Democratic KY Gov. Beshear Demands McConnell Speak Up Or Resign
Democratic KY Gov. Beshear Demands McConnell Speak Up Or Resign
Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is recovering from a fall last month that resulted in his release from the hospital, but he is not yet “medically cleared” to return to the Senate.
His office gave the latest update Monday on the longtime Senate Republican, who has been absent from the upper chamber and the public eye for more than a month.
Now, Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is demanding McConnell either verbally address Kentucky constituents to prove he can still serve or resign his seat.
In a letter sent Monday to McConnell and his staff, Beshear insisted on greater transparency after the senator’s prolonged absence following a fall.
The letter, first reported by Axios, was also copied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
“I understand anyone’s desire for privacy, but when you run for office and serve as one of a state’s two U.S. senators, you willingly abdicate much of your personal privacy. That’s the deal, and we all know it when we run,” Beshear wrote.
The governor added that speculation over McConnell’s health “could be avoided with the minimal amount of transparency.”
He further stated: “As Governor of the state you serve, I am calling on you to directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign.”
Beshear addressed the letter directly to McConnell “under the assumption that he is capable of reading and responding verbally, and not incapacitated by any means of consciousness or cognition.”
If not, he demanded McConnell’s Senate staff be “honest and transparent with the people of Kentucky.”
Beshear previously urged Senate GOP Leader John Thune to investigate McConnell’s fitness to serve.
In the new letter, he warned that if McConnell does not voluntarily demonstrate capacity, he would press Thune to fully investigate, report findings to the public, and “begin the process if warranted,” noting that a Senate vacancy occurs through death, resignation, or expulsion by Senate vote.
Earlier this week, the Office of the Attending Physician said in a statement that McConnell “continues his recovery from a fall at home in June.”
“OAP physicians visit with the senator every day, discussing all aspects of his rehabilitation care,” the Office of the Attending Physician said.
“Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls,” the Office of the Attending Physician added.
“His bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility,” they continued. “He is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office.”
The latest word from McConnell-world comes after weeks of speculation that have generated a ravenous rumor mill that has churned out allegations that the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history was dead or in a vegetative state.
Republicans are sprinting to clear decks of several legislative priorities where McConnell’s vote could be needed, including on advancing a Russia sanctions package and confirming blockbuster nominees, and his extended absence and murky timeline for his return to the Senate come as these issues are coming to a head.
The most recent tweet included a photo of McConnell and his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, taken on Sunday, and a statement from the lawmaker in which he lamented that he would not be able to attend the annual barbecue at Fancy Farm, Kentucky, which has become a staple for him and politicians to speak in the Blue Grass State, because of his recovery.
The sequence of events began June 14, when McConnell was admitted to a Washington-area hospital after a fall at his home left him briefly unconscious.
On July 12, McConnell broke his silence with a detailed personal statement and a photo alongside his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
He explained that childhood polio had left him with lifelong mobility challenges that “haven’t exactly gotten easier to manage with age.”
The fall, he said, left him briefly unconscious but produced no broken bones, concussion, heart attack, stroke, tumors, or hemorrhages.
While hospitalized, he developed a mild case of pneumonia that responded to antibiotics. He had since moved to a rehabilitation center “where I’ll keep regaining my strength.”
Supreme Court Says YES - Hillary Clinton Gets Brutal News After President Donald Trump is Now Taking Legal Battle...
They may have been friends in the past, but ever since they faced off in the 2016 election, President Donald Trump and former First Lady Hillary Clinton have been at war with each other, figuratively speaking.
Now, their fight is about to escalate to the nation’s highest court.
Trump is continuing his long-running legal battle against Clinton by asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling that dismissed his civil conspiracy claims and imposed nearly $1 million in sanctions.
Justice Clarence Thomas this week granted Trump’s request for additional time to file a petition asking the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Trump now has until Sept. 9 to submit his petition in Trump v. Clinton, which stems from allegations that Clinton and others helped promote claims that Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia.
The extension is a routine procedural action and does not reflect any opinion on the merits of the case.
As the justice assigned to matters arising from the relevant federal circuit, Thomas handles administrative requests such as filing extensions.
The Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the appeal only after the petition is filed, and at least four justices must vote to grant review before the case can proceed.
Trump’s legal team filed the extension motion on July 23 at the Supreme Court.
In it, his lawyers argued the forthcoming petition will raise “exceptionally important” issues and that the appellate ruling and sanctions order “carries with it profound impact on the Presidency, and the nation as a whole.”
Trump’s appeal is expected to focus not only on the underlying allegations surrounding the Russia investigation but also on the broader legal question of when courts may impose sanctions against a president and his attorneys for filing civil litigation.
The federal appeals court that reviewed the case sharply criticized the lawsuit, concluding that many of the legal arguments advanced by Trump and his attorney, Alina Habba, lacked merit.
The court upheld sanctions totaling nearly $1 million against Trump, Habba, and her New Jersey-based law firm.
The sanctions represent a significant financial penalty, and Trump’s appeal is expected to address both the underlying lawsuit and the broader authority of courts to impose substantial sanctions on litigants whose claims are found to lack legal merit.
Trump’s original complaint alleged that Hillary Clinton and others conspired to promote a false narrative linking his 2016 presidential campaign to Russian election interference.
The district court dismissed those claims, and the federal appeals court upheld that decision. The filing seeking additional time to petition the Supreme Court did not identify the specific appellate circuit that issued the ruling.
The Clinton lawsuit is one of several cases Trump is currently asking the Supreme Court to review.
