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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Meet the Arizona mom running for her father's seat in Congress after he died in office
The daughter of a long-serving Arizona Democrat who passed while in office told the Daily Mail exactly why she is running for her late father's seat: to advance his legacy and create her own. Adelita Grijalva, the daughter of Raúl Grijalva, a 22-year veteran of the House of Representatives who passed in March due to lung cancer while serving his 11th consecutive term, announced within weeks of the tragedy she will run for the recently vacated seat. Former Rep. Grijalva was diagnosed with cancer in April 2024, and despite his illness, he ran and won reelection in November. 'My Dad will never be replaced,' the younger Grijalva told the Daily Mail in a phone interview Thursday. 'He really was a champion for so many issues having to do with people that are marginalized and unheard so and feel like they don't have a voice.' One of the most consistently liberal members of the House, Grijalva had served as the chairman of the House Progressive Caucus and the House Natural Resources Committee. Representing a huge swatch of the U.S.-Mexico border, he advocated for migrants and loudly railed against Trump's immigration agenda; his daughter told the Daily Mail she will do much of the same. 'We'll continue that movement of standing up for those who don't feel like anyone else is standing up for them,' she said, adding she had nothing positive to say about the Trump administration's immigration agenda. Her father, Grijalva told the Daily Mail, was in public office for 50 years, and she is the first to admit she is 'literally' following in his 'exact' footsteps. The candidate for Arizona's 7th Congressional district, an area around Tucson, the state's second biggest city, has already held two jobs that were formerly occupied by her father. Like her dad, Grijalva served on the Tucson Unified School District and recently resigned her seat on the Pima County Board of Supervisors to run for his now-vacant congressional seat. If she wins the special election to fill her father's position in the House of Representatives, that would mark the third job she has taken that her Dad held at one point or another. The mother-of-three is seen as a frontrunner in the race to take her late father's now-vacant House seat. After witnessing her father lead her community for decades until his death while still serving in office, Grijalva told the Daily Mail that she is against term limits. 'It's not about age,' she said, adding 'I think that the people are the ones that should make that decision, not an arbitrary number about age.' The candidate also said that before her father's death, he was still active and able to meet constituents' needs. However, the late congressman missed nearly all of the House votes in 2025 before his death, amounting to about 96 percent of all votes, per the Clerk of the House of Representative's office. From 2023 to the beginning of 2025, late lawmaker missed roughly 40 percent of all votes, according to Govtrack. If elected, the Democrat vowed to pick up her father's mantle and stand up to President Donald Trump's agenda. 'The biggest issue right now is protecting our democracy and making sure that we keep to the established processes,' she said. 'Right now, Trump is just deciding wholesale to sign an executive order and waving away the rights of so many communities.' She also swore to be 'an unapologetic progressive voice in Congress,' saying she will fight to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid from Republican reforms. Similar to the case of the Grijalva's, it is not entirely uncommon in Congress for members to run for seats held previously by a relative. Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, for example, filled a seat previously held by his older brother for over a decade. The late Rep, Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., who died while serving in office last year, similarly was elected to the seat held by his father. There have also been husband and wife combos like the late Rep. John Dingell Jr., D-Mich., and his spouse Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. After serving in office for a staggering 60 years from 1955 - 2015, the record for longest-serving member of Congress in history, John's wife Debbie took the reins and still serves the Michigan area represented by her late husband. The younger Grijalva says she would bring a new perspective to Congress. 'Two percent of women in Congress identify as Latina, and less are Mexican-American,' she told the Daily Mail. 'Of the women in Congress, seven percent have minor children, so I would be representing a huge contingency of our nation.' And like any proud mother, she touted to the Daily Mail how her daughter just recently graduated high school and will soon be attending college at the University of Arizona. The special election for Arizona 's 7th Congressional district will take place on September 23, 2025.
