Category: USA Politics

  • Jim Banks, GOP lawmakers rally behind DOJ probe into alleged CCP-linked funding network

    FIRST ON FOX: Top members of Congress are supporting a federal grand jury investigation into alleged financial crimes committed by Neville Roy Singham, tied to his funding of socialist, communist and Marxist organizations.

    According to a Fox News Digital investigation, Singham has funneled $278 million into the broad network of nonprofits since 2017. As reported, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche authorized a grand jury in Manhattan to issue subpoenas as part of a probe of Singham’s financial network. The investigation was launched by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York, one of the country’s most powerful districts for federal prosecutions. Singham hasn’t responded to repeated requests for comment that Fox News Digital has sent him over the past several months.

    “Neville Singham is a traitor to our country. He has ties to the CCP,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, told Fox News Digital. “He is an American citizen, but all of his loyalties lie with the Chinese Communist Party. And when you begin to untangle the web of his massive fortune and his philanthropic activities, the money that he sends to left-wing groups in America, and not just groups that espouse ideologies, but espouse violence.”

    DOJ LAUNCHES GRAND JURY PROBE INTO MARXIST MOGUL NEVILLE ROY SINGHAM’S FUNDING OF LEFTIST GROUPS

    Last April, Banks sounded the alarm about the Singham network, calling on former Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate CodePink, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has received funds from Singham. Co-founded by Singham’s wife, Jodie Evans, CodePink hasn’t responded to repeated requests for comment. Neither has Evans.

    Earlier this year, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to New York City for a meeting with Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon, and sources told Fox News Digital that Bessent gave a blunt ultimatum to Solomon.

    Bessent told Solomon that Goldman Sachs could face scrutiny for alleged conspiracy in the funneling of the Singham money and urged Solomon to cooperate with federal investigators.

    PROBE INTO ‘SUBVERSIVE’ ANTI-AI SINGHAM NETWORK IS ‘ENORMOUS,’ FORMER TREASURY ADVISOR SAYS

    A person familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital that the discussion wasn’t contentious and that Solomon readily agreed to pledge his cooperation with the Justice Department investigation. A spokesperson for the bank said “all distributions from Mr. Singham’s donor-advised fund were made to legal nonprofits, as determined by the IRS. There have been no distributions from the account since August 2023, and it was closed in early 2024.”

    Banks serves on the Senate Banking Committee, which is responsible for bank oversight and regulation. The Indiana senator explained that Goldman’s cooperation is welcome news, but that Wall Street should be more cautious about working with individuals tied to “our biggest enemy.”

    “It sounds like Goldman wants to put this to bed,” Banks explained. “They want to do their part to help the investigation. But Wall Street should know that you can’t get away with helping our biggest enemy. You can’t get away with helping the Chinese Communist Party through money funneled through tech billionaires like Neville Singham. You will be held accountable for that.”

    FIRST ON FOX: POWERFUL HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS CHAIR THROWS HAMMER DOWN ON ‘FOREIGN-ALIGNED INFLUENCE NETWORK’

    In his letter to Bondi, Banks also raised concerns about CodePink potentially violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The law requires individuals or entities acting as agents of foreign principals to register as foreign agents and publicly disclose their finances and relationships.

    “CodePink has clearly become an agent of CCP influence in the United States. Despite activities and funding so blatant that even the New York Times acknowledged the organization’s activities ‘usually require’ groups to register under FARA, Code Pink has not registered with the DOJ,” the letter read.

    A number of lawmakers weighed in on news of the DOJ’s recent grand jury probe of Singham’s finances, including Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), who is running for chairman of the House Oversight Committee.

    Fallon recently announced his run with Fox News Digital and said at the time that holding accountable nonprofits aligned with the CCP and tied to Singham would be one of his priorities if he secured the chairmanship.

    “Far-left NGOs are the means by which U.S. adversaries like communist China work to undermine our country,” Fallon told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “Groups like CodePink, which Singham has funded, openly spew CCP propaganda. Their objective is to spark division, resentment and unrest.”

    “My colleagues and I on the House Oversight Committee have been committed to dismantling the dark network of communist NGOs, which is why we sent a letter to the DOJ earlier this year urging them to expose these groups for what they really are. We cannot stop until we put an end to the communist threat facing our Republic here at home.”

    House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., who launched an investigation into the Singham nonprofit network last year, took to social media to say the grand jury investigation is overdue.

