President Trump vowed during his State of the Union address on Tuesday that "America will never be a socialist country," in an apparent rebuke to self-described Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
and Sen. Bernie Sanders that drew loud cheers and a standing ovation
from Republicans in the House chamber -- as well as supportive applause
from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In response, Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News after the speech: “I thought it was great. I think he’s scared."
The
progressive firebrand pointedly did not applaud as Trump praised an
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, Elvin Hernandez, for breaking up a notorious human trafficking ring,
and she often stared ahead expressionless during the
president's remarks. In an interview later Tuesday night, Ocasio-Cortez
said she was asking herself, "Is this a campaign stop or is this a State
of the Union?"
Trump cited the economic decline and civil disorder in Venezuela as a cautionary tale, after his administration last week imposed sweeping sanctions against the regime of Nicolas Maduro.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., center, listens as
President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a
joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb.
5, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The country's government in recent years
limited citizens' access to foreign currency, implemented substantial
subsidies and price controls on food and other items, and fell victim to
sweeping corruption -- before effectively collapsing last month.
"Two
weeks ago, the United States officially recognized the legitimate
government of Venezuela, and its new interim president, Juan Guaido,"
Trump began. "We stand with the Venezuelan people in their noble quest
for freedom -- and we condemn the brutality of the Maduro regime, whose
socialist policies have turned that nation from being the wealthiest in
South America into a state of abject poverty and despair. BERNIE SANDERS ACKNOWLEDGES ECONOMY IS A 'DISASTER' IN VENEZUELA
"Here,
in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in
our country," Trump continued, prompting boos from Republicans in the
chamber. "America was founded on liberty and independence -- not
government coercion, domination and control. We are born free, and we
will stay free."
President Donald Trump arrives to deliver his State of the Union
address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington,
Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Then, after a prolonged chant of "USA" broke out,
Trump concluded, "Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never
be a socialist country."
Democrats largely remained seated as
Republicans resumed the "USA" chant and applauded for several seconds.
Sanders kept his head in his hand and grimaced, while Pelosi clapped in
her seat.
Pelosi has already sparred publicly several times with Ocasio-Cortez, who sought last month
to reject a Pelosi-backed rules package that would have effectively
curbed some spending. Democratic leaders quashed that attempted revolt
overwhelmingly. And Ocasio-Cortez last year personally joined
environmentalist protesters conducting a sit-in at Pelosi's office.
"Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialst country." — President Trump
The effective collapse of Venezuela has forced some far-left progressive Democrats into an awkward position. In a series of social media posts
in January, Sanders -- who is considering another run for the White
House -- acknowledged that "the economy is a disaster" in Venezuela, but
he largely blamed the Maduro government for conducting what he called
a "violent crackdown" on dissidents and the rule of law.
For her part, Ocasio-Cortez is set to unveil a massive "Green New Deal" with
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey next week, and on Monday she
told her fellow representatives in a letter that the proposal calls for
a "national, social, industrial and economic mobilization at a scale not
seen since World War II."
Democratic leaders, including Pelosi, have not yet signed onto the expansive plan.
President Trump delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday
night, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The Green New Deal proposal would lead to national
net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, according to Ocasio-Cortez's letter,
“through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers,”
while also generating millions of “good, high-wage jobs."
Through
it all, the Green New Deal would additionally “promote justice and
equity by preventing current and repairing historic oppression to
frontline and vulnerable communities," according to Ocasio-Cortez.
Several analysts have
cautioned that the liberal firebrand is in over her head, even though
the as-yet vague and uncertain details about the Green New Deal render a
precise calculation impossible. Physicist Christopher Clack has warned
that the cost could easily be into the trillions.
“It’s a daunting
task, and I’m not sure that the authors of the Green New Deal fully
comprehend how much they’ll need,” Clack said in an interview with The
Hill.
Institute for Energy Research president Tom Pyle was more
blunt: “One hundred percent renewable energy defies the laws of physics.
It would be impossible to achieve.”
And Paul Bledsoe, a strategic
adviser at the Progressive Policy Institute, said progressives were
overcompensating. “I understand the value of aspirational goals,”
Bledsoe said. “My personal view is, that undermines the credibility of
the effort.”
Nevertheless,
some 70 Democratic lawmakers have so far tentatively endorsed a Green
New Deal plan, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and
California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, both of whom are looking at
2020 presidential campaigns.
The former White House staffer who raised the ire of President Donald Trump
recently by writing a tell-all book about his time in the
administration surprisingly sided with the president Monday in blasting a
recent White House leak.
