Pence announces he’s reached donor threshold to qualify for first Republican presidential debate
FIRST ON FOX: Former Vice President Mike Pence has met the requirements to qualify for the first Republican presidential nomination debate, his campaign tells Fox News.Pence’s 2024 presidential campaign said on Monday that earlier in the day they crossed the 40,000-donor threshold – one of two criteria set by the Republican National Committee for GOP White House hopefuls to reach the debate stage. Pence had already passed the polling threshold mandated by the RNC. The former vice president’s political team said they reached out to inform the RNC that Pence had qualified and spotlighted that they were the first campaign to submit their numbers for the national party committee’s verification process. Fox News is hosting the debate, which will be held August 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.THESE GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES HAVE QUALIFIED TO MAKE THE DEBATE STAGE AT THE FOX NEWS SHOWDOWN Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Republican Party Of Iowa’s annual Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, US, on Friday, July 28, 2023. (Rachel Mummey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)Pence becomes the eighth Republican presidential candidate to announce they’ve passed the thresholds to qualify for the debate. The other contenders who’ve already reached the criteria are former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and entrepreneur and best-selling author Vivek Ramaswamy.Trump has yet to say if he’ll attend the first debate.Pence’s campaign said they have 200 or more donors in 40 states, far higher than the 20-state threshold mandated by the RNC. They also highlighted that the former vice president – who launched his 2024 campaign in early June – reached the donor threshold in nine weeks, which was quicker than three of his rivals, Scott, Haley, and Ramaswamy.IN BATTLE VERSUS TRUMP, DESANTIS, REST OF THE GOP FIELD, PENCE CONFIDENT HE’LL HAVE THE RESOURCES TO COMPETE And Pence’s team emphasized that they met the donor threshold without any giveaways or gimmicks. Burgum, a wealthy former software executive who’s been mostly self-funding his campaign, made headlines by offering $20 gift cards in return for one-dollar donations. The former vice president’s team also noted that they brought in less than half of their donors through digital outreach and said that events with the candidate and direct mail continue to be strengths for their campaign.Pence has campaigned extensively in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina since launching his presidential bid. But his support in the latest Republican presidential primary polls stands in the single digits, far behind Trump, his former running mate, who remains the commanding front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run. WHO’S IN AND WHO’S ON THE SIDELINES — YOUR GUIDE TO THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACEBut Pence grabbed plenty of attention last week after the former president was indicted and arraigned in federal court on charges he attempted to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. Trump, over the weekend, turned up the volume on his attacks towards Pence after the former vice president sharpened his criticism of Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who temporarily disrupted congressional certification of President Biden’s Electoral College victory, which was overseen by Pence.”Mike Pence made quick and easy work of the donor threshold, and he’s looking forward to a substantive debate about the issues important to the American people. Hopefully, former President Trump has the courage to show up,” Pence campaign spokesman Devin O’Malley said in a statement.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPPence had been saying for the past couple of weeks that he would qualify for the debate in time. And last week, in a conference call with donors in which reporters were invited to attend, Pence campaign manager Steve DaMaura highlighted that the campaign had topped 30,000 unique donors and was averaging over 1,000 new, unique donors per day in recent days.
Trump’s attorneys argue for less restrictive rules over evidence in 2020 election case
Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys filed court documents on Monday arguing for less restrictions over evidence in the 2020 election case, saying this was a trial about First Amendment rights.In the court filing, Trump’s legal team said the government requested the Court restrict all documents produced by the government, regardless of sensitivity.Doing so, the team argued, goes against established law and the former president’s First Amendment rights.Instead, Trump’s team asked the court to narrow the proposed order to shield “genuinely sensitive materials from public view” only.TRUMP PLEADS ‘NOT GUILTY’ TO CHARGES STEMMING FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL’S JAN. 6 PROBE Former President Trump’s legal team is asking for narrower protective order in 2020 election case. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)The team claimed the approach is more consistent with other protective orders entered by the court concerning the events on Jan. 6, 2021, and balances the government’s claim to “protect highly sensitive categories of material” and “expedite the flow of discovery,” the document reads.TRUMP INDICTED ON CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO JAN 6″In a trial about First Amendment rights, the government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights,” the court filing read. “Worse, it does so against its administration’s primary political opponent, during an election season in which the administration, prominent party members, and media allies have campaigned on the indictment and proliferated its false allegations.” Former President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith. (Getty Images)Special Counsel Jack Smith responded promptly to Trump’s legal team’s request, saying, “the Government has proposed a standard, reasonable order that will streamline the flow of discovery to the defendant while preserving the integrity of these proceedings.”The defendant has proposed an unreasonable order to facilitate his plan to litigate this case in the media, to the detriment of litigating this case in the courtroom,” Smith continued. “Normal order should prevail. No oral argument is necessary. The Court should enter the Government’s proposed protective order.”Judge Tanya Chutkan responded Monday night by ordering a hearing on the DOJ’s Motion for Protective Order. She ordered Smith and Trump’s legal team to meet no later than 3 p.m. on Tuesday to determine two dates and times on or before Friday that work for both parties in order for the hearing to take place.The order also stated that the Court will not require Trump to appear.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump faces charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights, which stem from Smith’s investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol Riot on Jan. 6, 2021.The 2024 GOP front-runner has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Joe Biden letter to Devon Archer underscores his closeness to Hunter Biden's business activities
A letter from then-Vice President Joe Biden to Hunter Biden’s former friend and business partner, Devon Archer, underscores his closeness to his son’s business activities. In a widely discussed 2011 letter, which Fox News Digital has also obtained, Biden thanked Archer for attending an event where he hosted then-Chinese President Hu Jintao.”I apologize for not getting a chance to talk to you at the luncheon yesterday,” Biden wrote to Archer. “I was having trouble getting away from hosting President Hu. I hope I get a chance to see you again soon with Hunter. I hope you enjoyed the lunch. Thanks for coming.”Biden then included a handwritten note: “Happy you guys are together.”HUNTER BIDEN’S LONGTIME BUSINESS PARTNER VISITED OBAMA WH, VP RESIDENCE MORE THAN PREVIOUSLY KNOWN Fox News has obtained a 2011 letter from then-VP Biden to Devon Archer, thanking him for attending a luncheon at the State Department hosting then-Chinese President Hu Jintao. (Fox News)Hunter was also at the State Department luncheon that Archer attended, and Fox News Digital previously reported that Hunter used that event as a networking opportunity to help one of his firm’s clients secure an event at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said the letter’s content further demonstrates how Biden had knowledge of and “connections” with his son’s dealings.”Remember, two and a half years ago, we had a former business partner, [Tony] Bobulinski, say that the email from the laptop … said ‘10% for the big guy,'” Jordan told Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum last Thursday.”He says, ‘the big guy is Joe Biden.’ We have the piece of evidence you just talked about there – this note from 2011. We have the WhatsApp messages.”Biden and his White House aides have frequently maintained that the president has never discussed business dealings with his son, despite evidence suggesting otherwise.The House Ways and Means Committee released testimony in June from two IRS whistleblowers who said Justice Department, FBI and IRS officials interfered with the investigation into Hunter Biden and that prosecutorial decisions were “influenced by politics.”BIDEN’S NARRATIVE ON NEVER DISCUSSING BUSINESS DEALS WITH HUNTER CONTINUES TO CRUMBLE Joe Biden, Hunter Biden and Devon Archer (Fox News)One of the whistleblowers, IRS Criminal Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, said Hunter Biden invoked his father to pressure a Chinese business partner while discussing deals. Shapley oversaw the IRS probe into the president’s son and said the agency obtained a July 2017 WhatsApp message from Hunter to Harvest Fund Management CEO Henry Zhao in which Hunter alleged that he was with his father in order to pressure Zhao to satisfy a pledge.”I am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” Hunter wrote in the WhatsApp message to Zhao, according to the documents. “Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight.””And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction,” Hunter said.Top House Republicans have described the WhatsApp messages as a “shakedown” by the Biden family. Photos from Hunter Biden’s laptop show he was at the then-vice president’s home in Delaware at the same time as the messages, Fox News Digital reported previously reported.OBAMA-ERA EMAILS REVEAL HUNTER’S EXTENSIVE TIES TO NEARLY A DOZEN SENIOR-LEVEL BIDEN ADMIN AIDES Biden has maintained he has not discussed business dealings with his son. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)The whistleblower testimony came to light almost a year after reports surfaced on an alleged voicemail from President Biden to Hunter in which he purportedly discussed his son’s international business dealings.”Hey, pal, it’s Dad. It’s 8:15 on Wednesday night. If you have a chance, give me a call. Nothing urgent – I just wanted to talk with you,” Biden is heard saying in a voicemail from 2018. “I thought the article released online, it’s going to be printed tomorrow in the Times, was good. I think you’re clear.”The article Biden was referring to in the voicemail was published by the New York Times in December 2018 and documented a private meeting between the chairman of a now-defunct Chinese energy company, CEFC, and Hunter Biden at a Miami hotel in May 2017.Fox News Digital reported Monday that Hunter’s former friend and longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, visited the Obama White House and then-Vice President Biden’s residence at least 36 times during the Obama administration, including at least 15 receptions at Biden’s residence and a one-on-one meeting with Biden in 2010.And last week, Archer confirmed that then-Vice President Biden