INTERNACIONAL
Brennan, Strzok, Page subpoenaed as part of federal Russiagate probe: Sources
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EXCLUSIVE: A federal grand jury has subpoenaed former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, among others as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, Fox News Digital has learned.
Sources told Fox News Digital Brennan; Strzok, the FBI’s former deputy assistant director of counterintelligence; and Page, a former FBI lawyer, were served with federal subpoenas on Friday.
John Brennan, Former CIA Director; NBC News Senior National Security and Intelligence Analyst, appears on «Meet the Press» in Washington, D.C., Sunday, April 15, 2018. (William B. Plowman/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Law enforcement sources told Fox News Digital that up to 30 subpoenas will be issued in the coming days relating to the investigation.
The grand jury is out of the Southern District of Florida. U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones is supervising the probe.
Fox News Digital first reported this summer that Brennan was under criminal investigation.
Strzok and Page first came under scrutiny in 2018 when Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz uncovered a series of anti-Trump text messages between them. Both were assigned to work on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team in 2017.
Page served on Mueller’s team on a short detail, returning to the FBI’s Office of General Counsel in July 2017. Strzok, though, was removed from the team and was reassigned to the FBI’s Human Resources Division. Prior to serving in the special counsel’s office, Strzok was a top agent in the bureau’s counterintelligence division.
Strzok is the FBI agent who, in July 2016, opened the FBI’s initial Russia investigation, which was nicknamed «Crossfire Hurricane» inside the bureau.
(Chip Somodevilla / Staff ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Contributor)
Page resigned from the bureau in May 2018, and Strzok eventually was fired in August 2018.
EX-OBAMA INTEL BOSS WANTED ANTI-TRUMP DOSSIER INCLUDED IN ‘ATYPICAL’ 2016 ASSESSMENT DESPITE PUSHBACK
Strzok was fired from the bureau in August 2018 after months of scrutiny regarding the anti-Trump text messages exchanged between himself and Page.
During congressional testimony in 2018, Strzok confirmed that he and Page were involved in an extramarital affair.
As for the criminal investigation into Brennan, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred evidence of wrongdoing by Brennan to FBI Director Kash Patel for potential prosecution, DOJ sources told Fox News Digital.
Sources, at the time, said that the referral was received and told Fox News Digital that a criminal investigation into Brennan was opened and is underway. DOJ sources declined to provide further details. It is unclear, at this point, if the investigation spans beyond his alleged false statements to Congress.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi (L) and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel look on as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 15, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The Brennan investigation came after Ratcliffe, this summer, declassified a «lessons learned» review of the creation of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA). The 2017 ICA alleged Russia sought to influence the 2016 presidential election to help then-candidate Donald Trump. But the review found that the process of the ICA’s creation was rushed with «procedural anomalies,» and that officials diverted from intelligence standards.
It also determined that the «decision by agency heads to include the Steele Dossier in the ICA ran counter to fundamental tradecraft principles and ultimately undermined the credibility of a key judgment.»
The dossier — an anti-Trump document filled with unverified and wholly inaccurate claims that was commissioned by Fusion GPS and paid for by Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC — has been widely discredited. Last week’s review marks the first time career CIA officials have acknowledged politicization of the process by which the ICA was written, particularly by Obama-era political appointees.
Records declassified as part of that review further revealed that Brennan did, in fact, push for the dossier to be included in the 2017 ICA.
Brennan testified to the House Judiciary Committee in May 2023, however, that he did not believe the dossier should be included in that intelligence product.
Ratcliffe was not surprised by the review’s findings, a source familiar told Fox News Digital, given the director’s long history of criticizing Brennan’s politicization of intelligence. But Ratcliffe was compelled to refer aspects of Brennan’s involvement to the FBI for review of possible criminality, the source said.
WHITE HOUSE WANTS OBAMA INTEL OFFICIALS ‘HELD ACCOUNTABLE’ FOR ROLE PEDDLING 2016 RUSSIA HOAX
The source was unable to share the sensitive details of Ratcliffe’s criminal referral to the FBI with Fox News Digital, but said that Brennan «violated the public’s trust and should be held accountable for it.»
