8 stories credited to Timesng
Latest story Apr 16, 2026 · on ChamberLight since Apr 2026
A story can appear as several articles (copies of the same piece), so counts of stories and of articles differ.
Scores for Timesng
Writing quality not enough rated stories yet: 4 of 10. How it is measured
Scores last checked Sep 25, 2026.
Stories ChamberLight collected, by month
Stories credited to Timesng, by publication date. ChamberLight collects articles that mention the officials it tracks, so this shows its own coverage of this source, not how much the source publishes.
- Stories from Timesng
- Shaded: ChamberLight collected no stories, or almost none, from any outlet (a gap in its collection, not in the outlet’s publishing)
Show as a table
| Month | Stories | All outlets |
|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | 8 | 3,361 |
| May 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| June 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| July 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 (collection gap) |
| September 2026 | 0 | 1,320 |
Top topics
Share of this source’s stories tagged with each topic. A story can carry several topics, so the shares do not add up to 100%.
- Ethics/Corruption6
75% of 8 stories · 58% across all outlets
- Budget/Spending4
50% of 8 stories · 31% across all outlets
- Defense/Military4
50% of 8 stories · 25% across all outlets
- Foreign Policy3
38% of 8 stories · 29% across all outlets
- Criminal Justice2
25% of 8 stories · 19% across all outlets
- Economy1
13% of 8 stories · 26% across all outlets
- Immigration1
13% of 8 stories · 13% across all outlets
- Infrastructure1
13% of 8 stories · 8% across all outlets
The thin mark on each bar is the topic’s share across all outlets.
Who they cover
Party of the officials these stories are mainly about, across all 23 officials named. A story counts once for each official it is mainly about, so the split is over 24 story–official pairs, from 8 stories.
- Republican54% · 13 pairs
- Democrat38% · 9 pairs
- Party not recorded8% · 2 pairs
Most covered
Stories mainly about each official, and their share of the source’s 8 stories.
- 1Pramila JayapalD2 stories · 25%
- 2Becca BalintD1 story · 13%
- 3Byron DonaldsR1 story · 13%
- 4Cory BookerD1 story · 13%
- 5Cory MillsR1 story · 13%
- 6Donald TrumpR1 story · 13%
- 7Eric BurlisonR1 story · 13%
- 8Eric SchmittR1 story · 13%
- 9Eric SwalwellD1 story · 13%
- 10Ilhan OmarD1 story · 13%
+ 13 other officials (13 story–official pairs)
Article tone
ChamberLight’s article analysis assigns each story a tone toward the official it covers. It describes the coverage of that official, not Timesng’s stance, and reader votes do not change it. 8 stories.
- Good Look
- 2 (25%)
- Mixed
- 5 (63%)
- Informational
- 0 (0%)
- Bad Look
- 1 (13%)
Challenges to these scores
No one has challenged a score on this page yet. Anyone can; editors publish every outcome here.
Articles served from timesng.com
24
Vought Faces Fury Over Iran War Costs and Budget Cuts
White House budget chief Russell Vought faced intense scrutiny during a House Budget Committee hearing on Wednesday, refusing to provide lawmakers with any estimate of the total cost of President Donald Trump‘s war with Iran. The President Trump-appointee admitted there was no way to officially tally the cost of the conflict as it continues to escalate, telling the committee, “I don’t have a ballpark for you.” Vought appeared before the committee to testify about Trump’s request for a record increase in military spending as part of next year’s budget. The White House is calling for defense spending to reach nearly $1.5 trillion, a roughly 42% increase from last year. “We’re not ready to come to you with a request; we’re still working on it,” Vought said of a potential funding request to support the ongoing Iran war. “We’re working through to figure out what’s needed in this fiscal year versus next fiscal year.” The proposed budget increase comes alongside significant cuts to domestic programs. In addition to his proposed gutting of various low-income assistance programs to the tune of $73 billion, Vought’s Office of Management and Budget has requested an additional $400 billion for defense spending. The $4 billion energy assistance program some six million low-income households across the country depend on to pay for home heating and cooling is once again on the chopping block. That’s because President Trump effectively drew a line through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in his administration’s budget for the 2027 fiscal year. Representative Becca Balint took most of her allotted time to slam the president’s war, calling the proposed defense spending increase shocking. “We have never in the history of this country seen spending like this paid for by slashing healthcare, education, and housing,” she added. Balint pressed Vought directly: “Mr. Vought, yes or no, is $350 billion for the war in Iran lowering costs for Americans?” Vought commented that the administration was not defunding childcare and that it was fully funded. The tension wasn’t limited to war costs. In a heated exchange, Representative Pramila Jayapal delivered a fiery rebuke, taking aim at Russell Vought over the gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Jayapal accused Vought and the Trump administration of dismantling key protections meant to shield Americans from predatory practices by big banks and corporations. Calling the move ‘shameful,’ she warned that millions of consumers are now more vulnerable to financial exploitation. Meanwhile, Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman suggested that if lawmakers really wanted to eliminate abuse and fraud, they would remove “the President of the United States” from office right now along with the “sycophants” in his administration she accused of enabling illegal acts. The hearing grew increasingly contentious as Democrats challenged the administration’s priorities. Vought attempted to explain that Trump was a person “who has campaigned and led for peace and against endless wars.” The comment earned him a snarky remark from Balint, who asked if the president’s policy had shifted from peace through strength to peace through war. “So is it peace through war? Is that where we are right now, peace through war?” Balint rebuked. “The president has also been equally clear that he is not going to allow a nuclear Iran,” responded Vought. “He is not going to allow them to have nuclear weapons.” The budget director’s testimony highlighted the sharp divide that will shape significant policy debates going into a midterm election. Representative Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democratic member of the committee, said he believes in a strong national defense. But he said the idea of increasing defense by more than 40% while cutting programs that people need shows that the Republican administration’s priorities are “out of whack.” For its part, LIHEAP not only helps low-income households pay their heating and cooling bills, but it provides emergency assistance to those households at risk of utility shutoffs. Steve Luxton, CEO of the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA), told reporters that the program “has been figuratively and literally counted on by low-income folks to help them with their arrearage.” Household utility debt in the U.S. skyrocketed to $23 billion last year. Michelle Johnson, a 58-year-old Delaware resident and mother of two, learned she was eligible for LIHEAP in July 2024. “When they told me I was eligible, I wanted to kiss the ground,” she said. In the span of a year and a half prior to meeting with ECA, Johnson underwent six surgeries, bringing her many years of working in the nonprofit sector to an end. “I was raising my boys at the time, and they needed me,” she said. “I always worked, and I always struggled … my back was against the wall.” One of the Trump administration’s purported justifications for gutting LIHEAP is that the program is “unnecessary” because state-level policies are already in place to prevent utility shutoffs for low-income households. In reality, this claim neglects the fact that some ratepayers, predominantly those living in rural areas, rely on nonregulated energy providers to heat their homes during the winter months. LIHEAP cash grants help low-income households that use on-site fuels to cover the cost of refilling their oil or propane tanks. “Cash grants from LIHEAP are extremely important to ensure that they get fuel and just get them through the critical months,” Luxton said. “That’s where LIHEAP becomes absolutely critical.” He continued: “People could literally freeze to death, and in fact, we had several instances of folks who had an inoperable heater this past winter where all their pipes, because they went two weeks without heat … froze, and that is a cost-prohibitive repair.” As the hearing concluded, Vought will be back on Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify before the Senate. The debate over these budget priorities shows no signs of cooling down, much like the homes that depend on programs now facing elimination. The post Vought Faces Fury Over Iran War Costs and Budget Cuts appeared first on Timesng.
Vought Faces Fury Over Iran War Costs and Budget Cuts
White House budget chief Russell Vought faced intense scrutiny during a House Budget Committee hearing on Wednesday, refusing to provide lawmakers with any estimate of the total cost of President Donald Trump‘s war with Iran. The President Trump-appointee admitted there was no way to officially tally the cost of the conflict as it continues to escalate, telling the committee, “I don’t have a ballpark for you.” Vought appeared before the committee to testify about Trump’s request for a record increase in military spending as part of next year’s budget. The White House is calling for defense spending to reach nearly $1.5 trillion, a roughly 42% increase from last year. “We’re not ready to come to you with a request; we’re still working on it,” Vought said of a potential funding request to support the ongoing Iran war. “We’re working through to figure out what’s needed in this fiscal year versus next fiscal year.” The proposed budget increase comes alongside significant cuts to domestic programs. In addition to his proposed gutting of various low-income assistance programs to the tune of $73 billion, Vought’s Office of Management and Budget has requested an additional $400 billion for defense spending. The $4 billion energy assistance program some six million low-income households across the country depend on to pay for home heating and cooling is once again on the chopping block. That’s because President Trump effectively drew a line through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in his administration’s budget for the 2027 fiscal year. Representative Becca Balint took most of her allotted time to slam the president’s war, calling the proposed defense spending increase shocking. “We have never in the history of this country seen spending like this paid for by slashing healthcare, education, and housing,” she added. Balint pressed Vought directly: “Mr. Vought, yes or no, is $350 billion for the war in Iran lowering costs for Americans?” Vought commented that the administration was not defunding childcare and that it was fully funded. The tension wasn’t limited to war costs. In a heated exchange, Representative Pramila Jayapal delivered a fiery rebuke, taking aim at Russell Vought over the gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Jayapal accused Vought and the Trump administration of dismantling key protections meant to shield Americans from predatory practices by big banks and corporations. Calling the move ‘shameful,’ she warned that millions of consumers are now more vulnerable to financial exploitation. Meanwhile, Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman suggested that if lawmakers really wanted to eliminate abuse and fraud, they would remove “the President of the United States” from office right now along with the “sycophants” in his administration she accused of enabling illegal acts. The hearing grew increasingly contentious as Democrats challenged the administration’s priorities. Vought attempted to explain that Trump was a person “who has campaigned and led for peace and against endless wars.” The comment earned him a snarky remark from Balint, who asked if the president’s policy had shifted from peace through strength to peace through war. “So is it peace through war? Is that where we are right now, peace through war?” Balint rebuked. “The president has also been equally clear that he is not going to allow a nuclear Iran,” responded Vought. “He is not going to allow them to have nuclear weapons.” The budget director’s testimony highlighted the sharp divide that will shape significant policy debates going into a midterm election. Representative Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democratic member of the committee, said he believes in a strong national defense. But he said the idea of increasing defense by more than 40% while cutting programs that people need shows that the Republican administration’s priorities are “out of whack.” For its part, LIHEAP not only helps low-income households pay their heating and cooling bills, but it provides emergency assistance to those households at risk of utility shutoffs. Steve Luxton, CEO of the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA), told reporters that the program “has been figuratively and literally counted on by low-income folks to help them with their arrearage.” Household utility debt in the U.S. skyrocketed to $23 billion last year. Michelle Johnson, a 58-year-old Delaware resident and mother of two, learned she was eligible for LIHEAP in July 2024. “When they told me I was eligible, I wanted to kiss the ground,” she said. In the span of a year and a half prior to meeting with ECA, Johnson underwent six surgeries, bringing her many years of working in the nonprofit sector to an end. “I was raising my boys at the time, and they needed me,” she said. “I always worked, and I always struggled … my back was against the wall.” One of the Trump administration’s purported justifications for gutting LIHEAP is that the program is “unnecessary” because state-level policies are already in place to prevent utility shutoffs for low-income households. In reality, this claim neglects the fact that some ratepayers, predominantly those living in rural areas, rely on nonregulated energy providers to heat their homes during the winter months. LIHEAP cash grants help low-income households that use on-site fuels to cover the cost of refilling their oil or propane tanks. “Cash grants from LIHEAP are extremely important to ensure that they get fuel and just get them through the critical months,” Luxton said. “That’s where LIHEAP becomes absolutely critical.” He continued: “People could literally freeze to death, and in fact, we had several instances of folks who had an inoperable heater this past winter where all their pipes, because they went two weeks without heat … froze, and that is a cost-prohibitive repair.” As the hearing concluded, Vought will be back on Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify before the Senate. The debate over these budget priorities shows no signs of cooling down, much like the homes that depend on programs now facing elimination. The post Vought Faces Fury Over Iran War Costs and Budget Cuts appeared first on Timesng.