In a separate defamation lawsuit against CNN over the network’s use of the phrase “big lie” to describe Trump’s claims regarding the 2020 election, Thomas also granted Trump additional time to file his petition. That filing is due Aug. 14.
Trump is also continuing his legal challenge in the E. Jean Carroll case.
After the Supreme Court declined to hear his initial appeal last month, he filed a petition for rehearing on July 8, asking the justices to reconsider the damages award entered against him, which the high court agreed to do in an unusual move.
Together, the three petitions place multiple Trump-related legal disputes before the court, each involving distinct legal questions ranging from sanctions and defamation to civil liability.
Clinton has not publicly commented on the Supreme Court’s decision to grant Trump additional time to file his petition.
Although she is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, the court filings do not indicate that she took any separate action in connection with the extension request.
The additional defendants identified in Trump’s original complaint were not specified in the available court records.
The lawsuit stems from Trump’s longstanding contention that allegations linking his 2016 presidential campaign to Russian election interference were knowingly promoted through false or misleading claims.
NEW: Election Overturned After Recount Reveals Trump-Backed Candidate As Victor
Republican Paula Copenhaver pulled off a stunning comeback Monday after an Indiana recount erased incumbent State Sen. Spencer Deery’s razor-thin primary victory, handing her the GOP nomination by three votes.
The Indiana Recount Commission formally certified Copenhaver as the winner after reviewing the District 23 race, finding she received 6,332 votes to Deery’s 6,329. The outcome shifted after eight ballots that had originally been counted for Deery were rejected.
During the hearing, commission members said several ballots were thrown out because of “clerical errors” made by election officials.
The decision means the election was overturned months after Deery was initially declared the winner of the May 5 Republican primary by just three votes.
Copenhaver sought the recount on May 18, arguing that “illegal voting by unqualified voters” had undermined the integrity of the election after she narrowly lost to the first-term senator.
The race attracted statewide attention because Copenhaver had President Donald Trump’s endorsement as part of a broader effort to unseat Republican incumbents in the Indiana Senate.
Trump announced in February that he would back challengers running against Deery and several other GOP state senators who opposed redistricting.
Election night produced one of the closest contests in Indiana. Initial returns showed Deery with 50.01% of the vote and Copenhaver with 49.99%, prompting both candidates to claim victory as the margin remained razor thin.
Deery, who was first elected to the Indiana Senate in 2022, was ultimately certified the winner by three votes after the original canvass. Monday’s recount reversed that outcome, with Copenhaver finishing ahead by the same three-vote margin.
Vance, Labor Dept. To Crackdown On Fraudulent Migrant Workers In U.S.
Vice President JD Vance has received another very important task from President Donald Trump to accomplish.
And already he’s wading right into it.
Vance and the Department of Labor’s inspector general on Wednesday announced a new investigation into alleged abuse of U.S. work visas by foreign nationals, describing it as part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to combat fraud.
Speaking at an anti-fraud event in Milwaukee, Vance said Labor Department officials had issued dozens of subpoenas as part of the investigation, which he said is intended to ensure that “American jobs … go to American workers and not foreign fraudsters.”
Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito told the New York Post that investigators believe the alleged schemes have cost the U.S. medical industry hundreds of millions of dollars, while also affecting other employment sectors.
He said some of the operations under investigation are believed to involve forced-labor networks and human trafficking organizations.
Labor’s Office of Inspector General has already “uncovered widespread schemes in which employers and labor brokers submitted fraudulent applications, exploited foreign workers through coercive wage-kickback arrangements, and undercut American workers by flooding the market with below-wage labor.”
Department of Homeland Security assessments so far have found as much as 21 percent of the H-1B petitions were fraudulent, The Post reported.
D’Esposito also told Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria that the investigation will examine alleged abuses involving both H-1B visa holders and recipients of employment-based green cards.
He said investigators are reviewing cases in which foreign workers may have improperly displaced American employees or obtained immigration benefits through fraudulent means, The Post said.
“This is another example where fraud is fueling violent crime,” D’Esposito said, adding that the visa fraud “is tied to cartels, is tied to transnational gangs.”
“This is not just people working in factories or actual labor,” he added. “These are people working in medical facilities and doctors’ offices that are actually putting people in harm’s way.”
At an event in Milwaukee, Wis., Vance said the probe will root out fraudsters who “undercut” American workers.
“This is a visa program that was set up to ensure that if you were a brilliant technology person or a brilliant scientist or a brilliant doctor, you could come to the United States and get access to this visa program,” he told attendees.
“But you know, what’s happening way too much is that big corporations and fraudsters overseas are using this program to undercut the wages of American workers,” he added, according to The Post.
“What we’re doing in the Trump administration, we’re saying, ‘No more,’” the vice president continued.
“If you are trying to take advantage of that visa program, you are not allowed in to the United States of America.”
The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that typically require specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
The PERM labor certification process is the first step for many foreign nationals seeking employment-based permanent residency, allowing employers to sponsor workers for green cards after demonstrating they cannot readily fill the position with qualified U.S. workers.
According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 73% of H-1B recipients come from India.
More than half hold a master’s degree, and the largest share work in fields such as computer programming, data communications, software development and technical support, noted The Post.
Major technology companies, including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Apple, are among the largest employers of H-1B visa holders.
Foreign workers admitted through the program are also employed across the health care, manufacturing and higher education sectors, said The Post.
California, Texas, New York, Illinois and Washington receive the largest share of approved H-1B petitions, according to federal data.
The number of approved H-1B petitions reached a high of 442,425 in 2022 during the Biden administration, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center.