was at the infamous spring 2015 dinner with son Hunter’s foreign business associates, despite the Biden campaign repeatedly saying Biden was never there.Congressional investigators had asked Archer about the dinner mentioned in a 2020 New York Post report, which occurred at Washington, D.C.’s, upscale restaurant Cafe Milano in 2015. The story revolved around an April 2015 email from Burisma board adviser Vadym Pozharskyi, who had written to Hunter Biden the day after the dinner to thank him for inviting him to the nation’s capital and allowing him to meet his father and spend “some time together.” President Biden and Hunter Biden (Fox News)Hunter had served on Burisma’s board and reportedly collected more than $50,000 per month.According to the transcript, the investigators asked Archer who attended that spring 2015 dinner.”That dinner was – I think we went over it before, but it was Vadym, Hunter, Joe, myself, Karim Massimov, a Greek Orthodox priest, maybe someone from World Food Programme,” Archer said.CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP”And what did Joe do at that dinner? Did he have dinner? How long was he there?” the congressional investigator asked Archer.”He had dinner,” Archer responded. “And there was – on that one, I believe the first one was, like, a birthday dinner, and then the second was – I think we were supposed to talk about the World Food Programme. So, there was some talk about that.”The White House did not respond to multiple past Fox News Digital requests for comment on Biden and their repeated insistence that he did not discuss business deals with Hunter as the narrative has come into question.Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz, Cameron Cawthorne and Jessica Chasmar contributed reporting. Joe Schoffstall is a politics producer/reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Joe.Schoffstall@Fox.com and on Twitter: @joeschoffstall
Biden Energy Secretary Granholm pressed on talks with top CCP official before SPR releases
A group of nearly 30 House Republicans are pressing Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over her recently disclosed talks with a Chinese government official ahead of the Biden administration’s decision to tap emergency oil stocks.In a letter to Granholm sent Monday afternoon, 29 Republicans led by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers expressed concern that the energy secretary privately consulted China National Energy Administration Chairman Zhang Jianhua, a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party, before the White House announced its first Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) release.According to internal Department of Energy (DOE) calendars obtained by Americans for Public Trust and shared last week with Fox News Digital, Granholm held private calls with Jianhua on Nov. 19, 2021, and two days later on Nov. 21, 2021. On Nov. 23, 2021, the White House announced a release of 50 million barrels of oil from the SPR.”We are troubled by recent reports that you, in your official capacity as Secretary of Energy, had multiple conversations with the Chinese Communist Party’s top energy official just days before the Biden administration announced it would release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2021,” McMorris Rodgers and the other Republicans wrote.BIDEN ENERGY SECRETARY TORCHED AFTER FOX NEWS DIGITAL REVEALS SECRET TALKS WITH TOP CCP OFFICIAL House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers led the effort in pressing Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Monday. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images)”This is concerning given the Department of Energy’s mismanagement of the SPR, which has left our country more vulnerable to energy supply disruptions and strengthened the leverage of our adversaries to use energy as a geopolitical weapon,” the Republicans continued.Republicans have repeatedly raised the alarm on the Biden administration’s SPR policy, noting that it has drained the critical emergency stock of crude oil while potentially giving an advantage to adversaries who have built up their reserves in the meantime.MORE THAN 150 REPUBLICANS UNITE TO CONDEMN BIDEN’S ‘ILL-CONSIDERED’ ELECTRIC VEHICLE PUSHSince November 2021, Biden has ordered the DOE to release a total of about 260 million barrels of oil stored in the SPR to combat high fuel prices hitting American consumers.The SPR’s level has fallen to about 347.8 million barrels of oil, the lowest level since August 1983, according to Energy Information Administration data released Monday. The current level is roughly 42% lower than its level recorded days prior to the November 2021 release.The DOE told Fox News Digital that Granholm only held one conversation with Jianhua, a 30-minute call one day before the White House announcement. The calendars reviewed by Fox News Digital do not indicate the Nov. 19, 2021, meeting was canceled. Granholm spoke with China National Energy Administration Chairman Zhang Jianhua shortly before the White House announced a large release of oil from U.S. stocks. (Getty Images)”When global supply fell short and prices soared, the Biden administration took decisive action. Secretary Granholm and other Administration leaders organized countries like China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the UK to follow America’s lead on oil releases, bridging the gap and giving American producers time to meet energy demands,” a DOE spokesperson said in a statement.”The goal was to bring relief to families and we delivered — oil prices dropped nearly 10 percent,” the spokesperson continued.Gasoline prices skyrocketed after the administration’s SPR releases, hitting an all-time high in June 2022. According to AAA data, gas prices hit $3.83 a gallon Monday, nearly 13% higher than they were a day before Biden announced the first release.BIDEN ADMIN PULLS GRANT FOR ENERGY FIRM WITH CHINESE TIES IN STUNNING REVERSALIn addition, the Biden administration has sold at least 2 million barrels of oil from the SPR to Unipec, an affiliate of the state-controlled China Petrochemical Corp. Jianhua, who met with Granholm in 2021, served in a leadership role for years at the China Petrochemical Corp., Reuters previously reported.The first such sale was part of an SPR sale of 20 million barrels awarded to eight companies in September 2021. The other two — both sales for 950,000 barrels of oil — came in April 2022 and July 2022. “As a result of this administration’s war on American energy and political abuse of the SPR, Americans have become more vulnerable to true energy and national security emergencies while China has profited,” the Republicans wrote to Granholm. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)”China now likely controls one of the world’s largest stockpiles of oil, at the expense of American taxpayers and our energy security,” the Republicans continued in their letter to Granholm on Monday. “The Biden administration has helped support China’s national security at the expense of our own security by using our strategic energy supplies to help the Chinese build up their own strategic reserves.””China poses one of the greatest economic, security, and geopolitical threats to the United States, while continuing to be one the world’s worst polluters,” they added. “As a result of this administration’s war on American energy and political abuse of the SPR, Americans have become more vulnerable to true energy and national security emergencies while China has profited.”CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPAs part of its announcement in November 2021, the White House said it was releasing oil from U.S. reserves in conjunction with “other major energy consuming nations including China.”President Biden, though, said in remarks after the announcement that China “may do more as well,” and Granholm told reporters during a separate press briefing that China “will make its own announcement.”
NC House Speaker says 'zero' chance final budget becomes law before September
A final North Carolina state budget won’t be enacted until September, the House’s top leader said Monday. That could scuttle efforts by Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration for Medicaid expansion to begin in early fall.House and Senate Republicans are whittling down dozens of outstanding spending and policy issues within a two-year spending plan that was supposed to take effect July 1.While some big-ticket items like tax cuts and worker raises have been settled, other details remain unresolved. Add travel and vacations by rank-and-file lawmakers and the narrow GOP veto-proof majorities in the General Assembly, and House Speaker Tim Moore said the periods during which formal business can be conducted in Raleigh are limited.DEMOCRATIC NC GOV. ROY COOPER REMAINS SKEPTICAL OF REPUBLICANS’ PROPOSED TAX DEALSen. Ralph Hise, a Mitchell County Republican and one of the chief budget negotiators, told reporters that votes on a budget agreement could happen in two weeks if differences can be worked out in a reasonable time. Any final budget could be vetoed by the Democratic governor, with override votes to follow.When asked later Monday to describe the chances that a final budget could be carried out by the end of August, Moore replied: “Zero.””Just with some absences I know that the Senate has on their side, and with just some of the logistics that have been talked about … you’re talking about a September date for actual passage — signing (the bill) into law and all that,” Moore said.A separate law that Cooper signed in March would expand Medicaid to potentially 600,000 low-income adults, but it can’t happen until a state budget law is enacted. Republican state House Speaker Tim Moore speaks to reporters at the Legislative Building in Raleigh, North Carolina, Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson)Cooper health Secretary Kody Kinsley unveiled a plan last month by which the expanded coverage could begin Oct. 1 as long as his agency received a formal go-ahead by legislators to accept expansion by Sept. 1. Otherwise, Kinsley said, implementation would be delayed until at least Dec. 1.Legislative leaders have refused to permit the implementation of expansion without the budget’s passage, as Cooper has sought. But Moore suggested that Sept. 1 wasn’t a hard deadline.Legislative leaders have provided few details on neither the agreed-upon pay raises for state employees and teachers nor the extent of additional individual income tax rate reductions. Moore said any pay raises would be made retroactive to July 1.State government has benefitted in recent years from revenue overcollections, giving lawmakers the ability to spend more, borrow less and reduce tax rates.NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS CLOSING IN ON STATE BUDGET THAT WILL LOWER INCOME TAX RATESThe Office of State Budget & Management said Monday that government coffers collected $33.5 billion in revenues for the fiscal year ending June 30, or slightly over $3 billion above what had been anticipated to carry out last year’s state budget law. The total was $89 million less than was projected to be collected in a May consensus forecast by the state budget office and General Assembly staff.Cooper and State Budget Director Kristin Walker have warned that deeper individual income tax cuts considered by GOP legislators could lead to shortfalls that could affect the state’s ability to adequately fund education.Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger have said this year’s tax agreement contains language allowing deeper rate reductions only if the state reaches certain revenue thresholds. Berger and Moore planned more budget talks early this week, Moore said.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPMoore said he still anticipated that legislators in his chamber would return to Raleigh next week to cast override votes on several vetoes that Cooper issued last month. Other non-budget business also could occur, he said.
