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Buttigieg Goes On Offense as Republicans Attack

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From GOP Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, to the State of Florida’s CFO, to Republicans in Congress, the far right has put a target on Pete Buttigieg‘s back.

Freshman U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who attended an event in December that included U.S. Rep. George Santos and white nationalists, on Monday called for Secretary Buttigieg to resign. On Tuesday he suggested the House should impeach him.

Why?

Collins said Buttigieg was “hired to check a diversity box,” and claims his “focus on wokeness prevents him from assessing the root cause of transportation incidents.” In Collins’ Fox News op-ed and a follow-up Fox News interview the word “woke” appears six times.

RELATED: As Pete Buttigieg Surveys East Palestine Train Derailment Even Fox News Admits Elaine Chao ‘Never’ Visited an Accident

It all seems to have begun last year in July when Buttigieg criticized U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) for calling protecting the marriages of same-sex couples with a federal law a “stupid waste of time.”

“If he’s got time to fight against Disney,” Buttigieg said, referring to the GOP’s attack on the entertainment giant after it voiced concern about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill, “I don’t know why he wouldn’t have time to help safeguard marriages like mine. But this is really, really important to a lot of people. It’s certainly important to me.”

Rubio tried to fight back via video, which was quickly panned by many on social media, often criticizing the Florida Republican’s claim that protecting marriages of same-sex couples was a “fake problem.”

In December, Rubio attacked Buttigieg again, this time by using his position to ask the Dept. of Transportation’s Inspector General – a Trump appointee – to open an investigation into Buttigieg for using private or government planes 18 times.

In his press release touting his call to investigate Buttigieg, Rubio writes: “Flashback. In 2017, House Democrats sent a similar letter to the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General following reports the secretary used private jets on multiple occasions.”

In 2017 the President was Donald Trump and the HHS Secretary was Tom Price, who was investigated after spending more than $1 million on transportation in just four months. He ultimately was forced to reign in disgrace. Buttigieg in two years has spent $41,000 on non-commercial flights.

Sec. Buttigieg has used private aircraft 18 times in two years, and The Washington Post reports “the Transportation Department said that of 138 flights Buttigieg has taken since being sworn in early in 2021, 119 have been on commercial airlines.”

His immediate predecessor, Elaine Chao, in just her first year spent $94,000 on non-commercial flights.

READ MORE: Federal Agencies Knew of Several Jan. 6 Threats Against Democrats Says Government Watchdog

“The fact remains that he flies commercially the vast majority of the time,” DOT spokesperson Kerry Arndt said. “The exceptions have been when the Department’s career ethics officials, who have served under both Democratic and Republican administrations, determined that the use of a 9-seat FAA plane would be either more cost effective or should be approved for exceptional scheduling or security reasons.”

And yet, on Monday the DOT IG opened an investigation.

On Monday Buttigieg tweeted, “Glad this will be reviewed independently so misleading narratives can be put to rest.”

Sen Rubio has also called on Buttigieg to resign for not immediately heading to East Palestine, Ohio, the scene of the Norfolk Southern toxic train crash – despite previous Transportation Secretaries not going to crash sites, and despite numerous federal agency officials who did and still are on scene.

Buttigieg had no trouble responding.

CNN senior reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere notes that before he called for Buttigieg to resign, Rubio called for less train inspection by humans.

Just last week House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer published a letter launching an investigation into Transportation Buttigieg in the wake of the Norfolk Southern toxic train derailment. But Buttigieg was forced to correct Comer who wrongly claimed the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was a part of the Dept. of Transportation.

“I am alarmed to learn that the Chair of the House Oversight Committee thinks that the NTSB is part of our Department,” Buttigieg said. “NTSB is independent (and with good reason). Still, of course, we will fully review this and respond appropriately.”

Also last week disgraced former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich called for Buttigieg to be fired – framing him as the target for all GOP claims of Biden issues.

“Incompetence should not be accepted. Joe Biden should fire DOT Sec. Buttigieg and bring accountability to failures of his administration,” Gingrich tweeted.

On Tuesday Buttigieg appeared on CNN to respond to U.S. Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s attack on him.

READ MORE: ‘Finding Out Phase’: Greene Sees Few Sympathizers After Claiming She Was ‘Attacked’ and ‘Screamed At’ in a Restaurant

“Secretary Buttigieg has seemed more interested in pursuing press coverage for woke initiatives and climate nonsense than in attending to basic elements of his day job,” McConnell had said on the Senate floor.

Buttigieg noted that McConnell had no problem showing up in his home state of Kentucky when a major bridge was replaced under the Biden administration’s infrastructure law.

“I would not call the Brent Spence Bridge a ‘woke’ initiative,” Buttigieg retorted. “As for climate, climate is not ‘nonsense.'”

