Biden vetoes bill cancelling his $400 billion student loan handout, vows he's 'not going to back down'
President Biden on Wednesday vetoed the bill that would have scrapped his $400 billion student loan handout and vowed he wasn’t “going to back down” when it came to forgiving the college debt of millions across the country.”Folks, Republican in Congress led an effort to pass a bill blocking my administration’s plan to provide up to $10,000 in student debt relief and up to $20,000 for borrowers that received a Pell Grant. Nearly 90% of those relief dollars go to people making less than $75,000 a year,” Biden said in a video posted on Twitter. “I’m not going to back down on my efforts to help tens of millions of working and middle class families. That’s why I’m going to veto this bill,” he said. AOC SAYS SUPREME COURT ‘CORRUPTION’ WILL KILL BIDEN STUDENT LOAN HANDOUTAmid his railing against Republicans, Biden made no mention of the two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., who joined all Republicans in voting to advance the bill last week. Independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema also voted in favor with the final tally coming to 52-46.Biden also made no mention of Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., who joined Republicans in voting for the bill in the House of Representatives. The final House vote tally was 218-203.The president went on to say that some of the members who voted for the bill had “personally received loans to keep their small business afloat during the pandemic,” and supported “huge tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.” CHRIS CHRISTIE RIPS ‘JUVENILE,’ ‘BABY’ TRUMP AFTER FORMER PRESIDENT TARGETS HIM WITH FAT JOKES: ‘LIKE A CHILD’ President Joe Biden speaks ahead of vetoing a bill scrapping his $400 billion student loan handout on June 7, 2023 in the Oval Office. (White House)”But when it comes to hardworking Americans trying to get ahead, dealing with student debt relief, that’s where they drew the line. I think it’s wrong,” he said.”Let me make something really clear, I’m never going to apologize for helping working and middle class Americans as they recover from this pandemic. Never,” he added before signing his veto of the bill.Biden’s veto of the bill marks his fifth veto since taking office.Under the program announced last year, Biden said he would cancel up to $10,000 in student loans for people making less than $125,000, and up to $20,000 for students who received Pell Grants. That program was expected to cost the government more than $400 billion in lost debt repayment, but the program was put on hold after a court blocked it.BIDEN JOINS AOC IN LINKING CANADIAN WILDFIRES TO ‘CLIMATE CRISIS’ The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)The resolution approved by the House and Senate was written under the Congressional Review Act, which lets Congress reject an executive branch policy as long as both the House and Senate pass a resolution disapproving of that policy.Given the mostly partisan nature of the votes in the House and Senate, it’s unlikely Congress will be able to find the two-thirds majority needed in each chamber to override Biden’s veto.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPFox News’ Peter Kasperowicz contributed to this report.
Chris Christie rips 'juvenile,' 'baby' Trump after former president targets him with fat jokes: 'Like a child'
Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie laid into former President Donald Trump Wednesday, calling him “juvenile” and a “baby” after the latter targeted him with fat jokes.”Look, he’s a juvenile. He’s a baby. Only children talk like that. He never said that about me when he offered me White House Chief of Staff,” Christie told Fox News’ Bret Baier during an appearance on “Special Report.””He never said that about me when he offered me Secretary of Homeland Security, twice. Never said that about me when he offered me Secretary of Labor. I wasn’t any of those things then,” he said.FORMER NEW JERSEY GOV CHRIS CHRISTIE LAUNCHES SECOND BID FOR WHITE HOUSE Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie (R) talks with Bret Baier (L) during a visit to “Special Report with Bret Baier” at Fox Business Studios on June 07, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)”Look, the minute you speak out against him, Bret, you know what he does? He lashes back out like a child. And if you or I were raising that child, we’d send them to their room, not to the White House,” he added.Following the official launch of Christie’s second presidential campaign Tuesday, Trump made multiple social media posts that appeared to mock the former governor’s weight.”How many times did Chris Christie use the word SMALL? Does he have a psychological problem with SIZE?” Trump wrote on Truth Social. MARCO RUBIO LASHES OUT OVER CLAIMS CHRIS CHRISTIE ‘ENDED’ HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: ‘LAZY OR DUMB’ Former President Donald Trump lashed out at former New Jersey Chris Christie in a post on Truth Social following the latter’s presidential campaign launch on June 6, 2023. (Donald J. Trump – Truth Social)”Actually, his speech was SMALL, and not very good. It rambled all over the place, and nobody had a clue of what he was talking about. Hard to watch, boring, but that’s what you get from a failed Governor (New Jersey) who left office with a 7% approval rating and then got run out of New Hampshire. This time, it won’t be any different!” he added.Trump later posted a doctored video of Christie’s announcement speech with what appeared to be a buffet of food in front of him. The doctored video also made Christie look as if he was holding a plate full of food. Former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPFox reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Trump attorneys notified former president is target of criminal investigation
