Latest news with #JohnCornyn
The Hill
15 hours ago
- Health
- The Hill
Lawmakers, USDA seek to combat New World screwworm along the southern border
Just a few hundred miles from our southern border, a flesh-eating parasite has been detected in Mexico, putting America's farmers and ranchers on watch. The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly that lays its eggs in the open wounds of livestock, primarily cattle and sheep, deer and other wildlife, and on rare occasions, humans and pets. Once hatched, the fly's larvae feed on tissue, leading to severe infection and often death. If this parasite were ever to reach the United States, our agricultural economy and supply chain would be in serious trouble. That is not a hypothetical scenario. Flare-ups have occurred within our borders in the past, costing American producers hundreds of millions of dollars. Mrs. D., a Central Texas rancher, remembers all too well the devastation of the last major screwworm outbreak in the United States that took place during the 1960s. 'Every day from dawn to dusk, my husband would ride horseback to find animals affected by the screwworm. We worked tirelessly to ensure our livestock survived. We had to make sure our calves were born in the winter to stand a chance against the fly that caused the screwworm because the flies are not as prevalent in the cold weather.' Although screwworms were eradicated from the U.S. in the 1960s using a sterilized fly technique, all the signs are there for a repeat scenario. As of March of this year, 369 confirmed cases had been reported in Mexico, creeping north from its confinement zone in Central America and towards the United States. As the representative of the largest congressional district in Texas, I have heard repeatedly from my constituents that a reemergence of New World screwworm is their biggest concern. Texas tops the charts for beef production in the nation, and some of my district's counties have more sheep and goats than live human beings. There is no doubt that a screwworm outbreak would be absolutely devastating to communities like mine. I am not alone in these concerns. In March, 43 of my colleagues joined me in bipartisan outreach to the Agriculture Department to offer congressional support on screwworm eradication efforts. I also introduced the STOP Screwworms Act along with 31 of my House colleagues and Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M). This important legislation would establish a sterile fly production facility in the U.S. — a critical step in our fight to shore up our domestic infrastructure against this deadly parasite. Fortunately, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has been incredibly proactive on this issue. This week, I joined Rollins to announce the launch of an $8.5 million sterile New World screwworm fly dispersal facility in South Texas and a five-pronged plan to enhance the Agriculture Department's ability to detect, control and eliminate this pest. Per the Agriculture Department, the facility in South Texas is expected to be ready within six months. President Trump and Rollins have made protecting America's agriculture industry a priority. Together, we will fight to codify executive branch wins into long-term legislative solutions. Tony Gonzales represents Texas's 23rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves as the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Conference and represents the largest congressional district in Texas, spanning over 800 miles of the southern border.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
The shadow war raging in DC over Iran pits Donald Trump vs. Tulsi Gabbard: ‘They're kind of winging it any given hour'
President Donald Trump's feud with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard about whether Iran is crafting a nuclear weapon has led to Republicans explicitly siding with the president. The House of Representatives was out of session this week. But Senate Republicans, who are generally more hawkish than their House counterparts, have sided with Trump in terms of whether Iran is building a nuclear weapon. 'I trust President Trump,' Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told The Independent. 'He's undoubtedly correct.' Cornyn faces a primary challenge against a MAGA challenger in Texas Attorney General Paxton during next year's Republican primary and he voted to confirm Gabbard. In March, Gabbard told The House Intelligence Committee that the US Intelligence Community continued to 'assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon' and that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had 'not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.' But Trump directly contradicted her when CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked him about her testimony earlier this week. 'I don't care what she said — I think they were very close to having one,' he said. Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, echoed Trump's words to The Independent. 'I'm just saying, listen to what the president said,' he said. Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia also told The Independent that he trusted Trump. 'For God's sakes of living, they have told the whole world what they're wanting to do,' he said of Iran. 'They're wanting to eradicate Israel.' Gabbard represents a unique spot. A former four-term Democratic congresswoman who had endorsed Bernie Sanders in 2016 and ran for president in 2020, she quit the party and in 2024, endorsed Trump. As a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard, Gabbard has criticized nation-building and military interventionism. Despite her previous criticisms of U.S. surveillance programs, she received almost unanimous consent from Senate Republicans, with the exception of former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Sen. Rand Paul, a libertarian Republican from Kentucky who has criticized the idea of war with Iran, did not want to comment about the split between Trump and Gabbard. 