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, flanked by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, left, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Jeffrey Kruse, testifies as the House Intelligence Committee holds a hearing on worldwide threats, at the Capitol, in Washington, on Wednesday, March 26. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
The false statements portion of the probe stems from a newly declassified email sent to Brennan by the former deputy CIA director in December 2016. That message said that including the dossier in the ICA in any capacity jeopardized «the credibility of the entire paper.»
«Despite these objections, Brennan showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness,» the new CIA review states. «When confronted with specific flaws in the Dossier by the two mission center leaders – one with extensive operational experience and the other with a strong analytic background – he appeared more swayed by the Dossier’s general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns.»
Former President Barack Obama and former CIA director John Brennan in the East Room at the White House on Jan. 7, 2013, in Washington, D.C. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
The review added: «Brennan ultimately formalized his position in writing, stating that ‘my bottomline is that I believe that the information warrants inclusion in the report.’»
OBAMA ADMIN ‘MANUFACTURED’ INTELLIGENCE TO CREATE 2016 RUSSIAN ELECTION INTERFERENCE NARRATIVE, DOCUMENTS SHOW
But Brennan testified the opposite in front of Congress in May 2023.
«The CIA was very much opposed to having any reference or inclusion of the Steele dossier in the Intelligence Community Assessment,» Brennan testified before the House committee, according to the transcript of his deposition reviewed by Fox News Digital. «And so they sent over a copy of the dossier to say that this was going to be separate from the rest of that assessment.»
CIA officials at the time of its creation pushed back against the FBI, which sought to include the dossier, arguing that the dossier should not be included in the assessment, and casting it as simply «internet rumor.»
Ultimately, Steele’s reporting was not included in the body of the final ICA prepared for then-President Barack Obama, but instead detailed in this footnote, «largely at the insistence of FBI’s senior leadership,» according to a review by the Justice Department inspector general, and later, the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Christopher Steele, the former MI6 agent who set up Orbis Business Intelligence and compiled a dossier on Donald Trump. ((Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images))
But back in June 2020, Ratcliffe, while serving as director of national intelligence, declassified a footnote of the 2017 ICA, which revealed that the reporting of Trump dossier author Christopher Steele had only «limited corroboration» regarding whether then-President-elect Trump «knowingly worked with Russian officials to bolster his chances of beating» Hillary Clinton and other claims.
FLASHBACK: DNI DECLASSIFIES BRENNAN NOTES, CIA MEMO ON HILLARY CLINTON ‘STIRRING UP’ SCANDAL BETWEEN TRUMP, RUSSIA
The footnote, also known as «Annex A» of the 2017 ICA, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in June 2020, spanned less than two pages and detailed reporting by Steele, the former British spy who authored the unverified anti-Trump dossier — a document that helped serve as the basis for controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants obtained against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Steele’s reporting, at the time, was commissioned by opposition research firm Fusion GPS and funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) through law firm Perkins Coie.
The footnote made clear the internal concerns officials had over that document.
«An FBI source (Steele) using both identified and unidentified subsources, volunteered highly politically sensitive information from the summer to the fall of 2016 on Russian influence efforts aimed at the US presidential election,» the annex read. «We have only limited corroboration of the source’s reporting in this case and did not use it to reach the analytic conclusions of the CIA/FBI/NSA assessment.»
«The source collected this information on behalf of private clients and was not compensated for it by the FBI,» it continued.
But the annex notes that Steele’s reporting was «not developed by the layered subsource network.»
«The FBI source caveated that, although similar to previously provided reporting in terms of content, the source was unable to vouch for the additional information’s sourcing and accuracy,» the annex states. «Hence this information is not included in this product.»
