‘The Republican Governor of Texas is out of his mind": Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries on redistricting fight
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USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
GOP senator says FBI will help track down Texas Democrats who fled state
Sen. John Cornyn said FBI Director Kash Patel will have federal officers work with Texas state law enforcement to locate Democrats who fled the state. WASHINGTON - Sen. John Cornyn said FBI Director Kash Patel accepted his request for federal officers to work with Texas state law enforcement in tracking down the Democratic lawmakers who fled the Lone Star State to try to block Republicans' redistricting efforts. Cornyn, a Texas Republican, had sent a letter to Patel on Aug. 5 with his request, noting that "in a representative democracy, we resolve our differences by debating and voting, not by running away." More than 50 Texas Democrats left their state on Aug. 3 in order to deny Republicans the quorum they need to move ahead with their plan to carry out an unusual mid-decade redistricting. The effort could give Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives up to five more seats in the 2026 midterms. The legislators fled to blue states, including Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. Cornyn had noted in his letter there are only about two weeks left in Texas legislature's special session, called by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. "I am proud to announce that Director Kash Patel has approved my request for the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement in locating runaway Texas House Democrats," Cornyn said in a statement on Aug. 7. "I thank President Trump and Director Patel for supporting and swiftly acting on my call for the federal government to hold these supposed lawmakers accountable for fleeing Texas. We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities." House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, fired back on X. "Shouldn't the FBI be tracking down terrorists, drug traffickers and child predators? The Trump administration continues to weaponize law enforcement to target political adversaries. These extremists don't give a damn about public safety. We will not be intimidated," he wrote. Cornyn, who has served in the Senate since 2002, is heading toward a tough 2026 Republican primary against the state's attorney general, Ken Paxton. Early polls show Cornyn trailing Paxton by double digits. Contributing: Savannah Kuchar
The Hill
a minute ago
- The Hill
Religious freedom is at a crossroads in US foreign policy
It is both ironic and tragic that the Department of State has implemented a massive reorganization, which may have troubling implications for America's international religious freedom policy. As recently approved, the reorganization subordinates the International Religious Freedom Office to the agenda and operational authority of the human rights bureau, foreshadowing a return of religious liberty to its former bureaucratic isolation. If this move stands, it may harm international religious freedom policy during the Trump administration, and provide a dangerous precedent that the next progressive secretary of State will certainly exploit. Here's the irony: In his first term, Trump issued an executive order accurately declaring that religious freedom is a 'moral and national security imperative,' and ordering steps to strengthen America's largely ineffective international religious freedom policy. That policy, which was established in 1998 by the International Religious Freedom Act, had languished within the State Department's liberal bureaucracy since its passage. It began to flourish under Trump's international religious freedom ambassador, Sam Brownback, when the International Religious Freedom Office was elevated out of the bureaucracy and finally given a degree of authority and responsibility commensurate with its foreign policy significance. The tragedy is that the vast potential of this policy, both for the global victims of cruel religious persecution and for the national security of the United States, may again go unfulfilled with the International Religious Freedom Office and the ambassador returned to their former station within the State Department's vast bureaucracy. To understand why this is so, a bit of history is in order. The International Religious Freedom Act created the position of ambassador at large for international religious freedom, with the mission of 'advancing religious freedom' as America's founders understood it — an inalienable right that warranted protection for all peaceful religious individuals and communities. Democrats have long rejected this understanding. In 1998, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright made the claim that international religious freedom creates an illegitimate 'hierarchy of human rights,' enabling religious freedom to endanger other human rights. Albright placed the international religious freedom ambassador and the office under the human rights bureau; State's repository of progressive rights, such as abortion and gay marriage. It remained there for almost two decades. In 2016, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) cosponsored amendments to the International Religious Freedom Act to fix the problem by increasing the authority of the ambassador at large. No longer embedded in the human rights bureau, the ambassador was now 'to report directly to the secretary of State,' with the authority 'to coordinate international religious freedom policies' throughout the government. These changes coincided with Trump's first election and set the stage for Ambassador Brownback. Brownback used his authority to demonstrate the practical 'moral and national security' role that U.S. international religious freedom policy can play. He enticed scores of foreign ministers and thousands of civil society leaders to Washington to learn why the U.S. was committed to international religious freedom and how it could benefit their own nations. They