Dems claim no progress made in shutdown talks as Trump pushes steel barrier

After President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence wrapped up separate meetings on border security and the ongoing partial federal government shutdown on Sunday, Trump offered his strongest endorsement yet of a proposal to build a steel wall, rather than a concrete barrier, at the southern border.
Meanwhile, a Democratic source told Fox News that the Pence-led meeting with bipartisan congressional staff at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) near the White House had accomplished little, and started nearly an hour late because Trump administration officials were unprepared. Trump called the meeting "productive" afterward, although he was not in attendance.
The president framed his new pitch for a steel wall as a concession to Democrats to move negotiations along, as the shutdown entered its 16th day. Meanwhile, Democrats published the full text of several spending bills to reopen the government on Sunday that the White House and Senate Republicans have long said have no chance of becoming law because they do not include any funding for a wall of any kind.
"They don't like concrete, so we'll give them steel," Trump told reporters after returning to the White House from a meeting with his advisers at Camp David.
Trump also suggested he would rather wait until the Supreme Court rules on the legality of his administration's recission of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program before negotiating with Democrats on the issue as part of the talks to end the shutdown.
Several federal judges have held that the Trump administration's reasons for terminating DACA were legally insufficient under a federal administrative law statute, which requires adequate notice and justification before the government terminates a right it has previously granted.
"I would consider DACA, but ... I'd rather have the Supreme Court rule, and then work with the Democrats on DACA,' Trump said. "I want to help with DACA, but ... you know, it's going to be before the Supreme Court very soon."
At the sit-down at the EEOB, Pence -- along with Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen -- on Sunday discussed a variety of border-security measures with congressional officials from both parties.
“Democrats were given what they asked for, which was a detailed, breakdown list of the administration’s proposals for border security that include the wall and other border protection measures," a House GOP leadership aide told Fox News. "Democrats were given the opportunity to ask questions of Secretary Nielsen and hear DHS’ justification for the specific funding requests. Their justifications made it abundantly clear why it is necessary to have this level of funding to effectively secure our border.”
A Democratic official familiar with the meeting, however, said "no progress was made" at the Pence sit-down and charged that the White House was unprepared.

Vice President Mike Pence, left, White House legislative affairs aide Ja'Ron Smith, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, second row left, White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, and others, walk down the steps of the Eisenhower Executive Office building, on the White House complex, after a meeting with staff members of House and Senate leadership, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“The meeting today at 1 p.m. started approximately 45 minutes late because the White House did not have the information Democrats requested ready," the official told Fox News. "Yesterday, Democrats asked for a full budget justification for the administration’s position because the $5.7 billion wall request was not included in the administration's fiscal year 2019 request and the administration has not had a consistent position in various conversations with the Hill.  Democratic staff did not receive a full budget justification today.
  The Democratic source continued: "Three and a half months into a new fiscal year, the Administration did not present any commensurate cuts in the DHS budget to accommodate the increases they are seeking.  Given the failure of the White House to present a full budget justification today, the Democratic staff pleaded again for the White House to change course and re-open government by supporting the [bill to fund DHS through February 8] and the six bill package that the House has passed and has received broad bipartisan support in the Senate.  The Vice President said the President would not do that."
No further meetings between Pence and congressional staff are currently planned. For his part, Pence tweeted only that he was "back at the White House" Sunday afternoon.
While Pence noted that the president was "committed to securing the border, building the wall, & working to reopen our government," he did not characterize the meeting "productive," as he did on Twitter after a similar get-together with congressional staff on Saturday.
However, in his own tweet later Sunday afternoon, Trump called Pence's meeting as a step forward.
"V.P. Mike Pence and group had a productive meeting with the Schumer/Pelosi representatives today," Trump wrote. "Many details of Border Security were discussed. We are now planning a Steel Barrier rather than concrete. It is both stronger & less obtrusive. Good solution, and made in the U.S.A."
Trump's steel wall proposal was the continuation of a White House strategy that has developed in the past several weeks. Trump first floated the idea of using "artistically designed steel slats" for the wall, rather than concrete, in December.
He then suggested taking the concrete wall off the table at a Rose Garden news conference on Friday, as a concession to Democrats. And, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said in an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday that Trump "was willing to agree ... to take a concrete wall off the table" in order to secure a deal to end the ongoing shutdown.
"We've been in touch with a lot of people, and I informed my folks to say that we'll build a steel barrier --- steel -- that it will be made out of steel, that it will be less obtrusive and it'll be stronger," Trump said. "And we're able to use our great companies to make it, by using steel."
Some ex-White House officials have suggested Trump abandoned the idea of a concrete wall in the early days of his tenure. In an explosive interview published shortly before his departure from the Trump administration at the end of last year, former chief of staff John Kelly told the Los Angeles Times that the White House had "left a solid concrete wall early on in the administration, when we asked people what they needed and where they needed it.