Vought Faces Fury Over Iran War Costs and Budget Cuts
White House budget chief Russell Vought faced intense scrutiny during a House Budget Committee hearing on Wednesday, refusing to provide lawmakers with any estimate of the total cost of President Donald Trump‘s war with Iran. The President Trump-appointee admitted there was no way to officially tally the cost of the conflict as it continues to escalate, telling the committee, “I don’t have a ballpark for you.” Vought appeared before the committee to testify about Trump’s request for a record increase in military spending as part of next year’s budget. The White House is calling for defense spending to reach nearly $1.5 trillion, a roughly 42% increase from last year. “We’re not ready to come to you with a request; we’re still working on it,” Vought said of a potential funding request to support the ongoing Iran war. “We’re working through to figure out what’s needed in this fiscal year versus next fiscal year.” The proposed budget increase comes alongside significant cuts to domestic programs. In addition to his proposed gutting of various low-income assistance programs to the tune of $73 billion, Vought’s Office of Management and Budget has requested an additional $400 billion for defense spending. The $4 billion energy assistance program some six million low-income households across the country depend on to pay for home heating and cooling is once again on the chopping block. That’s because President Trump effectively drew a line through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in his administration’s budget for the 2027 fiscal year. Representative Becca Balint took most of her allotted time to slam the president’s war, calling the proposed defense spending increase shocking. “We have never in the history of this country seen spending like this paid for by slashing healthcare, education, and housing,” she added. Balint pressed Vought directly: “Mr. Vought, yes or no, is $350 billion for the war in Iran lowering costs for Americans?” Vought commented that the administration was not defunding childcare and that it was fully funded. The tension wasn’t limited to war costs. In a heated exchange, Representative Pramila Jayapal delivered a fiery rebuke, taking aim at Russell Vought over the gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Jayapal accused Vought and the Trump administration of dismantling key protections meant to shield Americans from predatory practices by big banks and corporations. Calling the move ‘shameful,’ she warned that millions of consumers are now more vulnerable to financial exploitation. Meanwhile, Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman suggested that if lawmakers really wanted to eliminate abuse and fraud, they would remove “the President of the United States” from office right now along with the “sycophants” in his administration she accused of enabling illegal acts. The hearing grew increasingly contentious as Democrats challenged the administration’s priorities. Vought attempted to explain that Trump was a person “who has campaigned and led for peace and against endless wars.” The comment earned him a snarky remark from Balint, who asked if the president’s policy had shifted from peace through strength to peace through war. “So is it peace through war? Is that where we are right now, peace through war?” Balint rebuked. “The president has also been equally clear that he is not going to allow a nuclear Iran,” responded Vought. “He is not going to allow them to have nuclear weapons.” The budget director’s testimony highlighted the sharp divide that will shape significant policy debates going into a midterm election. Representative Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democratic member of the committee, said he believes in a strong national defense. But he said the idea of increasing defense by more than 40% while cutting programs that people need shows that the Republican administration’s priorities are “out of whack.” For its part, LIHEAP not only helps low-income households pay their heating and cooling bills, but it provides emergency assistance to those households at risk of utility shutoffs. Steve Luxton, CEO of the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA), told reporters that the program “has been figuratively and literally counted on by low-income folks to help them with their arrearage.” Household utility debt in the U.S. skyrocketed to $23 billion last year. Michelle Johnson, a 58-year-old Delaware resident and mother of two, learned she was eligible for LIHEAP in July 2024. “When they told me I was eligible, I wanted to kiss the ground,” she said. In the span of a year and a half prior to meeting with ECA, Johnson underwent six surgeries, bringing her many years of working in the nonprofit sector to an end. “I was raising my boys at the time, and they needed me,” she said. “I always worked, and I always struggled … my back was against the wall.” One of the Trump administration’s purported justifications for gutting LIHEAP is that the program is “unnecessary” because state-level policies are already in place to prevent utility shutoffs for low-income households. In reality, this claim neglects the fact that some ratepayers, predominantly those living in rural areas, rely on nonregulated energy providers to heat their homes during the winter months. LIHEAP cash grants help low-income households that use on-site fuels to cover the cost of refilling their oil or propane tanks. “Cash grants from LIHEAP are extremely important to ensure that they get fuel and just get them through the critical months,” Luxton said. “That’s where LIHEAP becomes absolutely critical.” He continued: “People could literally freeze to death, and in fact, we had several instances of folks who had an inoperable heater this past winter where all their pipes, because they went two weeks without heat … froze, and that is a cost-prohibitive repair.” As the hearing concluded, Vought will be back on Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify before the Senate. The debate over these budget priorities shows no signs of cooling down, much like the homes that depend on programs now facing elimination. The post Vought Faces Fury Over Iran War Costs and Budget Cuts appeared first on Timesng.
White House to Investigate Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances of U.S. Scientists
The White House has confirmed it will look into a disturbing pattern of deaths and disappearances involving at least 10 American scientists linked to nuclear weapons, advanced space research, and classified government programmes since 2023. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged the cases during a briefing on Wednesday after Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy pressed her on whether the Trump administration was investigating. “I haven’t spoken to our relevant agencies about it. I will certainly do that, and we’ll get you an answer,” Leavitt said. “If true, of course, that’s definitely something I think this government and its administration would deem worth looking into.” Her remarks mark one of the first clear signs that the allegations could receive review from the administration, elevating the issue from online speculation to a matter raised at the White House podium. The cases span institutions central to US national security, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Four of the 10 individuals vanished on foot from their homes, leaving behind cars, wallets, phones, and keys in an almost identical fashion. Among the missing is retired Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland, last seen on February 27 near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Investigators said McCasland left his phone, prescription glasses and wearable devices at home. Meanwhile, aerospace engineer Monica Reza went missing in June while hiking in the Angeles National Forest in California. She had previously worked on a government‑funded rocket materials project overseen by McCasland, according to reports. They are among a cluster of cases that has been cited in online theories suggesting a broader pattern, including two scientists who were fatally attacked at their homes. But authorities have not confirmed any official link between the cases. The disappearances have sparked theories that include potential UFO connections and espionage. Chris Swecker, a former FBI assistant director, said he did not believe the missing experts were abducted by aliens. “I think there’s a rational explanation for this,” he said, per NewsNation. “If it’s not just random acts, it’s modern-day espionage,” he added. According to the outlet, Swecker said he believed his former agency was probably reviewing the cases, despite the absence of any public confirmation from the federal government. Representative Eric Burlison, a Missouri Republican, has already requested Federal Bureau of Investigation involvement in what he calls a ‘deeply concerning’ pattern. “The disappearance of multiple scientists and military personnel with ties to advanced research is deeply concerning,” Burlison wrote on X in late March. “I’ve already requested FBI involvement, and we will keep pressing for answers.” Representative Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican on the House Oversight Committee investigating unidentified aerial phenomena, said the number of incidents warrants scrutiny. “There have been several others throughout the country that have disappeared under suspicious circumstances,” Burchett told reporters. “I think we ought to be paying attention to it.” Authorities previously told Newsweek they were aware of the speculation surrounding McCasland’s case but had no verified information establishing any connection between his disappearance and any other missing person investigation. It remains to be seen whether the government will publicly announce an official investigation into possible connections between the experts’ deaths and disappearances. The post White House to Investigate Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances of U.S. Scientists appeared first on Timesng.
White House to Investigate Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances of U.S. Scientists
The White House has confirmed it will look into a disturbing pattern of deaths and disappearances involving at least 10 American scientists linked to nuclear weapons, advanced space research, and classified government programmes since 2023. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged the cases during a briefing on Wednesday after Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy pressed her on whether the Trump administration was investigating. “I haven’t spoken to our relevant agencies about it. I will certainly do that, and we’ll get you an answer,” Leavitt said. “If true, of course, that’s definitely something I think this government and its administration would deem worth looking into.” Her remarks mark one of the first clear signs that the allegations could receive review from the administration, elevating the issue from online speculation to a matter raised at the White House podium. The cases span institutions central to US national security, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Four of the 10 individuals vanished on foot from their homes, leaving behind cars, wallets, phones, and keys in an almost identical fashion. Among the missing is retired Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland, last seen on February 27 near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Investigators said McCasland left his phone, prescription glasses and wearable devices at home. Meanwhile, aerospace engineer Monica Reza went missing in June while hiking in the Angeles National Forest in California. She had previously worked on a government‑funded rocket materials project overseen by McCasland, according to reports. They are among a cluster of cases that has been cited in online theories suggesting a broader pattern, including two scientists who were fatally attacked at their homes. But authorities have not confirmed any official link between the cases. The disappearances have sparked theories that include potential UFO connections and espionage. Chris Swecker, a former FBI assistant director, said he did not believe the missing experts were abducted by aliens. “I think there’s a rational explanation for this,” he said, per NewsNation. “If it’s not just random acts, it’s modern-day espionage,” he added. According to the outlet, Swecker said he believed his former agency was probably reviewing the cases, despite the absence of any public confirmation from the federal government. Representative Eric Burlison, a Missouri Republican, has already requested Federal Bureau of Investigation involvement in what he calls a ‘deeply concerning’ pattern. “The disappearance of multiple scientists and military personnel with ties to advanced research is deeply concerning,” Burlison wrote on X in late March. “I’ve already requested FBI involvement, and we will keep pressing for answers.” Representative Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican on the House Oversight Committee investigating unidentified aerial phenomena, said the number of incidents warrants scrutiny. “There have been several others throughout the country that have disappeared under suspicious circumstances,” Burchett told reporters. “I think we ought to be paying attention to it.” Authorities previously told Newsweek they were aware of the speculation surrounding McCasland’s case but had no verified information establishing any connection between his disappearance and any other missing person investigation. It remains to be seen whether the government will publicly announce an official investigation into possible connections between the experts’ deaths and disappearances. The post White House to Investigate Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances of U.S. Scientists appeared first on Timesng.
