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Reporter’s Notebook: Alcohol, not coffee
Republicans control the House and Senate.
But characterizing it as the «Republican Congress» doesn’t do justice to the present circumstances.
This truly is «President Trump’s Congress.»
The president’s relationship with Republican lawmakers is light-years away from the fraught, shotgun marriage of 2017 after he unexpectedly captured the White House. Republicans on Capitol Hill didn’t know what to do with him.
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Former national security advisor Mike Waltz (Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Congressional Republicans «didn’t read the tweets.» They snickered behind his back. They chortled at what they believed were untenable ideas emanating from the White House.
And Trump also didn’t know what to do with congressional Republicans, either.
He and then-House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., formed the Odd Couple of politics.
But Trump’s relationship with then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was even worse.
So they focused on areas of agreement. Congressional Republicans viewed the Trump presidency as a means to an end. They saw an opportunity to pass some of their legislative priorities.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHERE WE STAND WITH TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
President Donald Trump and outgoing Sen. Mitch McConnell have a contentious relationship. (AP Photo; Reuters)
McConnell muscled three of President Trump’s Supreme Court nominees to confirmation, altering the contours of the high court for a generation. Ryan bored deeply into his area of expertise: tax policy. By Christmas 2017, the Republican-led Congress approved the vaunted «Trump tax cuts.»
But they stumbled early on repealing and replacing ObamaCare.
«I will not sugarcoat this. This is a disappointing day for us,» said Ryan when he had to yank an initial plan to end ObamaCare off the floor in the spring of 2017.
The House finally approved a revamped repeal and replace package more than a month later. But the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., torpedoed the effort with his vote against the plan later that summer.
But things are different this time around between Trump and congressional Republicans.
«He’s still the biggest dog in the pound,» said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.
Rep. Tim Burchett speaks to reporters upon arrival at a House Republican Conference meeting on Nov. 14, 2023, in Washington. (Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
So now congressional Republicans are teaming with the president to pass his «big, beautiful bill.»
«We are on track to pass the bill out of the House – as we’ve said from the very beginning – and get it over to the next stage by Memorial Day,» said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t GOP skepticism.
«Seems like that’s a pretty tight timeframe,» said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., of Johnson’s aspirations. «I’m not aware of any consensus, even within one of the bodies. Let alone a bicameral consensus.»
«A July 4 timeframe will be optimistic,» said Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. «If we can get this done by the end of July, I would count that as a win.»
But deep divides cleave Republicans.
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U.S. Capitol at sunset on Jan. 30, 2025. (Fox News Digital)
«I don’t think we’re on the same page even inside the House, much less in the House and the Senate,» said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.
Roy questioned what was so magical about finishing the bill by «Memorial Day» or «Independence Day.»
«Christmas? Easter? Memorial Day? July 4th? Does that have anything to do with policy? Hell no. It has to do with what? Jet fumes! People leaving town, right?» argued Roy. «Every single policy, as long as I can remember, is based on that more than it is on policy.»
But some Republicans aren’t convinced Congress is moving fast enough.
President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Feb. 26, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, relayed what he heard from constituents in Ohio.
«People were like, «What’s taking so long?’ They don’t think it’s rushed by any means. They’re like, ‘Where’s the bill?’» said Davidson. «If we don’t get this by mid-June, I think people back home are going to go ‘What are you guys doing?’»
This is why Democrats say Republicans are fretting privately.
«They’re clearly conflicted about Medicaid cuts,» said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. «They’re conflicted about raising the debt ceiling just with Republican votes. They’ve traditionally wanted to get Democratic votes for that and not do it all on their own. But if they do it in the reconciliation bill, they’re going to have to do it all on their own.»
And Republicans are starting to get nervous about the success or failure of the bill. The president – and most congressional Republicans – have banked their entire political calculus on this gambit.
«It’s a job for alcohol. Not coffee,» said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., noting the anxiety now permeating congressional Republicans. «Some of them would make a Valium nervous.»
