Latest news with #CommitteeonOversightandGovernmentReform
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
House Democrats demand 'birthday book' from Epstein estate
House Democrats are demanding the release of a document held by Jeffrey Epstein's that allegedly contains a letter signed by President Donald Trump. The so-called 'birthday book' is said to contain information about the convicted sex trafficker's personal relationships and was put together by his convicted former associate Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003. Maxwell herself was given a 20-year federal prison sentence in 2021 for helping Epstein procure young women, and spoke Friday with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche about the late financier's criminal activities. 'Recent public reporting indicates that the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein is in possession of a document commonly referred to as 'the birthday book,' compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003 in celebration of Mr. Epstein's 50th birthday, which has clear relevance to this case,' Rep, Ro Khanna, D-Calif., wrote in a letter addressed to three lawyers at separate New York City law firms. 'Public reporting indicates that President Trump submitted a poem and drawing for the 'birthday book,' which contains messages and illustrations from wealthy and powerful friends and associates of Jeffrey Epstein.' The letter is co-signed by Khanna, ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. 'The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has issued a subpoena to depose Ms. Maxwell, the book's alleged creator, and should be permitted to review its contents,' the letter reads. In the opening sentence, lawmakers accuse Trump of continuing 'desperate attempts to quell public interest in the release of files related to his longtime friend, convicted sex offender and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.' Maxwell, who on Friday answered questions 'honestly, truthfully' over several hours according to her lawyer, is set to appear in front of the House Oversight Committee on August 11. The 63-year-old was given partial immunity during the meeting where she was 'asked about every single, every possible thing you could imagine. Everything,' her lawyer David Oscar Markus later told reporters. Maxwell's appearance Friday is unrelated to the subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee, which is conducting its own investigation. The letter penned by Khanna and Garcia asks for the book to be released by August 10 so members can review its contents prior to Maxwell's scheduled deposition. 'The book is relevant for ongoing congressional oversight of the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein investigation and prosecution, as well as the Trump Administration's decision to declassify and release only a handful of documents from its Epstein files while withholding others from the public,' the letter reads. 'Information gathered from this document may also inform the development of legislative reforms addressing sex trafficking networks, financial regulation, or other critical matters of public policy.' Epstein died in 2019 while in custody in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. His death was ruled a suicide ahead of his scheduled trial on federal charges related to sex trafficking. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
New York Times
28-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Connolly, Top Democrat on Oversight Panel, to Relinquish Post and Retire
Representative Gerald E. Connolly of Virginia, an eight-term Democrat, announced on Monday that he would not seek re-election and would soon relinquish his position as the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, as he faces cancer. Mr. Connolly, 75, announced late last year that he was being treated for cancer of the esophagus but planned to fight the disease while continuing to do his job in Washington, saying he was 'very confident of a successful outcome.' In a letter to his constituents on Monday, he said that the disease, 'while initially beaten back, has now returned,' prompting his decision to step aside and ultimately retire. Mr. Connolly said he planned to do 'everything possible' to finish out what he said would be his final term. 'I will be stepping back as ranking member of the Oversight Committee soon,' he wrote. 'With no rancor and a full heart, I move into this final chapter full of pride in what we've accomplished together over 30 years.' Mr. Connolly's announcement did not make clear when he may hand over his position, and a spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is scheduled to hold a crucial hearing on Wednesday about its portion of Republicans' tax and spending program, which includes changes to federal employees' benefits and gives them the option to give up civil service protections to make more money. Mr. Connolly's decision will clear the way for a new senior Democrat on one of the most partisan committees in Congress, which lawmakers typically use to antagonize the White House and exercise their check on executive power. Republicans currently control the committee and its subpoena power. With Representative James Comer of Kentucky, a close Trump ally, as chairman, the committee has largely focused on reopening old investigations of the Biden administration. The committee also has jurisdiction over the Department of Government Efficiency, the White House initiative led by Elon Musk to significantly remake the federal government and cut its work force. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the firebrand Georgia Republican, leads the panel on that effort and has used her perch to echo Mr. Musk's claims about government waste. But Mr. Connolly's successor will not be without power. The ranking member oversees a large staff and can call for investigations and minority hearings to spotlight issues of concern. The position is also a valuable platform for lawmakers, and Mr. Connolly's replacement would be in a prime position to lead the committee if Democrats retake the House majority in 2026. Mr. Connolly, whose district includes a substantial number of federal workers effected by Mr. Musk's efforts, won an internal battle for the role last year over Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. His victory was seen as a blow to a younger group of Democratic lawmakers who have rejected seniority in favor of generational change. Though several other veteran leaders stepped aside or were beaten by challenges from younger colleagues, Mr. Connolly, a more moderate Democrat, was chosen because of his experience. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is no longer a member of the Oversight panel, which would complicate any effort she might undertake to win the position were she to try to do so. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, 87, the nonvoting delegate from the District of Columbia, did not raise her hand for the role last year despite her seniority on the committee.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic lawmakers travel to El Salvador to support return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
