Two Republican senators are calling for the Biden administration to appoint a military leader to lead the recovery effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, as some lawmakers continue to criticize the federal government’s response to the storm. 

In a joint statement, Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, both of North Carolina, issued a joint statement Friday evening concerning the response operations.  

BIDEN GETS DEFENSIVE WHEN PUSHED ON WHO’S ‘COMMANDING’ HURRICANE HELENE RESPONSE

“Our National Guard and local, state, and federal first responders on the ground have been working tirelessly to respond to this disaster with the resources they have,” the statement reads. “Given the unprecedented extent of the devastation and complexity of search and rescue operations, it would be helpful to assign an active-duty military leader who has extensive experience with operations of this magnitude to lead moving forward.”

The Biden administration has come under for a purportedly inadequate response to the devastation left by Helene. As of Friday, the death toll in southeastern states hit hardest by the storm has risen past 224, with more than 100 dead in western North Carolina alone. 

BUTTIGIEG’S MESSAGE ON RESTRICTING CIVILIAN DRONES NEAR HURRICANE HELENE DAMAGE PROMPTS OUTCRY, CLARIFICATION

The White House has said that Biden has coordinated the federal response, including approving emergency declarations and deploying 1,000 active-duty soldiers to support search-and-rescue efforts. More than 4,800 personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other agencies have been deployed to North Carolina and neighboring states impacted by Helene. 

FEMA Director Deanne Criswell was on the ground in North Carolina on Friday, saying the military was delivering food and water to residents from distribution centers. 

Additionally, FEMA has shipped over 8.5 million meals, more than 7 million liters of water, 150 generators and over 220,000 tarps to aid response efforts, according to the White House.

As of Friday, the federal government has provided more than $45 million in Individual Assistance to survivors impacted by the storm, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, including in the form of one-time $750 payments from FEMA to qualified applicants in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to FEMA and the White House. 

Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report. 

President Joe Biden held the floor for an impromptu Q&A session Friday afternoon during the White House press briefing, where he claimed Vice President Kamala Harris is “in constant contact.” His comments may not come across as music to the Harris campaign’s ears.

In the president’s surprise appearance, he remarked on the port strike, the latest jobs numbers, and briefly on Hurricane Helene. No reporters asked about the administration’s response to the storm, but one asked Biden to assess whether Harris has been deeply involved in policy.

“Well, she’s, I’m in constant contact with her. She’s aware we all, we’re singing from the same song sheet. We, she helped pass all the laws that are being employed,” said Biden.

FOX NEWS POLL: HARRIS TOPS TRUMP BY TWO POINTS

“Now, she was a major player in everything we’ve done, including passage of legislation which we were told we could never pass. And so she’s been, and her, her staff is interlocked with mine in terms of all the things we’re doing,” Biden continued.

The president strongly linked Vice President Harris to the Biden administration’s record over the past 3 ½ years, despite the Harris campaign’s attempts to distance her from everything from “Bidenomics” to inflation to the border crisis, since Biden announced he was ending his reelection campaign, and Harris assumed the mantle of nominee. 

Harris recently changed the Biden fiscal year 2025 plan from a capital gains tax rate of 39.6% on a salary of $1M or more to her own 28%, for example. As illegal migration across the border surged to historic levels, Harris has also insisted she was never in charge of Biden’s border policy, despite Biden personally handing her the reins at the White House in March 2021.

Axios reported that Harris would begin creating some daylight between herself and Biden in August in order to defeat Trump, as inflation raged, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East heated up, the border crisis continued, crime lingered as a concern, and other factors, including Harris’ own weak approval rating, weighed her campaign down. Other outlets and pundits on the left soon followed suit. 

But Biden has reportedly bristled about his vice president distancing herself from him behind the scenes. He has also hinted that he believes he could have won the election had he not dropped out.

HARRIS CAMPAIGN IS IN ‘DANGER ZONE’ AS AMERICANS WORRY ABOUT COUNTRY’S DIRECTION, SAYS CNN DATA GURU

During an appearance on The View last week, Biden said, “I never fully believed the assertions that somehow there was this overwhelming reluctance to my running again. The fact of the matter is, my polling was always in range of beating [Trump].” Biden even joked about jumping back into the race during Friday’s surprise appearance at the White House.

He also began his first White House briefing appearance of his presidency at the same Harris was taking the stage at a campaign event, raising questions over whether it was a communications issue between him and the campaign, or he was trying to upstage her. 