Buttigieg also encouraged McConnell to “be a partner to us, right now, in making sure there are fewer rail disasters in the future.”

“The freight rail industry has wielded a lot of power here in Washington. I would love to see Leader McConnell join us in standing up to them. There are specific things that could be done right now,” he said.

 

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Lawmaker Slammed for Claiming College Basketball Players Were Actually ‘Illegal Invaders’

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Michigan MAGA Republican state Rep. Matt Maddock is under fire after claiming three buses were “loaded up with illegal invaders.” The buses, according to multiple reports, were actually loaded with the Gonzaga University basketball team arriving for March Madness.

“Happening right now. Three busses just loaded up with illegal invaders at Detroit Metro. Anyone have any idea where they’re headed with their police escort?” Rep. Maddock wrote on social media Wednesday evening, tagging far-right former U.S. Congressman Pete Hoekstra, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands under Donald Trump and is now the state’s Republican Party chair.

Informed of his error on social media, Rep. Maddock doubled down, and attacked.

READ MORE: Ronna McDaniel Is Just a ‘Normal’ Person Who ‘Never Denied the Election’ Says Hugh Hewitt

“Probably teams for the NCAA Mens Sweet 16 playing at LCA on Friday and Sunday,” a user on X wrote.

“Sure kommie. Good talking point,” Maddock quickly shot back.

ABC affiliate WXYZ executive producer Maxwell White, responding to the Maddock’s original post wrote: “Just to be clear, this was the Gonzaga basketball team. Photos show Gonzaga getting on an Allegiant plane to Detroit for the Sweet 16, and Flight Radar shows a plane from GEG to DTW landed at 7:25 p.m., around the time this photo was posted.”

“This is a wild tweet,” White added, before adding more evidence.

Hoekstra, who was accused of using racism and xenophobia to win his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat (he lost), did not respond directly to Maddock but did repost the apparently false claim.

Michigan State Senate Democratic Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow denounced Maddock’s claim as “dangerous.”

Maddock’s remark also made the national stage when U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell responded.

READ MORE: Trump Campaign Says It Will Deploy ‘Soldiers’ to Polling Places

“Hey Einstein,” the California Democrat wrote, “your state is hosting the Sweet 16. Could it be a team bus? If it is, will you resign for your spectacular stupidity?”

In 2021 The Washington Post reported, “Michigan state Rep. Matt Maddock and his wife, Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock, have repeatedly been called out by fact-checking journalists for promoting baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and falsely suggesting that covid-19 is comparable to the flu.”

See the social media posts above 0r at this link.

 

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Comer Refuses to Investigate Trump Family Member Over ‘Influence Peddling’ Allegation

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Last year House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Comer acknowledged former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior White House advisor Jared Kushner had “crossed the line” when he accepted $2 billion in foreign investment funds from the government of Saudi Arabia as he started up a private investment firm just months after leaving the White House.

Now, Chairman Comer says he will not open an investigation into any possible wrongdoing, Huffpost reports, despite top Democrats alleging Kushner engaged in “apparent influence peddling and quid pro quo deals.”

On Tuesday, the top Democrat on Comer’s Oversight Committee, Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, and Democrat Robert Garcia, the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, formally requested Comer “convene a hearing regarding Jared Kushner’s apparent influence peddling and quid pro quo deals involving investments in exchange for official actions and to examine the resulting threats to our national security.”

“This Committee cannot claim to be ‘investigating foreign nationals’ attempts to target and coerce high-ranking U.S. officials’ family members by providing money or other benefits in exchange for certain actions while continuing to ignore these matters,” Raskin and Garcia wrote. “We therefore urge you to work with us to finally investigate Mr. Kushner’s receipt of billions of dollars from foreign governments in deals that appear to be quid pro quos for actions he undertook as senior White House adviser in Donald Trump’s Administration.”

READ MORE: Greene Says She Won’t Take Responsibility if Johnson Loses Speaker’s Gavel Before Election

The American people are deeply concerned about these business dealings and Mr. Kushner’s apparent influence peddling. We must address
those concerns with a fair, impartial, and public process to understand the truth and to institute meaningful reforms to safeguard public confidence in our executive branch.”

The two Democrats in their letter say their “request comes in light of allegations that Jared Kushner is pursuing new foreign business deals, just as Donald Trump becomes the presumptive Republican nominee for the presidency. Last year, well before these new allegations came to light, Chairman Comer had already conceded that Jared Kushner’s conduct ‘crossed the line of ethics’ and promised that the Oversight Committee would ‘have some questions for Trump and some of his family members, including Jared Kushner.'”