    “It’s about time he is brought to justice and he is held accountable for his ties to the CCP,” Smith said on X. For years, critics like Smith have alleged that Singham has used the generous tax status awarded to tax-exempt nonprofit organizations to fund left-wing chaos in streets across the country.

    A Fox News Digital investigation uncovered a video that showed Singham calling for a “new world order’ promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party during the “Global South Academic Forum,” in Beijing last year.

    Singham has funneled millions into a network of nonprofits that regularly mobilize agitators for demonstrations across the country, including anti-ICE protests and anti-Israel protests.

    His financial contributions, which were routed through Goldman Sachs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund For Wealth Management Inc., include an estimated $22.44 million to People’s Forum Inc., a hub for far-left activity in Manhattan, and at least $223 million and other forms of support into a global network of organizations. 

  • House backs Massie’s push to release taxpayer-funded sexual harassment settlement records

    The House of Representatives overwhelmingly backed a measure Tuesday that would force the disclosure of lawmakers who used taxpayer funds to settle sexual harassment claims.

    The resolution, introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., would require the House Ethics Committee to “preserve and publicly release” records related to monetary settlements involving sexual misconduct. 

    Massie, a frequent thorn in House GOP leadership’s side, forced a vote on the resolution, arguing that gaps in reporting requirements enacted in 2018 may still allow taxpayer-funded settlements to remain hidden.

    The Kentucky lawmaker said he discovered there were no reported cases involving any members repaying sexual harassment settlements since then.

    MASSIE LASHES OUT WHEN PRESSED ON EX-GIRLFRIEND’S ALLEGATIONS OF AFFAIR WITH GOP FIREBRAND

    His resolution would specifically direct the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to publicly report sexual misconduct cases involving lawmakers and their staff that resulted in taxpayer-funded settlements, along with the total amount of taxpayer money spent.

    “We need to know what’s been going on here in the House of Representatives in order to convince the people and assure the people that we are conducting the people’s business with the utmost integrity and treating offices and employees of this institution with the respect they serve,” Massie said.

    The final vote was 420-0-1. No lawmaker spoke against the resolution during debate on the House floor.

    Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., was the lone lawmaker to vote “present,” arguing Tuesday’s vote was “nothing more than political theater” after she released information earlier this year showing the federal government paid out more than $330,000 to settle sexual harassment claims since the early 2000s.

    “Now Congress wants to vote on doing what we already did,” the South Carolina Republican wrote on social media.

    ETHICS PANEL CLEARS GALLEGO AS LUNA DECLARES, ‘ONCE A CREEP, ALWAYS A CREEP’

    Mace, who helped orchestrate a transparency push targeting lawmakers’ behavior toward women amid several high-profile resignations, subpoenaed the Congressional Office of Workplace Rights through her position on the House Oversight Committee for a bevy of settlement documents involving at least six lawmakers or their offices.

    Former Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, who resigned in disgrace in 2018 amid a House ethics probe into sexual misconduct allegations, was among the lawmakers named in the documents.

    Former Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., who similarly resigned in 2018 amid reports he used taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment suit filed by a former staffer, was also listed.

    Ten lawmakers did not vote, as the chamber was scheduled to begin the July 4 recess immediately following the vote amid a conservative blockade of the House floor in protest of the stalled SAVE America Act.

    The resolution’s passage comes after Cynthia West, a former Massie girlfriend, accused the Kentucky lawmaker of emotional abuse in May. West also alleged that Massie attempted to pay her $5,000 to drop a wrongful termination lawsuit against the office of Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., who fired her shortly after taking a position in the office.

    The House in March rejected a resolution offered by Mace to require the House Ethics Committee to release all documents compiled by the panel involving probes into members of Congress related to sexual misconduct.

  • Congress eyes rare bipartisan housing win with or without Trump’s help

    The House has officially shipped a colossal bipartisan housing package to President Donald Trump, and lawmakers are hoping that, at the very least, he doesn’t veto it.

    Trump was supposed to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act last week, but his last-minute decision to ghost the signing ceremony with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., put into question whether the bill was dead.

    His refusal to sign the bill, which passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support in both chambers, was to leverage the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which doesn’t currently have the votes to succeed in the Senate.

    WARREN TELLS TRUMP TO ‘SIGN THE DAMN BILL’ AS BIPARTISAN HOUSING PACKAGE REMAINS STALLED IN WASHINGTON

    Trump appears to be in no hurry to sign the bill, despite Republicans who are hungry for a win in the affordability fight ahead of the midterm elections.