Biden sparked questions on the topic before, on the anniversary of September 11, by wearing a Trump hat momentarily. The White House referred it to as a “unity gesture” – after Biden spent years casting Trump as a “threat to democracy.”

The Harris campaign has further distanced itself from the Biden administration by mentioning him less and less often as the election nears. During Tuesday’s Vice Presidential Debate, Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, only referred to the sitting president by referencing the “Biden-Harris administration.”

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The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Newly revealed emails show senior military officials raised concerns with the White House within days of Israel commencing its operation in Gaza. 

Reuters obtained and examined emails between senior State Department and Pentagon officials between Oct. 11-14 that showed concern and alarm as Israel started hitting the Gaza Strip with missile strikes. 

The emails specifically focused on the mass evacuation of Palestinians as a potential legal issue. Dana Stroul, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East at the time, wrote to senior Biden aides Oct. 13 and warned that Israel could face war crime charges for its actions. 

The emails also include pressure to include messages of sympathy for the Palestinian people and to allow more aid into Gaza while seeking to remain in solidarity with Israel. 

ISRAELI MILITARY KILLS 250 HEZBOLLAH TERRORISTS SINCE START OF LIMITED GROUND OPERATION IN LEBANON

Israel’s invasion of Gaza has proven polarizing and painful for the Democrats. The progressive wing and younger voters are trying to hold the Biden administration to account for its support of Israel as tens of thousands of Palestinians die. 

The invasion also made it difficult — if not impossible — for aid groups to help the displaced residents of Gaza who fled their homes to avoid getting caught up in Israel’s operations. 

Stroul outright alleged that Israel could be “close to committing war crimes” after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) dropped leaflets over northern Gaza urging residents to flee their homes ahead of the military rolling into the territory as part of the early “targeted incursions.” 

IRAN’S AYATOLLAH KHAMENEI DEFENDS MISSILE BARRAGE AGAINST ISRAEL IN RARE SERMON

“Their main line is that it is impossible for one million civilians to move this fast,” Stroul wrote. One official said that such an operation was not possible without creating a “humanitarian catastrophe.” 

Three senior U.S. officials argued the White House was slow to address these problems, with Biden’s team at one point arguing that the U.S. was “leading international efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza,” which would remain a “top priority.” 

Bill Russo, at the time an assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, attempted to drive home the long-term impact of the U.S.’s “lack of response on the humanitarian conditions” in Gaza, calling it “ineffective and counterproductive” while also harming relations with Arab nations. 

“If this course is not quickly reversed by not only messaging, but action, it risks damaging our stance in the region for years to come,” Russo wrote in one email, according to Reuters. A colleague forwarded his emails to White House officials and warned that “otherwise would-be stalwart” Arab partners might think twice about relations with the U.S. 

YAZIDI WOMAN HELD HOSTAGE FOR 10 YEARS IN GAZA RESCUED IN ISRAEL, US OPERATION

Russo eventually resigned from his post in March 2024, citing personal reasons for his decision.

Far-left voters have placed the fate of Gaza front and center of their concerns approaching November’s election. The voters of Michigan started an “uncommitted” protest vote during the Democratic primary as a means of venting frustration at the Biden administration’s handling of the crisis. 

Those same voters shredded Harris for her DNC speech in August, calling it “horrible” and accusing Harris of “downplaying” U.S. complicity in the Gaza invasion by providing Israel funding and weapons. 

Neither the White House, the State Department nor the Pentagon responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. 

Reuters contributed to this report. 

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, featuring the latest political news from Washington, D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

Here’s what’s happening…

– Hurricane Helene aftermath leaves Mayorkas in hot water

– Trump to reunite with old nemesis to survey storm damage in key battleground state

– Most NYC residents want indicted Mayor Eric Adams to resign

Former President Obama is preparing to hit the campaign trail next week for Vice President Harris, focusing on key battleground states in the lead up to Election Day, according to a senior campaign official with anonymity to discuss the matter.

Obama, who served back-to-back terms as president from 2009 through 2017, will kick off his drive in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania on Thursday, a state which remains one of the tightest contests in the nation and which could tip the scales for either candidate. 

A Fox News survey of Pennsylvania voters last week found Harris narrowly ahead of Trump by 2 points (50-48%) among registered voters, while the race is tied at 49% each among likely voters. President Biden won the state by more than 80,000 votes in 2020.