People look on from the Mexican side, left, as U.S. Border Patrol agents on the other side of the U.S. border wall in San Diego prepare for the arrival of hundreds of pro-migration protestors, seen from Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Earlier Sunday, speaking to reporters before he headed out to Camp David to discuss border security with top advisers, Trump had predicted that the Pence-run meeting would not lead to any major developments.
TRUMP POINTS TO OBAMA, HILLARY'S PAST REMARKS TO BOLSTER PUSH FOR BORDER WALL
"I don't expect to have anything to happen at that meeting," Trump said.
Previous meetings between Democrats and White House officials have been heated: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Nielsen, the DHS secretary, reportedly got into a tense confrontation on Wednesday in the Situation Room, with the California Democrat interrupting Nielsen’s presentation on border security and illegal immigration, telling her, “I reject your facts.”
The president additionally said he was "totally involved" in shutdown negotiations and claimed to have "tremendous support within the Republican Party."
The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history lasted 21 days, and Trump has said repeatedly that current one may last more than a year if Democrats are not willing to fund some of the wall.

."They don't like concrete, so we'll give them steel."
— President Trump

The president also reaffirmed that he "may declare a national emergency dependent on what's going to happen over the next few days" to construct a border wall, and declared that Republicans and Democrats were "going to have some very serious talks" beginning on Monday.
However, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Democratic Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline suggested Trump did not have the authority to declare an emergency to build the border wall.
"I don’t think the president has that authority -- he would have to meet a very high standard," Cicilline said. "Article I establishes the Congress of the United States and gives us the responsibility of appropriating money, so I don’t think the president has the authority to do that, and I hope he will try to work with Congress to resolve this disagreement but open the government first."
The Democrat-led House last week approved one amalgamated spending bill, addressing six areas of spending and one measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 8. The House approved both bills on a bipartisan basis, but Senate Republicans and the White House have said they were non-starters without wall money.

A migrant from Honduras pass a child to her father after he jumped the border fence to get into the U.S. side to San Diego, Calif., from Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. Discouraged by the long wait to apply for asylum through official ports of entry, many migrants from recent caravans are choosing to cross the U.S. border wall and hand themselves in to border patrol agents. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

This week, the House is set to start approving these measures on an individual basis. On Sunday, Democrats posted the full text of the bills, in keeping with their recent rules change requiring 72 hours of advanced notice to the public before members vote on most new legislation.
Fox News has learned the House Rules Committee will meet late Tuesday afternoon to tee up some of these measures for the floor. The Rules Committee is the gateway for most legislation to reach the House floor.

The House is expected to consider the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill Wednesday. This measure deals with the Treasury Department and funds the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
By the end of next week, the House likely will have passed different versions of all funding bills to re-open the government -- twice.

In an interview Sunday, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham warned the shutdown could not end as long as the "radical left" insisted on calling Republicans racist for supporting immigration officials.
"We’re negotiating with people who will accuse all of us who support a wall as part of border security as racists," Graham said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "As long as the radical left is in charge, we’re not going to get anywhere."

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls herself 'radical,' says her mistakes don't compare to Trump's 'lies'

Praying Mantis ?