FBI IGNORED ‘CLEAR WARNING SIGN’ OF CLINTON-LED EFFORT TO ‘MANIPULATE’ BUREAU FOR ‘POLITICAL PURPOSES’
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz also reviewed the inclusion of Steele’s reporting in the ICA during his review of alleged misconduct related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
His report, released in late 2019, found that there were «significant inaccuracies and omissions» in FISA warrants for former Trump campaign aide Page. Those warrants relied heavily on Steele’s reporting, despite the FBI not having had specific information corroborating allegations against Page that were included in Steele’s reporting.
Meanwhile, Fox News Digital exclusively reported in October 2020 that Brennan briefed former President Obama and administration officials on intelligence that then-Democrat nominee former Secretary of State Clinton was stirring up a plan to tie Trump to Russia.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, pictured May 29, 2019, is the latest person to testify in the House Oversight Committee’s probe into Jeffrey Epstein. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Ratcliffe, as director of national intelligence, declassified Brennan’s handwritten notes memorializing that meeting, which were exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in October 2020.
On July 28, 2016, Brennan briefed Obama on a plan from one of Clinton’s campaign foreign policy advisors «to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.»
Comey, then-Vice President Joe Biden, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were in the Brennan-Obama briefing.
FLASHBACK: DECLASSIFIED TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE DOCS TO DATE: WHAT TO KNOW
After that briefing, the CIA properly forwarded that information through a Counterintelligence Operational Lead (CIOL) to Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok, with the subject line: «Crossfire Hurricane.»
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained and reported on the CIOL in October 2020, which stated: «The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate.»
«Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date,» the memo continued. «An exchange (REDACTED) discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.»
Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee about his interactions with President Donald Trump and the Russia investigation on June 8, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The FBI on July 31, 2016, opened a counterintelligence investigation into whether candidate Trump and members of his campaign were colluding or coordinating with Russia to influence the 2016 campaign. That investigation was referred to inside the bureau as «Crossfire Hurricane.»
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to take over the FBI’s original «Crossfire Hurricane» investigation. After nearly two years, Mueller’s investigation, which concluded in March 2019, yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election.
Shortly after, John Durham was appointed as special counsel to investigate the origins of the «Crossfire Hurricane» probe.
Durham found that the FBI «failed to act» on a «clear warning sign» that the bureau was the «target» of a Clinton-led effort to «manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes» ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Jeff Durham, Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton (Associated Press)
«The aforementioned facts reflect a rather startling and inexplicable failure to adequately consider and incorporate the Clinton Plan intelligence into the FBI’s investigative decision-making in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation,» Durham’s report states.
«Indeed, had the FBI opened the Crossfire Hurricane investigation as an assessment and, in turn, gathered and analyzed data in concert with the information from the Clinton Plan intelligence, it is likely that the information received would have been examined, at a minimum, with a more critical eye,» the report continued.
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Durham, in his report, said the FBI «failed to act on what should have been—when combined with other incontrovertible facts— a clear warning sign that the FBI might then be the target of an effort to manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes during the 2016 presidential election.»
The Justice Department, earlier this year, formed a «strike force» to assess evidence publicized by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard relating to former President Barack Obama and his top national security and intelligence officials’ alleged involvement in the origins of the Trump–Russia collusion narrative.
Meanwhile, Fox News Digital also first reported that Comey was under criminal investigation. Comey has been charged with making false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.
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Comey has pleaded not guilty. His trial is expected to begin in January.
justice department,fbi,kash patel,pam bondi
INTERNACIONAL
Tourists in Mexican seaside city told to stay on resort as government warns of ‘clashes’
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Tourists in the Mexican seaside city of Puerto Vallarta were told not to leave their resort on Sunday as a government official warned of «clashes» in the area following a federal operation.
Photos and video shared with Fox News Digital capture billowing, dark smoke clouding the skyline of the city, which is located on Mexico’s Pacific Coast in the state of Jalisco.
Tourists at a local resort told Fox News Digital that they were urged to stay put at the resort. They said no reason for exercising the caution was immediately given.
The U.S. State Department later issued a travel warning for multiple areas in Mexico on Sunday afternoon, urging U.S. citizens to shelter in place until further notice due to «ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity.»
