INTERNACIONAL
Why the House let out early: a matter of debate as Johnson says chamber has ‘done its work’
It’s a matter of debate as to why House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent the House home a day early this week. This is in addition to the House lopping off two additional weeks from its schedule later this month and into early October.
«We’re going to modify the House schedule by a day. And let me explain to you why. The House has done its work,» said Johnson as House Members fled Capitol Hill early Wednesday night. «House Republicans are going now back to our districts. We’re going to make the case to the American people on what we have delivered on their behalf.»
The House isn’t scheduled to reconvene until November 9, just after the midterms.
But outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., believes there’s a different reason Johnson cut everyone loose early. The Kentucky Republican introduced eight articles of impeachment for Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. Because Massie’s push for impeachment is «privileged,» the House had 48 hours max to consider the articles.
THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO MASSIE SAYING JOHNSON IS SENDING THE HOUSE HOME EARLY TO PREVENT HEGSETH IMPEACHMENT
«I figured out why we canceled tomorrow,» said Massie. «Tomorrow would be the vote on impeaching Secretary of Defense Peter Bryan Hegseth. And it looks like that vote’s not going to happen.»
A senior House Republican leadership source insisted to Fox last week that Members would be on Capitol Hill «for a full week.»
But by Wednesday, the House had synced up with the Senate and passed the Russia sanctions bill. It okayed legislation to protect consumers from high electricity and water bills associated with data centers – foisting the cost on tech companies. Yes, there were calls by bipartisan lawmakers that the House should remain in session to address intensifying concerns about AI. But the House was running out of floor traffic.
Except for Massie’s measure to impeach Hegseth.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: HOUSE CONTROL COULD HINGE ON WHETHER THE OLD POLITICAL RULES STILL APPLY
Now you can determine for yourself why Johnson dismissed lawmakers a day early – to say nothing of the plan for the House to cut town two weeks sooner than originally planned.
But you can imagine what Massie thought.
«Exactly what I predicted,» said Massie on the House floor. «Why did he just cut another day off the calendar?»
I found Massie off the floor after he concluded his speech.
«Do you think they adjourned the House because you have the votes on Hegseth?» asked yours truly.
«Chad, they cut two weeks off of the calendar to keep me from getting to 218 votes on the Epstein discharge petition. And then we came into this week and I introduced eight articles of impeachment against Peter Hegseth and they have 48 hours to vote on that,» replied Massie. «He cut off the day tomorrow to avoid the vote.»
Here are the parliamentary mechanics.
The House was compelled to consider Massie’s impeachment articles if it met this past Thursday. Otherwise, the resolution covering the eight impeachment articles would expire. The 48-hour window associated with such privileged resolutions disappears. Sure. Massie could bring them up when the House next meets in November. But that is seven weeks from now.
But let’s say the House met on Thursday and was forced to bring up Massie’s impeachment articles, Republicans would likely have offered «a motion to table.» This is an effort to kill Massie’s gambit. Thus the vote would not have been on impeaching Hegseth, but whether or not to set aside Massie’s plan.
If the House voted to table Massie’s articles of impeachment, the gig is up. It’s done. The House never even considered the actual impeachment resolutions. The vote was one step removed from a straight, up/down vote on actually impeaching Hegseth.
But let’s say the motion to table were to fail? That means the House immediately skips to the articles of impeachment. The possibility suddenly exists that Hegseth could face eight impeachment votes – even through there’s been no investigation. No committee hearings. No «process.»
Nowhere does it say in the Constitution that Congress is required to wrestle with the usual parliamentary volutions to impeach someone. If a simple majority in the House votes to impeach you, you’re impeached.
Nuff said.
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This is why Republicans likely would have moved to table Massie’s impeachment articles. A vote to table inoculates Members from having to take a challenging vote on the underlying issue. Keep in mind that there are a number of House Republicans who are aggravated with Hegseth and beside themselves about the war in Iran. This vote would have put them in an interesting position – especially since many if not all Democrats may have voted to impeach.