Rising Democratic star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told CBS News' “60 Minutes” in an interview broadcast Sunday that she is “a radical” who wants to use her newfound position in Congress to make new progressive laws in America.
“If that’s what radical means, then call me a radical,” Ocasio-Cortez said, when questioned about her “radical agenda.”
She also responded to critics who have pointed out factual errors in some of her tweets. Interviewer Anderson Cooper noted that her claim the Pentagon's accounting errors could have funded most of "Medicare for All" received "Four Pinocchios" from The Washington Post.
Ocasio-Cortez fired back: "I think that there's a lot of people more concerned about being precisely, factually and semantically correct than about being morally right... Whenever I make a mistake. I say, 'Okay, this was clumsy,' and then I restate what my point was. But it's-- it's not the same thing as-- as the president lying about immigrants. It's not the same thing, at all."
She said “it’s only been radicals” like Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt who have altered the course of history and made progress in America.
The Democrat said she was working as a waitress and bartender when she decided to run for Congress. “When you can’t have health care, that is not dignified,” she told Cooper, noting like many millennials, she had student loans and no health insurance.
Ocasio-Cortez also said she didn't think it was unrealistic to bring her ideas into action, perhaps radical for America, but mainstream in Europe: “We pay more per capita in health care and education for lower outcomes than many other nations. And so for me, what’s unrealistic is — is what we’re living in right now.”
She also said it was problematic which ambitious policies in American politics were pursued based on funding: “No one asks how we’re gonna pay for this Space Force. No one asked how we paid for a $2 trillion tax cut. We only ask how we pay for it on issues of housing, healthcare and education.”
Ocasio-Cortez, sworn in as Congress’ youngest member on Thursday, is one of a number of Democrats who backs the Green New Deal — which aims to combat both climate change and income inequality with a massive and costly economic overhaul.
Ocasio-Cortez has called the aim — funded in part by slapping a tax as high as 70 percent on top earners —  “a wartime-level, just economic mobilization plan to get to 100% renewable energy.”
JUSTIN HASKINS: 5 THINGS OCASIO-CORTEZ DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT THE GREEN NEW DEAL
Its framework includes eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing and agriculture and “dramatically” expanding energy sources to meet 100 percent of power demand through renewable sources.
Organizers with the Sunrise Movement activist group have framed The Green New Deal as a make-or-break issue for Democratic voters, particularly young voters.
Stephen O'Hanlon, Sunrise’s spokesman, told Fox News via email Sunday night: “This is a question of priorities. Instead of spending billions subsidizing oil and gas corporations and giving tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, we can choose to put that money toward giving my generation a livable future and providing every a good job to every American ready to get to work making our country stronger.”
Ocasio-Cortez said she is willing as a representative to compromise, however: “It’s just about what we choose to compromise.”
She said the centrism of Democrats has damaged the lives of everyday Americans: “We as a party have compromised too much, and we’ve lost too much of who we’re supposed to be and who we are.”
When asked about President Trump, she spoke raw.
“Yeah. Yeah. No question,” Ocasio-Cortez replied when asked if Trump is racist.
She called him “a symptom of a problem.”
Ocasio-Cortez added: “The president certainly didn’t invent racism, but he’s certainly given a voice to it and expanded it, and created a platform for those things.”
The White House responded to CBS News: “Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s sheer ignorance on the matter can’t cover the fact that President Trump supported and passed historic criminal justice reform.”

Christian Bale bashes former VP Dick Cheney, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Golden Globes speech

Christian Bale made his feelings about former vice president Dick Cheney quite clear in his acceptance speech for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for "Vice."
Bale, 44, thanked his wife, Sibi Blazic, profusely before getting political.
The critically acclaimed British actor said he was "cornering the market on charisma-free a—holes ... What do we think, Mitch McConnell next?"
He added, "Thank you to Satan for giving me inspiration to play this role."
Bale previously spoke to Fox News about playing Cheney where he expressed his admiration for the former George W. Bush administration member, but never previously spoke about the Republican Majority Leader.
“He was a wonderful family man — he’s a great dad, he’s an avid reader, he has a brain like a vice and he constantly reads history,” Bale told Fox News of Cheney at the premiere of “Vice" on Dec. 11 in Beverly Hills, Calif. ”He was very laid-back. He would have been very happy to be a lineman in Wyoming if he hadn’t met Lynne, who said to him, ‘No, that doesn’t cut it. You need some ambition.’ What would have been if they hadn’t met?”
However, when asked if he believes the real-life Cheney will find the movie enjoyable or irksome, Bale could only speculate.
“I think he’ll certainly find it entertaining, at the very least. I think he’s very thick-skinned — you know. He has no remorse or regrets about what he’s done — he always says, ‘I would do it again in a minute.’ He doesn’t back down — he doesn’t apologize about anything,” Bale said. “So, I think he’s a thick-skinned guy and I’d love to hear his thoughts. He’s a very intelligent individual, no matter what your thoughts are about him — he’s a smart cookie. So, I do hope so.”
“Right. Yeah, I think I’m done — you know. Everything hurts,” he said with a laugh. “Everything hurts now. I’ve gotten really stout thinking if I can manage this again, and the answer is probably no.”
"Vice" also stars Amy Adams playing Lynne Cheney, Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld and Sam Rockwell as Bush and many others.
"Vice" led the Golden Globes nominations with six nods.