    “It’s so unimportant … compared to the SAVE America Act,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “I think the SAVE America Act is exactly what it says. It’s saving America from crooked elections.”

    “Here’s what I would like to sign, much more than a bill that — big deal, it’s a yawn,” he continued. “Some people say it’s wonderful. To me, compared to the SAVE America Act, just about everything is a big yawn.”

    GOP INFIGHTING OVER TRUMP’S VOTER ID BILL ERUPTS AS TOP SENATOR CALLS STRATEGY ‘FANTASY’

    It’s legislation that is loaded with nearly 60 provisions from both sides of the aisle in both chambers that’s designed to make it easier for homes to be built and for younger Americans to buy their first home. It also includes a ban on hedge funds buying up housing stock that Trump pushed Congress to include during the State of the Union earlier this year.

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of the architects behind the bill in the upper chamber alongside Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., charged that Congress handed the bill to Trump “on a silver platter.”

    “When you ask me what happens next, if he cared about the American people, he’d have already signed the damned thing, and we’d be underway,” Warren said on WCVB’s “On the Record” on Sunday.

    But Trump doesn’t have to put his signature on the bill for it to become law.

    IRATE REPUBLICANS ACCUSE TRUMP OF HANDING DEMOCRATS A WIN AFTER BLOWING UP HOUSING PACKAGE

    The Constitution grants presidents the ability to veto a bill within 10 days of it being transferred over to the White House. In that scenario, Congress could override a veto of the housing package.

    It’s happened before under the Trump administration. In early 2021, Congress overrode Trump’s veto of the annual National Defense Authorization Act — a massive Pentagon funding authorization package that some House Republicans are trying to use as a vehicle to pass the SAVE America Act.

    But during that 10-day period, if Trump doesn’t sign the bill, it would automatically become law. That’s unless Congress completely adjourns, in which case a “pocket veto” could happen. The Senate is currently in recess and the House is scheduled to leave town by week’s end, but neither count as a full adjournment.

    Johnson, who spent the last few days meeting with Trump at the White House about the housing bill and the SAVE America Act, said: “I hope he does sign it.”

    “If he doesn’t, it’s still law,” Johnson said. “We’ll still celebrate it, but he’s trying to make a point, and I think he’s making it very effectively. And the fact that you all ask me every three steps down the hallway illustrates that he has achieved the desired objective, and that is to make SAVE America the number one thing, because if we don’t get that right, everybody’s concerned about what happens next.”

  • WATCH: Maryland Dems defend ‘big tent’ party as New York socialist surge fuels Dem divide

    Maryland Democrats rejected the idea that New York’s socialist surge in primary victories signals a broader Democratic divide, insisting the races are a reflection of individual districts rather than a national shift as the party looks ahead to the midterm elections.

    “We have a big tent party, that’s what it says,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said when asked what New York’s election results mean for Democrats.

    “This is a democracy,” he continued. “You’re going to have lots of perspectives. It’s up to the voters to decide, and they did.”

    AOC ISSUES WARNING TO HER FELLOW DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENTS IN THE WAKE OF SOCIALISTS WINNING BIG IN NYC

    The comments come after three far-left candidates won New York Democratic primaries, including two who defeated sitting Democratic incumbents, fueling debate over whether the victories signal growing influence and intraparty division heading into November’s midterms.

    “I’m all about new leadership,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told Fox News Digital when asked about New York’s election results.

    Several Maryland Democrats argued the results reflected the unique politics of individual New York districts rather than a broader ideological shift within the Democratic Party.

    “I think it’s very reflective of the district,” former U.S. Capitol Police Officer and former Maryland congressional candidate Harry Dunn said.

    He continued, “I think we’ve got to be careful applying what happened in New York to everywhere around the country.”

    WATCH: KELLYANNE CONWAY INSISTS SOCIALIST PRIMARY VICTORIES DON’T REFLECT AMERICAN VALUES NATIONWIDE

    Other Maryland Democrats stressed the need to respect voters’ choices in their own districts, even when they disagree with the candidates who won.

    “I don’t agree with all the things they’ve said,” Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., said about the socialist candidates in New York. “I don’t agree with all their positions, but I respect what the voters have done in New York. That’s not reflective of the entire country.”

    “Every district determines who they want,” Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., said. “We may not like it. Some people didn’t want me in. So you have to respect what a district, a congressional district, does. It’s still the rule of the people.”

