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Initial vote on whether to remove McCarthy as speaker set for Tuesday
The initial vote to vacate Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker will come Tuesday after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., first introduced the motion Monday night, Fox News Digital has learned.
Gaetz, a frequent McCarthy critic, introduced a motion to vacate on Monday. Tuesday's vote will determine whether it advances to a committee vote.
The last time the House faced such a vote was in 1910 with Speaker Joe Cannon, R-Ill.
MATT GAETZ INTRODUCES MOTION TO VACATE AGAINST HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY
Staff delivers at least 6 'yuge' bags of McDonald's to Trump trial in Manhattan
Someone at former President Trump's $250 million civil fraud trial is definitely "lovin' it."
A "yuge" order of McDonald's was carried into the Manhattan court on Monday as trial proceedings took a break for lunch. Staff in suits were pictured hauling at least six brown paper bags into the Centre Street complex — where Trump is on trial for allegedly inflating the value of his businesses by $2.2 billion.
It is not clear who placed the order, but the former president has a well-documented love for the Golden Arches. When Trump occupied the White House, he was known to splurge on big orders and treat guests and staff to his favorite meal — a Big Mac, Filet-O-Fish, fries and milkshake.
In 2019, Trump served McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King to the NCAA national champion Clemson Tigers football team at the White House.
TRUMP CIVIL TRIAL CONTINUES FOR A SECOND DAY IN NEW YORK CITY
The former president has previously admitted to feeling better about eating fast food from McDonald’s and Wendy’s due to hygiene and food-prep concerns, as well as taste.
"I’m a very clean person. I like cleanliness, and I think you’re better off going there than maybe someplace that you have no idea where the food’s coming from. It’s a certain standard," he said in a 2016 interview. "I think the food’s good," he added.
Trump may want some comfort food as he defends his business empire against allegations of fraud made by New York Attorney General Letitia James in a lawsuit.
The former president, who polls show currently leads the 2024 Republican presidential primary field by a massive margin, arrived in court in Lower Manhattan Monday morning for a non-jury trial, presided over by Judge Arthur Engoron, after a New York State Appeals Court rejected Trump's request to delay the civil trial.
TRUMP TO ATTEND SECOND DAY OF CIVIL FRAUD TRAIL IN NEW YORK: LIVE UPDATES
Engoron last week ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization committed fraud while building his real estate empire by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.
Engoron’s ruling comes after James sued Trump, his children and the Trump Organization, alleging that Trump "inflated his net worth by billions of dollars" and said his children helped him to do so.
Before entering the courtroom, Trump spoke to reporters, blasting the "disgrace" of a civil trial stemming from "corrupt" James’ lawsuit against him, and presided over by "corrupt" Judge Engoron.
Trump attorney Christopher Kise, in his opening statement Monday, said Trump’s financial statements contained no false entries, and argued that prosecutors were relying on the word of a "known liar"—former Trump attorney Michael Cohen—to establish wrongdoing.
Prosecutors claimed that Trump and his associates knowingly submitted false financial statements—basing their theory on Cohen’s sworn testimony. The prosecution played a clip of Cohen stating that Trump would regularly task him and other lawyers with inflating his net worth, even if only to raise his placement on the Forbes wealth list. The video showed Cohen testifying that he witnessed this behavior on a regular basis from 2011 to 2015.
Trump's defense lawyers argued that James only began investigating Trump after she was elected attorney general in 2019 because of a campaign promise to "get Trump." Trump attorney Alina Habba said the Trump Organization's assets were actually "undervalued" and contested Engoron's valuation of Mar-A-Lago at $18 million, saying it would sell for "at least" $1 billion.
Trump will return to court Tuesday, when prosecutors are expected to take testimony from their first witness, Donald Bender of accounting firm Mazars USA LLP, to its overall case.
Bender's testimony focused on financial records dating back to 2011, which fell outside the statute of limitations. James has promised the prosecution would tie his testimony to something within the statute of limitations at trial today.
Vote to oust McCarthy as speaker could happen as early as Tuesday
A vote to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker could be voted on as early as Tuesday after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a motion to vacate.
House Republicans are expected to have a closed door meeting at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday for the first time since Gaetz introduced his motion on Monday.
The vote will be taken up no later than Wednesday. The last time the House faced such a vote was in 1910 with Speaker Joe Cannon, R-Ill.
Gaetz, a frequent McCarthy critic, introduced the motion Monday evening on the House floor.
MATT GAETZ INTRODUCES MOTION TO VACATE AGAINST HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY
"Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2A1 of Rule 9, I rise to give notice of my intent to raise a question of the privileges of House," Gaetz said. "Declaring the office speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant. Resolved that the office of speaker of the House Representatives is hereby declared to be vacant."
There are a number of members undecided on how they would vote on the motion to vacate, but McCarthy will have to solicit help from the Democratic caucus to hold onto his reins.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told Fox News following Gaetz's move that he believes a motion to vacate at this time is "a bad idea." Additionally, Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., told Fox previously he was undecided.