Media loves a Democrat Cartoons

Dan Gainor: Media get their dream House: Press celebrates Democrats’ ‘triumphant’ return to power

The media finally got the fun House they wanted — run entirely by Democrats.  And their arrival made journalists nearly scream in PC glee.
They’ve been fighting President Donald Trump all alone for two years. The arrival of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and liberal media darlings like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez set off a veritable House party in the press. They now have powerful allies who will do what they want — attack Trump.It was “a triumphant return to power” for new House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, “a new era” and “an earthquake in Trump world.” CNN even called it “girl power” and pretended she was reaching out in a “non-partisan” way to “women of all parties.” The network actually took her out to her native Baltimore to get ice cream from her favorite ice cream shop.
ABC’s Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran emphasized that “[f]or the first time President Trump entering his third year as president is gonna face an opposition with real power in Washington.”
Apparently, 24-7 press opposition wasn’t enough.
The Washington Post didn’t hide its feelings about the power switch: “Pelosi seeks a return to normalcy, but an unpredictable president may not comply.” The “Democracy Dies in Darkness” paper found the liberal who promised to “light the way” and could barely contain itself. The paper practically took on the role of Pelosi’s press office, noting, “she has a long history working productively with Republicans.”
The New York Times described Pelosi as an “Icon of Female Power” and talked about her rise “from the well-mannered daughter of a Baltimore mayor to a savvy legislator.”
It wasn’t just about Pelosi. Journalists celebrated everything from the Democrats’ fashion sense to diversity — already a media sacred term. The word “diverse” was on many reporters’ lips. But heaven help anyone who didn’t look right (or, left?).
Journalists focused on the women’s clothes and white men’s race — because when they do it, it’s not sexist or racist. Politico’s Congress reporter Rachel Bade skewered the white Republicans in their dark suits. “Sitting above the chamber, you see the stark contrast in color btw the GOP & Dem side: the Rs are all in dark suits. Almost all white men. The Dem side is speckled with pinks and purples and greens being worn by the historic # of women. Also very ethnically diverse,” she tweeted.
Washington Post Fashion Critic Robin Givhan celebrated the Democrats’ fashion sense. She declared, “fashion was not merely a footnote, it was a rallying cry, a defiant gesture, a point of cultural pride — a glorious, theatrical declaration of self. It was white suits and pink dresses, Native American artistry, a Palestinian thobe, a kente cloth stole, a hijab and a skintight pencil skirt with a fur stole.”
Being liberal is a fashion statement.
2. Wall vs. shutdown: The government shutdown and the border wall continue to vex the media who see no reason for either.
This was obvious when Trump held a short briefing in the press room and journalists freaked out that he didn’t take questions. CNN called it, “Trump's press 'briefing' that wasn't.” Mediaite summed up the press room reaction with this: “White House Reporters Heckle Trump After Speech: ‘The Point of the Briefing Room is to Take Questions!!!’”
Theoretical GOP consultant Rick Wilson took the opportunity to mock the Republican base. He told CNN’s Don Lemon, “the wall has always been a con for Donald Trump’s credulous rube ten-toothed base.” One commentator said it was time for the GOP to “change the president’s diapers.”
The New York Times gave an entire page in its Sunday Review for an essay by illegal immigrant activist and sometime journalist Jose Antonio Vargas. It was titled “Portraits From a Caravan – Migrants escaping peril wait in Tijuana for their American dream.” Just in case you thought it might be neutral.
Thankfully, a little truth has seeped into the media coverage of the shutdown. Axios CEO Jim VandeHei characterized the shift in the Democrat Party: “I think the feeling that they have to appear to be really strong by supporting a lot more border security, that that has waned, and that the enthusiasm of the Democratic Party is for protecting immigrants.”
3. This Is CNN: New Year’s Eve is always a tough holiday for CNN as it trots out major anchors and mixes them with lots of alcohol.
Anchors Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper were both drinking. Anchor Brooke Baldwin even tweeted, “Thanks to all of y’all who watched, tweeted, and got #drunkdonlemon trending another year.”
I’ll let Daily Caller White House Correspondent Amber Athey explain the rest. “CNN reporter Randi Kaye kicked off New Year’s Eve by drinking champagne through a bong made out of a snorkel.”
Ah, journalism.
Then there was the self-absorbed segment with “New Day” Co-host Alisyn Camerota who was upset about the social media posts of a retired American Marine arrested by Russia for alleged spying. Why? Because he posted, “Just drinking coffee and watching fake news,” as he was pictured in front of a giant CNN logo.
Camerota was actually interviewing the man’s twin brother and rather than show sympathy over being arrested by Russian thugs, she fixated on the arrested man’s disdain for CNN. “I'm not taking this personally that he's pictured with CNN, but I just am wondering is this a statement on his part somehow?” she claimed, though it was obvious she took it personally.
Then again, the press always takes criticism personally.