So I asked Massie the following about the motion to table.
«That would have put (Members) in a tough spot. Or would if they had to vote on that, that would have passed?» I asked.
«A vote on a motion to table — he may not have survived that vote,» declared Massie.
In other words, Massie believes the House could have defeated the motion to table. That would have triggered votes on actually impeaching Hegseth. And, from Massie’s standpoint, that’s why Johnson sent the House home.
You might remember that there was a bipartisan effort last summer by Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to go around Johnson and deposit a measure on the floor forcing release of the Epstein files. Johnson let the House out early for summer break then. Later, Johnson kept the House out of session for most of the 43-day government shutdown as the special effort to bring action on the resolution loomed.
The House voted to re-open the government in mid-November. And one of the first things the House did after that? Voted 427-1 to require a release of the files. The lone nay vote against releasing the files? Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La.
Even though there aren’t votes until early November, Massie is still a Member of the House. He’ll be a Member in the lame duck session through early January. Massie lost his primary to Republican Ed Gallrein — a candidate backed by President Donald Trump. And Hegseth took the unusual step of traveling to northern Kentucky this spring to campaign for Gallrein.
It’s unclear if the Hegseth articles of impeachment will return late this fall or winter. But Massie is back. At least for a little while. And whether Johnson adjourned the House to prevent a vote on the impeachment articles will remain a matter of debate.
congress, house of representatives politics, mike johnson, pete hegseth
INTERNACIONAL
Major US children’s hospital opens historic detransition clinic after $10M legal showdown
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that the nation’s first-ever detransition clinic has opened at Texas Children’s Hospital following a $10 million settlement with the state.
The announcement comes after Paxton reached a settlement with TCH in May, finalized in August, requiring the hospital to pay $10 million to resolve government claims and separately establish and fund a detransition clinic. The new clinic provides «detransition-related medical care to patients through age 21, along with detransition-related obstetric and gynecologic care to patients older than 21,» according to Paxton’s office.
«In accordance with my settlement with Texas Children’s Hospital, the nation’s first-ever Detransition Clinic is now open,» Paxton said in a statement. «I will continue to ensure that this clinic provides the care and support that victims of the radical left’s gender ideology deserve.»
A LANDMARK TEXAS RULING BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO ONE DETRANSITIONER’S QUEST FOR JUSTICE
«Together, we will protect our children and defeat the dangerous ideology that has inflicted irreversible harm on innocent kids,» he continued.
Tuesday’s announcement comes as Paxton is running for election in Texas’ 2026 Senate race. President Donald Trump campaigned in two separate Texas cities, Corpus Christi and Lubbock, on Tuesday in an effort to boost Paxton’s Senate bid.
The Trump administration has been targeting initiatives related to transgender people in recent months. Trump announced in August that his administration will cease providing funding for gender transition surgeries using Medicaid for minors.
Paxton’s office did not respond to Digital’s request for comment.
A TCH spokesperson told Digital on Wednesday that the hospital prioritizes providing patients «the highest standard of care,» including through the detransition clinic.
«First and foremost, patients and families are at the center of all we do and we will always provide the highest standard of care, including through this clinic, which formalizes the supportive, multidisciplinary services we have and will continue to deliver,» the TCH spokesperson said. «Given the multidisciplinary approach, care may be delivered in multiple locations, depending on individual patient needs.»
«All services provided will be within our hospital’s existing licensure and scope,» the spokesperson added. «Services will include Endocrinology, Surgery, Primary Care, Fertility Counseling, Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Work/Case Management and Speech Pathology. The clinic is operational and we are complying with all requirements in the settlement agreement.»
The TCH spokesperson also told Digital that the hospital is «actively triaging prospective patients» for the detransition clinic.