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Smoke was seen rising into the skies of Puerto Vallarta in Mexico’s Jalisco state on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
The travel warning was issued for parts of Jalisco state, including Puerto Vallarta, Chapala and Guadalajara; Tamaulipas state, including Reynosa and other municipalities; and areas of Michoacan state, Guerrero state and Nuevo Leon state.
Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus Navarro announced in a post on X that federal forces carried out an «operation» in the town of Tapalpa earlier Sunday, which led to «clashes» in the area.
«Also as a result of said operation, in various points of that region and in other parts of Jalisco, individuals have burned and blocked vehicles with the aim of hindering the actions of the authorities,» Navarro wrote in the post in Spanish.
In multiple posts, Navarro wrote that «the violent incidents have spread» and «blockades have shifted» as the government and law enforcement work to safeguard citizens.
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Navarro added that the government has enacted a «Code Red» to keep the public safe.
Tourists said they were told not to leave their resort in Puerto Vallarta on Sunday. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
«We reiterate the recommendation to avoid leaving your homes,» Navarro wrote in a second post. «The clashes are occurring in several federal entities.»
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While government officials did not immediately provide details about the federal operation, local news outlets report that the operation may have involved the Jalisco New Generation cartel and one of its notorious leaders, Nemesio «El Mencho» Oseguera Cervantes.
location mexico,puerto vallarta,mexican cartel violence,world
INTERNACIONAL
La historia de “El Mencho”: cómo el líder del CJNG se convirtió en uno de los narcotraficantes más buscados en el mundo
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, teniendo más de 50 año de edad, llegó a la cumbre de su carrera criminal. Identificado como líder del Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, Oseguera, conocido como El Mencho se convirtió en el hombre más buscado de México y Estados Unidos.
Es el segundo mexicano más buscado por Estados Unidos. El primero es Rafael Caro Quintero, El Narco de Narcos, por el asesinato de Enrique Kiki Camarena, ex agente de la DEA (Administración de Control de Drogas, por sus siglas en inglés) de EEUU. Pero inmediatamente después, en la lista de los más buscados, figura el rostro de Nemesio Oseguera, El Mencho, líder del CJNG.
La historia de Oseguera Cervantes es extraordinaria porque la gran mayoría de narcos mexicanos de su generación han sido apresados o han muerto violentamente.
Según la acusación del Departamento de Justicia de EEUU, El Mencho dirigió el CJNG ―o su versión embrionaria― al menos desde el año 2000 y logró expandirlo a la mayoría de los estados de México y a varias ciudades de los Estados Unidos. Sus primeros pasos en el narco los dio, sin embargo, bastante antes.
En Naranjo de Chila ―un pueblo al sureste de Michoacán― nació el 17 de julio de 1966 Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, uno de los seis hermanos de una familia de productores de aguacate.
Dicen que lo bautizaron con el nombre de Rubén y él se hizo llamar Nemesio en honor a su padrino. También que su cuna es el municipio de Naranjo de Chila y otros que fue Uruapan o Aguililla. Tal vez fue este último porque allí, apenas siendo un niño que recién abandonaba la escuela en el quinto año de primaria, se contrató para cuidar los campos de aguacate, propiedad de los Valencia.
De esta familia, conocida primero como el Cártel del Aguacate (porque traficaba la marihuana escondida en los cargamentos de ese fruto), nació el Cártel del Milenio cuando saltaron a la siembra de marihuana y amapola. Tan poderosos eran en su tierra que uno de ellos, José, incluso llegó a alcalde en 1989, postulado por el PRD. Con ellos, apenas adolescente, El Mencho se hizo vigilante de los plantíos y traficante después.
Sin embargo, debió haber soñado con algo más que aguacates, porque en pocos años empacó y se mudó al norte de California, Estados Unidos.
A los 20 años, para 1986, ya había emigrado a Estados Unidos. Vivía en la bahía de San Francisco, en California, donde se involucró con una banda de tráfico de heroína y metanfetamina e intentó construir una red de clientes como dealer. El periodista estadounidense Josh Eells, en un reportaje publicado en la revista Rolling Stone y con base en información de autoridades de Estados Unidos, afirma que Abigael González Valencia, El Cuini, cuñado de Oseguera Cervantes, lo formó en el negocio de las drogas.