Chris Sims, author of the book “Team of Vipers,” said on the “Todd Starnes Show” that the leak of Trump's private schedules was “disgraceful.”
“I
mean, imagine working in a place where you can't know if everything,
like everything, you say may end up in the press. Everything you do may
end up in the press, every kind of internal conversation about me, or
whatever it is. You can't trust anybody and that's kind of the
atmosphere in there,” Sims told Todd Starnes.
He added, “This one
in particular, I think, is particularly disgraceful because it was
purposefully done in a way that would portray the president as not
working hard. There are a lot of legitimate criticisms of Donald Trump.
That's not one of them.” PREVIEWING TRUMP'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
Last Tuesday, Trump tweeted that Sims was “a gofer,” “a mess” and “a low level staffer that I hardly knew.”
Sims also weighed in on accusations the president is racist.
“I
say that there's nothing that I experienced in my personal time with
him over two years when I thought that he was racist,” Sims told
Starnes. “I do think that there are times where he's missed some
opportunities to lead on the race issue and to, you know, bring racial
healing and reconciliation in a way that only the president can with
that kind of bully-pulpit microphone that he has. But, I never saw a
single thing behind closed doors that gave me any reason to believe
that, that he's racist.”
This past Sunday on NBC News' "Meet the Press," Sen. Sherrod Brown,
D-Ohio, said “we have a president who is racist,” citing Trump's
response to the 2017 attack in Charlottesville, Va., among other
things. Brown was asked for his thoughts in light of Virginia Gov. Ralph
Northam, a Democrat, apologizing but refusing to step down over a
racist photo in a 1984 yearbook.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
on Monday attended a concert called, "Notorious RBG in Song" in
Washington, D.C., marking her first public appearance since undergoing lung cancer surgery last December.
The
85-year-old has been recuperating at her home in Washington since the
procedure at New York's Memorial Sloane Kettering to remove the lower
lobe of her left lung. Two nodules were discovered in a CT scan shortly
after she broke ribs
in a fall. She had two previous bouts with cancer, but doctors are
optimistic that the surgery was successful and she is cancer free.
The justice sat in the back of the darkened auditorium at the National Museum of Women in the Arts and, according to The Washington Post, was only spotted by concertgoers as they left the performance.
The
concert was presented by her daughter-in-law and other musicians.
Patrice Michaels is married to Ginsburg’s son, James. Michaels is a
soprano and composer. James Ginsburg said before the concert that his
mother is walking a mile a day and meeting with her personal trainer
twice a week.
Ginsburg’s
recent absence from the court and participation from home is not
unprecedented. The late Chief Justice William Rehnquist also worked from
home and even authored several opinions while undergoing cancer
treatment from 2004-05.
Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, said in an interview
on Monday that he would endorse President Trump over any potential Republican challenger in the event that there’s a primary.
Christie, who recently said he’d make a better commander-in-chief than Trump, told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes that he would endorse the president over any Republicans that he knows of.
A handful of Republicans are sending signals that they’re taking a possible primary run seriously.
Former
Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld is headed to New Hampshire in two weeks to
headline “Politics and Eggs,” a must-stop for White House hopefuls. A
source close to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told Fox News that Hogan,
“more than others, is really taking it seriously.”
And an email this week by former Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s
political group reminded supporters that “many have suggested Gov.
Kasich should run, and he is keeping all of his options on the table.”
Christie praised Trump on the program for at least attempting new avenues of dialog with leaders like North Korea's Kim Jung Un.
New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday unveiled new details on the so-called "Green New Deal"
she plans to introduce in a matter of days, as she worked
behind-the-scenes to rally congressional support for the proposal that
could cost as much as $7 trillion.
Ocasio-Cortez, who is set to
unveil the plan with Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, told her
fellow representatives in a letter that the Green New Deal calls for
a "national, social, industrial and economic mobilization at a scale not
seen since World War II."
"Next week, we plan to release a
resolution that outlines the scope and scale of the Green New Deal,”
Ocasio-Cortez said in the letter, adding that the country's
near-total economic transformation should take approximately ten years.
To
raise awareness for the measure, Markey announced Monday he had
invited Varshini Prakash, the co-founder of the Sunrise Movement
environmentalist group, to be his guest at President Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday night. (Several other Democrats announced guests apparently intended to highlight their opposition to various Trump administration policies, while Trump himself extended invites
to the family of a couple allegedly murdered by an illegal
immigrant and a child bullied at school for having the last name
"Trump.")