«Protecting the privacy of our patients and their families is a top priority, thus we are unable to share patient information,» the spokesperson stated. «We are actively triaging prospective patients through our established intake process. We can tell you that thus far, we have not yet had clinical appointments with patients.»
INSURANCE COMPANIES PUT ON NOTICE FOR STRANDING TRANS PATIENTS WHO WANT TO REVERSE SURGERIES
TCH is required to fully fund services provided through the detransition clinic for its first five years, ensuring patients receive those services at no cost, and must also publicize the clinic on its website, per the settlement.
The May settlement also required TCH to pay $10 million to resolve claims brought under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act and the federal False Claims Act over allegations that the hospital improperly billed Texas Medicaid for gender-transition treatments, according to Paxton’s office.
Do No Harm, a medical advocacy organization critical of gender-transition treatments for minors, estimates that 13,994 minors received gender-transition-related medical interventions between 2019 and 2023, based on its analysis of insurance claims data.
A poll published on Oct. 21 found that Democratic candidate James Talarico and Paxton were tied at 49% each among likely voters in the Lone Star State.
politics, texas, health care healthy living, attorney general, childrens health
INTERNACIONAL
EXCLUSIVE: State Department accuses politicians of endangering Afrikaner lives after gruesome farm attacks
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
FIRST ON FOX: The State Department has hit out strongly against South Africa and some of its politicians, accusing them of putting their people’s lives at risk following two attacks on White farmers believed to be Afrikaners — people of European descent — near Johannesburg.
A 50-year-old man was reportedly tortured, and a 55-year-old woman allegedly beaten to death.
In exclusive comments to Fox News Digital, a State Department spokesperson said «the lives and property of Afrikaners have been endangered by politicians who incite race-based violence against them.»
US President Donald Trump, right, and Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
BIDEN-ERA DIRECTIVE FOR DIPLOMATS TO PEDDLE DEI ON FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS SCRAPPED BY STATE DEPARTMENT
This is the latest volley from the administration in an increasingly bitter row, which first burst out of the Oval Office last year in a heated exchange between President Donald Trump and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, on a range of the country’s policies and issues — including safety concerns for the Afrikaner community.
«This month’s attacks were ‘appalling,’ said Ian Cameron, chair of South Africa’s Portfolio Committee on Police and a member of Parliament with the main opposition Democratic Alliance.
He detailed the attacks, starting with one involving Donovan Marx, a 50-year-old who was on his farm about 80 miles from Johannesburg.
Cameron told Fox News Digital there were reports Marx was shot, stabbed and had his ears cut off, describing the attack as «extraordinary cruelty.»
He added that in a separate attack in the same North West Province earlier this month, a female farmer, Hannetjie van Zyl, 55, was beaten to death while opening a gate.
President Donald Trump shows documents as he meets South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House on Wednesday, May 21, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Eyewitness reports claim she was approached from behind and hit repeatedly over the head with an iron bar.
In both attacks, the victims’ vehicles and belongings were reportedly stolen. But the alleged torture of Marx goes beyond straightforward crimes such as burglary, Corné Mulder, leader of the opposition party Freedom Front Plus, told Fox News Digital.
«Safety and farm attacks in South Africa remains a huge problem,» Mulder said. «Donovan Marx was attacked this week. He’s fighting for his life in hospital at the moment. The perpetrators not only attacked him, they tried to castrate him.»
While both victims were White, there have been no accusations from public figures that the attacks were racially motivated.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers the State of the Nation address in Cape Town, South Africa, on Feb. 12, 2026. (Rodger Bosch/Pool via Reuters)
Cameron claimed the attacks were not isolated, noting he had «personally attended farm-attack scenes where people were tortured with boiling water, burnt with clothing irons and subjected to other horrific abuse.»
«SAPS [South African Police Service] must put experienced investigators, forensic support and crime intelligence behind these cases,» Cameron said. «Nobody should have to accept this level of violence as a normal part of life.»