Kennedy contends he’s not worrying. But says that even after another two months of hand-wringing, the Senate «won’t reach consensus. Nor will the House.»
But who will forge common ground?
«The president is going to have to be the arbiter because he’s going to put his muscle behind this to sell it,» observed Kennedy.
The sides are much more in sync. But this bill is such a behemoth that 53 Senate Republicans and 220 House GOPers won’t be able to sort this out on their own. They will look to the president to solve this.
«What do you think is the difference between Republicans and how they responded to President Trump during his first term? And what you see now?» yours truly asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
«I think they are much more afraid of him now. He’s done much more in terms of threatening them in both privately and even publicly,» replied Schumer. «They don’t know what to do. They’re between a rock and a hard place. On the one side, Trump threatens. On the other side, there are the American people who hate what Trump is proposing.»
I posed a similar interrogative to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«Can you characterize the difference in the response from congressional Republicans to President Trump this time around, compared to 2017? They seemed a little skeptical of him in 2017. That’s not the case now,» I observed.
«We all watched what happened in November and the mandate he got from the American people. It was clear. It was decisive,» said Thune. «A lot of us who served with him in the last term also saw the effects and the results of a lot of the decisions that he made with respect to policy. And they were the right ones. And in the end, he was proven right when it came to the economy, the border and national security.»
The point is that Trump enjoys a very different Congress compared to the one he tangled with in 2017. It’s Trump’s Congress now. GOPers will generally do what he asks. But when it comes to the tax cut and spending package, Trump must ultimately make the decisions on specific items he wants in the legislation. The question is whether the president will eventually rule things in or out. Trump’s Congress will respond to that.
President Donald Trump delivers remarks at his Michigan rally commemorating the first 100 days of his second term. (Getty Images)
«He has been clear to all of the members that this is critical for him. He wants his one big, beautiful bill,» said House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., on Fox. «I wouldn’t want be the one that stands in the way of the president on his agenda.»
But this won’t be easy. Expect a challenging few months.
Kennedy may be right. This is one for alcohol. Not coffee. Grab a dram of the Glenlivet and Lagavulin. Shelve the Starbucks and Nescafe.
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That is, unless the tariffs spiked the price of liquor and coffee too much.
If that’s the case, just drink water.
Congress,House Of Representatives,Senate,Politics
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Antifa agitation turns violent in Germany, bolstering Trump admin’s foreign terror label
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A mass protest on Saturday filled with many activists from the radical organization Antifa, which President Donald Trump designated as a domestic terrorist organization, delayed the start of a conference for the right-wing populist German party Alternative for Germany (AfD) youth wing called Generation Deutschland.
Between 25,000 and 30,000 protesters turned out against the AfD youth convention in the central German city of Giessen, prompting the largest police contingent (6,000 officers) in the history of the state of Hesse.
The AfD co-leader Alice Weidel blasted the demonstrators at the city’s convention center. «What is being done out there – dear left-wingers, dear extremists, you need to look at yourselves – is something that is deeply undemocratic.»
STATE DEPARTMENT MAKES FIRST-EVER ANTIFA FOREIGN TERRORIST DESIGNATIONS ACROSS EUROPE
Two demonstrators jump over a crash barrier while a water cannon is deployed. Several thousand demonstrators protested against the founding of a new AfD youth organization on Saturday. Its predecessor, Junge Alternative, which had been classified as right-wing extremist, had dissolved itself. (Hannes P Albert/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
According to the Associated Press, officers used pepper spray after stones were thrown at them at one location, police said. They also used water cannons to clear a blockade by about 2,000 protesters after they ignored calls to leave. They did so again Saturday afternoon as a group tried to break through barriers toward the city’s convention center. Police said up to 6,000 officers were deployed, and 10 to 15 were slightly injured.
The former U.S. ambassador to Germany during the first administration, Richard Grenell, warned on X about the dangers of the anti-democratic left in the Federal Republic of Germany. He wrote:» The intolerant and violent Left is gaining ground in Germany. If they follow the U.S. left then they will promote deadly violence while also losing public support — and elections. But they won’t see the errors of their ways because the German left gets lots of support from the media in Germany. It’s publicly funded, too. The conservative media is small and timid — but growing fast.»