President Obama’s Senior Advisor Eric Schultz tells Fox News that the 44th president is determined to help Harris and other Democrats get elected. 

“President Obama believes the stakes of this election could not be more consequential and that is why he is doing everything he can to help elect Vice President Harris, Governor Walz and Democrats across the country,” Schultz said.  …Read More

BLOCKING THE BRIEFING: ‘It makes no sense’: Jordan says FBI stonewalling requests for briefing on Iran hack of Trump campaign …Read More

CAUGHT SHORT-HANDED: Mayorkas claim that FEMA is ‘tremendously prepared’ comes back to haunt him amid Helene aftermath …Read More

‘AXIS’ OF EVIL?: Taiwan official warns China, Russia, Iran forming ‘alliance’ after Blinken says ‘no axis’ exists …Read More

THRILLER: Blackface photo shakes up toss-up House district in NY …Read More

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Trump to headline NRA event in pivotal swing state two weeks before Election Day …Read More

BORDER BATTLE: Trump holds significant lead over Harris on immigration, border security in key state: poll …Read More

RAZOR-THIN: Harris leads Trump by 2 in national poll, but shows vulnerabilities with non-White voters …Read More

‘I WILL BE THERE’: Elon Musk to attend Trump Pennsylvania rally at site of assassination attempt …Read More

NOT ALONE: Melania Trump’s pro-choice stand isn’t that different from other Republican first ladies …Read More

THE BIG 3: Trump can win on these three key issues, Michigan voters tell Fox …Read More

‘PATHETIC COUPLE’: Trump calls Liz Cheney a ‘low IQ war hawk’ after appearance in support of Harris …Read More

EARLY VOTING BREAKDOWN: Connecticut absentee voting begins …Read More

STAGGERING NUMBERS: Immigrant murder rate ‘tens of thousands’ higher than ICE’s bombshell figures: data expert …Read More

‘LIES THROUGHOUT’: Trump-backed challenger, longtime Dem senator face off in heated debate …Read More

TOGETHER AGAIN: Trump teams up with former GOP nemesis to survey storm damage in key battleground state …Read More

‘INCREDIBLY PROBLEMATIC’: Soros-backed dark money network paid New York Dem candidate’s salary …Read More

GET HIM OUT: Most New York City residents want indicted Mayor Eric Adams to resign: poll …Read More

BLUE CITY YELLOWBELLIES: Elon Musk: LA residents recoil at mention of Trump’s name …Read More

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

President Biden entered the White House briefing room on Friday to audible gasps from reporters as he unexpectedly took the podium and fielded questions.

It was the first time that Biden, 81, made an appearance during a White House press briefing since he assumed office in 2021. The president spoke briefly about the averted port workers strike, Friday’s positive jobs numbers and announced that he may request additional money from Congress to fund Hurricane Helene relief efforts.

“We’re going to have to deal with unforeseen cost what this hurricane is going to cost. It’s going to cost a lot of money and I’m probably going to have to ask the Congress before we leave for more money to deal with some of those problems,” Biden said.

The Biden-Harris administration has come under fire from former President Trump for a purportedly inadequate response to the devastation left by Helene. The death toll in southeastern states hit hardest by the storm has risen past 215, with more than 100 dead in western North Carolina alone. 

BIDEN GETS DEFENSIVE WHEN PUSHED ON WHO’S ‘COMMANDING’ HURRICANE HELENE RESPONSE

The White House has pushed back hard against these criticisms, emphasizing that Biden has coordinated the federal response, including approving emergency declarations and deploying 1,000 active-duty soldiers to support search-and-rescue efforts. More than 4,800 personnel from FEMA and other agencies have been deployed to North Carolina and neighboring states impacted by Helene. Additionally, FEMA has shipped over 8.5 million meals, more than 7 million liters of water, 150 generators and over 220,000 tarps to aid response efforts, according to the White House.

As of Friday, the federal government has provided more than $45 million in Individual Assistance to survivors impacted by the storm, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, including in the form of one-time $750 payments from FEMA to qualified applicants in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. 

BUTTIGIEG’S MESSAGE ON RESTRICTING CIVILIAN DRONES NEAR HURRICANE HELENE DAMAGE PROMPTS OUTCRY, CLARIFICATION

Biden’s surprise in-person appearance in the White House briefing room comes after an Axios report highlighted his absence from public view in the final months of his presidency.