The reported torture of farmers is «unthinkable,» Mulder said, adding «not one word from the President of South Africa to sympathize, not even acknowledging that this has happened, which is absolutely unbelievable.»
«We have been pleading with [the] government to prioritize rural crime and farm attacks as a priority crime, they are not prepared to do so,» he continued.
Fox News Digital reached out to the South African government for comment, but was referred to police, who did not immediately respond.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the opening session of the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (Misper Apawu/ AP Phot/Pool)
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Mulder claims the recent farm attacks were fueled by the South African president’s refusal to heed Trump’s demand last year to stop performances of the song «Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer.» The term «Boer» refers to a South African of Dutch or Huguenot descent, according to Merriam-Webster.
Ramaphosa said he could not stop the song being chanted in stadiums by crowds of up to 90,000 because the country’s highest court has said the lyrics are not hate speech.
THOUSANDS OF POLICE DEPLOYED ACROSS SOUTH AFRICA AS DEADLY ANTI-IMMIGRATION PROTESTS SPREAD TO MULTIPLE CITIES
«As long as [President Ramaphosa] does not stop the incitement to attack farmers with the singing of the song «Kill the Boer,» the attacks will continue,» Mulder wrote in a statement. «We see the practical reality when these things play out as happened with the last two farm attacks that we’ve seen.»
Last month, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Brent Bozell III told Fox News Digital that Ramaphosa could ban the song despite a court ruling that it did not constitute hate speech.
«So, to say, well, you can’t do it because the court said it’s not, you know, that’s poppycock,» Bozell said. «If President Ramaphosa, if he wants to, he can do it. It’s just as simple as that.»
The State Department doubled down on the administration’s demand that the singing of the song be banned, with a spokesperson telling Fox News Digital on Friday, «The United States asked senior government officials to condemn incitement to race-based violence, particularly the singing of «Kill the Farmer! Kill the Boer!»
U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Brent Bozell III (L) poses for a photograph after presenting letters of credence to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (R) at Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria on April 8, 2026. (Phill Magakoe / AFP via Getty Images)
The spokesperson added that Trump has demanded South Africa formally designate rural crime as a priority crime, and «expand alternatives to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment ownership requirements, such as equity equivalent investment programs.»
Regarding farmers, the State Department spokesperson said South African politicians «threaten to confiscate their farms without compensation and support a corrupt, race-based scoring system that discriminates against Afrikaners and other minorities in employment.»
«The lack of a meaningful response to these requests made clear that the South African government does not want a constructive relationship with the United States and is willing to continue pursuing oppressive policies that disadvantage all South Africans,» the spokesperson continued.
Nearly 13,000 South African refugees, most of them Afrikaners, have been flown to the U.S. during fiscal year 2026. That number is expected to increase by another 17,500 refugees in fiscal year 2027.
«As directed by President Trump, we are prioritizing the resettlement of Afrikaners in South Africa escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination,» the State Department spokesperson said.
world, state department, africa, human rights
INTERNACIONAL
Marco Rubio dijo que EEUU no participó directamente en la salida de Flávio Bolsonaro de Brasil tras el balotaje
Marco Rubio afirmó este sábado que el gobierno estadounidense no intervino en los preparativos de la salida de Flávio Bolsonaro de Brasil, aunque señaló que Washington autorizó el ingreso del ex candidato presidencial brasileño cuando llegó a un punto de entrada al país.
“Ya disponía de un visado, y el presidente tomó la decisión de permitirle entrar en el país”, explicó el secretario de Estado en una rueda de prensa celebrada en Atlanta, Georgia, donde acogió a los ministros de Asuntos Exteriores del G20 para una reunión de dos días. No obstante, añadió que “el Gobierno de EEUU no participó directamente” en los preparativos que Bolsonaro llevó a cabo para abandonar su país.