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Trump brushes aside Elon Musk's criticisms of his signature budget bill
United States President Donald Trump has brushed aside criticism of his wide-ranging budget bill — known as the One Big Beautiful Bill — from a high-profile source, government adviser Elon Musk. On Wednesday, at a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office, Trump faced questions about Musk's comments, which suggested the bill would balloon the national debt. The Republican leader responded with a degree of ambivalence, though he staunchly defended the bill's tax cuts. 'We will be negotiating that bill, and I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it,' Trump said. 'That's the way they go.' The budget bill clocks in at over a thousand pages, and it contains a range of domestic policy priorities for the Trump administration. That includes legislation cementing some of the tax cuts Trump championed during his first term as president, in 2017. It would also increase the funds available for Trump's 'mass deportation' effort and heightened security along the US-Mexico border. Some $46.5bn, for instance, would be earmarked to renew construction of the southern border wall and other barriers, another hallmark of Trump's first term in office. But to pay for those tax cuts and policy priorities, the bill proposes measures that remain controversial on both sides of the political spectrum. One provision, for instance, would increase the federal debt limit by $4 trillion. Others would impose strict work requirements on programmes like Medicaid — a government health insurance for low-income Americans — and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), sometimes known as food stamps. Those work requirements are expected to bar thousands of people from accessing those safety-net programmes, allowing for cost savings. But critics fear those barriers will drive some families deeper into poverty. In a preview of an interview with the TV show CBS Sunday Morning, Musk expressed frustration with the sheer cost of the bill, echoing criticism from fiscal conservatives. He also accused the 'Big Beautiful Bill' of setting back the progress he made as leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a task force Trump established to pare back 'wasteful' spending. 'I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' Musk told CBS, dressed in an 'Occupy Mars' T-shirt. 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful,' he added. 'I don't know if it could be both. My personal opinion.' This is not the first time that Musk has spoken out against a US budget bill. In December, under former President Joe Biden, Musk rallied public outrage against another piece of budget legislation that weighed in at over a thousand pages, calling on Congress to 'kill the bill'. Musk's latest comments, however, signal a potentially widening fracture between himself and the Trump White House. Up until recently, Musk, a billionaire thought to be the world's richest man, has played a prominent role in Trump's government. He even helped him secure a second term as president. In 2024, Musk endorsed Trump's re-election effort, joined him on the campaign trail and donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the Republican leader and his political allies. For his part, Trump returned Musk's warm embrace. Days after he won a second term as president, Trump announced that Musk would join his incoming administration as head of DOGE. But Musk's role in the White House has remained ambiguous, and highly controversial. Though Musk is a regular presence at presidential cabinet meetings, he has not had to undergo a Senate confirmation hearing. The White House has described him as a 'special government employee', a temporary role given to consultants from business fields. Normally, those employees can only work with the government for 130 days per year, and they are barred from using their government roles for financial gain. But critics have argued that the length of Musk's tenure at the White House has not been clearly established and that he has indeed leveraged his position for personal profit. In March, for instance, Trump held a news conference to show off models from Musk's car company Tesla. Musk's other business ventures, including the rocket company SpaceX and the satellite communications firm Starlink, have also raised conflict-of-interest questions, given that they are competitors for government contracts. Media reports have indicated that there have been behind-the-scenes clashes between Musk and other members of the Trump White House that may have cooled relations between the president and his billionaire backer. But Trump has so far avoided criticising Musk publicly. On Wednesday, for instance, Trump pivoted from the question about Musk's comments to attacking Democratic members of Congress, who refuse to back his signature budget bill. ' Remember, we have zero Democrat votes because they're bad people,' Trump said. 'There's something wrong with them.' A version of the budget bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives last week. Currently, it is being considered by the Senate. But with a 53-seat majority in the 100-person chamber, Senate Republicans can only afford to lose three votes if they hope to pass the bill. Trump renewed his call for party unity on Wednesday, despite concerns from his fellow Republicans. 'We have to get a lot of votes,' Trump said. 'We need to get a lot of support, and we have a lot of support.' Some Republicans have voiced opposition to the increase in the national debt. Others fear the effects that Medicaid restrictions might have on their constituents. Trump himself has said he opposes any cuts to Medicaid. But he has tried to frame the bill's tax cuts as a boon to lower-income people, though critics point out those cuts are poised to deliver the biggest savings to the wealthy. 'We'll have the lowest tax rate we've ever had in the history of our country,' Trump said. 'Tremendous amounts of benefits are going to the middle-income people of our country, low- and middle-income people of our country.'