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Boris Rhein, the Christian Democratic Union governor of the state of Hesse, criticized the attacks on police and the attempt to torpedo the AfD youth event. «The use of violence and attempts to prevent assemblies through marches can never be democratic means,» said Rhein.
The AfD scored an impressive second place election result in February, securing 20.8% of the vote. However, the mainstream German parties refused to form a coalition with the AfD because of what they said were its extremist views.
Two demonstrators jump over a crash barrier while a water cannon is deployed. Several thousand demonstrators protested against the founding of a new AfD youth organization on Saturday. Its predecessor, Junge Alternative, which had been classified as right-wing extremist, had dissolved itself. (Hannes P Albert/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
The youth division of the AfD elected 28-year-old Jean-Pascal Hohm as its chairman. According to an article in the German paper Die Welt, a local intelligence report quoted him as expressing anti-immigrant and nationalist views. «We will fight resolutely for a genuine shift in migration policy that ensures Germany remains the homeland of Germans, «Hohm said at the start of the conference.
The creation of Generation Deutschland unfolded after Germany’s federal intelligence agency classified the previous AfD youth chapter, Young Alternative, as an «extremist organization» in 2023, causing its dissolution.
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AfD portrays itself as an anti-establishment force at a time of low trust in politicians. It first entered the national parliament in 2017 following the arrival of large numbers of migrants in the mid-2010s. Curbing migration remains its signature theme, but it has shown a talent for capitalizing on discontent about other issues too. That was reflected in leaders’ confident tone Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
germany,antifa,europe,terrorism
INTERNACIONAL
Trump anunció el cierre del espacio aéreo de Venezuela y el gobierno de Maduro respondió con una dura carta
El gobierno de Nicolás Maduro emitió un comunicado en el que “denuncia y condena la amenaza colonialista” que —según afirma— intenta afectar la soberanía del país sobre su espacio aéreo.
El mensaje de Venezuela fue difundido este sábado como respuesta al anuncio hecho por el presidente Donald Trump a través de Truth Social.
Leé también: Estuvo detenido en Venezuela con el argentino Nahuel Gallo y contó cómo lo vio: “Cantó el himno en la celda”
“A todas las aerolíneas, pilotos, narcotraficantes y traficantes de personas: les rogamos que consideren que el espacio aéreo sobre Venezuela y sus alrededores permanecerá cerrado en su totalidad“, manifestó el mandatario estadounidense.
El aviso llegó en medio de un fuerte despliegue militar estadounidense en el Caribe, que incluye al portaaviones más grande del mundo, el USS Gerald R. Ford, y más de una decena de barcos, aviones de combate y 12.000 efectivos. El objetivo declarado: combatir a las organizaciones de narcotráfico que operan bajo la protección del régimen chavista.
La advertencia de Donald Trump llegó en medio de un fuerte despliegue militar estadounidense en el Caribe. (Foto: Reuters)
Como respuesta, el gobierno venezolano señaló que las declaraciones del presidente de Estados Unidos constituyen “una agresión extravagante, ilegal e injustificada” contra el pueblo.
En el documento, Venezuela repudia “con absoluta contundencia” la intención de Washington de “aplicar extraterritorialmente su jurisdicción” y acusa a EE.UU. de intentar “dar órdenes y amenazar la soberanía del espacio aéreo nacional, la integridad territorial y la seguridad aeronáutica”.
De igual forma, considera que este tipo de declaraciones representa “un acto hostil, unilateral y arbitrario, incompatible con los principios elementales del Derecho Internacional”. También sostiene que estas acciones representan “una política permanente de agresión” con “pretensiones coloniales” sobre América Latina y el Caribe.