Federal prosecutors reportedly notified former President Donald Trump’s attorneys that he is the target of a criminal investigation regarding his handling of classified materials after serving as commander in chief, two sources with knowledge of the ongoing grand jury probe confirm to Fox News.Trump’s handling of classified materials after leaving office in 2021 has been the focus of an investigation led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed as special counsel on the matter in November 2022. Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, Monday, April 3, 2023, in New York. Trump arrived in New York on Monday for his expected booking and arraignment the following day on charges arising from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)The appointment came just months after the FBI searched for missing classified documents in a raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Aug. 8, 2022.TRUMP LAWYERS MEET OFFICIALS AT DOJ AS SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE ON CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS NEAR ENDThat Justice Department notification came days ago, said sources, and is in indication the Special Prosecutor may be close to deciding whether to bring charges in the months long investigation. The fact prosecutors privately informed Trump’s lawyers he is a target is another indication, sources said, that the former president’s own actions on handling classified material are the focus of the investigation.Notifying individuals they are a target is a routine part of criminal investigations done at the discretion of prosecutors, but charges may not ultimately be filed.Trump’s legal team met privately at the Justice Department with Smith and some of his team to discuss the grand jury investigation.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPTo be clear, Trump has not, nor does this suggest that he will be charged with a crime.The notification is simply to notify the former president that he has become a target, and to allow him time to present evidence in front of a grand jury.
Utah Rep. Chris Stewart to step down from Congress in September
U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, on Wednesday officially submitted his letter of resignation from Congress. In a letter to Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox, Stewart said he would be stepping down as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives effective Sept. 15. FILE: Utah Rep. Chris Stewart talks to supporters during an Utah Republican election night party on June 28, 2022, in South Jordan, Utah. (Photo/George Frey, File)”It has been one of the great honors of my life to serve the good people of Utah in Congress,” Stewart said.Stewart, a six-term lawmaker, announced his plans to leave Congress last month due to his wife’s illness. His resignation would leave open a Republican seat on the House Appropriations and Intelligence committees — and reduce an already narrow GOP majority to just four seats.FBI WILLING TO ALLOW ALL HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO VIEW BIDEN DOC ALLEGING CRIMINAL SCHEME: SOURCEUtah law states that the governor must call for a special election in the event of a House vacancy. Once Stewart makes his resignation official, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox will have seven days to set the time for a primary and special election. The law requires those dates to be the same as municipal primary and general elections scheduled for this year, unless the state legislature appropriates funds to hold a separate election.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThough Stewart’s departure will mean one less Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, it is not expected to affect House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ability to steer a tight Republican majority. The district is reliably Republican and Stewart defeated a Democratic challenger by more than 30 percentage points in 2022.Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
Michigan man pleads guilty to assisting Whitmer kidnapping scheme
A man accused of aiding a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor pleaded guilty Wednesday, the ninth conviction in state and federal courts since agents broke up an astonishing scheme by anti-government rebels in 2020.Shawn Fix said he provided material support for an act of terrorism, namely the strategy to snatch Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home in Antrim County. Prosecutors agreed to drop a weapon charge.Fix trained with a militia, the Wolverine Watchmen, for “politically motivated violence,” prosecutors have said, and hosted a five-hour meeting at his Belleville home where there was much discussion about kidnapping Whitmer.MICHIGAN MAN CHARGED WITH AIDING WHITMER KIDNAPPING PLOT TO CHANGE PLEAFix, 40, acknowledged helping plot leader Adam Fox pinpoint the location of Whitmer’s home, key information that was used for a 2020 ride to find the property in northern Michigan.”Guilty,” Fix told the judge. Shawn Fix has pleaded guilty to his role in the planned kidnapping of Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. (AP Photo/John Flesher)He appeared in an Antrim County court, one of five people charged in that leg of the investigation. A co-defendant pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in March, leaving three other men to face trial in August.Fix, who faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, agreed to testify if called by prosecutors.The main kidnapping conspiracy case was handled in federal court, where four men, including ringleaders Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were convicted. Two others were acquitted.WISCONSIN MAN CHARGED IN WHITMER KIDNAPPING PLOT TO CHANGE PLEASeparately, three men were convicted at trial in Jackson County, the site of militia training, and are serving long prison terms.Whitmer, a Democrat, was targeted as part of a broad effort by anti-government extremists to trigger a civil war around the time of the 2020 presidential election, investigators said. Her COVID-19 policies, which shut down schools and restricted the economy, were deeply scorned by foes.But informants and undercover FBI agents were inside the group for months, leading to arrests in October 2020. Whitmer was not physically harmed.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPAfter the plot was thwarted, Whitmer blamed then-President Donald Trump, saying he had given “comfort to those who spread fear and hatred and division.” Last August, after 19 months out of office, Trump called the kidnapping plan a “fake deal.”