heard the case that religious freedom is an inalienable right and at the core of human dignity, that it combats terrorism, that it can limit the powers of government and discourage external aggression, that nations committed to respecting religious freedom prosper significantly more than nations that do not. Brownback traveled the world to make these arguments. He roundly condemned the worst persecutors, including China's Xi Jinping, Iran's theocratic Ayatollahs, ISIS and Taliban terrorists and Russia's Vladimir Putin. He demonstrated that a bold and robust U.S. international religious freedom policy can benefit human rights and human dignity for everyone, and can benefit America's national security. Under the last administration, however, Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that human rights were 'co-equal,' that is, that there are no inalienable rights. The enhanced authority of Biden's international religious freedom ambassador, given him by the 2016 International Religious Freedom Act amendments, was undercut. But Republican concessions to Democrats in the amendments, namely placing the rights of 'atheists and humanists' in the International Religious Freedom Act, were vigorously pursued by Blinken's human rights bureau. Programs promoting atheism were funded under the auspices of 'religious freedom.' Earlier this year, Trump named religious freedom champion Marco Rubio as his secretary of State, and the future of international religious freedom seemed bright again. And, the final rollout of the reorganization has revealed the designation of an undersecretary for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs and Religious Freedom, a leadership position which had not previously existed in that form. But these salutary developments do not change the fact that the international religious freedom ambassador and his office should not have been moved back under the human rights bureau. It is unclear how the reorganization is compatible with the 2016 International Religious Freedom Act amendments. What, then, can be done? First, State Department leadership must preserve the full authority of the international religious freedom ambassador given him by law amid these sweeping structural changes. The value of the ambassador's work to America and the world was clearly demonstrated by Brownback. Second, such a massive reorganization should be followed by a mandatory, comprehensive assessment at six months of its efficacy across State's major functions and policy areas. When that time comes, the liabilities of placing the International Religious Freedom Office back in the human rights bureau should be scrutinized by House and Senate committees with jurisdiction. If the operational authority of the International Religious Freedom Office has been compromised and its ability to shape foreign policy limited by bureaucracy, then the office should be returned to its place directly under the secretary of State. Finally, history suggests that the precedent this reorganization is establishing may pave the way for a future administration to sideline U.S. international religious freedom policy yet again. State Department leadership must proceed with extreme caution in this reorganization to avoid the mistakes of their predecessors, who all-too-often weakened U.S. international religious freedom policy by isolating it within the State Department's enormous bureaucracy. Thomas Farr was the first director of the Office of International Religious Freedom, serving under Ambassadors Robert Seiple (Clinton) and John Hanford (Bush). He is president emeritus of the Religious Freedom Institute. David Trimble is president of the Religious Freedom Institute.
CBS News
3 minutes ago
- CBS News
Mayor Eric Adams says his focus is on NYC, not Trump-Cuomo alliance report
Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday his focus going forward is on New York City, not on President Trump's potential involvement in the mayor's race. Adams was asked if he has spoken to Mr. Trump about a New York Times report that says the president has been considering whether to back former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a bid to block Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, whose platform includes freezing rents and taxing the rich. The mayor said his conversations with the president "are about bringing resources to the city," adding, "I think the president loves New York. Everyone sees the threats we're facing. I'm going to do what I'm going to do -- stay focused, no distractions and grind, run my campaign." At a news conference on Thursday morning alongside union leaders, Mamdani accused Mr. Trump and Cuomo of teaming up to derail his campaign and also told his supporters his campaign won't be intimidated. "Former Gov. Cuomo has been conspiring with President Trump," Mamdani said. "We know that this former governor has very little regard, whether it be for the Democratic party the Democratic process or for Democrats, themselves." The Times story says Mr. Trump has held calls with Cuomo's team, something the president denied when asked about it in the oval office on Wednesday. Cuomo's campaign spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, reacted with a statement that says, in part, "The governor and the president have not spoken in some time. As far as I know, they have not discussed the race." The Times article also says Mr. Trump has expressed doubts about Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa's chances in November. "There's no doubt he talks often with Eric Adams. He talks often to Cuomo, who he has known. The families have known one another. He doesn't talk to me, so I have advised the president stay out of this race," said Sliwa, who has not allied himself with Mr. Trump. If the president does decide to officially weigh in on the race, it's unclear whether his impact would help or hurt Cuomo, who has previously proposed that whoever is not leading in the polls by mid-September should drop out, fearing they'll split the vote and pave the way for a Mamdani victory.