The Brief Four Democratic lawmakers, including Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, traveled to El Salvador to visit a deported man accused of MS-13 ties. The Supreme Court had ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return, but the Trump-era deportation remains in dispute. Republicans criticized the trip, while Frost said constituents fear similar actions could affect them. ORLANDO, Fla. - Four more Democratic lawmakers, including a Florida Congressman, traveled to El Salvador to visit an illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member deported by President Donald Trump's administration. What we know Four Democratic lawmakers, including Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, traveled to El Salvador on Monday to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man deported during the Trump administration who has been accused of gang affiliation. The lawmakers say Garcia, who had been living in Maryland, held protected legal status and was unlawfully removed from the U.S. despite a Supreme Court order calling for his return. The delegation included Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, and Maxine Dexter of Oregon. Their visit was self-funded after the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform denied the travel request. What we don't know It remains unclear whether the Trump administration will ultimately comply with the Supreme Court's directive to facilitate Garcia's return. The specific grounds of the legal protections Garcia allegedly held have not been publicly disclosed, nor have the full details of the gang accusations levied against him by Maryland police. Additionally, the extent to which Garcia's deportation process followed standard procedures remains in question. The backstory Kilmar Abrego Garcia, originally from El Salvador, had been living in Maryland before he was deported under the Trump administration. Officials at the time cited an accusation from Maryland law enforcement that linked Garcia to MS-13, a notorious criminal gang. Garcia has denied any gang affiliation. The deportation took place despite what the visiting lawmakers say was his eligibility for legal protection within the U.S. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government must "facilitate" Garcia's return. However, administration officials have doubled down on their previous position, maintaining that Garcia poses a security threat due to alleged gang ties. Big picture view The controversy strikes at the heart of ongoing debates over immigration policy, judicial authority, and political optics. For Democrats, the case serves as a symbol of what they view as overreach and injustice under Trump-era immigration enforcement. For Republicans, it raises concerns about national security and questions the priorities of Democratic lawmakers amid global and domestic crises. Florida, which has a significant immigrant population, has emerged as a flashpoint in the dispute. What they're saying Congressman Frost said in an interview on Monday with FOX News that he was getting calls from his constituents asking him to go because they are worried the same thing could happen to them. "I represent a lot of immigrants, I represent a lot of people who see themselves represented in this situation. They're saying, 'Congressman, do what you can now, because it's him today and it can be one of us tomorrow,'" explained Rep. Frost. Meanwhile, some Florida Republicans say it would be absurd to bring him back to the U.S. "Why would you bring him back? He's not from here. They sent him home to El Salvador. He wasn't supposed to be in the United States," said Republican Congressman Randy Fine. "These congressmen could have spent the last year and a half going to Israel to try to bring back Americans who are held hostage. Instead, they go to El Salvador to meet with an illegal immigrant gang member who beat his wife. I don't know what's wrong with these people, but they need their heads examined," he continued. After the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform denied the request for the trip, Frost said he ended up paying for it out-of-pocket. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source This story was written based on information shared by Fox News, Reps. Maxwell Frost and Randy Fine.
Fox News
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Sanctuary governors Walz, Pritzker, Hochul called to testify before Congress
FIRST ON FOX: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, sent letters requesting testimony from "sanctuary governors" on Thursday as part of an ongoing committee investigation into sanctuary jurisdictions and their effects on public safety. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul were called to testify at a May 15 hearing before the committee to discuss the controversial sanctuary laws that are designed to protect illegal immigrants. "The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is continuing to investigate sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States and their impact on public safety and the effectiveness of federal efforts to enforce the immigration laws of the United States," Comer told Fox News Digital. "Sanctuary jurisdictions and their obstructionist policies hinder the ability of federal law enforcement officers to effectuate safe arrests and remove dangerous criminals from American communities. This threatens Americans' safety." In addition to calling the Democratic governors before Congress, the committee is requesting: "All documents and communications among or between any official, employee, contractor, or agent of the State of [Illinois, Minnesota, New York] related to the State of [Illinois, Minnesota, New York] sanctuary status; "All documents and communications among or between any official, employee, contractor, or agent of the State of [Illinois, Minnesota, New York] and any official, employee, contractor, or agent of the federal government related to the State of [Illinois, Minnesota, New York] sanctuary status." President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social post Thursday morning, continuing his push to eliminate sanctuary cities: "No more Sanctuary Cities! They protect the Criminals, not the Victims. They are disgracing our Country, and are being mocked all over the World. Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!" In March, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams testified in a similar hearing before the House Oversight Committee, where members of Congress confronted the Democratic mayors on whether sanctuary status deter immigration agents and law enforcement officials from successfully enforcing federal laws. According to the Congressional Budget Office, roughly 2.4 million immigrants per year entered the U.S. between 2021 and 2024 under the Biden Administration. While the exact number of illegal migrants currently living in sanctuary cities is uncertain, there is a clear concentration of migrants in metro areas operating under sanctuary laws, creating barriers for ICE and immigration law enforcement officials to enforce laws. "In addition to the efforts of the Trump Administration to ensure federal immigration enforcement can proceed unimpeded, Congress must determine whether further legislation is necessary to enhance border security and public safety," Comer told Fox News Digital. "It is imperative that federal immigration law is enforced and that criminal aliens are swiftly removed from our communities." According to a New York Post report last week, a Department of Homeland Security official said the administration has made around 113,000 arrests and deported north of 100,000 illegal migrants. Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to and on X @MizellPreston
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What to Know About Marty Makary, Trump's Pick to Lead FDA
In this image from video provided by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Dr. Martin Makary speaks during a select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic roundtable in Washington on Feb. 28, 2023. Credit - Committee on Oversight and Government Reform/AP President Donald Trump nominated Dr. Marty Makary to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal agency tasked with ensuring the safety and efficacy of drugs, medical devices, food, and cosmetics. Makary, a surgical oncologist at Johns Hopkins University, will appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Thursday, March 6 for his nomination hearing. If confirmed by the Senate, he would run one of the country's leading health agencies, overseeing the regulation of products ranging from vaccines to abortion medications. Here's what to know about Makary. Makary serves as the chief of islet transplant surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Much of his research has focused on the underlying causes of disease and the cost of health care. He's also a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Makary initially expressed support for lockdown restrictions and masking early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. But later, he made regular appearances on Fox News, where he opposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Dr. Paul Offit, director of the vaccine education center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the FDA's vaccine advisory committee, says that we shouldn't have had to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine, but it made sense to do so during a global pandemic. 'In a better world, a world in which we do not live, anybody who looked at the data for those vaccines would have gotten the vaccine,' Offit says. 'Hospitals were being overrun. We had nurses wearing bandanas for masks. We had nurses wearing garbage bags for gowns,' he continues. 'You shouldn't have had to have mandated vaccines, but it just seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do at the time to try and increase vaccine rates.' Some estimates suggest that, in the first five months of vaccine availability, COVID-19 vaccines saved nearly 140,000 lives in the U.S. While Makary has not publicly aligned himself with the anti-COVID-19- vaccine views that his would-be boss, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has shared, he accused public-health officials in former President Joe Biden's Administration of 'instituting a vaccine mandate that ignored natural immunity.' In an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal published in Feb. 2021, Makary argued that the U.S. was moving toward herd immunity, predicting that 'COVID will be mostly gone by April, allowing Americans to resume normal life.' Months after the piece was published, COVID-19 cases surged as the Delta variant spread across the country. Soon after, in the winter, the Omicron variant tore through the nation, leading to another spike in cases. Thousands of people died during the surges. If confirmed to lead the FDA, Makary would oversee the regulation of the country's vaccine supply. At the end of February, members of the FDA's vaccine advisory committee learned that a meeting on March 13 to decide on the influenza strains that would be included in the next flu shot was canceled. The meeting has been held every year since the late 1960s. Offit says he hopes that Makary, at Thursday's nomination hearing, will say he values external, expert advisors, like those on the vaccine advisory committee. Makary shares many of the same views on food that Kennedy and his 'Make America Healthy Again' movement do. He has suggested that chronic illnesses and diseases may be tied to food additives and other chemicals that Americans are being exposed to. He has labeled the country's food supply 'poisoned.' The Associated Press spoke to nutrition experts, who criticized Makary for his remarks, arguing that it's overly simplistic to blame ultraprocessed foods for chronic diseases in the U.S. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Makary appeared on Fox News, where he claimed that fetuses between 15 and 20 weeks of gestation 'will actually resist the instruments of abortion.' Reproductive rights advocates slammed Makary's comments, accusing him of spreading disinformation. Read More: The Powers Trump's Nominees Will Have Over Abortion If confirmed as the commissioner of the FDA, Makary would have significant influence over the abortion medication mifepristone, which the FDA approved to be used for abortions more than 20 years ago. The Biden Administration made efforts to increase access to the medication, but reproductive rights advocates are concerned that Makary, if confirmed, could roll back those efforts and restrict access to the drug. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Makary called the FDA 'broken,' accusing it of being 'mired in politics and red tape.' He claimed that the agency needed 'fresh leadership' that would 'promote scientific advancement, not hinder it.' He has also accused the nation's leading health agencies of not paying enough attention to chronic diseases, claiming without evidence that 'the greatest perpetrator of misinformation has been the United States government with the food pyramid.' Contact us at letters@