    But as the party strives to regain control in Congress, some moderate Democrats have sought to distance themselves from socialism and the party’s leftward push.

    Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville condemned some of the radical views of the newly nominated Democratic candidates, particularly Darializa Avila Chevalier — a member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — who ousted five-term Democrat Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y.

    “She has attacked interracial relationships and the American flag. Lady, I ain’t in the same party as you. I’m sorry,” Carville said in an episode of his podcast, Politics War Room.

    He continued, “Everybody’s always said, ‘No, no, we’re a coalition. We’re a big tent. And there’s some – there’s just some s— that I can’t be in the same tent with.”

    JAMES CARVILLE SAYS SOCIALIST DEMOCRAT SHOULDN’T BE IN THE PARTY, CALLS HER VIEWS ‘A BRIDGE TOO FAR’

    “I’m a capitalist, not a socialist,” Rep. Thomas Suozzi, D-N.Y., previously told Fox News Digital regarding his views on the New York Democratic candidates. “And I believe in safety, not lawlessness. And I’m proud of America. I’m not ashamed of America.”

    Raskin, however, defended the progressivism within his party, arguing the new wave of socialism the Democratic Party is seeing is not consistent with traditional values held by socialists.

    “When people say they’re socialists today, I don’t think that they believe in dialectical materialism and dictatorship of the proletariat and classical Marxian socialism,” Raskin said. “I think what they believe is much greater equality and reduction of all the class differences that have grown up under Trump and the plutocrats.”

    Republicans have increasingly pointed to the Democratic Party’s move toward socialist principles as a crux in campaigning to hold both their control of the Senate and razor-thin majority in the House.

    Most Democratic lawmakers seem to be urging their party to focus on gaining control in Congress in the upcoming midterm elections, regardless of their feelings toward some of the ideology fueling new candidates within the party.

    “In a perfect world, everybody should come together — Democratic socialists, moderates,” Dunn said. “Everybody should come together and work together to represent everybody and not just the people who elected them.”

  • House conservatives derail GOP agenda in SAVE America Act showdown

    The House floor remained effectively shut down Tuesday after more than a dozen House conservatives continued their blockade in protest of the stalled SAVE America Act.

    The group of holdouts, including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., blocked a procedural vote, effectively freezing legislative business for the foreseeable future, after forcing GOP leaders to punt several votes last week.

    The hardball tactics have forced the chamber into legislative paralysis as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., races to advance several legislative priorities before the July 4 recess.

    Lawmakers voted 198-224 against advancing a spate of legislative items — including a must-pass defense bill that will be paired with the SAVE America Act — with 14 Republicans voting “no.”

    ‘AS LONG AS IT TAKES’: TRUMP ALLIES FREEZE HOUSE FLOOR TO PRESSURE SENATE ON VOTER ID BILL

    The GOP holdouts included Luna and Reps. Max Miller, R-Ohio, Eric Burlison, R-Mo., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Andy Harris, R-Md., Randy Fine, R-Fla., Chip Roy and Keith Self, R-Texas, Eli Crane, R-Ariz., Victoria Spartz, R-Ind, Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo. 

    Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, likely voted “no” over an unrelated objection to the NDAA and House Majority Leader Steve Scaclise switched his vote to allow lawmakers to reconsider it again.

    With such slim margins, Johnson could afford to lose just a handful of defections.

    The conservative rebels continued their floor blockade in apparent defiance of President Donald Trump, who urged the cohort to stop “grandstanding” in a Truth Social post last week. Johnson also called their hardball tactics “self-defeating” for Republicans’ agenda.

    “It doesn’t make any sense,” Johnson told reporters Monday. “We have to move forward with legislation and that’s what I’ll be telling them all.”  

    He was seen having a tense conversation with Luna and several holdouts shortly before the failed vote.

    In a likely attempt to appease conservative hardliners, Johnson used a rare procedural maneuver this week to revive the Trump-backed election measure, which has sat in limbo in the Senate chamber for months amid widespread opposition from Democrats. 

    GOP leaders proposed merging the SAVE America Act with an annual defense policy bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, when sending the legislation over to the Senate.

    The House already passed that version of the SAVE America Act, but Johnson argued the upper chamber would be more likely to pass the measure if paired with a traditionally bipartisan bill.

    “Let’s just have the full bill that’s still sitting there and has been transmitted to the Senate, let’s send it again, but put it as part of something that we hope and believe will be a bipartisan vote in both chambers, and that Democrats in the Senate will understand,” Johnson said during a leadership press conference on Tuesday. 