El comunicado asegura que el anuncio de Trump constituye “una amenaza explícita de uso de la fuerza”, según lo establecido por la Carta de las Naciones Unidas. El aviso llegó en medio de un fuerte despliegue militar estadounidense en el Caribe, que incluye al portaaviones más grande del mundo, el USS Gerald R. Ford, y más de una decena de barcos, aviones de combate y 12.000 efectivos. (AP foto/John Clark)
Además, el gobierno de Nicolás Maduro afirma que el intento de intimidación viola el Artículo 1 de la Carta de la ONU, que consagra la paz y la seguridad internacionales. “Venezuela exige respeto irrestricto a su espacio aéreo, protegido por la OACI y por el Convenio de Chicago de 1944″, cuyo Artículo 1 reconoce la ”soberanía exclusiva y absoluta» sobre la zona aérea de cada Estado, se agrega en el documento oficial.
Asimismo, se advierte que Venezuela no “aceptará órdenes, amenazas ni injerencias provenientes de ningún poder extranjero”.
En el comunicado, también se denuncia que Estados Unidos suspendió unilateralmente los vuelos regulares para repatriación de ciudadanos venezolanos dentro del Plan Vuelta a la Patria, del que —según se indica— ya se habían realizado 75 vuelos para un total de 13.956 repatriados.
Leé también: Trump aseguró que ordenará operativos terrestres contra narcotraficantes en Venezuela
En este contexto, el gobierno venezolano hace “un llamado directo a la comunidad internacional”, a la ONU y a los gobiernos del mundo para que rechacen “este acto de agresión inmoral” que representa “una amenaza contra la soberanía y la seguridad de la región”.
Por último, sostiene que responderá con “dignidad, legalidad y fuerza” y asegura que continuará ejerciendo “plenamente su soberanía” sobre el espacio aéreo.
“Por tierra”
Para aumentar la presión, Trump advirtió a principios de esta semana que los esfuerzos para frenar el narcotráfico venezolano “por tierra” comenzarían “muy pronto”.
En los últimos días, se ha registrado una constante actividad de aviones de combate estadounidenses a unas pocas decenas de kilómetros de la costa venezolana, según sitios web de seguimiento de aeronaves.
República Dominicana, vecina de Venezuela, autorizó a Estados Unidos esta semana el uso de instalaciones aeroportuarias como parte de su despliegue, mientras Trinidad y Tobago, también ubicada a pocos kilómetros, albergó recientemente ejercicios del Cuerpo de Marines de Estados Unidos.
Suspensión de vuelos
Las autoridades de aviación de Estados Unidos instaron, la semana pasada, a las aeronaves civiles que operan en el espacio aéreo venezolano a “actuar con precaución” debido a la “situación de seguridad que empeora y la actividad militar intensificada en o alrededor de Venezuela“.
La advertencia de Trump tuvo como consecuencia la suspensión de vuelos hacia y desde Venezuela de seis aerolíneas que representan gran parte del tráfico en Sudamérica.
Leé también: Donald Trump habría hablado por teléfono con Nicolás Maduro sobre una posible reunión
La medida enfureció a Caracas. Por esto, la autoridad aeronáutica venezolana revocó los permisos para operar en el país a la española Iberia, la portuguesa TAP, la colombiana Avianca, la filial colombiana de la chileno-brasileña Latam, la brasileña GOL y la turca Turkish.
El gobierno de Maduro señaló a las aerolíneas de “sumarse a las acciones de terrorismo de Estado promovido por el gobierno de los Estados Unidos, suspendiendo unilateralmente sus operaciones aerocomerciales”.
Con información de AFP.
Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump, Estados Unidos
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National Guard shooting in DC leaves West Virginia reeling as top official slams Afghanistan withdrawal
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CHARLES TOWN, W.V. – EXCLUSIVE: The Thanksgiving Eve shooting that has left one West Virginia National Guard member dead and another clinging to his life enraged top officials in Charleston, West Virginia — as one placed blame squarely on the disastrous 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and said his state is «one big small town» that is mourning together.