Michigan passes statewide ban on handheld phone use in cars
The use of handheld cellphones while driving a car will be outlawed in Michigan under legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that will take effect on June 30.The new law will expand Michigan’s ban on texting and driving to apply to all handheld cellphone use while operating a motor vehicle, including making calls or scrolling social media. Motorists will still be able to use hands-free devices.”We need to remove distractions and make our roads safer for everyone who’s using them,” Whitmer said at a bill signing in Plymouth. “Each traffic death is more than just a statistic. It’s a human being.”MICHIGAN LAWMAKERS REVIVE EFFORT TO NEARLY DOUBLE SEX ABUSE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONSOver half of all states currently have bans on handheld devices for all drivers. Data released earlier this year by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that in 2021 there was a 12% rise in fatal crashes involving at least one distracted driver, with 3,522 people killed. A new Michigan law imposes stricter penalties for distracted driving and outlaws all handheld cellphone use behind the wheel. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)Penalties for distracted driving will also increase. A first offense could cost drivers $100 and/or 16 hours of community service and then $250 for each subsequent offense and/or 24 hours of community service.MICHIGAN GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER SET TO SIGN RED FLAG LAWIf a driver accumulates three or more violations within three years, a court could require that a driving improvement course be taken.Law enforcement, first responders and other public emergency workers will still be allowed to use a cellphone while performing official duties. Anyone calling or texting 911 or other emergency services will also be exempt from the law.The new law will take effect during the most dangerous time of the year to be on the road, the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Whitmer said.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPMultiple individuals who have lost family members to distracted driving crashes joined Michigan lawmakers at the bill signing. Steve Kiefer, a retired General Motors executive whose son, Mitchel, was killed in a 2016 distracted driving crash, said that while “we can’t bring our loved ones back, this legislation will help save hopefully all of your loved ones.”
Pennsylvania House passes $100M mental health spending plan
A proposal to allocate $100 million in federal funds to subsidize adult mental health programs easily cleared the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday.Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro supports the initiative, according to a spokesman.”If we are talking about unmet mental health needs, this money is truly just a drop in the bucket, ” Mike Schlossberg, the bill’s Democratic sponsor, said.A proposal to allocate $100 million in federal funds to pay for adult mental health programs easily passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday, a plan built on the recommendations of a state commission charged with issuing suggestions for coordinated care.The bill passed 173-30 and was sent to the Senate. A spokesman for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said that he supports the legislation.The American Rescue Plan Act money would bolster the behavioral health industry’s workforce, improve the criminal justice and public safety systems and expand access to support.BILL REQUIRING ELECTRONIC CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT SUBMISSION CLEARS PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE”It is a little strange to talk about $100 million as a number that is both large and small, but that’s actually what we’re looking at here. This money will have a deeply personal impact on people across the commonwealth,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Schlossberg, a Lehigh County Democrat. “That being said, if we are talking about unmet mental health needs, this money is truly just a drop in the bucket.”The measure stems from the effort that began last session when the Legislature created the Behavioral Health Commission on Adult Mental Health. The 24 members — from the behavioral health field, state agencies and a variety of communities — were told to determine how to divvy up federal funds designated for such uses. The Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Keystone State’s Democrat-led House of Representatives has overwhelmingly voted in favor of a bill allocating federal funds toward adult mental health services. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)The largest chunk of funds, $34 million, would go toward workforce development and retention in the behavioral health field, which would include training, paid internships, loan repayment and tuition assistance.About $32 million would address criminal justice and public safety programs through grants administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Sponsors said it would help reduce recidivism.PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE PASSES MEASURE TO EXPAND WHAT KIND OF CRIMINAL RECORDS CAN BE SEALED FROM PUBLIC VIEWAdditional funds would pay for supporting suicide prevention programs, integrating behavioral health with physical health in primary care practices, developing peer-led mental health and substance use services and developing grants for technology and training for telehealth providers.Other bills eyeing mental health also are in the pipeline, including legislation to support children’s mental health in schools, ongoing funding for the suicide prevention hotline 988, plus funding for counties’ services.A top priority for counties is securing more state aid for the safety-net mental health services that they administer. They say there aren’t enough beds or counselors for people who need help after demand spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPA spokesman for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania said it supports the legislation, even though the money is not helping fund the county-run services. For those services, counties are seeking an additional $150 million — an almost 60% increase — while Shapiro’s budget proposal included just $20 million more.