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☆ Jan. 6 committee interviews former Trump secret service agent Bobby Engel
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — The Jan. 6 committee on Thursday interviewed Bobby Engel, who was the lead Secret Service agent for then-President Donald Trump when the insurrection took place, three sources familiar told NBC News. Engel could provide key testimony related to information shared by Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a top aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. Ornato and Engel both testified before the committee prior to Hutchinson’s testimony. The Secret Service provided congressional investigators with more than 1 million electronic communications sent by agents in the lead-up to and during the insurrection at the Capitol, according to two sources familiar with the matter, NBC News reported in October. At the beginning of November, committee investigators were scheduled to meet with a Secret Service agent who was in the lead car of Trump’s motorcade on the day of the riot at the Capitol.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Thursday sidestepped calls from pediatric groups who have been urging the government to declare a public health emergency in response to the surge in respiratory illnesses in children. As of Wednesday, 78% of pediatric hospital beds were full nationwide, with seven states reporting capacity levels above 90%, according to an NBC News analysis of data from the Department of Health and Human Services. Biden has encouraged people to get the flu shot and the updated Covid booster. “We’re already seeing a rise in the flu and RSV and other respiratory illnesses, especially among young children,” Biden said last month at the White House. We’ve made these updated vaccines easy to get and available for free at tens of thousands of convenient locations.”The Covid public health emergency, which has been extended several times since the pandemic first hit, is set to expire in January.

☆ Nancy Pelosi to announce her future plans Thursday after Democrats lose House
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Nancy Pelosi, the first female speaker of the House, will announce plans for her future in a speech on the House floor Thursday, a spokesman said. The speaker’s plans are still unclear, but a source told NBC News that she took home two different versions of the speech she plans to deliver. "We’re all waiting for white smoke from the Vatican," one senior Democratic lawmaker told NBC News. Clyburn said Thursday he plans to stay in Democratic leadership no matter what Pelosi does. Asked about Pelosi's role leading the caucus over the last two decades, Clyburn told NBC News, “She has done absolutely great.

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is likely to make her future plans clear as soon this week, possibly even Thursday, multiple sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. Pelosi said Sunday she wouldn’t engage with questions about her future until all races were called. Meanwhile, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, is being urged to pursue the leadership role and has met with rank-and-file members. In the office of New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer on Tuesday, he was urged not to miss his moment. Punchbowl News was first to report the Pelosi call with the CA delegation.

A Chinese intelligence officer convicted of conspiring and attempting to steal sensitive trade secrets from a U.S. company was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in federal prison. The Justice Department had asked that Yanjun Xu, 42, get 25 years behind bars for his "very extensive" yearslong scheme to steal secrets from U.S. aviation companies. Luke Sharrett / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileXu is the first Chinese intelligence officer to be extradited to the U.S. to face criminal charges, Justice Department officials said. "Xu targeted multiple employees at multiple international aviation companies over multiple years. They noted that his scheme to steal secrets from GE wasn’t successful and said he was just following his country's orders.

The report found that the FBI and DHS continue to spend more on international terrorism, despite saying for years that domestic terrorism now poses a greater threat to Americans. The report said a change in how the FBI categorizes domestic terrorism ideologies has been a hindrance to understanding the problem. In 2017, FBI created a new category of domestic terrorism ideology called “Black Identity Extremists,” but then stopped using it. The report also criticized the FBI and DHS as having been conservative in hunting for threat intelligence posted publicly on social media. Research conducted by MIT’s Technology Review found that “users consistently migrate from milder to more extreme content” on YouTube.

☆ Child on bus of migrants from Texas hospitalized for dehydration, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Philadelphia officials lashed out at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday after a 10-year-old girl who arrived in Philadelphia on a bus of migrants from Texas was hospitalized with dehydration and a fever. The busload included 28 people in total, including 23 adults and five children, Philadelphia officials said at a press conference Wednesday. "This information was confirmed late yesterday without coordination or warning by Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office through a press release," Kenney said at the press conference held by city officials. In recent months, Abbott has repeatedly sent migrants on buses from Texas to other major cities, including New York and Washington, D.C. Florida Gov.

☆ Ivanka skips Trump's 2024 announcement: 'I do not plan to be involved in politics'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Ivanka Trump, who was a senior White House adviser during the Trump administration, says she’s taking a break from politics. Former President Donald Trump's eldest daughter did not attend his speech Tuesday night at his Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he announced his 2024 bid for the White House. It was not immediately clear whether her husband, Jared Kushner, who was also a senior White House adviser, would play a role in the campaign. Ivanka Trump, 41, was the director of the Office of Economic Initiatives and Entrepreneurship. Since they left government last year, both Kushner and Ivanka Trump have remained in the political spotlight to some extent.

☆ Judge blocks Trump-era border rule known as Title 42 that expelled migrants at U.S. border
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“Title 42 was a misuse of the public health laws from the beginning and has cause grace harm to tens of thousands of desperate asylum seekers. The practical significance of the ruling cannot be overstated,” Lee Gelernt of the ACLU, one of the lead attorneys on the case to end Title 42, told NBC News on Tuesday. He added that Sullivan's ruling essentially overrides the Louisiana court’s decision to stop the Biden administration from ending Title 42. But before the Biden administration lifted the rule, U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays of the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction, blocking officials from ending it. Single adults and families encountered will continue to be expelled, where appropriate, under Title 42.”The Biden administration has faced criticism on both sides of the aisle for its handling of Title 42.