'I don't need to get in the middle of a fight between those two, I've made many pronouncements, you're welcome to use any of my quotes,' Paul told The Independent. Trump's split with Gabbard represents a larger contradiction between his campaign and his support for Israel. Despite his ardent support for Israel in his first presidency, Trump has criticized 'so-called 'nation-builders,' 'neocons,' or 'liberal non-profits.'' During his announcement for his 2024 campaign, he bragged about how he did not send the country into new wars and was ' the first president to do it for a long period.' But Israel's decision to conduct strikes on Iran and Trump's decision to fully support its efforts has led some of Trump's most devoted followers, including right-wing provocateur Tucker Carlson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, to break with Trump. 'Clearly the Republicans are in a cat fight, because there's the wing of the party that clearly wants to do this and the clean wing of the party that clearly doesn't,' Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA analyst, told The Indepndent. 'I don't know how much this is rooted in an intelligence conversation. I think they're kind of winging it any given day.' Gabbard was initially set to meet with the Senate Intelligence Committee. Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, criticized the the administration for contradicting the intelligence community. 'If this president wants to completely ignore the intelligence community, we are playing in dangerous ground, and this is exactly the way we got ourselves into Iraq,' he told The Independent.
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Senate Republicans Hold Hearing on Biden's Mental Fitness as Democrats Boycott
Nearly six months after Joe Biden left the White House, Senate Republicans are still scrutinizing his presidency, kicking off the first in what's expected to be a series of congressional hearings this year on his mental fitness in office. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee brought in three witnesses Wednesday – none of whom served in Biden's administration – to scrutinize his time in office, arguing that Biden, his staff, and the media must be held accountable. Democrats boycotted the hearing and criticized Republicans for 'armchair diagnosing' Biden when the committee could be looking into serious matters. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who co-chaired the hearing, said that they will aim to 'shine a light' on exactly what went on in the White House during Biden's presidency. 'We simply cannot ignore what transpired because President Biden is no longer in office,' Cornyn said. A spokesperson for Biden declined to comment on the hearing. It was the first in what could be several hearings about Biden in the coming months. Over in the House, the Oversight Committee has subpoenaed several of Biden's former staff members, along with his White House doctor, ordering him to testify at a June 27 hearing as part of the investigation into the 'cover-up' of President Joe Biden's 'cognitive decline.' Questions about Biden's age and fitness erupted last summer after his 'disastrous performance' in a debate against Donald Trump, which ultimately led to his withdrawal from the race. Even after Trump won back the presidency in November, Republicans have continued to hammer on Biden's age, citing in part new reporting about Biden that was published this year. Trump now alleges that Biden administration officials may have forged the former president's signature and taken sweeping actions without his knowledge, though he provided no evidence of that happening. But Trump has ordered lawyers at the White House and the Justice Department to investigate. Republicans played clips during the hearing Wednesday of Democrats defending Biden. In the montage, the Democrats talk about how Biden was mentally sharp when he was in office. 'Most Democrats on this committee have chosen to all but boycott the hearing and have failed to call a single witness,' said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. 'They have chosen to ignore this issue like they ignored President Biden's decline.' Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee's top Democrat, criticized Republicans for holding a hearing on the last president at a time when 'numerous critical challenges facing the nation that are under our jurisdiction.' 'Apparently 'armchair diagnosing' former President Biden is more important than the issues of grave concern,' said Durbin of Illinois. After his opening remarks, Durbin played a video montage of his own – but with clips of Trump speaking that he said reflected the cognitive ability of the current president. Durbin left the hearing after his opening remarks. Three witnesses testified: former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, former White House official Theodore Wold, and University of Virginia law professor John Harrison. Spicer and Wold both served under Trump. Much of the focus was on Biden's alleged use of an autopen. Trump has repeated long-standing allegations that the Biden White House relied on an autopen to sign presidential pardons, executive orders, and other key documents, claiming that its use cast doubt on their validity. GOP Sen. Katie Britt also questioned Spicer on what mechanisms 'should we put in place to hold the media accountable for not actually following what is clearly in front of them.'