White House to Investigate Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances of U.S. Scientists
The White House has confirmed it will look into a disturbing pattern of deaths and disappearances involving at least 10 American scientists linked to nuclear weapons, advanced space research, and classified government programmes since 2023. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged the cases during a briefing on Wednesday after Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy pressed her on whether the Trump administration was investigating. “I haven’t spoken to our relevant agencies about it. I will certainly do that, and we’ll get you an answer,” Leavitt said. “If true, of course, that’s definitely something I think this government and its administration would deem worth looking into.” Her remarks mark one of the first clear signs that the allegations could receive review from the administration, elevating the issue from online speculation to a matter raised at the White House podium. The cases span institutions central to US national security, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Four of the 10 individuals vanished on foot from their homes, leaving behind cars, wallets, phones, and keys in an almost identical fashion. Among the missing is retired Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland, last seen on February 27 near Quail Run Court NE in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Investigators said McCasland left his phone, prescription glasses and wearable devices at home. Meanwhile, aerospace engineer Monica Reza went missing in June while hiking in the Angeles National Forest in California. She had previously worked on a government‑funded rocket materials project overseen by McCasland, according to reports. They are among a cluster of cases that has been cited in online theories suggesting a broader pattern, including two scientists who were fatally attacked at their homes. But authorities have not confirmed any official link between the cases. The disappearances have sparked theories that include potential UFO connections and espionage. Chris Swecker, a former FBI assistant director, said he did not believe the missing experts were abducted by aliens. “I think there’s a rational explanation for this,” he said, per NewsNation. “If it’s not just random acts, it’s modern-day espionage,” he added. According to the outlet, Swecker said he believed his former agency was probably reviewing the cases, despite the absence of any public confirmation from the federal government. Representative Eric Burlison, a Missouri Republican, has already requested Federal Bureau of Investigation involvement in what he calls a ‘deeply concerning’ pattern. “The disappearance of multiple scientists and military personnel with ties to advanced research is deeply concerning,” Burlison wrote on X in late March. “I’ve already requested FBI involvement, and we will keep pressing for answers.” Representative Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican on the House Oversight Committee investigating unidentified aerial phenomena, said the number of incidents warrants scrutiny. “There have been several others throughout the country that have disappeared under suspicious circumstances,” Burchett told reporters. “I think we ought to be paying attention to it.” Authorities previously told Newsweek they were aware of the speculation surrounding McCasland’s case but had no verified information establishing any connection between his disappearance and any other missing person investigation. It remains to be seen whether the government will publicly announce an official investigation into possible connections between the experts’ deaths and disappearances. The post White House to Investigate Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances of U.S. Scientists appeared first on Timesng.
Appeals Court Halts Contempt Probe into Trump Deportation Flights
In a significant legal victory for the Trump administration, a federal appeals court has ordered a judge to end his contempt investigation into deportation flights that carried Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador last year. The ruling, delivered by a divided three-judge panel, marks the latest chapter in a contentious yearlong saga that has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that Chief Judge James Boasberg abused his discretion by pursuing criminal contempt proceedings. The case centered on March 2025 flights that transported migrants despite Boasberg’s temporary restraining order. Two planeloads of Venezuelans protected by that order were sent to El Salvador, where they were detained in what has been described as one of the world’s most violent prisons. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, writing for the majority, declared the proceedings “a clear abuse of discretion.” She argued that criminal contempt requires violation of a “clear and specific” order, and found Boasberg’s March 2025 directive insufficiently precise. “The district court proposes to probe high-level Executive Branch deliberations about matters of national security and diplomacy,” Rao wrote, warning such inquiries could have broad ramifications for military and diplomatic initiatives. The decision did not come without passionate disagreement. Judge J. Michelle Childs issued a fiery 80-page dissent, arguing that the majority had trampled judicial authority in dangerous ways. “Contempt of court is a public offense, and the fate of our democratic republic will depend on whether we treat it as such,” Childs wrote. She warned the ruling would echo in future proceedings, allowing litigants to argue against contempt findings before they’re even made. Political reactions followed swiftly. Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican and outspoken proponent of Trump’s deportation policies, called on House Republicans to impeach Boasberg. “I’m calling on the House: Impeach Rogue Judge Boasberg,” Schmitt posted on social media platform X, though such an effort faces steep odds in the Senate. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche welcomed the decision, stating it “should finally end Judge Boasberg’s year-long campaign against the hardworking department attorneys doing their jobs fighting illegal immigration.” The administration had invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to justify the deportations, a rarely used law granting presidents broad powers during times of war or invasion. For the migrants’ advocates, the ruling represents a concerning precedent. Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union, representing the deported Venezuelans, called it “a blow to the rule of law.” He plans to ask the full circuit court to review the panel’s decision. “Our system is built on the executive branch, including the president, respecting court orders,” Gelernt emphasized. “In this case there is no longer any question that the Trump administration willfully violated the court’s order.” The legal battle has exposed deep tensions between judicial oversight and executive authority. Boasberg had concluded the administration appeared to act “in bad faith” by rushing deportations during emergency court proceedings. The judge sought testimony from Justice Department officials, including a former attorney who became a whistleblower. Now, with the contempt probe halted, the White House avoids potential penalties for officials including former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The ruling’s implications extend beyond this specific case, touching fundamental questions about presidential power, judicial independence, and the mechanisms ensuring government compliance with court orders. The post Appeals Court Halts Contempt Probe into Trump Deportation Flights appeared first on Timesng.
Appeals Court Halts Contempt Probe into Trump Deportation Flights
In a significant legal victory for the Trump administration, a federal appeals court has ordered a judge to end his contempt investigation into deportation flights that carried Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador last year. The ruling, delivered by a divided three-judge panel, marks the latest chapter in a contentious yearlong saga that has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that Chief Judge James Boasberg abused his discretion by pursuing criminal contempt proceedings. The case centered on March 2025 flights that transported migrants despite Boasberg’s temporary restraining order. Two planeloads of Venezuelans protected by that order were sent to El Salvador, where they were detained in what has been described as one of the world’s most violent prisons. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, writing for the majority, declared the proceedings “a clear abuse of discretion.” She argued that criminal contempt requires violation of a “clear and specific” order, and found Boasberg’s March 2025 directive insufficiently precise. “The district court proposes to probe high-level Executive Branch deliberations about matters of national security and diplomacy,” Rao wrote, warning such inquiries could have broad ramifications for military and diplomatic initiatives. The decision did not come without passionate disagreement. Judge J. Michelle Childs issued a fiery 80-page dissent, arguing that the majority had trampled judicial authority in dangerous ways. “Contempt of court is a public offense, and the fate of our democratic republic will depend on whether we treat it as such,” Childs wrote. She warned the ruling would echo in future proceedings, allowing litigants to argue against contempt findings before they’re even made. Political reactions followed swiftly. Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican and outspoken proponent of Trump’s deportation policies, called on House Republicans to impeach Boasberg. “I’m calling on the House: Impeach Rogue Judge Boasberg,” Schmitt posted on social media platform X, though such an effort faces steep odds in the Senate. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche welcomed the decision, stating it “should finally end Judge Boasberg’s year-long campaign against the hardworking department attorneys doing their jobs fighting illegal immigration.” The administration had invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to justify the deportations, a rarely used law granting presidents broad powers during times of war or invasion. For the migrants’ advocates, the ruling represents a concerning precedent. Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union, representing the deported Venezuelans, called it “a blow to the rule of law.” He plans to ask the full circuit court to review the panel’s decision. “Our system is built on the executive branch, including the president, respecting court orders,” Gelernt emphasized. “In this case there is no longer any question that the Trump administration willfully violated the court’s order.” The legal battle has exposed deep tensions between judicial oversight and executive authority. Boasberg had concluded the administration appeared to act “in bad faith” by rushing deportations during emergency court proceedings. The judge sought testimony from Justice Department officials, including a former attorney who became a whistleblower. Now, with the contempt probe halted, the White House avoids potential penalties for officials including former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The ruling’s implications extend beyond this specific case, touching fundamental questions about presidential power, judicial independence, and the mechanisms ensuring government compliance with court orders. The post Appeals Court Halts Contempt Probe into Trump Deportation Flights appeared first on Timesng.
Appeals Court Halts Contempt Probe into Trump Deportation Flights
In a significant legal victory for the Trump administration, a federal appeals court has ordered a judge to end his contempt investigation into deportation flights that carried Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador last year. The ruling, delivered by a divided three-judge panel, marks the latest chapter in a contentious yearlong saga that has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that Chief Judge James Boasberg abused his discretion by pursuing criminal contempt proceedings. The case centered on March 2025 flights that transported migrants despite Boasberg’s temporary restraining order. Two planeloads of Venezuelans protected by that order were sent to El Salvador, where they were detained in what has been described as one of the world’s most violent prisons. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, writing for the majority, declared the proceedings “a clear abuse of discretion.” She argued that criminal contempt requires violation of a “clear and specific” order, and found Boasberg’s March 2025 directive insufficiently precise. “The district court proposes to probe high-level Executive Branch deliberations about matters of national security and diplomacy,” Rao wrote, warning such inquiries could have broad ramifications for military and diplomatic initiatives. The decision did not come without passionate disagreement. Judge J. Michelle Childs issued a fiery 80-page dissent, arguing that the majority had trampled judicial authority in dangerous ways. “Contempt of court is a public offense, and the fate of our democratic republic will depend on whether we treat it as such,” Childs wrote. She warned the ruling would echo in future proceedings, allowing litigants to argue against contempt findings before they’re even made. Political reactions followed swiftly. Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican and outspoken proponent of Trump’s deportation policies, called on House Republicans to impeach Boasberg. “I’m calling on the House: Impeach Rogue Judge Boasberg,” Schmitt posted on social media platform X, though such an effort faces steep odds in the Senate. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche welcomed the decision, stating it “should finally end Judge Boasberg’s year-long campaign against the hardworking department attorneys doing their jobs fighting illegal immigration.” The administration had invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to justify the deportations, a rarely used law granting presidents broad powers during times of war or invasion. For the migrants’ advocates, the ruling represents a concerning precedent. Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union, representing the deported Venezuelans, called it “a blow to the rule of law.” He plans to ask the full circuit court to review the panel’s decision. “Our system is built on the executive branch, including the president, respecting court orders,” Gelernt emphasized. “In this case there is no longer any question that the Trump administration willfully violated the court’s order.” The legal battle has exposed deep tensions between judicial oversight and executive authority. Boasberg had concluded the administration appeared to act “in bad faith” by rushing deportations during emergency court proceedings. The judge sought testimony from Justice Department officials, including a former attorney who became a whistleblower. Now, with the contempt probe halted, the White House avoids potential penalties for officials including former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The ruling’s implications extend beyond this specific case, touching fundamental questions about presidential power, judicial independence, and the mechanisms ensuring government compliance with court orders. The post Appeals Court Halts Contempt Probe into Trump Deportation Flights appeared first on Timesng.
