.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump watches as Stormy Daniels is questioned by defense attorney Susan Necheles during Trump’s criminal trial (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)
White House
UNDER WRAPS: Biden decision to pull Israel weapons shipment reportedly kept quiet until after Holocaust address …Read more
‘QUID PRO JOE’: Biden impeachment articles coming over threats to Israel aid, GOP lawmaker says …Read more
‘FALSE AND INSULTING’: FBI pushes back on report that it urges employees to use warrantless wiretaps on Americans …Read more
DENIED: Federal court rejects Hunter Biden appeal in Delaware case …Read more
Capitol Hill
CALLED TO CONGRESS: House GOP invites disgraced Georgia prosecutor Nathan Wade to ‘interview’ with Judiciary committee …Read more
ACT FAST: Dems push Biden on amnesty for illegals before possible Trump victory …Read more
CAVING IN: GOP furious as Dems take victory lap over Biden’s threat to Israel weapons aid …Read more
Tales from the Campaign Trail
BIDENOMICS BLASTED: Billionaire CEO blasts Bidenomics agenda, gives it a failing grade …Read more
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Barron Trump to enter politics as Florida delegate at GOP convention …Read more
Campus Chaos
‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?’: University investigates after female student confronted trans woman in bathroom …Read more
‘NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT’: Universities would ‘pay a hefty price’ for allowing encampments under new legislation …Read more
Across America
TEAMING UP: 22 Red states form alliance and sue Biden admin over Title IX changes …Read more
IVF FOR ALL: NYC sued for denying in vitro fertilization coverage to gay male employees …Read more
‘REASON TO SUSPECT’: Missouri AG files FOIA requests for DOJ communications with Trump prosecutors …Read more
‘GOTAWAYS’: Hundreds of illegal immigrants evading Border Patrol each day …Read more
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