Axios reported Thursday that Biden had not scheduled a public event in 43 of the 75 days since he dropped out of the 2024 presidential election. He has participated in just one campaign event with Vice President Kamala Harris, who succeeded him as the Democratic nominee. 

TRUMP TARGETS BIDEN, HARRIS OVER FEDERAL RESPONSE TO HURRICANE: ‘INCOMPETENTLY MANAGED’

Critics, including many Republicans, have questioned whether Biden is able to handle the pressures of the presidency at his advanced age, noting that most of his public appearances are scheduled between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The president has also only given two interviews since July 21.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates waved off criticism of Biden’s public schedule as part of the White House’s media strategy in a statement to Axios.

“Being commander-in-chief is about far more than public events, which are scheduled at strategic times to reach the most Americans possible, like before 20 million Americans watch the national evening news,” Bates told the outlet.

He added the president “works around the clock, long before and after these times, as the historic results he continues to achieve weekly for the American people demonstrate.”

FIRST ON FOX: A group of senators led by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., is warning the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “entanglement” with the southern border may have limited its effectiveness in handling emergencies –  just as the Biden administration is pushing back on claims that disaster relief and resettling of migrants are connected.

“FEMA’s continued entanglement in DHS’s efforts to respond to the border crisis could impact its readiness and emergency response mission,” the Republican lawmakers write. “Rather than ensuring FEMA is ready to respond to hurricanes and other emergencies, FEMA has been pulled into a border crisis mission.”

In the letter obtained by Fox News Digital, the lawmakers expressed concern “on the impact of the ongoing border crisis on [FEMA’s] readiness.” They cited remarks this week by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warning that FEMA “does not have the funds to make it through the season” and his calls for Congress to convene a special session to consider supplemental funding in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. 

FEMA SAYS IT HAS FUNDS NEEDED FOR ‘IMMEDIATE RESPONSE AND RECOVERY’

Other lawmakers on the letter are Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Roger Marshall, R-Kansas. Lankford is also the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management.

Mayorkas and FEMA have also said they have enough funding to meet “immediate needs,” but Mayorkas has said that current funding by continuing resolution does not provide stability.

“We have the immediate needs right now. On a continuing resolution, we have funds, but that is not a stable source of supply, if you will,” he said. “This is a multibillion-dollar, multiyear recovery.”

Amid those remarks, a number of conservative lawmakers and officials have pointed to approximately $650 million spent by FEMA on grants to non-profits and local authorities to resettle and aid migrants who have come across the southern border. The funding for the Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is congressionally appropriated and requires FEMA to use funding shifted over from Customs and Border Protection (CBP). It’s also a fraction of the more than $30 billion in FEMA’s budget.

DHS and the White House have pushed back against those linking the program, called the Shelter and Services Program (SSP), to the alleged shortfall in FEMA funding. 

“No disaster relief funding at all was used to support migrants housing and services. None. At. All,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a memo on Friday. “In fact, the funding for communities to support migrants is directly appropriated by Congress to CBP, and is merely administered by FEMA. The funding is in no way related to FEMA’s response and recovery efforts.”

FOX CORPORATION LAUNCHES DONATION DRIVE FOR AMERICAN RED CROSS HURRICANE HELENE RELIEF EFFORTS 

“These claims are completely false,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “As Secretary Mayorkas said, FEMA has the necessary resources to meet the immediate needs associated with Hurricane Helene and other disasters. The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA’s disaster-related authorities or funding streams.”

However, the letter from senators looks beyond the separation of the funds and points to a possible broader pressure on FEMA from the crisis. They point to the mobilization of FEMA to address a surge in unaccompanied minors across the southern border in March 2021 at the beginning of the crisis.  

They also cite congressional briefings that found that, ahead of the end of the Title 42 public health order, the administration put a senior FEMA official as senior coordinating officials for the response to a possible surge at the border.

They also say that budget requests to Congress asked it to continue funding FEMA’s border-related work: “FEMA’s efforts responding to the border crisis could have been much more limited if your Administration would have instead used your authorities to secure the border.”

The lawmakers ask how many full-time employees from FEMA have been transferred to border-related mission duties or joined a volunteer force, how much FEMA money has been reprogrammed to a border-related mission, and if it has made any assessment on the impact of FEMA’s engagement at the border. Fox reached out to the White House, DHS and FEMA.