James Woods as Oscars host? One writer thinks it's worth a shot

As Hollywood wrestles with what to do about the upcoming Oscars telecast following the Kevin Hart controversy, one writer thinks he knows the perfect host: veteran actor James Woods.
In a Saturday op-ed piece for the New York Post, media writer Jon Levine argues that Woods, 71, could draw millions of new and old viewers to the annual Hollywood gala during an era when award shows of all kinds are facing declining ratings and accusations of anti-conservative bias.
Woods, a Trump-loving conservative, has gained a following in recent years by bashing critics of the president and liberals in general on Twitter. He currently has 1.9 million followers.
“Yes, there would be 'outrage,'" Levine writes. “Hollywood’s Jacobins of propriety would express their horror. Screenshots of trollish old tweets (and there have been many) would make the rounds. Words like 'racist' and 'sexist' would fly a mile a minute. But those costs would be a pittance compared to the millions of new viewers he’d bring in (along with the old viewers who’d be excited to see something different for a change).”
Levine cites the current climate of political correctness, noting that comic legends like Joan Rivers, Don Rickles and even Jerry Seinfeld would not “escape today’s censors.”
“So, in that spirit, why not go full bore with James Woods? Embracing the offensive and learning to laugh at ourselves should be things that bring us together,” he writes.
The Oscars were sent into crisis mode in December when comedian Hart was selected to host the 91st Academy Awards, scheduled for Feb. 24. Within 24 hours, several of Hart's years-old tweets and jokes, which some had deemed anti-gay, had resurfaced.
LGBTQ groups immediately called for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to rescind Hart's hosting invite.
In one of the tweets, Hart wrote: “Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay.”

The meme that Woods posted in July said #LetWomenDecide and #NoMenMidterm. Woods acknowledged the tweet was "not likely" real. (Twitter)

Woods has also come under fire for several tweets and was even temporarily locked out of Twitter for a satirical meme encouraging men not to vote in the 2018 midterm elections.
In 2017, he likened a child to a serial killer in what many called a transphobic tweet.
"This is sweet. Wait until this poor kid grows up, realizes what you've done, and stuffs both of you dismembered into a freezer in the garage," he tweeted.
He also used the social media platform to help a veteran contemplating suicide. The actor offered to talk with the veteran privately.
“Andrew, don’t feel embarrassed that you reached out in the darkness. Nobody thinks you’re foolish for that. You know every one of us reaching out to you right now has some depression, too. I’ll say it. I do,” Woods wrote. "I’m following you now, so you can DM me. We can talk privately. Or we can talk openly right here. Lot of people worried about you right now.
“So think about this. A lot of vets, I understand, have come to where you are tonight. If you could just push this decision off tonight, at least, maybe you would also inspire another vet to seek help. You could save another man, too. By waiting to do this.”

Amid the outcry over his selection as Oscars host, Hart, 39, apologized to the LGBTQ community and stepped down from the hosting gig. He is now “evaluating” retaking the job after Ellen DeGeneres told him she reached out to the Academy on his behalf and they said they wanted him to host.
“I called the Academy today because I really want you to host the Oscars,” DeGeneres told Hart in her talk show that aired Friday. “We want him to host, whatever we can do, we’d be thrilled,” DeGeneres said the Academy told her. “The Academy is saying what can we do to make this happen.”
Hart told DeGeneres he was still angry about how the tweets were brought up less than a day after he was given the hosting job.
“This is stuff I have addressed. I’m not going to pay it any mind because when you feed into that stuff you only add more fuel to the fire,” Hart said. “You have put a lot of things on my mind. Leaving here, I’m promising you I’m evaluating this conversation … Let me assess, just sit in the space and really think.”
Or the Academy could take a cue from writer Levine and give the opportunity to someone like Woods.