The suspect, Rahmahullah Lakanwal, reportedly worked with a CIA-operated unit that fought the Taliban on America’s behalf, Fox News Digital confirmed, which helped evacuate people during the fall of Kabul under then-President Joe Biden.
West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Josh Holstein told Fox News Digital Friday the news angered him, and that anger turned to devastation when Sarah Beckstrom of Summersville, West Virginia, succumbed to her wounds, and as Andrew Wolfe of Inwood, West Virginia, remains in critical condition.
ALLEGED DC SHOOTER ENTERED US UNDER AFGHAN RESETTLEMENT PUSH MAYORKAS VOWED WOULD BE DONE ‘SWIFTLY AND SAFELY’
National Guard are seen after reports of two National Guard soldiers shot near the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP)
«It’s just been a horrible tragedy here in West Virginia,» said Holstein, who is also a state delegate from Boone County, West Virginia. «This doesn’t happen for West Virginians very often, and it’s just such a deep tragedy.»
«One of the things that I’ve … said from the beginning is West Virginia is just one big small town,» he said. «And folks come together in tragedy, in triumph, in everything. We come together and we celebrate, we mourn, always together.»
Holstein said that in times like this political parties don’t matter, and that Mountaineers came again together after the shooting. West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin to Republican Sens. Jim Justice and Shelley Moore Capito all offered similar heartfelt reactions.
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Travelers are greeted by a West Virginia welcome sign after crossing the East River Mountain Tunnel on I-77 in Princeton, West Virginia. (Charlie Creitz/Fox News Digital)
«West Virginians of all political sides of the aisle came together and just mourn(ed) and share a sense of deep grief, but not only grief, but gratitude for these folks, especially these these two young folks,» he said. «And then yesterday, of course, with it being Thanksgiving, it was a somber reminder that not all of us all of us get together with our families on Thanksgiving.»
«These two were at the time, both fighting for their life, and now one has since passed away,» he said. «I, I just feel that West Virginians in particular have such a unique drive for service. You can see it in our numbers per capita on how many veterans we have compared to other states in the country. We’re always willing and always able to serve each other and . . . it’s a really a perfect description of who West Virginians are.»
As reports came out about Lakanwal’s origins and background, that sentiment turned to fury, Holstein said, remarking that the 29-year-old Afghan «was not even supposed to be here.»
TRUMP’S PLAN TO DEPLOY NATIONAL GUARD IN DC SPARKS BACKLASH FROM RESIDENTS—BUT SOME WELCOME IT
West Virginia GOP Chairman Del. Josh Holstein’s official state portrait. (West Virginia House of Delegates)
Turning to the 2021 Afghan withdrawal during which Lakanwal found his way to the U.S., Holstein remarked that «when you create chaos, chaos follows.»
«That Afghanistan withdrawal was complete debacle; complete chaos,» he said. «And it led to people literally running and jumping on planes and coming to the United States as a result of it. It was complete chaos. There was not a deliberate system, irrespective and irregardless of what any of the administration officials of the past administration had said about it.»
«It’s really just an indictment on our country’s immigration system,» he said. «We have an immigration system that puts other people first. It doesn’t put American citizens first, it doesn’t put the good of the country first. It puts other people from random places throughout the country.»
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Holstein said President Donald Trump struck the right response when he pledged to crack down on third-world-country immigration and immigration from unstable governments.
«I think this is just yet again an example one thousand of our need to focus more on merit-based immigration and vetting who comes into our country at all times,» he said.
Asked whether he wants to see the West Virginia National Guard continue to deploy to Washington as part of Trump’s and U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro’s efforts to clean up crime, Holstein was undeterred.
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«We can’t cower to people like this (Lakanwal). You can’t cower in tragedy,» he said, adding that there are about 150 other guardsmen from his state serving in Washington.
«So, I hope to see everybody stay there and maybe even have some more folks come in from different places,» he added.
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Tessa Hoyos contributed to this report.
national guard,west virginia,donald trump,joe biden,afghanistan,cia
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