It comes as the impact of the border crisis continues to be a top issue ahead of the November election. Republicans have accused the Biden administration of fueling the border crisis with “open borders” policies and ending Trump-era policies. The Biden administration has accused Republicans of blocking the passage of a bipartisan border security bill, which Lankford helped write, for political purposes.

A “painful” Israeli response weighs over the heads of the Iranian regime after their ballistic missile attacks on Tel Aviv on Tuesday. 

President Joe Biden has insisted that an angry Israel should not strike Iran’s nuclear sites – and should make sure its response is measured – proportional. 

“Iran launched a war into Israel,” said former deputy director of national intelligence Kash Patel. 

“So to say that the Israelis who are defending themselves and our hostages shouldn’t attack sites in Iran that could kill them – especially when you’re the one who gave Iran $7 billion as a commander in chief and then allowed them to acquire nuclear materials – is wildly political.” 

On Thursday, he revealed that he was “discussing” recommending Israel target Iran’s energy facilities. 

“That put the oil markets into a tailspin, even if we are talking to them about it. It’s not something you muse about publicly,” said former Trump deputy national security advisor Victoria Coates. 

“If you’ve made a decision, and you have something to announce, fine. You want to level with the American people as much as you can. These random comments are really damaging and confusing to the Iranians, because . . . they don’t have any guidelines or guardrails about what might be coming and so they might do something weird.” 

IRAN’S AYATOLLAH KHAMEINI DEFENDS MISSILE ATTACKS ON ISRAEL

Israel’s counterattack could come at any moment. “We will act. Iran will soon feel the consequences of their actions. The response will be painful,” Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters.

Rather than its longtime goal of helping to negotiate a ceasefire, the Biden administration has now shifted its priority to containment – helping the region avoid all-out war between its two hegemonic superpowers. 

“This is the 1930s all over again. G7 leaders – led by President Biden – are urging Israel to have a proportional and limited response against the Iranian regime,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. 

“The idea of telling Israel what targets to strike ignores reality,” he went on. “Would a proportional response be launching 200 ballistic missiles from Israel into Iran, mimicking what the Iranians did to Israel?”

Former President Donald Trump has not said how Israel should respond to the attacks – which he insists never would have happened under his watch. 

Striking Iran’s nuclear facilities risks provoking all-out war on yet another front for Israel in the eyes of the Biden administration. The Trump team is caught between an anti-war mindset and a penchant for supporting Israel without conditions. It’s unclear whether they still believe the two can exist in harmony.  

Proportionality is “clearly not what Israel is doing,” according to Coates. 

“It really seems to me that after the Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] left Washington in July, after that visit, some factor, or combination of factors, really changed his calculus,” she said. 

IRAN WARNS OF ‘DECISIVE RESPONSE’ IF ISRAEL CROSSES ‘RED LINES’ 

“He appears to have gotten home with the attitude of, ‘I want to get everything I can get done before the election.’ He’s not really listening to the White House at all, which is unfortunate.” 

After Iranian plots to assassinate him and the hacking of his campaign, Trump did say that if he were president, he would tell Iran, “I’m going to blow you to smithereens” if they harm any U.S. political figures. 

On Tuesday, Trump was asked whether he wished he had responded more forcefully after Iran fired dozens of missiles at U.S. forces stationed in Iraq in 2020, leaving many with traumatic brain injuries. 

“So, first of all, ‘injured.’ What does ‘injured’ mean? ‘Injured’ means — you mean, because they had a headache? Because the bombs never hit the fort,” Trump said.

“So just so you understand, there was nobody ever tougher on Iraq,” Trump continued, saying ‘Iraq’ instead of ‘Iran.’ “When you say not tough, they had no money. They had no money for Hamas. They had no money for Hezbollah. And when we hit them, they hit us. And they called us, and they said, ‘We’re going to shoot at your fort, but we’re not going to hit it.'”

Defense officials have said more than 100 suffered traumatic brain injuries after the January 2020 attack.

That attack came after Trump ordered the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani due to an uncovered Iranian plot to kill American diplomats and service members. 

Trump vowed to hit 52 Iranian sites “very hard” if Iran were to carry out the plot, representing the 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days after being seized at the U.S. embassy in Tehran in November 1979.

Still, in January, Iran lobbed attacks on two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops, including the Ain al-Assad military base, and a second facility near Erbil airport.

In March, three U.S.-led coalition forces were killed when multiple rockets hit Taji military base. 

Trump, who withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, has insisted to reporters this week that “nobody [was] ever tougher on Iran” than he was.