NYC Mayor Adams announces new taxpayer-funded migrant tent city
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, announced that a new taxpayer-funded tent city for illegal migrants will be going up in the Big Apple.Adams announced Monday that Randall’s Island in New York City will be the new spot for the more than 57,000 illegal migrants living in the city that never sleeps.”As the number of asylum seekers in our care continues to grow by hundreds every day, stretching our system to its breaking point and beyond, it has become more and more of a Herculean effort to find enough beds every night,” Adams said in a press release on Monday.FORMER NY DEM GOVERNOR WARNS NYC MIGRANT CRISIS AT ‘TIPPING POINT’: ‘SLEEP ON THE STREETS’ New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that a new taxpayer-funded tent city for illegal migrants will be going up in the Big Apple. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)”We’re grateful to Governor Hochul and New York state for their partnership in opening this new humanitarian relief center and covering the costs, and we need more of the same from all levels of government,” Adams continued.”We will continue to work with the governor and elected officials across the state to address this crisis as New York City continues to do more than any other level of government,” the mayor said.Former New York Gov. David Paterson said the migrant crisis in New York City was reaching its “tipping point” in a recent radio interview.”I think it’s at a tipping point,” Paterson, a Democrat, said during a radio interview with business mogul John Catsimatidis on Sunday. Migrants camp out in front of the Watson Hotel after being evicted, Feb. 1, 2023, in New York City. (Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress)”Look what happened at the hotels where the hotels were filled up,” he said. “They were trying to get the excess migrants, mostly males, who couldn’t get into the hotels, and they chose to sleep on the streets instead of going to another facility,” the former governor said.New York City lawmakers have pleaded for help as migrants have started sleeping on the sidewalks in Midtown Manhattan. Councilwoman Vickie Paladino warned that the surge of illegal migrants is affecting New Yorkers’ quality of life and that the situation is “absolutely out of control.”CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPNew York City has more than 50,000 migrants in its shelter system in what has become one of the most publicized migrant crises on the East Coast. Adams recently said that the sanctuary city has “run out of room” for new migrants and even called for a “state of emergency” in the city to battle the crisis.New York lawmakers announced in June that the city would receive $104.6 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for its Shelter and Services Program.Fox News Digital’s Jeffery Clark contributed reporting.
Biden administration lied to Gold Star family about Marine's death in Afghanistan, mom says
A Gold Star mom sobbed before members of Congress on Monday as she accused the Biden administration of lying to her about the circumstances of her Marine son’s death in Afghanistan in August 2021. Kelly Barnett’s son, Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, was one of 13 U.S. service members killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul during the military’s chaotic withdrawal two summers ago. Barnett was the first of several relatives to speak at a Congressional forum held by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif Monday morning. The event marked the first time the relatives of all 13 fallen troops spoke in a public setting together.”I’m going to be brave and in [sic] tell you about my kid. He’s an amazing kid. And I want you to know that I am not a victim. We’re not victims. We’re parents to some mighty heroes. I want you to know that,” Barnett said. OUT OF AFRICA: VET GROUPS COME TO RESCUE OF AFGHANS ON TALIBAN KILL LIST Gold Star mom Kelly Barnett accused the Biden administration of lying about the circumstances of the death of her son, Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover (POOL | Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)She said her son’s concern about the controversial withdrawal “began the moment that he landed” there for his final deployment, noting that he witnessed “chaos, no communication, lack of leadership.”Barnett’s voice, full of emotion, broke when she said her son was told to “clean up the airport” because “we can’t leave it dirty for the Taliban.”FIRST HOUSE HEARING ON BIDEN ADMIN’S AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL TO DISSECT ‘STUNNING FAILURE’ OF LEADERSHIP”What kind of disrespect? What kind of hatred for our military? What kind of mess? Confusion. Deceit. Lost. Angry. Sad. Heartbroken and disgusted. These are the feelings that the service members felt. And are still feeling. These are the feelings I’m feeling,” she cried. A picture of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover sits on the steps of the Utah Sate Capitol as family members arrive for a memorial service on August 29, 2021, in Salt Lake City, Utah.