Raskin and Garcia paint a picture of “Kushner’s pattern of profiting off of his time in the White House.”

Citing The New York Times (apparently this article), they write, “Jared Kushner was closing in on investments in Albania and Serbia, leveraging relationships he built during his time as a senior adviser in his father-in-law’s White House. Reportedly, Mr. Kushner is considering an investment on the site of the former Yugoslav Ministry of Defense.”

“Mr. Kushner is reportedly being advised by Richard Grenell, another former senior Trump Administration official who served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany and, concomitantly, as ‘special envoy for peace negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo.’ Mr. Grenell reportedly ‘pushed a related plan’ for redevelopment of the same site during his time in the Trump Administration.”

READ MORE: Trump Says He Thinks He’s ‘Allowed’ to Accept Foreign Money to Pay Fines

“In pursuing investment opportunities in Albania, Mr. Grenell and Mr. Kushner have been openly leveraging their relationship with Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania. While Commander-in-Chief, President Trump received unconstitutional payments from Prime Minister Rama and other senior Albanian government officials who spent thousands of dollars at theTrump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., over three separate stays,” Raskin and Garcia write.

They also allege, “Mr. Kushner successfully overruled State Department officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to make President Trump’s first foreign trip as President to Saudi Arabia. Mr. Kushner personally intervened to inflate the value of a U.S.-Saudi arms deal and to finalize the deal President Trump signed, which was worth $110 billion. Mr. Kushner
also provided diplomatic cover and support to the Crown Prince after the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, an American permanent resident and journalist. Mr. Khashoggi’s murder was assessed by American Intelligence to have been approved by the Crown Prince himself.”

Despite their extensive allegations, Chairman Comer is refusing to open an investigation.

“Unlike the Bidens, Jared Kushner has a legitimate business and has a career as a business executive that predates Donald Trump’s political career,” Comer said, as HuffPost reports. “Democrats’ latest letter is part of their playbook to shield President Biden from oversight.”

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Greene Says She Won’t Take Responsibility if Johnson Loses Speaker’s Gavel Before Election

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Despite filing a motion to vacate the chair last week, which could end Mike Johnson’s short term as Speaker, and despite pummeling him in the press, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) says she will take no responsibility if House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries becomes Speaker of the House before the November election.

Appearing on right-wing media Tuesday, the far-right Georgia Republican targeted Speaker Johnson again, telling GOP voters Johnson stabbed them “in the back.”

Johnson “has a duty and responsibility to care for our conference,” Greene told Real America’s Voice. “That means not force us to vote on full-term abortion, funding the trans agenda, DEI funding, 300 million to the Ukraine war, and many other horrific far-left funding wishlist items that the Democrats were thrilled with.”

“He shouldn’t make us vote on that in order to pay our military soldiers. That’s outrageous. It’s also an election year,” she continued, “and that means that Republicans are out trying to get re-elected and he forced our Republican conference, those that voted for this basically walked the plank for him and that is outrageous.”

READ MORE: $500 Per Second: Ronna McDaniel Reportedly Has a Few Expectations

After talking for several minutes about how Johnson “broke” and “violated” the rules by holding votes to keep the government from shutting down, she insisted her attacks are “not personal against Mike Johnson.”

“I filed the motion to vacate basically issuing a pink slip saying you’re going to be fired, we will not tolerate this any longer. And Republican voters all over this country agree with me,” she insisted.

In October, after Kevin McCarthy was ousted by his own party as Speaker of the House, CBS News reported its new polling “shows the American public wants the next Republican speaker to prioritize federal spending cuts, but also work across the aisle with Democrats and stand up against the ‘MAGA’ movement.”

Declaring, “Our conference needs a new Speaker of the House,” Greene insisted her actions have no effect on Republicans, who increasingly are exiting Congress early.

She also insisted that pinning a possible Speaker of the House Hakeem Jeffries on her is merely “twist” and “spin.”

READ MORE: ‘Absurd & Dangerous’: Truth Social Made Donald Trump Billions Today

“This is simple math,” she said. “The more Republicans like Mike Gallagher that resign and leave early, guess what that means we have less Republicans in the House. So every time a Mike Gallagher or Ken Buck leaves that brings our members down and brings us dangerously closer to being in the minority. It’s not Marjorie Taylor Greene.”

“I am not going to be responsible for Hakeem Jeffries being Speaker of the House. I am not going to for a Democrat majority taking over our Republican majority. That lies squarely, squarely on the shoulders of these Republicans that are leaving early because they don’t have the intestinal fortitude to handle the real fight, and the responsibility that comes with leadership at the end of our Republic when our country is nearly destroyed and when our Constitution is being ran through a paper shredder. So no one is going to blame that on me.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

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