Congress Faces Ethics Purge as Two Lawmakers Resign, Two More Face Expulsion
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives is reeling from a dramatic ethics purge this week, as two sitting members resigned under pressure and two Florida lawmakers face potential expulsion. In a rare bipartisan moment of accountability, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas announced their departures within hours of each other Monday night, avoiding near-certain expulsion votes over sexual misconduct allegations. The swift political collapse began Friday when the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a former staffer accused Swalwell of sexual assault. According to the report, the woman said Swalwell began pursuing her sexually when she was a 21-year-old intern, sent her a nude photo, and twice sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent. CNN followed with allegations from four women, including the same former staffer who said Swalwell raped her in 2024. Swalwell has denied the assault allegations throughout. “These allegations of sexual assault are flat false,” he said in a video posted to social media Friday night. His attorney, Sara Azari, issued a categorical denial Tuesday, calling the accusations “false, fabricated, and deeply offensive — a calculated and transparent political hit job.” Yet the fallout was immediate and devastating. Within 24 hours, all 21 Democratic members of Congress who had endorsed Swalwell withdrew their backing. Major labor unions suspended their support. Fifty-five former congressional and campaign staffers signed a public letter Sunday calling on Swalwell to resign from the House, declaring: “We stand unequivocally with our colleague, who showed extraordinary courage in coming forward to share her truth. We believe her.” House Democratic leaders — Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California — issued a joint statement Friday calling for Swalwell to end his campaign immediately. On Sunday, Swalwell suspended his governor’s campaign. On Monday, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into his conduct. About an hour after Swalwell’s resignation announcement, Gonzales posted on X: “There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office.” Gonzales had been under scrutiny since September 2025, when a staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, died by suicide. In March, Gonzales admitted on a conservative podcast that he had an affair with her while she worked for him, calling it “a lapse in judgment.” Additional allegations surfaced last week when the San Antonio Express-News published previously unreported text messages showing Gonzales asking a political director on his 2020 campaign what kind of underwear she wore and repeatedly soliciting nude photos from her. House rules bar members from engaging in sexual relationships with employees. The paired resignations, one Democrat and one Republican, reflected a deliberate bipartisan dynamic that had emerged over the weekend. Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida said he would vote to expel both men. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington said: “This is not a partisan issue. This cuts across party lines. And it is the depravity of the way that women have been treated.” Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who had set a 2 p.m. Tuesday deadline for Swalwell to formally resign or face her expulsion resolution, welcomed Tuesday’s outcome. “We have successfully drained part of the swamp this week with the resignation of two very corrupt members of Congress,” she wrote on X. But the ethics purge may not be over. Two Florida lawmakers remain in jeopardy. Rep. Cory Mills, a Republican, is under Ethics Committee investigation on allegations including campaign finance violations, misuse of congressional office funds and sexual misconduct or dating violence — all of which he denies. In October, a Florida judge issued a restraining order against Mills for “protection against dating violence” after his ex-girlfriend accused him of harassment, saying he threatened to blackmail her using nude images and videos. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, faces graver legal jeopardy. A bipartisan Ethics Committee subpanel found her guilty of 27 violations of House rules, including money laundering, making false statements, campaign finance violations and misuse of official funds — most notably funneling $5 million in COVID-19 relief funds to her congressional campaign. She has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in her separate federal criminal case. The full Ethics Committee has scheduled an April 21 hearing to determine what sanctions to recommend to the full House for Cherfilus-McCormick. Meanwhile, pressure is building on both Florida lawmakers from their own delegation. Both U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor and Anna Paulina Luna told Florida Politics that the two scandalized members need to resign. “Public office is a public trust, and these politicians have been afforded extraordinary due process,” said Castor, a Tampa Democrat. “It is plain that they have violated the public trust. They should resign immediately.” Luna, a Pinellas Republican, was equally direct: “My position has been clear. If someone is engaging in criminal conduct and illegal activity they need to resign from Congress and I refuse to cover for your ass.” Notably, Luna has publicly said if Cherfilus-McCormick doesn’t resign by the time a House Ethics Committee recommends sanctions next week, she and others will push for an immediate vote on her expulsion. She hasn’t directly addressed the prospect of expelling Mills, but last year said he should not seek re-election. The resignations of Swalwell and Gonzales in a single day mark a rare moment of congressional self-policing, echoing — but also exceeding — the #MeToo-driven departures of 2017 and 2018. Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act Reform Act in 2018, requiring members to personally pay misconduct settlements and mandating public disclosure. Critics have long argued the law left significant gaps, particularly for staff who fear career retaliation. For now, with two seats vacated and two more members still under investigation, the House faces the question of whether Tuesday’s departures represent a genuine inflection point — or whether the machinery of accountability will slow again once the immediate pressure subsides. The American people are watching, and many lawmakers are feeling the heat. The post Congress Faces Ethics Purge as Two Lawmakers Resign, Two More Face Expulsion appeared first on Timesng.
Congress Faces Ethics Purge as Two Lawmakers Resign, Two More Face Expulsion
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives is reeling from a dramatic ethics purge this week, as two sitting members resigned under pressure and two Florida lawmakers face potential expulsion. In a rare bipartisan moment of accountability, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas announced their departures within hours of each other Monday night, avoiding near-certain expulsion votes over sexual misconduct allegations. The swift political collapse began Friday when the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a former staffer accused Swalwell of sexual assault. According to the report, the woman said Swalwell began pursuing her sexually when she was a 21-year-old intern, sent her a nude photo, and twice sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent. CNN followed with allegations from four women, including the same former staffer who said Swalwell raped her in 2024. Swalwell has denied the assault allegations throughout. “These allegations of sexual assault are flat false,” he said in a video posted to social media Friday night. His attorney, Sara Azari, issued a categorical denial Tuesday, calling the accusations “false, fabricated, and deeply offensive — a calculated and transparent political hit job.” Yet the fallout was immediate and devastating. Within 24 hours, all 21 Democratic members of Congress who had endorsed Swalwell withdrew their backing. Major labor unions suspended their support. Fifty-five former congressional and campaign staffers signed a public letter Sunday calling on Swalwell to resign from the House, declaring: “We stand unequivocally with our colleague, who showed extraordinary courage in coming forward to share her truth. We believe her.” House Democratic leaders — Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California — issued a joint statement Friday calling for Swalwell to end his campaign immediately. On Sunday, Swalwell suspended his governor’s campaign. On Monday, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into his conduct. About an hour after Swalwell’s resignation announcement, Gonzales posted on X: “There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office.” Gonzales had been under scrutiny since September 2025, when a staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, died by suicide. In March, Gonzales admitted on a conservative podcast that he had an affair with her while she worked for him, calling it “a lapse in judgment.” Additional allegations surfaced last week when the San Antonio Express-News published previously unreported text messages showing Gonzales asking a political director on his 2020 campaign what kind of underwear she wore and repeatedly soliciting nude photos from her. House rules bar members from engaging in sexual relationships with employees. The paired resignations, one Democrat and one Republican, reflected a deliberate bipartisan dynamic that had emerged over the weekend. Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida said he would vote to expel both men. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington said: “This is not a partisan issue. This cuts across party lines. And it is the depravity of the way that women have been treated.” Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who had set a 2 p.m. Tuesday deadline for Swalwell to formally resign or face her expulsion resolution, welcomed Tuesday’s outcome. “We have successfully drained part of the swamp this week with the resignation of two very corrupt members of Congress,” she wrote on X. But the ethics purge may not be over. Two Florida lawmakers remain in jeopardy. Rep. Cory Mills, a Republican, is under Ethics Committee investigation on allegations including campaign finance violations, misuse of congressional office funds and sexual misconduct or dating violence — all of which he denies. In October, a Florida judge issued a restraining order against Mills for “protection against dating violence” after his ex-girlfriend accused him of harassment, saying he threatened to blackmail her using nude images and videos. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, faces graver legal jeopardy. A bipartisan Ethics Committee subpanel found her guilty of 27 violations of House rules, including money laundering, making false statements, campaign finance violations and misuse of official funds — most notably funneling $5 million in COVID-19 relief funds to her congressional campaign. She has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in her separate federal criminal case. The full Ethics Committee has scheduled an April 21 hearing to determine what sanctions to recommend to the full House for Cherfilus-McCormick. Meanwhile, pressure is building on both Florida lawmakers from their own delegation. Both U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor and Anna Paulina Luna told Florida Politics that the two scandalized members need to resign. “Public office is a public trust, and these politicians have been afforded extraordinary due process,” said Castor, a Tampa Democrat. “It is plain that they have violated the public trust. They should resign immediately.” Luna, a Pinellas Republican, was equally direct: “My position has been clear. If someone is engaging in criminal conduct and illegal activity they need to resign from Congress and I refuse to cover for your ass.” Notably, Luna has publicly said if Cherfilus-McCormick doesn’t resign by the time a House Ethics Committee recommends sanctions next week, she and others will push for an immediate vote on her expulsion. She hasn’t directly addressed the prospect of expelling Mills, but last year said he should not seek re-election. The resignations of Swalwell and Gonzales in a single day mark a rare moment of congressional self-policing, echoing — but also exceeding — the #MeToo-driven departures of 2017 and 2018. Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act Reform Act in 2018, requiring members to personally pay misconduct settlements and mandating public disclosure. Critics have long argued the law left significant gaps, particularly for staff who fear career retaliation. For now, with two seats vacated and two more members still under investigation, the House faces the question of whether Tuesday’s departures represent a genuine inflection point — or whether the machinery of accountability will slow again once the immediate pressure subsides. The American people are watching, and many lawmakers are feeling the heat. The post Congress Faces Ethics Purge as Two Lawmakers Resign, Two More Face Expulsion appeared first on Timesng.