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
GOP says Dems admit ‘guilt' in Biden health cover-up by boycotting Senate hearing on ‘constitutional scandal'
Republican lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee admonished Democratic colleagues for boycotting and walking out of a Wednesday morning hearing examining former President Joe Biden's health decline while he was in the Oval Office. "I will note that few of my Democratic colleagues are here today," Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn said Wednesday. "Thank you to Sen. Welch from Vermont for being here, leaving us with no other option than to take the boycott of this hearing as an admission of guilt for their role in this crisis. "We must not turn away from the search for answers, and it is not an overstatement to say that the future of our country could one day hinge on how we choose to act or not act on this very issue," Cornyn continued. The Senate committee held a hearing Wednesday morning dubbed, "Unfit to Serve: How the Biden Cover-up Endangered America and Undermined the Constitution." Vermont Democrat Sen. Peter Welch and Illinois Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin did attend the start of the hearing, with Durbin abruptly walking out after describing the hearing as a distraction and accusing Republican colleagues of being "asleep at the wheel" with other legal issues within the Trump administration due to their focus on Biden. "In the last week alone, several events have demanded this committee's immediate attention," Durbin said Wednesday. "The horrific assassination in Minnesota, the treatment of our colleague Sen. Padilla by federal agents in Los Angeles, and President Trump's unprecedented deployment of the U.S. military in Los Angeles. "We should hear without delay from Attorney General Bondi and FBI Director Patel about what they are doing to address the unacceptable political violence in our country, including threats to Article III judges and justices, as well as members of Congress," Durbin said. "And we need to hear from the Homeland Security Secretary Noem about the treatment of our colleague, Sen. Padilla, and this administration's mass deportation campaign against immigrants." Welch also left the hearing after declaring it would not benefit his constituents. There are 10 Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including lawmakers such as Sens. Klobuchar of Minnesota, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Adam Schiff of California. The press secretary for Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats directed Fox Digital to Durbin's initial participation in the hearing and his remarks when asked about GOP lawmakers arguing Democrats' boycott of the hearing was an admission of guilt. Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz seethed that Democrats and the media "lied" and covered up Biden's health decline, while slamming Democrats for their lack of participation. "Not a single Democrat is here today because not a single one of them gives a d--- about the fact that they lied to the American people for four years," Cruz said at the hearing. "They knew. Every one of them knew that Joe Biden was mentally not competent to do the job. The White House press secretary, she knew, when she stood in front of the American people and lied over and over and over again. And they're not here because they can't defend themselves. It wasn't a surprise, for four years, the White House hid President Biden from Republican senators. Would not let him meet with us." Other Republicans railed against Democratic counterparts for skipping the hearing, such as Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmidt. "Today, as we seek to answer this question, it is deeply disappointing, but not surprising, that most Democrats on this committee have chosen all but boycott the hearing and failed to call a single witness," Schmidt said at the hearing. "They have chosen to ignore this issue like they ignored President Biden's decline. Their absence speaks volumes, an implicit admission that the truth is too inconvenient to face. By refusing to engage in this critical examination, they abdicate their responsibility to the American people. This de facto boycott is not just a refusal to participate. It's a refusal to serve the American people who deserve answers about who was truly leading their government. "The title of the hearing, 'Unfit to Serve,' captures a sobering and undeniable truth," Schmidt added. "President Biden was mentally unfit to carry out the responsibilities of the most powerful office in the world. Given his mental incapacity, the American people deserve to know who was running the country the last four years." The hearing included testimony from three experts, including University of Virginia law professor John Harrison, conservative think tank Heritage Foundation fellow Theodore Wold, and a former White House press secretary from the first Trump administration, Sean Spicer. Concern over Biden's mental acuity hit a fever pitch in 2024 as the election cycle heated up, when the then-president delivered a dismal debate performance against now-President Donald Trump in June. The debate opened the floodgates of criticism, including traditional Democrat allies calling for Biden to drop out of the presidential race after conservatives had already long argued that Biden's mental acuity