The Green New Deal proposal would lead to national
net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, according to Ocasio-Cortez's letter,
“through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers,”
while also generating millions of “good, high-wage jobs." Details of the
letter were first published by Bloomberg. ANALYSIS: GREEN NEW DEAL IS MOST RADICAL LEGISLATION IN DECADES
Through
it all, the Green New Deal would additionally “promote justice and
equity by preventing current and repairing historic oppression to
frontline and vulnerable communities," according to Ocasio-Cortez.
December 10, 2018 - Washington, DC, United States - Protesters
seen holding placards during the Sunrise Movement protest inside the
office of US Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to advocate that
Democrats support the Green New Deal.
(Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images via ZUMA Wire)
On Twitter Monday, Ocasio-Cortez reposted a claim from one of her advisers, Robert Hockett, arguing that "in this case, size matters"
and that "the problems the Green New Deal addresses require solutions
where bigger is better, imperative, and paraodixcally, more affordable."
Hockett is a lawyer and law professor, and is not an expert in environmental policy.
Several analysts,
meanwhile, have cautioned that the liberal firebrand is in over her
head, even though the as-yet vague and uncertain details about the Green
New Deal render a precise calculation impossible at the moment.
Physicist Christopher Clack told The Hill that the cost would easily be into the trillions.
“It’s
a daunting task, and I’m not sure that the authors of the Green New
Deal fully comprehend how much they’ll need,” Clack said.
Institute
for Energy Research president Tom Pyle was more blunt: “One hundred
percent renewable energy defies the laws of physics. It would be
impossible to achieve.”
And Paul Bledsoe, a strategic adviser at
the Progressive Policy Institute, said progressives were
overcompensating. “I understand the value of aspirational goals,”
Bledsoe said. “My personal view is, that undermines the credibility of
the effort.”
Nevertheless, approximately 70 Democratic lawmakers
have so far tentatively endorsed a Green New Deal plan, including
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and California Democratic Sen.
Kamala Harris.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has vowed to
address climate change, has not publicly signed onto the plan, even
though scores of progressive activists -- joined by Ocasio-Cortez -- staged a sit-in at her House office late last year, demanding action on the climate.
While
there is no legislative text yet available for the Markey/Ocasio-Cortez
proposal, a draft circulated by Ocasio-Cortez last week called for a
committee to be formed to create a plan, and lays out a framework that
includes eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing and
agriculture, while “dramatically” expanding energy sources to meet 100
percent of power demand through renewable sources.
FILE - In this Nov. 28, 2018, file photo, House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., joined by from left, Rep. Eric Swalwell,
D-Calif., Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio., and Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla.,
speaks to media at Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in
Washington, Wednesday, to announce her nomination by House Democrats to
lead them in the new Congress. Pelosi has appointed Castor to lead a
special committee on climate change that replaces one eliminated by
Republicans in 2011. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
To cover what would presumably be a gargantuan cost,
it envisions financing by “the federal government, using a combination
of the Federal Reserve, a new public bank or system of regional and
specialized public banks, public venture funds and such other vehicles
or structures that the select committee deems appropriate, in order to
ensure that interest and other investment returns generated from public
investments made in connection with the plan will be returned to the
treasury, reduce taxpayer burden and allow for more investment.” CRENSHAW, OCASIO-CORTEZ TRADE BARBS ON WEALTH TAX, NFL PROTESTS
As
it stands, any such proposal would be almost certainly dead on arrival
in the Republican-controlled Senate, and also possibly the House --
where it is not clear if a majority of Democrats would back a plan.
Even
if Congress managed to pass a version of the Green New Deal, the White
House could veto the legislation, and a two-thirds majority in both the
House of Representatives and the Senate would be needed to override the
veto.
The Trump administration has made clear it would not accept
Ocasio-Cortez's proposals. In January, White House Press Secretary Sarah
Sanders derided Ocasio-Cortez's recent claim that the world will end in 12 years due
to climate change, and suggested the Trump administration has little
need for the progressive firebrand's thoughts in general.
"I
don't think we're going to listen to [Ocasio-Cortez] on much of
anything -- particularly not on matters we're gonna leave in the hands
of a much, much higher authority -- and certainly, not listen to the
freshman congresswoman on when the world may end," Sanders told Fox News' "Hannity."
Speaking
at an event commemorating Martin Luther King Day that
month, Ocasio-Cortez asserted that climate change constituted "our World
War II" and added: “Millennials and people, you know, Gen Z and all
these folks that will come after us are looking up and we’re like: ‘The
world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change and
your biggest issue is, how are we gonna pay for it?'"