Trey Gowdy fires back after Warren claims he left Congress for 'fat lobbyist paycheck'

Former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy served for four terms before leaving the House last week. (Fox News)

Former Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., hit back at Democrat Elizabeth Warren over Twitter in response to the Massachusetts Democrat's claim that he retired from Congress to collect a “fat lobbyist paycheck.”
Warren cited a Daily Caller article on Friday that reported Gowdy would be joining Nelson Mullins, a South Carolina law and lobbying firm.
“@TGowdySC foamed at the mouth with power in Congress, then retired because he claimed he didn't enjoy it. Now it’s clear: Trey Gowdy just wanted a fat lobbyist paycheck. That should be illegal,” she tweeted.
 She then called for a lifetime ban on lobbying by former members of Congress.
"We need a lifetime ban on lobbying for members of Congress. And fix the swiss cheese def of 'lobbying' so anyone who gets paid to influence Washington has to register. Public service shouldn’t be a launching pad for guys like @TGowdySC & @JoeLieberman to enrich themselves."
Gowdy, who served for four terms before leaving Congress last week, responded on Twitter, "I'm not lobbying. Not now. Or ever. Perhaps you were cracking open a beer when that was announced,” referring an Instagram live video of Warren opening a beer. "Don't mind your criticisms. Just be more sensitive to facts.”
Warren announced this week she launched an exploratory committee to consider whether to jump into the 2020 presidential race.
Gowdy has been a target for Democrats going back to when he chaired the House Benghazi Committee, which many Democrats decried as a witch hunt with the intention of disrupting Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

GOP’s Steve Scalise shuts down Twitter debate on taxes with Ocasio-Cortez after ‘radical followers’ allude to Virginia shooting

U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., blamed the "radical followers" of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in his decision to end an online debate over the U.S. tax rate.

U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., abruptly halted a Twitter debate with newcomer Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York early Sunday after at least three commenters made references to the June 2017 shooting in which Scalise and three other people were shot by a left-wing activist.
“snipe his a--,” one Twitter user wrote, in support of Ocasio-Cortez.
“she’s got better aim that James Hodgkinson, that’s for sure,” another wrote, comparing Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitter responses to the marksmanship of the suspect in the Virginia shooting, a Bernie Sanders supporter who later died in a shootout with police.
“Kick his cane,” a third wrote.
Prior to the comments, Scalise and Ocasio-Cortez had been debating the Democrat’s proposal for enacting a tax rate of up to 70 percent on income. Scalise had called for letting Americans “keep more of their own hard-earned money.”
He claimed that Democrats like Ocasio-Cortez instead wanted to tax Americans’ income at higher rates in order to “give it to leftist fantasy programs.”
But after the Twitter followers’ comments appeared, Scalise opted to end the online discussion.
“Hi @AOC,” Scalise wrote to Ocasio-Cortez. “Happy to continue this debate on the Floor of the People’s House, but it’s clearly not productive to engage here with some of your radical followers. #StayClassy”
Scalise’s tweet appeared about 1 a.m. ET Sunday, or about two hours after Ocasio-Cortez’s late Saturday tweet, in which the newly sworn-in congresswoman claimed that Scalise didn’t understand “how marginal tax rates work.”
“Oh that’s right, almost forgot,” the Democratic socialist wrote. “GOP works for the corporate CEOs showering themselves multi-million bonuses; not the actual working people whose wages + healthcare they’re ripping off for profit.”
If Ocasio-Cortez had seen Scalise’s 1 a.m. tweet, she offered no immediate response early Sunday.
The 29-year-old New Yorker, who stunned much of the political world in June when she defeated longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley in a primary and then won the state’s 14th Congressional District seat in November, has been drawing increased media attention this week – both for taking the oath of office Thursday and for an anticipated appearance Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes.”
Previews of that taped CBS interview included references to the Democrat’s 70 percent tax-rate plan, to which Scalise and others reacted during the week.
Scalise, the House Republican whip, was himself featured on “60 Minutes,” in his first TV interview months after the Virginia shooting.
The 53-year-old congressman from New Orleans, who represents Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District, spoke of the “little miracles” he was achieving daily during his recovery.
Also wounded in the Virginia attack were Zack Barth, a congressional aide; Matt Mika, a lobbyist; and Crystal Griner, a U.S. Capitol police officer.
Scalise would later write about the shooting in the book, “Back in the Game: One Gunman, Countless Heroes, and the Fight for My Life,” which was published in November.