    The GOP holdouts have repeatedly demanded that leadership attempt to jam the upper chamber with the election measure as Trump insists it’s his top legislative priority. They largely withheld their support for Johnson’s proposal prior to the vote, arguing it would not force Senate action on the SAVE America Act.

    HOUSE GOP’S SAVE ACT RESCUE PLAN HITS RESISTANCE FROM CONSERVATIVE HOLDOUTS

    Luna said she wanted the SAVE America Act to be attached to the NDAA as an amendment or have a vote on an amendment to attach voter identification proof of citizenship requirements to the defense policy bill.

    “IF IT IS NOT DONE THIS WAY, IT WILL EASILY BE TAKEN OUT,” Luna wrote on social media shortly before the vote. 

    Though both Trump and Johnson sharply criticized the floor blockade, Luna disputed that her approach was derailing Republicans’ agenda.

    “To, you know, say that we’re holding up the process. This is legislating,” the Florida lawmaker told reporters Monday, standing next to Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who has also joined the SAVE protest. “If people elected us to just come up here and vote in line with what the party wants, then it would be a whole lot different.” 

    The upper chamber is also considering its own version of the NDAA that does not include the election measure.

    Tuesday’s procedural vote also advanced fiscal year 2027 funding for the State Department and other foreign operations and a GOP-authored measure commemorating the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, among other measures.

    Some conservatives, including Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, threatened to withhold their support during the test vote over a stalled border security package they want to put to a chamber-wide vote.

    Johnson promised conservatives a vote on the legislation before the July 4 recess, but that deadline appears likely to pass without a floor vote. Republicans have also yet to release the bill text. 

    There’s no consensus,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters Tuesday. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to have consensus before we can move forward.”

  • Dems join Republicans to crush Tlaib’s war powers resolution in lopsided House vote

    The House of Representatives rejected a measure from Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., targeting U.S. military involvement in Lebanon. 

    Tlaib’s measure failed in a bipartisan vote of 189-235 on Tuesday, with 22 Democrats joining nearly all Republicans against it.

    The resolution would have specifically barred U.S. forces from engaging in “any hostilities” in the country, despite the U.S. military not joining Israel’s war in Lebanon and conducting few operations there. 

    Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a leading critic of Israel, was among the Republicans who supported the measure.

    DEMOCRATS SPLIT OVER TLAIB’S LEBANON MEASURE AS REPUBLICANS SEIZE ON HEZBOLLAH OMISSION

    House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., led the majority of Democrats in voting to curtail Trump’s authority to use force in Lebanon absent congressional approval. He previously opposed an earlier war powers resolution pushed by the Squad member.

    Her measure was a concurrent resolution, which is largely symbolic and not sent to President Donald Trump’s desk for a veto if passed.

    Tlaib, Congress’ sole Palestinian American, is a fierce opponent of Israel and has accused the Jewish state of pursuing “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza and Lebanon. Her sharp criticism of Israel’s war in Lebanon has spurred GOP attacks that she is providing cover for Iran-backed Hezbollah.

    The resolution did not mention the terrorist group, which has been engaged in a military conflict with Israel since early March around the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

    Tuesday’s vote came after Tlaib previously forced a vote on a more expansive Lebanon war powers resolution earlier this month that critics argued would have required U.S. military personnel protecting embassy staff to leave the country.

     Opponents also charged that the measure would have restricted any assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces, which is fighting Hezbollah.

    REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: TLAIB FORCES RARE HOUSE PROCEDURE AFTER REPUBLICAN ACCUSES HER OF DEFENDING TERRORISTS

    Tlaib tailored her second resolution to clarify that it exempted protection of diplomatic personnel and cooperation with Lebanon’s military.

    Republicans questioned the timing of the resolution since the U.S. is not at war in Lebanon.

    “There are not U.S. combat forces conducting operations or engaged in hostilities in Lebanon,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., said during debate on the House floor. “They are training the Lebanese Armed Forces.

    “Why are they training?” Mast continued. “Because there’s probably at least 40,000 — probably more — Hezbollah terrorists spread across the South of Lebanon that are actively engaged in targeting Israel and have been doing so for many years.”

    House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., countered that the resolution would keep the United States “out of another forever war that is not in our national interest.”