was slipping and he was unfit to serve as commander in chief. Concerns over his health have continued after his presidential tenure ended, including with the revelation that the Biden admin frequently used an autopen to sign official presidential documents, the release of Biden's interview with former Special Counsel Robert Hur, and Biden's shock announcement in May that he had advanced prostate cancer. The conservative Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project first investigated the Biden administration's use of an autopen earlier in 2025 and found that the same signature was on a bevvy of executive orders and other official documents, while Biden's signature on the document announcing his departure from the 2024 race varied from the apparent machine-produced signature. Heritage fellow Wold testified before the committee and described the alleged cover-up of Biden's declining health a "constitutional crisis." "I will say the 25th Amendment. It's a modern contrivance, but it still is consistent with the American Constitution, which assumes that officers of the United States will act virtuously and morally," Wold said. "And the idea that members of the Cabinet would go to the length of avoiding the Oval Office so as to abdicate their responsibility to verify the appropriateness of the president's acuity or the ability to authenticate actions taken by the president. If that's not a constitutional scandal, I honestly, I don't know what would what would constitute such. "There could be the potential for crimes," he said. "But moreover, the 25th Amendment can only function in its sole mechanisms if people are actually willing to call a spade a spade." The U.S. Constitution's 25th Amendment states that "whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President." Biden's Cabinet, other administration officials and Democrat lawmakers fiercely defended his health amid outcry from Republicans and others that Biden's health had cratered and that he was likely unfit to serve as president.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off Wednesday
Senate Republicans are gearing up for the first full-scale congressional hearing into the alleged cover-up of former President Joe Biden's cognitive decline. Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. will co-chair a Senate Judiciary Hearing Wednesday that delves into "what exactly went on" during Biden's term and why the constitutional power to remove him from office wasn't triggered. Cornyn said on the Senate floor that one of the main goals of the hearing was to shine a light on what happened behind the scenes during landmark moments of Biden's presidency, "from the Biden border crisis to the disastrous results from the withdrawal in Afghanistan. "And it's now clear that for many months — no one knows exactly how long — the president was simply not up to the task," he said. "Whoever happened to be making those decisions and carrying out the duties of the Office of President was not somebody who was authorized by the Constitution or by a vote of the American people." Cornyn and Schmitt's hearing, first announced late last month, will be held after the release of the book "Original Sin" by CNN host Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, which alleges the Biden White House was trying to control the narrative about the former president's health and that his allies worked to cover up his decline. The hearing, "Unfit to Serve: How the Biden Cover-Up Endangered America and Undermined the Constitution," features a trio of witnesses called by the Senate Republican duo who served during President Donald Trump's first term and during the Reagan and Bush years. Among the Republicans' witnesses are Theodore Wold, who formerly served as acting assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Policy at the Justice Department and deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy during the Trump administration; Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary and communications director; and John Harrison, a legal scholar from the University of Virginia School of Law who previously served during former the Reagan and Bush administrations. Wold and Harrison told Fox News Digital their testimony would focus on Biden's alleged usage of an autopen, a device that is used to automatically mimic a person's signature, typically used signing of numerous documents, and how the usage of the device may have acted as a smokescreen to prevent the triggering of the 25th Amendment. Biden has rejected assertions by lawmakers and Trump that he habitually used an autopen. Trump recently ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into whether the former president's aides "abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline." Spicer's testimony will focus on the media's treatment of Trump compared to Biden during their respective first terms and how some media outlets were allegedly "silent" when it came to signs of the ex-president's decline. Democrats on the panel did not call any witnesses. The top-ranking Democrat on the committee, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., contended that Cornyn and Schmitt were wasting the panel's time with their endeavor. "We have so many important topics to consider, and this is a totally political undertaking by several of my colleagues," he said. "It is a waste of the Senate Judiciary Committee's time."