HOUSE REPUBLICANS LOOK TO EXPEL FLORIDA REP. MATT GAETZ
McCarthy reacted to the motion with a post on X. "Bring it on," he said, to which Gaetz responded: "Just did."
At a press gaggle follow the introduction of his motion, Gaetz said he had enough Republican votes – at least five – to either oust McCarthy, or force him to appease Democrats for their support.
If Gaetz's motion succeeds, all proceedings on the House floor will freeze and the House will then be required to conduct successive roll call votes until a new speaker is elected.
McCarthy's bid for speaker extended over five days and spanned 15 rounds in January, making it the lengthiest speaker's election since 1859.
The first vote will likely center on an attempt to table or dismiss Gaetz's move. Should the House vote against it, Gaetz's initiative will be thwarted. However, if the House fails to set aside Gaetz's motion, this will likely trigger a new vote for speaker.
HOUSE GOP MEMBERS SEEK TO EXPEL GAETZ AMID RENEWED THREAT TO VACATE HOUSE SPEAKER MCCARTHY
On Sunday, Gaetz told CNN "State of the Union" host Jake Tapper that "we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy."
"Look, the one thing everybody has in common is that nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy. He lied to Biden. He lied to House conservatives," Gaetz said. "Kevin McCarthy's goal was to make multiple contradictory promises to delay everything back up against shutdown politics and at the end of the day, blow past the spending guardrails he had agreed."
Meanwhile, some House Republicans are now trying to oust Gaetz if the ethics committee finds him guilty, which would take a two-thirds vote to expel.
The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Gaetz since 2021 on allegations, including campaign finance violations as well as claims of taking bribes and using drugs – accusations the congressman has vehemently denied. Gaetz also denies allegations leaked from a Justice Department sex trafficking probe said to have involved an underage girl.
Fox News' Daniel Wallace and Howard Kurtz contributed to this report.
New York Gov. Hochul announces 18,000 jobs for asylum seekers as city's migrant influx exceeds 125,000 people
Democrat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced 18,000 new jobs for eligible asylum seekers and migrants as New York City faces an influx of more than 125,000 people.
Hochul said the state’s Department of Labor has identified more than 18,000 private sector job openings at 379 companies across the state who have identified roles that could be filled by individuals with legal work status since first beginning assessment and outreach on Aug. 24.
About 24% of the job openings are in accommodation and food services with 90 businesses, according to the governor office’s breakdown. Another 21% of the openings are in healthcare and social assistance with 79 businesses. Manufacturing accounts for 10% of the openings with 38 businesses, and administrative support accounts for 8% with 29 businesses.
"We have to manage the fact that there's 125,000 people right now, up until tomorrow, have not been eligible to work, and have relied on public support for housing," Hochul said at a press conference. "That is not a sustainable dynamic. It is just not sustainable in the long term. But we've dealt with it. So, I'm going to call on businesses to sign up even more."
NEW YORK GOV HOCHUL WANTS TO ‘LIMIT’ WHO CROSSES BORDER, SAYS IT’S ‘TOO OPEN RIGHT NOW’
"I am hopeful and continue to press Washington and Congress to open up those work authorizations to more people because again, the Venezuelans is a good start, but it's not going to take care of the people who come in from Mauritania, and Congo, and other parts of South America, Central America, West Africa," she said. "We have people from Iraq and Afghanistan coming, people from Russia are coming, because everyone's finding their ways to that southern border. And that's where we need to have more thoughtful controls at that as well."
Seemingly coordinating with Mayor Eric Adams’ controversial decompression strategy to lessen the burden on New York City, the identified job openings are also spread across the Capital Region, central region, Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Mohawk Valley, North Country, Southern Tier, Western Region.
New York City has the most job openings for eligible asylum seekers with 9,801 positions.
THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS GATHER UNDER TEXAS BRIDGE AS BORDER NUMBERS SKYROCKET
The state identified 2,896 openings in Hudson Valley and 1,294 openings on Long Island, despite local officials in both areas either openly opposing or fighting in court against Adams’ efforts to relocate mostly male migrants to motels for extended months-long stays.
At the press conference, Hochul praised the Biden administration for granting temporary protective status and expediting worth authorization for Venezuelans on Sept. 20. New York City estimates that will allow more than 15,000 Venezuelan individuals to attain legal work status within 30 days.
"It means that 40% of the people who came here through jungles and mountains and rivers and incredible adversity, they found their way to New York. Forty percent from the country of Venezuela because of the Biden administration's actions are now eligible to have work authorizations and TPS, Temporary Protective Status, in 30 days," Hochul said on Monday. "And those who came before July 31st are actually eligible for this. So, this is the best news we could have had in this short time frame as we've been trying to find solutions to this problem."
According to the governor’s calculation, roughly 60% of the migrants who have arrived in New York City are from somewhere other than Venezuela. Hochul has activated 250 National Guard personnel assigned to full-time case management services for asylum seekers, part of a deployment of more than 2,100 National Guard personnel to address the ongoing migrant crisis.
Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig to launch Senate campaign in Michigan: 'I'm angry about so much'
FIRST ON FOX: Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig will launch his campaign for the U.S. Senate in Michigan on Tuesday.
Craig, whose impressive law enforcement career in a handful of states spans more than 40 years, is seeking to replace retiring Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow in the Senate. He confirmed the news in an interview with Fox News Digital.
"A lot of people over the last year approached me and encouraged me and said, 'Look that's something you should really consider.' And I recognize that U.S. Senate is a big job – even though you're representing Michigan, you're also representing the country," said Craig, who's running as a Republican.
"Everything that I see going on today … it's frustrating. I'm angry about so much when it comes to open borders and seeing the level of fentanyl poisoning. I don't call it overdose. I call it poisoning because it's by design and these Mexican cartels are allowing this poison or bringing this poison into America," he said.
LONG-SHOT GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE PERRY JOHNSON CONSIDERING SENATE BID IN BATTLEGROUND MICHIGAN
Craig, who has also served as the chief of police in Portland and Cincinnati, said the Biden administration's response to the border crisis, in his view, has been "lackluster" thus far.
"I just felt like this administration [is] doing nothing. I mean, the former president at least made a great effort at building a wall," he said.
Craig, like so many other candidates, raised concern over the economy, saying it's a "mess."
"We were energy independent under the former president. And now, in places like California, gas is like $7 a gallon and going up," he said. "Interest rates are high. The American dream is just that – it's a real dream now. For most young people hoping to purchase their first home, that's an impossibility. When you talk about interest rates sitting at seven and eight percent ... how does that happen?"
Craig also spoke about ways he'd like to help struggling public schools on a federal level and insisted the funding being provided by the United States to Ukraine amid its war with Russia should cease.
"When I say this, I want to make sure I'm clear. I think Putin is a war criminal. I think the invasion of Ukraine was wrong, but I think this has been an endless effort," he said. "This administration has not put a plan forth to the American public. So clearly, they want to get money, over money, over money. And frankly, I say, stop it. I'm an American first. I believe we take care of our own country. I mean, as much money as we're spending in Ukraine to protect its borders ... what are we doing to protect our own borders? What are we doing to help some of our decaying major cities?"
"Not only are we funding the war effort in Ukraine, I now hear that we're even trying to fund the rebuilding of Ukraine," he added. "I look at my own city and while I think Detroit has done a tremendous turnaround, there's still work that needs to be done. Another city I think about is Baltimore. Baltimore needs to be rebuilt. But we're focused on Ukraine, so I have a problem with that."
Craig also took jabs at those who have already entered the race, including former Michigan GOP Rep. Mike Rogers and Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., over their endless support for Ukraine.
"I know Mike Rogers, who's the other GOP candidate; he's certainly a strong advocate of sending money to Ukraine," he said. "And certainly the Democrat who's running for U.S. Senate – she's been one of the chief architects of sending over $130 billion as a congresswoman. But what about going back to improving education in Detroit?"
Craig also spoke out against President Biden's electric vehicle "mandate," saying it's "flawed" and "makes no sense."
"I'm not saying we don't build electric vehicles, [but do so] in addition to continuing to build vehicles with internal combustion engines," Craig said. "I know Biden thinks he's a car guru – he's not. The reality is, you know, when he comes to Detroit and makes his 85-second speech about supporting those union workers, he fails to mention that his EV mandate is going to cost a significant number of jobs – American manufacturing, auto manufacturing jobs."
As for ways to curb crime, Craig spoke at length about how his roles at various departments over the last four decades have prepared him for a position in the Senate to work across the aisle.
"One thing I have that's unique, let's face it, is every city I've worked in, every city, were all Democrat-run cities," he said. "I wasn't always a Republican. I mean, my transition didn't happen overnight. But while I was in Detroit, I was a Republican. When you become a police chief, nobody asks you what your party affiliation is. It doesn't matter because you're apolitical. We serve all people, you work with all people."
"Certainly as the police chief, the leader of the police department, I worked with Democrats and Republicans. I didn't agree with everything, and I was very verbal on the things that I thought we could or couldn't do, but it wasn't partisan-based. I got along very well. The mayor, a Democrat who I thought was a great mayor, we worked well together. Again, he and I didn't always agree on everything, but he believed in law and order."
Craig said he's jumping into the race because he believes Michiganders are looking for "real leadership."
"I just think Michigan is ready for real leadership, not people that are going to cater to the status quo and the lobbyists. I'm talking about both Republicans and Democrats. I'm not saying all – there's some that do a wonderful job," he added. "But I know there's some … who just do not want to see me in this race."
Craig formerly sought the GOP nomination for governor of Michigan, but fraudulent signatures on his paperwork derailed his campaign. He was considered a favorite to win the GOP nomination in last year’s gubernatorial election before he and four other candidates were kept off the ballot after fraudulent signatures were found on their nominating petitions.
Three people have been charged with forgery and other crimes related to the phony petition signatures, but no candidate was personally accused of knowingly submitting fraudulent petitions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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