  • Lawmakers press Eli Lilly for China drug trials tied to military-linked hospitals

    FIRST ON FOX: House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar is launching an investigation into pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly’s clinical trial operations in China, demanding records related to research conducted at Chinese military-affiliated hospitals and facilities in Xinjiang.

    In a Tuesday letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Moolenaar, R-Mich., demanded that Eli Lilly provide detailed information about its clinical trial operations in China, including how the company ensures ethical standards, protects sensitive biotechnology and intellectual property, and veterans research conducted at hospitals linked to the People’s Liberation Army and in Xinjiang, where the Chinese government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

    The committee says publicly available records indicate Lilly has sponsored or collaborated on more than 220 clinical studies in China since 2003, including at least 11 trials involving hospitals in Xinjiang, China, and at least 16 involving Chinese military medical centers. Several remain active today, the letter says. 

    The inquiry marks an escalation in congressional scrutiny of U.S. pharmaceutical companies’ growing ties to China as lawmakers warn that clinical research conducted at Chinese military-affiliated hospitals and in Xinjiang, China, could pose national security, intellectual property and human rights risks. The committee is seeking records from Lilly as it expands its investments and research partnerships in China.

    CHINA’S GRIP ON RARE-EARTH MAGNETS COULD CRUSH US DRONE INDUSTRY BEFORE IT GROWS

    Moolenaar stressed that the committee has “no evidence that Lilly has engaged in illegal activity or wrongdoing,” but argued that conducting clinical trials in China — particularly in Xinjiang, China, and at military-affiliated hospitals, hospitals affiliated with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which the committee argues could gain access to valuable biotechnology research and clinical trial data generated through collaborations with U.S. companies.

    “The United States is engaged in a fierce biotechnology competition with the People’s Republic of China,” Moolenaar wrote, arguing that biotechnology has become a strategic arena in U.S.-China competition with implications for national security, economic competitiveness and the protection of Americans’ medical data.

    He pointed to China’s latest five-year plan, which identifies biotechnology as a national priority and calls for expanded use of artificial intelligence across the sector.

    Moolenaar said China has transformed itself into one of the world’s fastest and least expensive places to conduct early-stage human drug trials through regulatory reforms, state subsidies and rapid patient enrollment. The committee argues that speed has made China increasingly attractive for global drug development while also raising concerns about ethics, data security and intellectual property.

    GABBARD SAYS DECLASSIFIED BIOLAB RECORDS VALIDATE CONCERNS PREVIOUSLY DISMISSED AS MISINFORMATION

    The inquiry comes as Lilly has continued expanding its presence in China. 

    Earlier in 2026, the company announced a roughly $3 billion investment to expand manufacturing and local supply in the country, bringing its total investment in China to nearly $6 billion.

    Lilly also has deepened its research ties with Chinese biotechnology companies, announcing an up to $8.8 billion oncology and immunology collaboration with Innovent Biologics in February and an agreement worth up to about $3 billion with Haisco Pharmaceutical Group earlier ni June. Both partnerships are referenced in Moolenaar’s letter as examples of the company’s expanding relationships with Chinese drugmakers.

    The chairman also questioned whether China’s clinical trial system adequately protects participants’ rights. He cited research suggesting many participants misunderstand the experimental nature of drug studies or mistakenly believe treatments have already been proven effective, raising concerns about whether informed consent is being properly obtained.

    The letter separately raises concerns about trials conducted in Xinjiang, pointing to reports from the United Nations, the State Department and human rights organizations documenting allegations of forced medical testing, DNA collection and other abuses targeting Uyghurs. Moolenaar argued those conditions warrant heightened scrutiny over whether clinical trial participants in the region are volunteering freely.

    The committee also argues that research conducted at hospitals affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army raises questions about whether sensitive biotechnology research and proprietary data developed through clinical trials could ultimately benefit China’s military biotechnology programs.

    Moolenaar gave Lilly until July 17 to provide documents detailing its due diligence procedures, inspections of clinical trial sites, agreements with Chinese companies, and safeguards for protecting sensitive data and intellectual property.

    “Lilly has received the letter from the House Select Committee on China. We are reviewing the letter closely,” a company spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Hawley launches investigation into postal service over dumped mail, millions in executive bonuses

    FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is opening a congressional investigation into the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), demanding internal records on dumped mail, potential criminal wrongdoing and millions in executive bonuses as his standoff with Postmaster General David Steiner intensifies.

    In a scathing letter Tuesday on behalf of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, Hawley said the probe comes after Steiner failed to answer questions at a recent committee hearing about thousands of pieces of dumped mail discovered in St. Louis in April.