‘Look at the World today — Look at the missiles flying right now in the Middle East, look at what’s happening with Russia/Ukraine, look at Inflation destroying the World. NONE OF THIS HAPPENED WHILE I WAS PRESIDENT!’ he wrote on Truth Social. 

Alexander Vindman, the former Trump National Security Council Director for European Affairs for the United States, claimed that the former president was “fearful” of escalation with Iran.  

“Iran struck first and early, during Trump’s presidency, attacking US troops. Trump consistently recoiled in fear inviting further attacks,” he wrote on X. 

“Fact check: In 2020, Iran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in retaliation for the Soleimani assassination. 110 U.S. service members sustained traumatic brain injuries. Many administration officials remain on an Iranian hit list today,” former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said. 

But Patel argued the Biden administration’s lifting of sanctions on Iran — and the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear deal — is what led to the attacks in the first place. 

“The JCPOA, which was called the ‘Iran nuclear deal’ for a reason. It was never intended to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. It literally gave them one on a timeline,” he said. 

“Now I believe they have one, because for four years they haven’t stopped them or slowed them down. They’ve only been successful in politicizing national security.”

Former National Institutes of Health employee Margaret Moore, accused by Republicans of helping others shield emails from the public, invoked her Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination at a deposition before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Friday.

Moore, a former FOIA public liaison for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), also declined to answer questions from Fox News in the hallway before the committee meeting. 

The committee on Monday issued a subpoena for Moore to appear.

“Instead of using NIH’s FOIA office to provide the transparency and accountability that the American people deserve, it appears that ‘FOIA Lady’ Margaret Moore assisted efforts to evade federal recordkeeping laws,” said Rep. Brad Wenstrup from Ohio, chairman of the subcommittee. 

FAUCI ADVISER’S ALLEGED DESTRUCTION OF COVID ORIGIN DOCS MUST BE PROBED BY AG: RAND PAUL

He added, “Her alleged scheme to help NIH officials delete COVID-19 records and use their personal emails to avoid FOIA is appalling and deserves a thorough investigation.”

Moore’s legal team has defended her right to abstain from testifying, claiming that the former NIH employee has been willing to aid the investigation via alternative means.

“Ms. Moore has cooperated with the Select Subcommittee through counsel to find an alternative to her sitting for an interview, including expediting her own FOIA request for her own documents, which she provided to the Select Subcommittee voluntarily,” her legal team wrote.

HOUSE COVID COMMITTEE CALLING FOR CRIMINAL PROBE INTO GAIN-OF-FUNCTION VIRUS RESEARCH IN WUHAN

READ THE LETTER SUBMITTED BY MOORE’S LAWYERS TO THE COVID SUBCOMMITTEE — APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

Moore worked for NIAID for over three decades and at one point served as a special assistant to Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

She is accused of teaching “tricks” to other members of NIAID to hide records and evade FOIA requests. 

“I learned from our foia lady here how to make emails disappear after I am foia’d but before the search starts,” Fauci senior advisor Dr. David Morens wrote in an email sent from his personal Gmail account in Feb. 2021. “Plus I deleted most of those earlier emails after sending them to gmail.”

The materials sought by the COVID subcommittee would provide insight into the NIH’s relationship with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, commonly believed to have been the origin of the coronavirus in 2019.

Other emails obtained from May 2021 show the NIH general counsel warning the FOIA office “not release anything having to do with EcoHealth Alliance/WIV,” with “WIV” referring to the Wuhan Institute.

Taiwan’s top official in the U.S. is warning that China has ramped up its aggression toward the island, and that its people are ready to fight.

“Yes, of course,” Alexander Yui, the Taiwanese representative to the U.S., told Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie when asked whether the island’s residents were willing to meet the moment, if China were to invade. “We’ve seen Ukraine.”

Taiwan has been intensely watching the conflict in Eastern Europe as Kyiv’s forces have battled a Russian invasion for more than two years. 

TRUMP-ENDORSED HOUSE CANDIDATE SOUNDS ALARM ON CHINA’S GROWING INFLUENCE IN BATTLEGROUND STATE

Yui said he hoped to not need help from U.S. troops, which Ukraine also does not have, but suggested they would be eagerly accepted if offered.

“If your house is under fire, and they respond to help you with a bucket of water, would you say no?” Yui posed.

The diplomat said Chinese President Xi Jinping has escalated regional tensions since former President Donald Trump left office, but he stopped short of blaming the Biden administration for emboldening China.