Fue detenido en 1986 cuando él y su hermano mayor, Abraham Oseguera, vendieron heroína a dos policías encubiertos; en 1992 fueron enviados a una prisión federal y luego deportados. Una foto de reserva del incidente muestra al Mencho, de 19 años, con una sudadera con capucha y con acné en la cara.
Dos meses después, nació su primer hija: Jessica Johanna Oseguera.
Al salir de prisión, en 1997, se enroló como policía municipal en Tomatlán, Jalisco. Allí se vinculó con los hermanos Nava Valencia del Cártel del Milenio, y con Nacho Coronel, del Cártel del Pacífico, como también llamaban a la organización criminal del Chapo Guzmán.
Con ellos, al dejar la policía, El Mencho se convirtió en una especie de consejero de seguridad y una pieza estratégica en el tráfico de drogas sintéticas a Estados Unidos gracias a su experiencia en aquel país, de acuerdo con Eells.
Desde la formación del CJNG en 2011, El Mencho pronto logró expandirse en casi todo México y tiene presencia internacional en Estados Unidos, Colombia y, sin confirmar, en Canadá, Argentina, Holanda, Ghana, Nigeria, Marruecos, Rusia, China, Corea del Sur, Alemania, Perú, Centroamérica, Bolivia, Malasia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Polonia, Australia, y Camboya, con lo que habría superado en 2018 al Cártel de Sinaloa en el tráfico de alucinógenos, de acuerdo con diversos reportes.
Oseguera Cervantes supuestamente se escondía en las montañas de Jalisco y, según la prensa local, padece insuficiencia renal, un mal que lo mantenía con diálisis y atado a una cama, por lo que la organización sería dirigida por sus lugartenientes.
En febrero de 2020, los gobiernos de México y de EEUU dieron un golpe al criminal cuando el hijo del Mencho, Rubén Oseguera González, El Menchito, fue extraditado, y su hija, Jessica Johanna Oseguera González, fue detenida mientras acudía a una de las audiencias de su hermano.
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«I can’t believe they just left!»
«Why didn’t they just stay until they fixed it?»
«Why didn’t they make them stay?»
I must have fielded forty questions last week from colleagues, friends and acquaintances. Even reporters and editorial staff from other news organizations. And that’s to say nothing of a few Congressional aides.
Everyone had the same question. They were in disbelief that lawmakers just abandoned the Capitol a week ago Thursday and left the Department of Homeland Security without funding on Saturday at 12:00:01 am et.
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Senate Democrats blocked a short-term funding bill, stalling efforts to keep DHS and its agencies operating. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
The Senate tried twice to avert the partial government shutdown on Thursday. The Senate failed to break a filibuster on a placeholder, undetermined funding bill. And then Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., objected to a request by Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., to approve a stopgap, two-week funding bill. Passage of the bill would require agreement of all 100 senators. But all it took was one objection. And Murphy, speaking for many Democrats on both sides of the Capitol, interceded to sidetrack Britt’s effort.
«I’m over it!» shouted an exasperated Britt on the Senate floor, as Congress pitched at least part of the federal government into its third shutdown since October 1.
Democrats are refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security until there’s a specific agreement to reform U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). And – few Democrats will say this out loud – but their base insists on Democrats shuttering DHS over ICE tactics after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
This is somewhat ironic. Republicans funded ICE through 2029 via last year’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill. So thanks to Democrats, TSA, the Coast Guard and FEMA – all under the DHS aegis – are without money right now. That means tens of thousands of employees are technically working without paychecks as they scan passengers at airports, patrol the seas and respond to natural disasters.
This brings us back to the basic question: Why didn’t they just stay until they figured it out?