    Following the hearing, Steiner sent a letter to Hawley deflecting responsibility for the dumped mail to an active Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigation, while lecturing the senator on his lack of Southern “decorum.”

    Hawley, who took to X on June 24 to demand Steiner resign if he doesn’t return his bonus money, noted that it was “unbelievable” that Steiner was unaware of the highly publicized mail dumping incident.

    DOGE LAWMAKERS LOOK TO DEFUND BIDEN’S ANEMIC-PACED $3B EV POSTAL TRUCK ‘BOONDOGGLE’

    In his letter Tuesday, Hawley requested all internal USPS communications regarding the St. Louis mail dumping and requested the exact date Steiner was first informed.

    The senator also asked if any postal employees have been referred to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal prosecution under federal statutes regarding the theft, delay or destruction of mail, and clarification on whether postal workers have been falsifying scanning data to artificially inflate delivery metrics.

    DHS APPROVES PLAN TO VERIFY VOTER CITIZENSHIP, MONITOR MAIL BALLOTS AS TRUMP PUSH INTENSIFIES

    Taking aim at the millions in “non-salary compensation” paid to USPS executives over the last decade, Hawley is seeking a complete, itemized statement of all compensation paid to Steiner since his appointment, along with “scorecards” used to justify the bonuses.

    “You seem to operate under the misapprehension that you are entitled to some kind of special deference,” Hawley wrote. “In fact, it’s the people of Missouri that are entitled to something: you doing your job.”

    According to the letter, an audit of the St. Louis distribution center revealed the “worst case of failed on-time delivery” the inspector general had seen in field operations reviews, while a Kansas City audit found 100,000 delayed pieces of mail over just three days.

    The USPS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

  • Air Force reveals B-2’s hidden ship killer capability as China threat grows

    The Air Force revealed Monday that its flagship B-2 Spirit stealth bomber can now strike enemy warships with the long range anti-ship missile (LRASM), publicly unveiling the capability after a live-fire exercise in the Western Pacific.

    The stealth bomber launched a long-range anti-ship missile during Exercise Valiant Shield 26, a U.S.-led multinational exercise involving American and allied forces across the Western Pacific, in a sinking exercise north of the Mariana Islands.

    The announcement comes as the Pentagon increasingly focuses on preparing for a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific, where China’s rapidly expanding navy would present one of the U.S. military’s biggest challenges. Publicly demonstrating the B-2’s new maritime strike capability also serves as a signal that the stealth bomber could play a key role in holding high-value naval targets at risk.

    “The B-2’s impressive performance underscores the U.S. military’s commitment to adaptability and flexibility in the face of emerging security challenges,” Gen. Kevin B. Schneider, commander of Pacific Air Forces, said in a statement.

    TRUMP PLAN FOR FOREIGN SHIPBUILDERS COULD CREATE 540,000 JOBS AND EXPAND US FLEET

    “By prioritizing counter-maritime strike operations, we can maintain a decisive edge over adversaries, protect our national interests and ensure the free and open Pacific that underpin our global security.”

    Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for details, but confirmed to The War Zone that the B-2 fired the anti-ship missile at a decommissioned amphibious warfare ship known as the USS Juneau during the exercise.

    U.S. and partner-nation forces battered the decommissioned warship, which entered service in 1969, with coordinated air, surface and subsurface strikes June 27 and June 28, sending it to the bottom of the Philippine Sea more than 200 nautical miles off the coast of Guam, according to a Navy release. A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine delivered the final blow with a torpedo.

    TIM SHEEHY EXPOSES A ‘SCARY’ SHIPBUILDING COLLAPSE THAT LEAVES THE US VULNERABLE TO CHINA

    China continues to expand the world’s largest navy and fields an array of long-range anti-ship missiles aimed at keeping U.S. forces at bay in the Western Pacific. The People’s Liberation Army Navy will grow from more than 370 battle force ships to roughly 435 by 2030, according to Pentagon projections. U.S. Navy currently operates about 291 battle force ships.

    But Beijing has yet to field its long-awaited H-20 stealth bomber, leaving the U.S. with an operational capability China has not yet publicly demonstrated: pairing a stealth bomber with a long-range anti-ship cruise missile capable of striking high-value naval targets in heavily defended airspace.

    While long range anti-ship missile already is carried by the Air Force’s B-1B Lancer and the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, integrating the missile onto the B-2 gives the Air Force a stealth platform capable of carrying the weapon.