WALZ APPOINTEE WITH APPARENT CCP TIES COULD EXPOSE POTENTIAL VEEP’S NATIONAL SECURITY WEAKNESS, LAWMAKER SAYS

“XI Jinping has been emboldened because he wants to realize what he calls his China dream,” Yui said. “It’s not about which administration is in the United States . . . but rather, what are the thoughts of Xi Jinping?”

Taiwan’s ministry of defense tracked eight Chinese military aircraft and two naval ships near the island earlier this week. The defense ministry said four of the eight planes crossed the median line dividing China and Taiwan’s territory in the Taiwan Strait – though Beijing, which claims ownership of Taiwan, does not recognize the geographic delineation. 

A week prior, on Sept. 25, Taiwan’s defense ministry said it had detected 43 Chinese military aircraft in a 24-hour period, with 34 having crossed the median line. The next day saw 41 Chinese military planes detected near Taiwan.

REPUBLICANS PROPOSE BILL THAT WOULD DOUBLE TARIFFS ON CHINESE IMPORTS 

Xi is believed to be preparing his country for an invasion of Taiwan by 2027 – meaning the U.S. response would fall to whoever wins the presidency in November.

Asked if he had a message for Americans about Taiwan ahead of Election Day, Yui said it was a “peace-loving nation.”

“We believe in democracy and freedom. We have to share the same values. And we want to be incorporated in the world, because we’ve been isolated for many decades due to the conflict that we have . . . with mainland China,” he said.

The Biden administration has reportedly decided against extending parole for tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who came to the U.S. through a controversial Biden-era travel program that was temporarily halted due to discoveries of fraud in the program earlier this year.

Officials have decided not to extend parole for Venezuelan nationals who came into the U.S. via the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV), according to a CBS News report.

The program was first implemented for Venezuelans in October 2022 and extended to the other nationalities in January 2023. It allows migrants to use the CBP One app to enter the U.S. on temporary parole and receive a work permit if they pass background checks and have a sponsor.

NEW POLL REVEALS TRUMP HAS SIGNIFICANT LEAD ON IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE 

Through the end of August 2024, nearly 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans arrived lawfully on commercial flights and were granted parole under these processes, nearly 117,000 Venezuelans.

The program has received furious opposition from Republicans, some of whom have described the administration as running migrant flights, but under this program, migrants must organize their own travel.

However, the program was paused briefly in August when an internal report unearthed large amounts of fraud in applications of those sponsoring the program. It later unfroze the program after installing what it said were additional vetting and protections against fraud.

BIDEN ADMIN FREEZES CONTROVERSIAL MIGRANT FLIGHT PROGRAM AFTER FRAUD REVELATIONS 

It was expected that the administration would extend the parole status, as it has done with other parole populations, but CBS reported that DHS has decided against it, and Venezuelans would be told to either apply for another immigration status or leave the country — although Venezuela is currently not accepting deportations from the U.S. It is also unclear if the administration intends to stop bringing in new migrants via the program. DHS did not respond to a request for comment.

If they arrived before July 2023, they may be eligible for Temporary Protected Status, which the Biden administration redesignated and extended for Venezuelans last year.

The status of the other three nationalities will begin to expire in January next year if the administration makes a similar decision not to extend their parole status.

The move will likely infuriate immigration activists, who have cried foul as the administration has moved away from more liberal policies as the election approaches. The administration threw its weight behind a bipartisan border security bill this year that would have allowed for a limit to be placed on asylum entries and given additional funding to border agencies. 

DHS DOCS REVEAL WHERE PAROLED MIGRANTS UNDER CONTROVERSIAL BIDEN FLIGHT PROGRAM ARE LANDING 

When that bill failed to pass, President Biden signed an order limiting asylum entries in June, which was followed by a sharp drop in arrivals at the border by more than 50%, leading to numbers lower than anything during the current administration. 

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The administration has also touted an increase in removals. Biden followed that up with a “parole in place” scheme for illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens. But in the last week, he announced new measures to prevent that limit on arrivals at the border from being lifted.

It comes as Vice President Harris battles with former President Donald Trump over who is the tougher candidate on border security. Harris has accused Trump of failing to back the border security bill for political reasons, while Trump has accused Harris of being responsible for the crisis at the border.

Polling shows it to be a top 2024 issue for voters, with many polls showing Trump holding a significant lead over Harris on the topic.