As a reporter, I have covered dozens of shutdowns, partial shutdowns, near shutdowns, flirtations with shutdowns. That’s to say nothing of various permutations of interim spending bills – long and short – known as Continuing Resolutions or CRs. Those bills keep the funding flowing at the old spending level – until lawmakers all agree on something new. Sometimes one CR begets another CR. And even another one after that until everything’s resolved. The exercise can go on for months.
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Sen. Katie Britt vented frustration on the Senate floor after her stopgap bill was blocked. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
But as it pertains to DHS, lawmakers weren’t going to solve the issues surrounding ICE right away. So both the House and Senate got out of Dodge last Thursday as the deadline loomed. Lawmakers were everywhere from the Middle East to Munich when the bell tolled midnight Saturday and DHS lumbered into a slow-speed funding crash.
Failure to fund the Department of Homeland Security may seem unreasonable from a policy standpoint – regardless of what you think of ICE. But it’s not unreasonable if you understand the politics and Congressional procedure to fund ICE.
Let’s say they were on the precipice of an agreement to fund DHS. That may involve some last-minute trading of paper between Senate and House leaders. Maybe a call or two from the President to reluctant Republicans. If lawmakers believed a deal was within range, it’s doubtful that leaders would have cut Members loose. They would have stayed if there was a viable path to nail something down last Friday, have the Senate expedite the process and vote on either Saturday or Sunday (albeit after the deadline) and then have the House vote on Monday. That’s all under the premise of a deal being close.
They were nowhere near that stage when lawmakers called it last Thursday. Democrats didn’t send over their offer for days after a brief shutdown of 78 percent of the government more than two weeks ago. Democrats then criticized Republicans and the White House for slowly volleying a counteroffer. Democrats then rejected the GOP plan – only sending back another plan late Monday.
Getting a deal which can pass both the House and Senate – and overcome a Senate filibuster – takes time. And there simply wasn’t a deal to be had yet.
This is where things get really interesting. With no agreement in sight, you simply don’t anchor lawmakers in Washington with nothing to do. There’s nothing to vote on. There are no committee meetings scheduled. All tethering lawmakers to DC does is stir up trouble.
There’s a line in the song «Trouble» in The Music Man by Meredith Willson: «The idle brain is the devil’s playground.» Who knows what kinds of mischief you would have, just making very cranky lawmakers hang around Washington for days – without anything to vote on. Keeping everyone here does not contribute to securing a deal. Yes, all 532 House and Senate Members (there are two House vacancies) must eventually be dialed-in to vote on a bill to fund DHS. But we aren’t there yet. A handful of Members in the House, Senate and people at the White House will be the ones to negotiate an agreement. Rank-and-file Members marooned in Washington with nothing to do but post outrageous things on social media and appear on cable TV is counterproductive.
Now, let’s look at the other scenario of being close to an agreement. House and Senate leaders may believe they are still a little short of votes. But if something is viable, leaders know they can nail down the votes with some arm-twisting, legislative and ego massaging and a few forceful phone calls. Yes, that process may require elbow grease. But in that instance, keeping everyone in Washington for a few extra days and blowing up a long-awaited Congressional recess actually helps the process.
DHS SHUTDOWN LEAVES LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONDERS ON THEIR OWN AMID EXTREME WEATHER, EXPERT WARNS
TSA officers, Coast Guard members and FEMA staff are working without pay as the DHS funding lapse drags on. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Why?
Think of the Stockholm Syndrome. You demand that everyone stay in Washington for an extra day or two and the «hostages» will start to come around to the viewpoints of their captors. Yes, everyone is frustrated and mad. But they feel the bill is something they can support and finally end this triumvirate of government shutdowns. In this case, the fustigation builds – but just a little. Everyone is happy to vote yes and rush off of Capitol Hill.
If they were close to nailing down an agreement on DHS funding, then Congressional leaders would have deployed a version of the Stockholm Syndrome to wrap up everything.
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But with no deal, leaders were more afraid of the mayhem they may trigger by keeping everyone in Washington. The devil would romp freely through the playground of idle brains.
So how will you know when there’s a deal?
When everyone’s present and accounted for.
government shutdown,budget senate,democrats senate,homeland security
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