La salida de Flávio Bolsonaro, ex candidato presidencial del Partido Liberal (PL), abrió interrogantes en Brasil sobre el recorrido que realizó antes de arribar a Estados Unidos. El senador ingresó a Argentina el 27 de octubre por el Puente Internacional Tancredo Neves, en Misiones, junto a su esposa y sus dos hijas.
A las 23:30 abordó un vuelo privado desde Puerto Iguazú hacia Guayaquil, Ecuador. Desde allí continuó viaje a Miami. La Dirección Nacional de Migraciones indicó que la familia Bolsonaro presentó documentación válida y que no registraba impedimentos legales para entrar al país.
El conflicto se originó en Brasil, donde el ministro Alexandre de Moraes, del Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), había ordenado la entrega de los pasaportes de Bolsonaro y le había prohibido salir del territorio brasileño en una causa por presunto lavado de dinero. La Policía Federal de Brasil afirmó que no cuenta con un registro oficial de la salida del legislador.
El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Brasil, conocido como Itamaraty, convocó a la encargada de negocios de la embajada argentina en Brasilia, María Emilia Cortés, para solicitar información sobre una posible participación de funcionarios de Javier Milei en el traslado.
El encuentro tuvo lugar con João Marcelo Galvão de Queiroz, responsable del Departamento de Mercosur de la Cancillería brasileña. Fuentes diplomáticas brasileñas describieron la reunión como un procedimiento para recabar datos, sin carácter de reprimenda ni de protesta formal.
La Casa Rosada sostuvo que Bolsonaro ingresó al país sin alertas internacionales ni restricciones registradas en los sistemas migratorios argentinos. El jefe de Gabinete, Diego Santilli, afirmó que esa fue la condición que permitió su entrada al territorio nacional.
La situación se produjo en un contexto de relaciones diplomáticas deterioradas entre Buenos Aires y Brasilia. Ambos países mantienen sus vínculos a nivel de encargados de negocios desde agosto, después de la salida de los embajadores Julio Bitelli, de Brasil, y Daniel Raimondi, de Argentina.
Flávio Bolsonaro denunció persecución política
Tras su llegada a Miami, Bolsonaro reapareció en una transmisión por redes sociales. Afirmó que su salida de Brasil no respondió a una señal de debilidad y denunció una persecución política en su contra.
En una transmisión de unos 20 minutos por Instagram, Bolsonaro informó que decidió dejar Brasil tras una conversación con su esposa, Fernanda Bolsonaro. Durante su reaparición, agradeció a sus seguidores por los cerca de 60 millones de votos que recibió. “Esto me da mucha fuerza, mucha lucidez e incluso más valor para afrontar lo que sea necesario, para rescatar y salvar a nuestro país, para volver a presentarme a la presidencia. No me refiero a 2030, no, me refiero a antes”, sostuvo el legislador.
Flávio Bolsonaro acusó al presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, del Partido de los Trabajadores (PT), de utilizar recursos estatales durante la campaña, entre ellos el aumento del monto de la Bolsa Familia en vísperas de los comicios.
Durante la transmisión, Bolsonaro comparó la conducta que atribuyó a su rival con infracciones en un partido de fútbol. “Hubo varios goles marcados con la mano que mi oponente anotó y que no fueron anulados por el VAR [árbitro asistente de video]. Jugó completamente al margen de las reglas de la ley electoral”, agregó.
El senador aseguró que perdió las elecciones presidenciales frente a Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “contra el sistema” y cuestionó los resultados del balotaje. También planteó la posibilidad de que Brasil celebre nuevas elecciones antes de 2030.
Rubio evitó referirse a esas acusaciones y concentró su declaración en la actuación de Washington. Su mensaje buscó dejar establecido que Estados Unidos permitió la entrada de Bolsonaro, pero que no organizó ni coordinó la ruta que utilizó para abandonar Brasil.
International,Relations,Diplomacy / Foreign Policy,North America
Marco Rubio deslindó a EE.UU. de haber colaborado con la salida de Flávio Bolsonaro de Brasil – Nexofin
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