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Trump's ‘One, big, beautiful bill' would ban care for transgender people on Medicaid and Obamacare
President Donald Trump's ' One big, beautiful bill,' the legislation passed the House of Representatives early Thursday morning, would ban gender-affirming care for transgender people on Medicaid and the health care exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. In the initial piece of legislation, gender-affirming care was banned for people younger than 18. But House Republican leadership released its manager's amendment, an amendment that described the agreements used to appease conservatives and swing-district Republicans alike, late in the evening. That amendment struck the phrase 'for minors.' In addition, the legislation would also prohibit 'gender transition procedures' as an 'essential health benefit' under the 2010 health care law signed by President Barack Obama, formally called the Affordable Care Act or colloquially known as Obamacare. The legislation that passed the House on Thursday would significantly increase spending for immigration enforcement along the US-Mexico border, energy drilling and the US military. It would also extend most of the 2017 tax cuts that Trump signed during his first tenure as president. 'It's one more example of health care that they're trying to rip away,' Rep. Sarah McBride, a Democrat from Delaware, told The Independent. McBride is the first openly transgender member of Congress whom Republicans have attempted to force to use a men's bathroom. Other Democrats were more vocal. 'The entire thing's a s*** show,' Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin told The Independent. 'There's so much that's problematic, but I'm counting on the adults in the Senate to fix what the House Republicans have screwed up.' According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, 276,000 transgender adults are enrolled in Medicaid, the health insurance program for poor people, children, pregnant women and people with disabilities. The 2022 study also found that 38,000 transgender recipients of Medicaid live in states with express bans on gender-affirming care. Trump's 2024 presidential campaign said not only did Kamala Harris support transgender athletes playing in women's sports, but also claimed she 'supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners.' 'It's more than bullying, it's persecution,' Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida told The Independent. 'It's horrible, and obviously the fight doesn't end here.' Despite the legislation's passage, the bill has a long way to go before becoming law. Senate Republicans, who have only 53 seats, plan to pass the legislation under a procedure known as budget reconciliation. Reconciliation allows them to pass legislation on a simple majority vote and sidestep a filibuster as long as the legislation relates to the budget. Rep. Mark Takano, the chairman of the House Equality Caucus, told The Independent that he wondered if the Senate Parliamentarian would determine that the change in spending from dropping gender-affirming coverage would be 'merely incidental,' which means it would not pass parliamentary muster to be included in reconciliation. The legislation passed 215 to 214, with two Republicans--Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky--voting 'no' and Rep. Andy Harris of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus voting 'present.' This is not the first time that Republicans included a rider on gender-affirming care in legislation. Last year, Republicans included an amendment to prohibit TRICARE, the health care program for active duty US service members, from covering 'certain medical procedures for children that could result in sterilization' in the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass piece of legislation that authorizes spending for the Pentagon. In recent years, public opinion has shown a desire for restrictions on transgender people. A Pew Research Center survey from February found that 66 percent of US adults support transgender athletes playing on teams that match their birth gender while 56 percent support banning gender-affirming care for people younger than 18.