Omar Urges Democrats to Embrace Defecting MAGA Figures
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) argued Democrats should “credit” and embrace once-staunch Republican supporters of President Donald Trump who have now grown more critical of him. In an interview this week with Pod Save America’s Tommy Vietor, Omar threw her support behind vocal MAGA personalities like Marjorie Taylor Greene, turning on the president. Greene was once Trump’s most vocal supporter in Congress, but she’s since moved back into private life and has become one of the more outspoken critics of Trump on the right. Vietor played a clip of Greene for Omar and noted that other past “die hard” MAGA supporters have also turned more critical of the president on the release of the Epstein files, his war with Iran, and more. “As Americans, it is really important for us to work together for the preservation of everything that is good in our country. and to support leaders that we can trust to safeguard what is good about our country,” Omar said. The congresswoman and Vietor agreed that one of the more significant things about criticism from people like Greene is that they are not singling out a Trump policy, but rather broadly criticizing the man and renouncing their former support. Greene argued earlier this month that Trump is “not the same man” she supported in the 2016 presidential election. Omar argued Greene and others are discovering that Trump “never really had any principles outside of uplifting his ego.” “I think that we should give them credit for that, the fact that they’ve had this wake-up call to finally seeing this con man, this corrupt, chaotic man, for what he is, the fact that they understand that he never really had any principles outside of uplifting his ego,” she said. Omar continued by saying Democrats should embrace people like Greene, encouraging other MAGA followers to ditch Trump. “I think is an important thing for us to put our arms around and say ‘Yes, then now let’s figure out how do we save our country from the disaster that this man is creating?’” she said. Omar said she spoke to Greene and thanked her just before Greene left Congress last year, which is represents a lot of progress between the lawmakers who have had plenty of tense moments over the years. Greene pushed to censure Omar in 2024, claiming she could be a “foreign agent,” and Omar wanted Greene stripped of her committee assignments in 2021, accusing her of making threatening posts about her and other Democrats. “Before she left, I found her on the House floor,” Omar said, “and thanked her for, you know, her support in ending the genocide, her willingness to speak up about what the people in Gaza have experienced and what our tax dollars have allowed to take place.” Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said a far-left Democrat in Congress tried to sneak through an earmark of over $1 million for a suspicious “substance abuse clinic” housed at a Somali-owned restaurant. In the Jan. 8 interview on “Varney and Company” that resurfaced via the Libs of TikTok X account early Tuesday morning, Ernst highlighted the supposed clinic and said that fraud like the Somali day care scandal could extend to earmarks requested by “members of Congress.” “One of our spending bills making its way through Congress was a $1 million earmark from Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, which was an earmark that was supposedly going to a substance abuse clinic, which actually happened to be housed in a restaurant and run by three individuals that share the same residential address, according to their IRS paperwork,” Ernst told Varney. “Tons of red flags.” “So this is what we saw with the fraud involving the daycare centers,” Ernst continued. “Now we see other earmarks coming directly from members of Congress where it seems fraud is being perpetrated as well.” Ernst said that after she raised the issue, the earmark was stripped from that spending bill. “But again, this is how easy money has been flowing to bad actors in Minnesota,” she told Varney. Ernst and Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee asked the Department of Justice to look into the center in a Jan. 15 letter in which they laid out their suspicions about the clinic. The earmark appeared on page 21 of a 42-page document listing various earmarks requested by members of Congress. It states that Omar initiated the request, with Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith also requesting the funds. Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation. “That earmark was removed from the appropriations bill and was not included in any version of the bill that came up for a vote in the Senate,” a spokesperson for Klobuchar told the DCNF. Independent journalist Nick Shirley posted a 42-minute video on YouTube in late December in which he visited multiple day care centers run by Somalis, causing the issue of welfare fraud in Minnesota to erupt into the national media. Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced he would drop his bid for a third term in a Jan. 5 statement after Shirley released the video. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., suggested Sunday on a podcast that Democrats should act with grace toward former supporters of President Donald Trump who have broken with him on key issues. Tommy Vietor, one of the co-hosts of “Pod Save America” played a clip of former Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was once one of Trump’s staunch allies. She has now become one of his most outspoken conservative critics, even suggesting he be removed from office via the 25th Amendment after his viral threat to end Iranian civilization. “The American people have to open their eyes and deal with reality and deal with truth. And the truth is, look, you may have supported President Trump for 10 years, like I did and like you have, but this is not the same man. This is not the same man that we supported,” Greene said earlier this month. Vietor noted that she is “far from the only die-hard MAGA supporter” who has broken with Trump over the war in Iran and the handling of the Epstein files, citing a variety of other famous political figures. He then asked Omar what her reaction is to Greene’s comments and how Democrats should respond to such defections from the MAGA movement. The answer to the latter part of his question, Omar said, is “I think as Americans, it is really important for us to work together for the preservation of everything that is good in our country. and to support leaders that we can trust to safeguard what is good about our country.” The fascinating part of such defectors like Greene, Omar suggested, is that “they are not just coming out like other ones that you’d mentioned where they’re saying, ‘This action is wrong,’ right? They’re saying, ‘I am done with you.’” Vietor agreed, noting it is a “values-based” judgment “like ‘this guy is bad,’ not like ‘this policy is bad.’” “Right, and I think that we should give them credit for that, the fact that they’ve had this wake-up call to finally seeing this con man, this corrupt, chaotic man, for what he is,” Omar said. “The fact that they understand that he never really had any principles outside of uplifting his ego.” She went on to say that instead, it was about Trump enriching himself and boosting his ego after having been mocked by people like former President Barack Obama in the past. “It was never about putting America first. It was never about having coherent policies,” she said. Omar went on to marvel at “The fact that they have gotten off the sycophant train and are saying, ‘You know, we trusted the wrong person. We are sorry for that and need all of you to wake up to the fact that you’ve also trusted the wrong person.’” Omar added that this is something that “I think is an important thing for us to put our arms around and say ‘Yes, then now let’s figure out how do we save our country from the disaster that this man is creating?'” “I think it’s pretty important and meaningful that you feel that way, because you are someone who’s personally dealt with some abuse from a lot of these folks,” Vietor responded. “All of them,” Omar joked. When she was asked whether she had ever called Greene to extend this olive branch, she said she hasn’t yet, but recalled, “I did, before she left, I found her on the House floor and thanked her for, you know, her support in ending the genocide, her willingness to speak up about what the people in Gaza have experienced and what our tax dollars have allowed to take place.” She concluded, “We have a responsibility to end this genocide and to end our financial and political support for Israel and the impunity that we have constantly provided for them as, you know, they have tried to destroy a group of people.” When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a White House spokesperson said of Greene, “There is nothing more ‘America Last’ than quitting on your constituents and the MAGA movement in the middle of your term. President Trump is fighting every single day to Make America Great Again – we don’t have time for quitters.” When Greene was in Congress, she and Omar often exchanged barbs. In early 2024, Greene had pushed to censure Omar, accusing her of being a “foreign agent” for Somalia. In 2021, Omar voted with the Democratic majority to strip Greene of her committee assignments. Omar spoke up in favor of penalizing Greene in personal terms. She mentioned how Greene tried to previously force her and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., two Muslim members of Congress, to retake their congressional oaths on the Bible. She recalled when Greene posted a picture of herself holding a gun alongside images of Omar, Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., titled the “Squad‘s worst nightmare.” “This is about whether it is OK to hold an assault rifle next to members’ heads in a campaign ad and incite death threats against them,” Omar said in response at the time. “This is about whether it is OK to encourage the murder of the speaker of the House.” The post Omar Urges Democrats to Embrace Defecting MAGA Figures appeared first on Timesng.
Omar Urges Democrats to Embrace Defecting MAGA Figures
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) argued Democrats should “credit” and embrace once-staunch Republican supporters of President Donald Trump who have now grown more critical of him. In an interview this week with Pod Save America’s Tommy Vietor, Omar threw her support behind vocal MAGA personalities like Marjorie Taylor Greene, turning on the president. Greene was once Trump’s most vocal supporter in Congress, but she’s since moved back into private life and has become one of the more outspoken critics of Trump on the right. Vietor played a clip of Greene for Omar and noted that other past “die hard” MAGA supporters have also turned more critical of the president on the release of the Epstein files, his war with Iran, and more. “As Americans, it is really important for us to work together for the preservation of everything that is good in our country. and to support leaders that we can trust to safeguard what is good about our country,” Omar said. The congresswoman and Vietor agreed that one of the more significant things about criticism from people like Greene is that they are not singling out a Trump policy, but rather broadly criticizing the man and renouncing their former support. Greene argued earlier this month that Trump is “not the same man” she supported in the 2016 presidential election. Omar argued Greene and others are discovering that Trump “never really had any principles outside of uplifting his ego.” “I think that we should give them credit for that, the fact that they’ve had this wake-up call to finally seeing this con man, this corrupt, chaotic man, for what he is, the fact that they understand that he never really had any principles outside of uplifting his ego,” she said. Omar continued by saying Democrats should embrace people like Greene, encouraging other MAGA followers to ditch Trump. “I think is an important thing for us to put our arms around and say ‘Yes, then now let’s figure out how do we save our country from the disaster that this man is creating?’” she said. Omar said she spoke to Greene and thanked her just before Greene left Congress last year, which is represents a lot of progress between the lawmakers who have had plenty of tense moments over the years. Greene pushed to censure Omar in 2024, claiming she could be a “foreign agent,” and Omar wanted Greene stripped of her committee assignments in 2021, accusing her of making threatening posts about her and other Democrats. “Before she left, I found her on the House floor,” Omar said, “and thanked her for, you know, her support in ending the genocide, her willingness to speak up about what the people in Gaza have experienced and what our tax dollars have allowed to take place.” Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said a far-left Democrat in Congress tried to sneak through an earmark of over $1 million for a suspicious “substance abuse clinic” housed at a Somali-owned restaurant. In the Jan. 8 interview on “Varney and Company” that resurfaced via the Libs of TikTok X account early Tuesday morning, Ernst highlighted the supposed clinic and said that fraud like the Somali day care scandal could extend to earmarks requested by “members of Congress.” “One of our spending bills making its way through Congress was a $1 million earmark from Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, which was an earmark that was supposedly going to a substance abuse clinic, which actually happened to be housed in a restaurant and run by three individuals that share the same residential address, according to their IRS paperwork,” Ernst told Varney. “Tons of red flags.” “So this is what we saw with the fraud involving the daycare centers,” Ernst continued. “Now we see other earmarks coming directly from members of Congress where it seems fraud is being perpetrated as well.” Ernst said that after she raised the issue, the earmark was stripped from that spending bill. “But again, this is how easy money has been flowing to bad actors in Minnesota,” she told Varney. Ernst and Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee asked the Department of Justice to look into the center in a Jan. 15 letter in which they laid out their suspicions about the clinic. The earmark appeared on page 21 of a 42-page document listing various earmarks requested by members of Congress. It states that Omar initiated the request, with Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith also requesting the funds. Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation. “That earmark was removed from the appropriations bill and was not included in any version of the bill that came up for a vote in the Senate,” a spokesperson for Klobuchar told the DCNF. Independent journalist Nick Shirley posted a 42-minute video on YouTube in late December in which he visited multiple day care centers run by Somalis, causing the issue of welfare fraud in Minnesota to erupt into the national media. Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced he would drop his bid for a third term in a Jan. 5 statement after Shirley released the video. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., suggested Sunday on a podcast that Democrats should act with grace toward former supporters of President Donald Trump who have broken with him on key issues. Tommy Vietor, one of the co-hosts of “Pod Save America” played a clip of former Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was once one of Trump’s staunch allies. She has now become one of his most outspoken conservative critics, even suggesting he be removed from office via the 25th Amendment after his viral threat to end Iranian civilization. “The American people have to open their eyes and deal with reality and deal with truth. And the truth is, look, you may have supported President Trump for 10 years, like I did and like you have, but this is not the same man. This is not the same man that we supported,” Greene said earlier this month. Vietor noted that she is “far from the only die-hard MAGA supporter” who has broken with Trump over the war in Iran and the handling of the Epstein files, citing a variety of other famous political figures. He then asked Omar what her reaction is to Greene’s comments and how Democrats should respond to such defections from the MAGA movement. The answer to the latter part of his question, Omar said, is “I think as Americans, it is really important for us to work together for the preservation of everything that is good in our country. and to support leaders that we can trust to safeguard what is good about our country.” The fascinating part of such defectors like Greene, Omar suggested, is that “they are not just coming out like other ones that you’d mentioned where they’re saying, ‘This action is wrong,’ right? They’re saying, ‘I am done with you.’” Vietor agreed, noting it is a “values-based” judgment “like ‘this guy is bad,’ not like ‘this policy is bad.’” “Right, and I think that we should give them credit for that, the fact that they’ve had this wake-up call to finally seeing this con man, this corrupt, chaotic man, for what he is,” Omar said. “The fact that they understand that he never really had any principles outside of uplifting his ego.” She went on to say that instead, it was about Trump enriching himself and boosting his ego after having been mocked by people like former President Barack Obama in the past. “It was never about putting America first. It was never about having coherent policies,” she said. Omar went on to marvel at “The fact that they have gotten off the sycophant train and are saying, ‘You know, we trusted the wrong person. We are sorry for that and need all of you to wake up to the fact that you’ve also trusted the wrong person.’” Omar added that this is something that “I think is an important thing for us to put our arms around and say ‘Yes, then now let’s figure out how do we save our country from the disaster that this man is creating?'” “I think it’s pretty important and meaningful that you feel that way, because you are someone who’s personally dealt with some abuse from a lot of these folks,” Vietor responded. “All of them,” Omar joked. When she was asked whether she had ever called Greene to extend this olive branch, she said she hasn’t yet, but recalled, “I did, before she left, I found her on the House floor and thanked her for, you know, her support in ending the genocide, her willingness to speak up about what the people in Gaza have experienced and what our tax dollars have allowed to take place.” She concluded, “We have a responsibility to end this genocide and to end our financial and political support for Israel and the impunity that we have constantly provided for them as, you know, they have tried to destroy a group of people.” When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a White House spokesperson said of Greene, “There is nothing more ‘America Last’ than quitting on your constituents and the MAGA movement in the middle of your term. President Trump is fighting every single day to Make America Great Again – we don’t have time for quitters.” When Greene was in Congress, she and Omar often exchanged barbs. In early 2024, Greene had pushed to censure Omar, accusing her of being a “foreign agent” for Somalia. In 2021, Omar voted with the Democratic majority to strip Greene of her committee assignments. Omar spoke up in favor of penalizing Greene in personal terms. She mentioned how Greene tried to previously force her and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., two Muslim members of Congress, to retake their congressional oaths on the Bible. She recalled when Greene posted a picture of herself holding a gun alongside images of Omar, Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., titled the “Squad‘s worst nightmare.” “This is about whether it is OK to hold an assault rifle next to members’ heads in a campaign ad and incite death threats against them,” Omar said in response at the time. “This is about whether it is OK to encourage the murder of the speaker of the House.” The post Omar Urges Democrats to Embrace Defecting MAGA Figures appeared first on Timesng.