    The B-2 Spirit is the Air Force’s only operational stealth bomber, designed to penetrate sophisticated enemy air defenses while carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons. Most recently, B-2s flew from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to strike Iranian nuclear facilities during Operation Midnight Hammer, dropping 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs in the weapon’s first combat use.

    The demonstration could also foreshadow future missions for the B-21 Raider, the Air Force’s next-generation stealth bomber, which eventually will replace the B-2. While the Air Force has not disclosed which anti-ship weapons the B-21 will carry, officials say it is being designed to employ a broad mix of stand-off and direct-attack conventional munitions. 

    EUROPE’S $116B FIGHTER JET ‘FAILURE’ RAISES FRESH DOUBTS ABOUT ABILITY TO DEFEND ITSELF WITHOUT US

    The B-21 is expected to begin entering operational service in 2027.

  • Jackson accuses Thomas of echoing infamously racist court decision in birthright citizenship clash

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Tuesday accused Justice Clarence Thomas of echoing “one of Dred Scott’s core tenets” by opposing the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold birthright citizenship. 

    In Jackson’s concurrence with the majority’s opinion in Trump v. Barbara, she argued that the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause was historically intended to apply to all people born in the United States, including children of illegal immigrants, contrary to Thomas’s position that the amendment was ratified specifically to provide slaves freed after the Civil War with citizenship.

    “Freed Blacks fought for the shared humanity of all people. And the Great Emancipator eventually foresaw that the only path forward that could prevent a return — in any form — to slavery and race-based subordination was to link the fates of all,” Jackson wrote. “Of course, the ultimate irony is that for all the talk about the detestable Dred Scott decision, the Government and [Thomas] propose a return to its core tenet. Their bottom line is that, for certain people, being born on American soil will not suffice to confer citizenship.”

    By invoking “Dred Scott,” Jackson is referencing an 1857 Supreme Court decision in which the majority held that people of African descent “are not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word ‘citizens’ in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States.”

    CHINA EXPLOITING ‘BIRTH TOURISM’ TO GAIN LONG-TERM POLITICAL INFLUENCE IN US, AUTHOR WARNS

    According to Thomas, however, Jackson’s universalist characterization of the historical context surrounding the 14th Amendment was unfounded.

    “After the Civil War, the Reconstruction Congress overruled Dred Scott, first with the Civil Rights Act of 1866, then with the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Thomas wrote. “Both the Civil Rights Act and the Citizenship Clause guaranteed citizenship to persons born and domiciled in the United States regardless of their race. Neither guaranteed citizenship to persons who were not domiciled in the United States.”

    LAWYER WHO BEAT HAWAII GUN LAW CALLS STATE’S RELIANCE ON BLACK CODE ‘DISGRACEFUL’

    Thomas went on to describe the distinction he believes is drawn between Black Americans and foreigners residing in the country.

    “Blacks were entitled to citizenship because they were Americans. They had no other homeland, owed no allegiance to any foreign power, and were subject to no other authority,” the justice went on. “The same could not be said for the children of foreign temporary visitors. Foreign temporary visitors were attached to their home country, lacked similar bonds to this country, and would not be called upon in time of war.”

    SUPREME COURT’S SHOWDOWN ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP DECISION COULD RESHAPE AMERICA

    Thomas argued that citizenship under the 14th Amendment requires birth in the United States as well as “domicile,” a legal concept he defines as both one’s physical home and one’s permanent allegiance to the country. Children of foreign temporary visitors, per Thomas, do not qualify because, although subject to U.S. laws while here, they remain tied to another sovereign and are not fully “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States in the constitutional sense.

    Jackson fired back at this line of reasoning, calling it “myopic.”

    “Despite his longstanding endorsement of a ‘colorblind’ Constitution, Justice Thomas now surprisingly suggests that the Citizenship Clause was a race-conscious remedial measure, relating only to ‘freed slaves such as Dred Scott,’” she wrote. “It is for this reason, he says, that ‘children who were born in the United States but [to parents] not domiciled here’ are not entitled to claim birthright citizenship. But that narrow vision of the Fourteenth Amendment bears little relationship to the history of its ratification. Even worse, Justice Thomas’s telling elides the entire point of the Second Founding.”

    “The Reconstruction Amendments were an anticaste, antisubordination reset for the Nation, not a mere spot treatment for the dark stain of slavery,” Jackson asserted.