Fox News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Federal magistrate judge dismisses trespassing charges against 98 arrested in new military zone
Dozens of immigrants who illegally crossed into the U.S. via a newly established military-controlled zone along the U.S.-Mexico border have had their trespassing charges dismissed. Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth began filing the dismissals late on Wednesday, ruling the immigrants did not know they were entering the military zone – known as the New Mexico National Defense Area (NMNDA) – and therefore could not be charged, according to court documents. Wormuth ruled that the federal government failed to demonstrate probable cause that the immigrants knew they were entering the zone. The government had argued in a criminal complaint that the military had posted signs in the zones stating in both English and Spanish that it was a restricted area and that unauthorized entry is prohibited. Despite signs indicating restricted access, the judge noted that the challenging terrain made it unlikely that the defendants saw the warnings. The decision marks a setback for the Trump administration's border crackdown as the trespassing charges were central to enforcing the NMNDA. READ THE ORDER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: The NMNDA was established in April and spans approximately 180 miles along the southern New Mexico border. U.S. Army personnel now patrol the area and are authorized to detain unauthorized entrants. "Beyond the reference to signage, the United States provides no facts from which one could reasonably conclude that the Defendant knew he was entering the NMNDA (New Mexico National Defense Area)," wrote Wormuth in a 16-page ruling. Wormuth has served as a U.S. magistrate judge since 2009. Magistrate judges are appointed by district court judges and not by the president. The judge dismissed two charges faced by the 98 arrested immigrants: violation of a security regulation and entering military property for an unlawful purpose, both misdemeanors. A third misdemeanor charge of entering the U.S. illegally remains. Up to May 9, Ellison's office reported charging 339 migrants for entering the New Mexico military area. Last month, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited New Mexico to announce that the Army was taking control of the federal land as part of the Trump administration's efforts to curb illegal immigration and trafficking. The 109,651 acres of federal land was transferred to the Army for three years, subject to valid existing rights. The switch in jurisdiction allows the government to protect sensitive natural and cultural resources in the region, while helping the Army support U.S. Border Patrol operations in securing the border and preventing illegal immigration, according to the Department of the Interior. In March, the Defense Department authorized the military to patrol the southern border to provide "enhanced detection and monitoring" to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Fox News Digital emailed and called a Department of Justice attorney involved in the case for comment.
Al Jazeera
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
US judge dismisses case against migrants caught in new military zone
A United States judge in the southwestern state of New Mexico has dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of migrants apprehended in a military zone recently created under President Donald Trump. The military zone is one of two so far that the Trump administration has created along the US-Mexico border, in order to deter undocumented migration into the country. Entering a military zone can result in heightened criminal penalties. As many as 400 cases have since been filed in Las Cruces, New Mexico, alleging security violations and crimes like trespassing on restricted military property. But starting late on Wednesday and continuing into Thursday, Chief US Magistrate Judge Gregory Wormuth began issuing dismissals at the request of the federal public defender's office in Las Cruces. Wormuth ruled that the government had failed to demonstrate that the migrants knew they were entering a military zone. 'The criminal complaint fails to establish probable cause to believe the defendant knew he/she was entering' the military zone, Wormuth wrote in his orders dismissing charges. The ruling is the latest legal setback for the Trump administration, as it seeks to impose stricter restrictions and penalties for undocumented immigration. But the president's broad use of executive power has drawn the ire of civil liberties groups, who argue that Trump is trampling constitutional safeguards. Establishing new military zones has been part of Trump's strategy to reduce the flow of migration into the US. Normally, the crime of 'improper entry by an alien' carries fines or a prison sentence of up to six months. But trespassing on a military zone comes with steeper penalties than a typical border crossing, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned of a possible combined sentence of up to 10 years. 'You can be detained. You will be detained,' Hegseth warned migrants. 'You will be interdicted by US troops and border patrol working together.' On April 18, the first military zone was unveiled, called the 'New Mexico National Defence Area'. It covered a stretch of about 274 kilometres — or 180 miles — along the border with Mexico, extending into land formerly held by the Department of the Interior. Hegseth has said he would like to see more military zones set up along the border, and in early May, a second one was announced near El Paso, Texas. That strip was approximately 101km or 63 miles. 'Let me be clear: if you cross into the National Defense Area, you will be charged to the FULLEST extent of the law,' Hegseth wrote in a social media post. Hegseth has previously stated that the military will continue to expand such zones until they have achieved '100 percent operational control' of the border. Trump and his allies have frequently compared undocumented immigration to an 'invasion', and they have used that justification to invoke wartime laws like the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. In a court brief on behalf of the Trump administration, US Attorney Ryan Ellison argued that the new military zones were a vital bulwark for national security. He also rejected the idea that innocent people might be caught in those areas. 'The New Mexico National Defense Area is a crucial installation necessary to strengthen the authority of servicemembers to help secure our borders and safeguard the country,' Ellison said. He noted that the government had put up 'restricted area' signs along the border. But the public defender's office in New Mexico argued that the government had not done enough to make it sufficiently clear to migrants in the area that they were entering a military zone. In the US, the public defenders noted that trespassing requires that the migrants were aware of the restriction and acted 'in defiance of that regulation for some nefarious or bad purpose'. Despite this week's dismissals, the migrants involved still face less severe charges of crossing the border illegally.