Congress Faces Ethics Purge as Two Lawmakers Resign, Two More Face Expulsion
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives is reeling from a dramatic ethics purge this week, as two sitting members resigned under pressure and two Florida lawmakers face potential expulsion. In a rare bipartisan moment of accountability, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas announced their departures within hours of each other Monday night, avoiding near-certain expulsion votes over sexual misconduct allegations. The swift political collapse began Friday when the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a former staffer accused Swalwell of sexual assault. According to the report, the woman said Swalwell began pursuing her sexually when she was a 21-year-old intern, sent her a nude photo, and twice sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent. CNN followed with allegations from four women, including the same former staffer who said Swalwell raped her in 2024. Swalwell has denied the assault allegations throughout. “These allegations of sexual assault are flat false,” he said in a video posted to social media Friday night. His attorney, Sara Azari, issued a categorical denial Tuesday, calling the accusations “false, fabricated, and deeply offensive — a calculated and transparent political hit job.” Yet the fallout was immediate and devastating. Within 24 hours, all 21 Democratic members of Congress who had endorsed Swalwell withdrew their backing. Major labor unions suspended their support. Fifty-five former congressional and campaign staffers signed a public letter Sunday calling on Swalwell to resign from the House, declaring: “We stand unequivocally with our colleague, who showed extraordinary courage in coming forward to share her truth. We believe her.” House Democratic leaders — Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California — issued a joint statement Friday calling for Swalwell to end his campaign immediately. On Sunday, Swalwell suspended his governor’s campaign. On Monday, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into his conduct. About an hour after Swalwell’s resignation announcement, Gonzales posted on X: “There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office.” Gonzales had been under scrutiny since September 2025, when a staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, died by suicide. In March, Gonzales admitted on a conservative podcast that he had an affair with her while she worked for him, calling it “a lapse in judgment.” Additional allegations surfaced last week when the San Antonio Express-News published previously unreported text messages showing Gonzales asking a political director on his 2020 campaign what kind of underwear she wore and repeatedly soliciting nude photos from her. House rules bar members from engaging in sexual relationships with employees. The paired resignations, one Democrat and one Republican, reflected a deliberate bipartisan dynamic that had emerged over the weekend. Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida said he would vote to expel both men. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington said: “This is not a partisan issue. This cuts across party lines. And it is the depravity of the way that women have been treated.” Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who had set a 2 p.m. Tuesday deadline for Swalwell to formally resign or face her expulsion resolution, welcomed Tuesday’s outcome. “We have successfully drained part of the swamp this week with the resignation of two very corrupt members of Congress,” she wrote on X. But the ethics purge may not be over. Two Florida lawmakers remain in jeopardy. Rep. Cory Mills, a Republican, is under Ethics Committee investigation on allegations including campaign finance violations, misuse of congressional office funds and sexual misconduct or dating violence — all of which he denies. In October, a Florida judge issued a restraining order against Mills for “protection against dating violence” after his ex-girlfriend accused him of harassment, saying he threatened to blackmail her using nude images and videos. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, faces graver legal jeopardy. A bipartisan Ethics Committee subpanel found her guilty of 27 violations of House rules, including money laundering, making false statements, campaign finance violations and misuse of official funds — most notably funneling $5 million in COVID-19 relief funds to her congressional campaign. She has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in her separate federal criminal case. The full Ethics Committee has scheduled an April 21 hearing to determine what sanctions to recommend to the full House for Cherfilus-McCormick. Meanwhile, pressure is building on both Florida lawmakers from their own delegation. Both U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor and Anna Paulina Luna told Florida Politics that the two scandalized members need to resign. “Public office is a public trust, and these politicians have been afforded extraordinary due process,” said Castor, a Tampa Democrat. “It is plain that they have violated the public trust. They should resign immediately.” Luna, a Pinellas Republican, was equally direct: “My position has been clear. If someone is engaging in criminal conduct and illegal activity they need to resign from Congress and I refuse to cover for your ass.” Notably, Luna has publicly said if Cherfilus-McCormick doesn’t resign by the time a House Ethics Committee recommends sanctions next week, she and others will push for an immediate vote on her expulsion. She hasn’t directly addressed the prospect of expelling Mills, but last year said he should not seek re-election. The resignations of Swalwell and Gonzales in a single day mark a rare moment of congressional self-policing, echoing — but also exceeding — the #MeToo-driven departures of 2017 and 2018. Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act Reform Act in 2018, requiring members to personally pay misconduct settlements and mandating public disclosure. Critics have long argued the law left significant gaps, particularly for staff who fear career retaliation. For now, with two seats vacated and two more members still under investigation, the House faces the question of whether Tuesday’s departures represent a genuine inflection point — or whether the machinery of accountability will slow again once the immediate pressure subsides. The American people are watching, and many lawmakers are feeling the heat. The post Congress Faces Ethics Purge as Two Lawmakers Resign, Two More Face Expulsion appeared first on Timesng.