But
conservative commentators have argued that most proposed solutions to
global warming would do more harm than good, and also have accused
climate activists of crying wolf. In 2006, a NASA scientist and leading
global warming researcher declared that the world had only 10 years to avert a climate catastrophe -- a deadline that has come and gone. Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
Customs and Border Patrol Agent Donna Doss, 49, was killed Saturday night while on patrol in Abilene, Texas, officials said.
(Banks County Sheriff’s Office)
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent died while working in Texas on Saturday, officials said.
Agent Donna Doss, 49, was helping state police near Interstate 20 in Abilene just before 9 p.m., the agency said in a news release.
BORDER AGENTS REPORTEDLY DISCOVER 60-FOOT TUNNEL TO MEXICO AT SOUTHERN BORDER
While she assisted, Doss was "struck and killed by a passing vehicle" and died at the scene.
Doss served the agency for more than 15 years, after beginning duty in November 2003.
“Agent
Doss died while performing her duty, protecting the community and the
United States," Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Matthew Hudak
said. "Our heart, prayers, and support go out to Agent Doss’ family in
this time of need."
OTTAWA (Reuters) – A major bloc of Latin American nations and Canada
will discuss on Monday how to maintain pressure on Venezuelan President
Nicolas Maduro to hold new elections as he faces widespread calls to
resign after last year’s disputed presidential vote. Sources briefed on the matter said that the 14-nation Lima Group
looked set, though, to hold off imposing further sanctions on the Maduro
government when it meets in Ottawa. Most group members say Maduro should quit in favor of opposition
leader Juan Guaido – who declared himself interim president last month –
and are calling for a new presidential election in the troubled OPEC
nation. The United States, which is not a member of the group, also wants Maduro gone. “How can we continue to support the opposition to keep the pressure
up on the regime and push for new elections? Certainly that’s something
we’ll be looking at,” said a Canadian government official. Maduro, who has overseen an economic collapse and the exodus of
millions of Venezuelans, said in an interview that aired on Spanish
television channel Antena 3 on Sunday: “We don’t accept ultimatums from
anyone,” adding: “I refuse to call for elections now – there will be
elections in 2024.” Maduro, who has maintained the critical support of the military, has said Guaido is staging a U.S.-directed coup against him. Monday’s meeting in Ottawa will also discuss how to aid the people of
Venezuela, including through immediate humanitarian assistance, said
the office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Last month, the Lima Group announced a travel ban on senior Venezuelan officials and a freeze on their foreign assets. The Canadian source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of
the situation, declined to comment when asked whether more punitive
measures could be imposed. Two sources briefed on the talks said such an announcement was unlikely for now. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration last week issued
sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned oil firm PDVSA in a move likely to
cut revenues for a country hit by medicine shortages and malnutrition. Trump, in an interview that aired on Sunday, said military intervention in Venezuela was “an option.” Trudeau spoke on Sunday to Guaido and the two “discussed the
importance of the international community sending a clear message
regarding the illegitimacy of the Maduro regime,” Trudeau’s office said. The challenge for participants is that Mexico, a member of the Lima
Group, opposes any measures to oust Maduro, who also has the backing of
Russia, China and Turkey. While European Union governments will soon move to recognize Guaido
as interim president, members are set to use cautious language for fear
of setting a precedent for political crises, said diplomatic sources. That does not sit well with nations such as Columbia, which neighbors Venezuela. “The most important issue now is to get Europe in line and to deepen
the isolation of Venezuela and its backers,” said a government official
in Bogota, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam pauses during a news conference in the
Governor’s Mansion in Richmond, Va., on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019. Northam
is under fire for a racial photo that appeared in his college yearbook.
(AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Former Democrat Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe predicts Ralph Northam will step down from office.
During an interview Sunday, McAuliffe stated as soon as the blackface
and Klansman photo came out, it left no room for Northam to continue
serving as governor of Virginia.
The former governor added, “Well, first he said it was Friday night.
And if it wasn’t him in the photo, he should have said that on Friday. I
have no idea what was going on in the governor’s office on Friday. I
just — if you aren’t instinctively, you know if you put black paint on
your face. You know if you put a hood on. And so if it isn’t you, you
come out with it immediately and say this is not me. So I can’t
understand what’s going on.”
McAuliffe also said at this point, it doesn’t matter if “Northam” is
in fact – the one in the picture or not, and added this chapter needs to
be closed in order for the state to move forward.
Additionally, McAuliffe said the State’s Lieutenant Governor, Justin
Fairfax, will do a great job of bringing the people of Virginia back
together.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., center, listens as
President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a
joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb.
5, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President Donald Trump arrives to deliver his State of the Union
address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington,
Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Trump delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday
night, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