Omar Urges Democrats to Embrace Defecting MAGA Figures
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) argued Democrats should “credit” and embrace once-staunch Republican supporters of President Donald Trump who have now grown more critical of him. In an interview this week with Pod Save America’s Tommy Vietor, Omar threw her support behind vocal MAGA personalities like Marjorie Taylor Greene, turning on the president. Greene was once Trump’s most vocal supporter in Congress, but she’s since moved back into private life and has become one of the more outspoken critics of Trump on the right. Vietor played a clip of Greene for Omar and noted that other past “die hard” MAGA supporters have also turned more critical of the president on the release of the Epstein files, his war with Iran, and more. “As Americans, it is really important for us to work together for the preservation of everything that is good in our country. and to support leaders that we can trust to safeguard what is good about our country,” Omar said. The congresswoman and Vietor agreed that one of the more significant things about criticism from people like Greene is that they are not singling out a Trump policy, but rather broadly criticizing the man and renouncing their former support. Greene argued earlier this month that Trump is “not the same man” she supported in the 2016 presidential election. Omar argued Greene and others are discovering that Trump “never really had any principles outside of uplifting his ego.” “I think that we should give them credit for that, the fact that they’ve had this wake-up call to finally seeing this con man, this corrupt, chaotic man, for what he is, the fact that they understand that he never really had any principles outside of uplifting his ego,” she said. Omar continued by saying Democrats should embrace people like Greene, encouraging other MAGA followers to ditch Trump. “I think is an important thing for us to put our arms around and say ‘Yes, then now let’s figure out how do we save our country from the disaster that this man is creating?’” she said. Omar said she spoke to Greene and thanked her just before Greene left Congress last year, which is represents a lot of progress between the lawmakers who have had plenty of tense moments over the years. Greene pushed to censure Omar in 2024, claiming she could be a “foreign agent,” and Omar wanted Greene stripped of her committee assignments in 2021, accusing her of making threatening posts about her and other Democrats. “Before she left, I found her on the House floor,” Omar said, “and thanked her for, you know, her support in ending the genocide, her willingness to speak up about what the people in Gaza have experienced and what our tax dollars have allowed to take place.” Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said a far-left Democrat in Congress tried to sneak through an earmark of over $1 million for a suspicious “substance abuse clinic” housed at a Somali-owned restaurant. In the Jan. 8 interview on “Varney and Company” that resurfaced via the Libs of TikTok X account early Tuesday morning, Ernst highlighted the supposed clinic and said that fraud like the Somali day care scandal could extend to earmarks requested by “members of Congress.” “One of our spending bills making its way through Congress was a $1 million earmark from Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, which was an earmark that was supposedly going to a substance abuse clinic, which actually happened to be housed in a restaurant and run by three individuals that share the same residential address, according to their IRS paperwork,” Ernst told Varney. “Tons of red flags.” “So this is what we saw with the fraud involving the daycare centers,” Ernst continued. “Now we see other earmarks coming directly from members of Congress where it seems fraud is being perpetrated as well.” Ernst said that after she raised the issue, the earmark was stripped from that spending bill. “But again, this is how easy money has been flowing to bad actors in Minnesota,” she told Varney. Ernst and Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee asked the Department of Justice to look into the center in a Jan. 15 letter in which they laid out their suspicions about the clinic. The earmark appeared on page 21 of a 42-page document listing various earmarks requested by members of Congress. It states that Omar initiated the request, with Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith also requesting the funds. Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation. “That earmark was removed from the appropriations bill and was not included in any version of the bill that came up for a vote in the Senate,” a spokesperson for Klobuchar told the DCNF. Independent journalist Nick Shirley posted a 42-minute video on YouTube in late December in which he visited multiple day care centers run by Somalis, causing the issue of welfare fraud in Minnesota to erupt into the national media. Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced he would drop his bid for a third term in a Jan. 5 statement after Shirley released the video. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., suggested Sunday on a podcast that Democrats should act with grace toward former supporters of President Donald Trump who have broken with him on key issues. Tommy Vietor, one of the co-hosts of “Pod Save America” played a clip of former Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was once one of Trump’s staunch allies. She has now become one of his most outspoken conservative critics, even suggesting he be removed from office via the 25th Amendment after his viral threat to end Iranian civilization. “The American people have to open their eyes and deal with reality and deal with truth. And the truth is, look, you may have supported President Trump for 10 years, like I did and like you have, but this is not the same man. This is not the same man that we supported,” Greene said earlier this month. Vietor noted that she is “far from the only die-hard MAGA supporter” who has broken with Trump over the war in Iran and the handling of the Epstein files, citing a variety of other famous political figures. He then asked Omar what her reaction is to Greene’s comments and how Democrats should respond to such defections from the MAGA movement. The answer to the latter part of his question, Omar said, is “I think as Americans, it is really important for us to work together for the preservation of everything that is good in our country. and to support leaders that we can trust to safeguard what is good about our country.” The fascinating part of such defectors like Greene, Omar suggested, is that “they are not just coming out like other ones that you’d mentioned where they’re saying, ‘This action is wrong,’ right? They’re saying, ‘I am done with you.’” Vietor agreed, noting it is a “values-based” judgment “like ‘this guy is bad,’ not like ‘this policy is bad.’” “Right, and I think that we should give them credit for that, the fact that they’ve had this wake-up call to finally seeing this con man, this corrupt, chaotic man, for what he is,” Omar said. “The fact that they understand that he never really had any principles outside of uplifting his ego.” She went on to say that instead, it was about Trump enriching himself and boosting his ego after having been mocked by people like former President Barack Obama in the past. “It was never about putting America first. It was never about having coherent policies,” she said. Omar went on to marvel at “The fact that they have gotten off the sycophant train and are saying, ‘You know, we trusted the wrong person. We are sorry for that and need all of you to wake up to the fact that you’ve also trusted the wrong person.’” Omar added that this is something that “I think is an important thing for us to put our arms around and say ‘Yes, then now let’s figure out how do we save our country from the disaster that this man is creating?'” “I think it’s pretty important and meaningful that you feel that way, because you are someone who’s personally dealt with some abuse from a lot of these folks,” Vietor responded. “All of them,” Omar joked. When she was asked whether she had ever called Greene to extend this olive branch, she said she hasn’t yet, but recalled, “I did, before she left, I found her on the House floor and thanked her for, you know, her support in ending the genocide, her willingness to speak up about what the people in Gaza have experienced and what our tax dollars have allowed to take place.” She concluded, “We have a responsibility to end this genocide and to end our financial and political support for Israel and the impunity that we have constantly provided for them as, you know, they have tried to destroy a group of people.” When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a White House spokesperson said of Greene, “There is nothing more ‘America Last’ than quitting on your constituents and the MAGA movement in the middle of your term. President Trump is fighting every single day to Make America Great Again – we don’t have time for quitters.” When Greene was in Congress, she and Omar often exchanged barbs. In early 2024, Greene had pushed to censure Omar, accusing her of being a “foreign agent” for Somalia. In 2021, Omar voted with the Democratic majority to strip Greene of her committee assignments. Omar spoke up in favor of penalizing Greene in personal terms. She mentioned how Greene tried to previously force her and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., two Muslim members of Congress, to retake their congressional oaths on the Bible. She recalled when Greene posted a picture of herself holding a gun alongside images of Omar, Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., titled the “Squad‘s worst nightmare.” “This is about whether it is OK to hold an assault rifle next to members’ heads in a campaign ad and incite death threats against them,” Omar said in response at the time. “This is about whether it is OK to encourage the murder of the speaker of the House.” The post Omar Urges Democrats to Embrace Defecting MAGA Figures appeared first on Timesng.
Congress Faces Ethics Purge as Two Lawmakers Resign, Two More Face Expulsion
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives is reeling from a dramatic ethics purge this week, as two sitting members resigned under pressure and two Florida lawmakers face potential expulsion. In a rare bipartisan moment of accountability, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California and Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas announced their departures within hours of each other Monday night, avoiding near-certain expulsion votes over sexual misconduct allegations. The swift political collapse began Friday when the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a former staffer accused Swalwell of sexual assault. According to the report, the woman said Swalwell began pursuing her sexually when she was a 21-year-old intern, sent her a nude photo, and twice sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent. CNN followed with allegations from four women, including the same former staffer who said Swalwell raped her in 2024. Swalwell has denied the assault allegations throughout. “These allegations of sexual assault are flat false,” he said in a video posted to social media Friday night. His attorney, Sara Azari, issued a categorical denial Tuesday, calling the accusations “false, fabricated, and deeply offensive — a calculated and transparent political hit job.” Yet the fallout was immediate and devastating. Within 24 hours, all 21 Democratic members of Congress who had endorsed Swalwell withdrew their backing. Major labor unions suspended their support. Fifty-five former congressional and campaign staffers signed a public letter Sunday calling on Swalwell to resign from the House, declaring: “We stand unequivocally with our colleague, who showed extraordinary courage in coming forward to share her truth. We believe her.” House Democratic leaders — Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California — issued a joint statement Friday calling for Swalwell to end his campaign immediately. On Sunday, Swalwell suspended his governor’s campaign. On Monday, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into his conduct. About an hour after Swalwell’s resignation announcement, Gonzales posted on X: “There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all. When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office.” Gonzales had been under scrutiny since September 2025, when a staffer, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, died by suicide. In March, Gonzales admitted on a conservative podcast that he had an affair with her while she worked for him, calling it “a lapse in judgment.” Additional allegations surfaced last week when the San Antonio Express-News published previously unreported text messages showing Gonzales asking a political director on his 2020 campaign what kind of underwear she wore and repeatedly soliciting nude photos from her. House rules bar members from engaging in sexual relationships with employees. The paired resignations, one Democrat and one Republican, reflected a deliberate bipartisan dynamic that had emerged over the weekend. Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida said he would vote to expel both men. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington said: “This is not a partisan issue. This cuts across party lines. And it is the depravity of the way that women have been treated.” Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who had set a 2 p.m. Tuesday deadline for Swalwell to formally resign or face her expulsion resolution, welcomed Tuesday’s outcome. “We have successfully drained part of the swamp this week with the resignation of two very corrupt members of Congress,” she wrote on X. But the ethics purge may not be over. Two Florida lawmakers remain in jeopardy. Rep. Cory Mills, a Republican, is under Ethics Committee investigation on allegations including campaign finance violations, misuse of congressional office funds and sexual misconduct or dating violence — all of which he denies. In October, a Florida judge issued a restraining order against Mills for “protection against dating violence” after his ex-girlfriend accused him of harassment, saying he threatened to blackmail her using nude images and videos. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, faces graver legal jeopardy. A bipartisan Ethics Committee subpanel found her guilty of 27 violations of House rules, including money laundering, making false statements, campaign finance violations and misuse of official funds — most notably funneling $5 million in COVID-19 relief funds to her congressional campaign. She has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in her separate federal criminal case. The full Ethics Committee has scheduled an April 21 hearing to determine what sanctions to recommend to the full House for Cherfilus-McCormick. Meanwhile, pressure is building on both Florida lawmakers from their own delegation. Both U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor and Anna Paulina Luna told Florida Politics that the two scandalized members need to resign. “Public office is a public trust, and these politicians have been afforded extraordinary due process,” said Castor, a Tampa Democrat. “It is plain that they have violated the public trust. They should resign immediately.” Luna, a Pinellas Republican, was equally direct: “My position has been clear. If someone is engaging in criminal conduct and illegal activity they need to resign from Congress and I refuse to cover for your ass.” Notably, Luna has publicly said if Cherfilus-McCormick doesn’t resign by the time a House Ethics Committee recommends sanctions next week, she and others will push for an immediate vote on her expulsion. She hasn’t directly addressed the prospect of expelling Mills, but last year said he should not seek re-election. The resignations of Swalwell and Gonzales in a single day mark a rare moment of congressional self-policing, echoing — but also exceeding — the #MeToo-driven departures of 2017 and 2018. Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act Reform Act in 2018, requiring members to personally pay misconduct settlements and mandating public disclosure. Critics have long argued the law left significant gaps, particularly for staff who fear career retaliation. For now, with two seats vacated and two more members still under investigation, the House faces the question of whether Tuesday’s departures represent a genuine inflection point — or whether the machinery of accountability will slow again once the immediate pressure subsides. The American people are watching, and many lawmakers are feeling the heat. The post Congress Faces Ethics Purge as Two Lawmakers Resign, Two More Face Expulsion appeared first on Timesng.
House Passes Aviation Safety Bill After Deadly Midair Collision
The House approved an aviation safety bill Tuesday aimed at addressing lessons from last year’s midair collision of a jet with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., though key senators and victims’ families argue the legislation still needs strengthening. Sponsored by Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri and Democrat Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, the Alert Act passed 396-10, easily securing the two-thirds support needed to advance to the Senate. Yet the path forward remains uncertain. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Republican, and Maria Cantwell of Washington, a Democrat, have both stated the bill requires improvement. “A warning to my colleagues in the House: the Alert Act would not deliver the safety measures necessary to prevent another midair collision,” Cruz posted on X ahead of the vote. The legislation, born from tragedy, seeks to mandate key locator systems that the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended since 2008. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy has asserted such technology would have prevented the collision of the American Airlines jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter that sent both aircraft plunging into the icy Potomac River. Everyone aboard died—67 lives lost in what became the deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil since 2001. Earlier this year, Homendy sharply criticized the original version of the bill as “watered down.” The NTSB now says the revised version addresses the shortcomings their investigation identified and would require the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Department, and the military to take needed actions. The bill requires planes to have Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In systems that can receive data about other aircraft locations. Most planes already have the complementary ADS-B Out systems that broadcast their positions. Proponents argue these systems would have alerted the American Airlines pilots sooner to the impending collision. The House bill also mandates the next generation of collision avoidance systems be installed alongside ADS-B In systems, so pilots receive alerts about nearby traffic, not just see it on a display. However, the Air Line Pilots Association expressed concerns this approach could delay installation because the new collision avoidance system has not yet been fully certified. Families of the victims, while hopeful, remain wary. They want strict timelines to guarantee reforms are completed and worry the House bill would allow military flights to continue flying without broadcasting their locations on routine training flights, not just secret missions. “January 29, 2025 made clear what is at stake,” the main families group said Tuesday. “The 67 lives lost that day should be honored with an improved system that prevents this from happening again.” Tim and Sheri Lilley, whose son was the copilot of the airliner, emphasized that any legislation must “reflect the risks in today’s operating environment and ensures pilots have the information and technology they need to identify developing situations earlier.” The Lilleys and other families also seek stronger oversight of any exemptions that let the military fly without locator systems turned on to conceal their locations. The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as main causes of the crash. A helicopter route in the approach path of a Reagan National Airport runway didn’t ensure enough separation between helicopters and planes landing on the airport’s secondary runway, and the route wasn’t reviewed regularly, the board said. That poor design was a key factor, along with air traffic controllers relying too much on pilots to see and avoid other aircraft. Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, whose Virginia district lost constituents in the crash, stressed the importance of addressing all 50 NTSB recommendations. “It wasn’t just one issue that led to this crash,” Subramanyam said during debate. “It was a combination of systemic problems that made our national airspace unsafe.” Now, lawmakers must find a compromise that satisfies the Senate. Separate legislation, the ROTOR Act, crafted by the Senate, came up one vote short in the House. The Alert Act has backing from key industry groups, but the coming negotiations will test whether Congress can deliver the robust safety reforms families and investigators demand. The post House Passes Aviation Safety Bill After Deadly Midair Collision appeared first on Timesng.
House Passes Aviation Safety Bill After Deadly Midair Collision
The House approved an aviation safety bill Tuesday aimed at addressing lessons from last year’s midair collision of a jet with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., though key senators and victims’ families argue the legislation still needs strengthening. Sponsored by Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri and Democrat Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, the Alert Act passed 396-10, easily securing the two-thirds support needed to advance to the Senate. Yet the path forward remains uncertain. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Republican, and Maria Cantwell of Washington, a Democrat, have both stated the bill requires improvement. “A warning to my colleagues in the House: the Alert Act would not deliver the safety measures necessary to prevent another midair collision,” Cruz posted on X ahead of the vote. The legislation, born from tragedy, seeks to mandate key locator systems that the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended since 2008. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy has asserted such technology would have prevented the collision of the American Airlines jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter that sent both aircraft plunging into the icy Potomac River. Everyone aboard died—67 lives lost in what became the deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil since 2001. Earlier this year, Homendy sharply criticized the original version of the bill as “watered down.” The NTSB now says the revised version addresses the shortcomings their investigation identified and would require the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Department, and the military to take needed actions. The bill requires planes to have Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In systems that can receive data about other aircraft locations. Most planes already have the complementary ADS-B Out systems that broadcast their positions. Proponents argue these systems would have alerted the American Airlines pilots sooner to the impending collision. The House bill also mandates the next generation of collision avoidance systems be installed alongside ADS-B In systems, so pilots receive alerts about nearby traffic, not just see it on a display. However, the Air Line Pilots Association expressed concerns this approach could delay installation because the new collision avoidance system has not yet been fully certified. Families of the victims, while hopeful, remain wary. They want strict timelines to guarantee reforms are completed and worry the House bill would allow military flights to continue flying without broadcasting their locations on routine training flights, not just secret missions. “January 29, 2025 made clear what is at stake,” the main families group said Tuesday. “The 67 lives lost that day should be honored with an improved system that prevents this from happening again.” Tim and Sheri Lilley, whose son was the copilot of the airliner, emphasized that any legislation must “reflect the risks in today’s operating environment and ensures pilots have the information and technology they need to identify developing situations earlier.” The Lilleys and other families also seek stronger oversight of any exemptions that let the military fly without locator systems turned on to conceal their locations. The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as main causes of the crash. A helicopter route in the approach path of a Reagan National Airport runway didn’t ensure enough separation between helicopters and planes landing on the airport’s secondary runway, and the route wasn’t reviewed regularly, the board said. That poor design was a key factor, along with air traffic controllers relying too much on pilots to see and avoid other aircraft. Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, whose Virginia district lost constituents in the crash, stressed the importance of addressing all 50 NTSB recommendations. “It wasn’t just one issue that led to this crash,” Subramanyam said during debate. “It was a combination of systemic problems that made our national airspace unsafe.” Now, lawmakers must find a compromise that satisfies the Senate. Separate legislation, the ROTOR Act, crafted by the Senate, came up one vote short in the House. The Alert Act has backing from key industry groups, but the coming negotiations will test whether Congress can deliver the robust safety reforms families and investigators demand. The post House Passes Aviation Safety Bill After Deadly Midair Collision appeared first on Timesng.
House Passes Aviation Safety Bill After Deadly Midair Collision
The House approved an aviation safety bill Tuesday aimed at addressing lessons from last year’s midair collision of a jet with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., though key senators and victims’ families argue the legislation still needs strengthening. Sponsored by Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri and Democrat Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, the Alert Act passed 396-10, easily securing the two-thirds support needed to advance to the Senate. Yet the path forward remains uncertain. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Republican, and Maria Cantwell of Washington, a Democrat, have both stated the bill requires improvement. “A warning to my colleagues in the House: the Alert Act would not deliver the safety measures necessary to prevent another midair collision,” Cruz posted on X ahead of the vote. The legislation, born from tragedy, seeks to mandate key locator systems that the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended since 2008. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy has asserted such technology would have prevented the collision of the American Airlines jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter that sent both aircraft plunging into the icy Potomac River. Everyone aboard died—67 lives lost in what became the deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil since 2001. Earlier this year, Homendy sharply criticized the original version of the bill as “watered down.” The NTSB now says the revised version addresses the shortcomings their investigation identified and would require the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Department, and the military to take needed actions. The bill requires planes to have Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In systems that can receive data about other aircraft locations. Most planes already have the complementary ADS-B Out systems that broadcast their positions. Proponents argue these systems would have alerted the American Airlines pilots sooner to the impending collision. The House bill also mandates the next generation of collision avoidance systems be installed alongside ADS-B In systems, so pilots receive alerts about nearby traffic, not just see it on a display. However, the Air Line Pilots Association expressed concerns this approach could delay installation because the new collision avoidance system has not yet been fully certified. Families of the victims, while hopeful, remain wary. They want strict timelines to guarantee reforms are completed and worry the House bill would allow military flights to continue flying without broadcasting their locations on routine training flights, not just secret missions. “January 29, 2025 made clear what is at stake,” the main families group said Tuesday. “The 67 lives lost that day should be honored with an improved system that prevents this from happening again.” Tim and Sheri Lilley, whose son was the copilot of the airliner, emphasized that any legislation must “reflect the risks in today’s operating environment and ensures pilots have the information and technology they need to identify developing situations earlier.” The Lilleys and other families also seek stronger oversight of any exemptions that let the military fly without locator systems turned on to conceal their locations. The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as main causes of the crash. A helicopter route in the approach path of a Reagan National Airport runway didn’t ensure enough separation between helicopters and planes landing on the airport’s secondary runway, and the route wasn’t reviewed regularly, the board said. That poor design was a key factor, along with air traffic controllers relying too much on pilots to see and avoid other aircraft. Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, whose Virginia district lost constituents in the crash, stressed the importance of addressing all 50 NTSB recommendations. “It wasn’t just one issue that led to this crash,” Subramanyam said during debate. “It was a combination of systemic problems that made our national airspace unsafe.” Now, lawmakers must find a compromise that satisfies the Senate. Separate legislation, the ROTOR Act, crafted by the Senate, came up one vote short in the House. The Alert Act has backing from key industry groups, but the coming negotiations will test whether Congress can deliver the robust safety reforms families and investigators demand. The post House Passes Aviation Safety Bill After Deadly Midair Collision appeared first on Timesng.
House Passes Aviation Safety Bill After Deadly Midair Collision
The House approved an aviation safety bill Tuesday aimed at addressing lessons from last year’s midair collision of a jet with an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., though key senators and victims’ families argue the legislation still needs strengthening. Sponsored by Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri and Democrat Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, the Alert Act passed 396-10, easily securing the two-thirds support needed to advance to the Senate. Yet the path forward remains uncertain. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Republican, and Maria Cantwell of Washington, a Democrat, have both stated the bill requires improvement. “A warning to my colleagues in the House: the Alert Act would not deliver the safety measures necessary to prevent another midair collision,” Cruz posted on X ahead of the vote. The legislation, born from tragedy, seeks to mandate key locator systems that the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended since 2008. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy has asserted such technology would have prevented the collision of the American Airlines jet and Army Black Hawk helicopter that sent both aircraft plunging into the icy Potomac River. Everyone aboard died—67 lives lost in what became the deadliest plane crash on U.S. soil since 2001. Earlier this year, Homendy sharply criticized the original version of the bill as “watered down.” The NTSB now says the revised version addresses the shortcomings their investigation identified and would require the Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Department, and the military to take needed actions. The bill requires planes to have Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In systems that can receive data about other aircraft locations. Most planes already have the complementary ADS-B Out systems that broadcast their positions. Proponents argue these systems would have alerted the American Airlines pilots sooner to the impending collision. The House bill also mandates the next generation of collision avoidance systems be installed alongside ADS-B In systems, so pilots receive alerts about nearby traffic, not just see it on a display. However, the Air Line Pilots Association expressed concerns this approach could delay installation because the new collision avoidance system has not yet been fully certified. Families of the victims, while hopeful, remain wary. They want strict timelines to guarantee reforms are completed and worry the House bill would allow military flights to continue flying without broadcasting their locations on routine training flights, not just secret missions. “January 29, 2025 made clear what is at stake,” the main families group said Tuesday. “The 67 lives lost that day should be honored with an improved system that prevents this from happening again.” Tim and Sheri Lilley, whose son was the copilot of the airliner, emphasized that any legislation must “reflect the risks in today’s operating environment and ensures pilots have the information and technology they need to identify developing situations earlier.” The Lilleys and other families also seek stronger oversight of any exemptions that let the military fly without locator systems turned on to conceal their locations. The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as main causes of the crash. A helicopter route in the approach path of a Reagan National Airport runway didn’t ensure enough separation between helicopters and planes landing on the airport’s secondary runway, and the route wasn’t reviewed regularly, the board said. That poor design was a key factor, along with air traffic controllers relying too much on pilots to see and avoid other aircraft. Democratic Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, whose Virginia district lost constituents in the crash, stressed the importance of addressing all 50 NTSB recommendations. “It wasn’t just one issue that led to this crash,” Subramanyam said during debate. “It was a combination of systemic problems that made our national airspace unsafe.” Now, lawmakers must find a compromise that satisfies the Senate. Separate legislation, the ROTOR Act, crafted by the Senate, came up one vote short in the House. The Alert Act has backing from key industry groups, but the coming negotiations will test whether Congress can deliver the robust safety reforms families and investigators demand. The post House Passes Aviation Safety Bill After Deadly Midair Collision appeared first on Timesng.