WASHINGTON — Races for more than a dozen House seats remained uncalled as of Monday afternoon, leaving political control of the chamber unknown nearly a week after voting in the 2022 midterms general election cycle concluded. Most of the 18 House seats that NBC News has not called are in California. That includes the competitive race between GOP Rep. David Valadao and his Democratic challenger Rudy Salas to represent the state's 22nd Congressional District. NBC News estimates Republicans will hold 219 seats, while Democrats will control 216 seats, with a plus-or-minus 4-seat margin of error. Members of the House Republican Conference are set to hold their closed-door election to pick their leaders for the new Congress on Tuesday.

☆ Ronna McDaniel says she will seek re-election at RNC as rivals eye her job
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said Monday that she will seek re-election to a fourth term, even as potential rivals are being encouraged to mount campaigns for the post. McDaniel made the announcement on a call with RNC members from around the country, a person familiar with her remarks confirmed. Mercedes Schlapp speaks alongside her husband Matt Schlapp at CPAC in Dallas on Aug. 4, 2022. “We have fielded calls,” Matt Schlapp told NBC News Monday. The RNC chair election is slated for the party’s winter meeting in January, where the 168 members of the committee vote on their next leader.

More than 60 prominent conservatives, including former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and activist Ginni Thomas, are calling on House and Senate GOP leadership elections to be delayed until after the Dec. 6 Georgia Senate runoff. The open letter to GOP lawmakers released Monday comes just a day before House Republicans are set to hold their closed-door election to pick their leaders for the new Congress. Senate Republicans plan to hold their own internal elections on Wednesday. There should be no rushed leadership elections,” the conservative group wrote in their letter. “Conservative Members of the House and Senate have called for the leadership elections to be delayed.

☆ Reporter says she was knocked off balance when she shouted question about human rights ahead of Biden-Xi meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — A White House pool reporter says she was knocked off balance Monday when she tried to shout a question about human rights ahead of a meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ahead of their first in-person bilateral meeting since Biden took office, ABC News producer Molly Nagle said she tried to shout a question to Biden about whether he planned to raise human rights in his meeting with Xi in Bali, Indonesia. Another member of the White House staff also approached and told the man not to touch her either, she wrote in the pool report. The Chinese government has been accused of human rights violations and genocide against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups. On a video call in May, Xi defended his country’s record to the top human rights official at the United Nations.

Alex Brandon / AP“I don’t think there’s enough votes to codify unless something happens unusual in the House,” Biden said. “I think we’re going to get very close in the House,” he added. Democrats have kept control of the Senate, but passing a bill through that chamber would likely require 60 votes, which would necessitate about 10 Republicans supporting it. Although Democrats performed surprisingly well in the midterm elections, Biden’s remarks on Monday underscore the limitations of his policy agenda going forward as he adjusts to what will likely be a divided Congress. Biden said that throughout his trip it has “been clear just how closely the world, our allies and our competitors as well, have been following our elections at home.”

☆ Rep. Zeldin taking supporters’ calls about running for RNC chair, longtime adviser says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

“He has received calls from around the country,” John Brabender said Sunday. Under the party’s rules, the top two posts must be held by one man and one woman. Zeldin, a four-term House member from Long Island, lost to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul by 53% to 47% — in a state where Trump lost by 22 percentage points in 2020. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., praised Zeldin on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, although did not address a possible RNC bid.

☆ Customs and Border Protection chief refusing request to step down, DHS official says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — The commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency in charge of border security, is refusing to step down from his job after a request by the Biden administration, an official from the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News. As the head of CBP, Chris Magnus, 62, oversees more than 60,000 employees whose missions focus on counterterrorism, border security and trade enforcement. The Los Angeles Times was first to report the news that Magnus was asked to resign. Magnus has served in the role since Dec. 2021 after being narrowly confirmed by the Senate in a 50-47 mostly party-line vote. He had previously served as chief of police in Tucson, Ariz., from 2016 to 2020, resigning after a civilian died while in police custody.

☆ Jan. 6 committee staffers told preliminary plan for final report would focus largely on Trump, not on law enforcement failures, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The final report — much like the committee’s hearings — seems to be shaping up to be “all-Trump,” one source said. The “blue team” examined the preparedness and response of law enforcement agencies. Some staffers remain hopeful that members of the Jan. 6 committee might push back on the current plan and incorporate their research into the final report. The committee needs to release its final report before a new Congress is seated in January. Congress has oversight over and controls the funding of federal law enforcement agencies.

WASHINGTON — Americans were still waiting Friday to learn which party will control the House and Senate next year. Three days after final ballots were cast in the 2022 midterm elections, more than two dozen House races have not yet been called, with a number of them in California and other areas in the western half of the country. Republicans have a better chance of winning a majority in the House, though the Democrats still have a chance to retain control. As of Friday morning, Republicans have won 211 seats, Democrats have won 197 and 27 races remain uncalled. The Senate also hangs in the balance, as results in key races in Arizona and Nevada have not been decided.

The sources say Justice Department officials are looking carefully at a cross section of past cases involving the mishandling of classified material. Though his comments were about the separate Jan. 6 investigation, Justice Department officials said they apply broadly. Experts say the public evidence in the Mar-a-Lago case seems unambiguous. Less clear is whether there are aggravating factors — such as whether the Justice Department can prove Trump obstructed justice by failing to turn over documents despite a grand jury subpoena. Martin’s lawyers said he was a hoarder, and prosecutors concluded that he had not given classified information to anyone.

WASHINGTON — Republican Kris Kobach has won the race to serve as Kansas's attorney general, NBC News projected Thursday. As the state's attorney general, Kobach will have the power to prosecute voter fraud and enforce other election laws. He told the Associated Press in October that “there’s no question” voter fraud occurred in 2020 and that Americans will never know “how many fraudulent ballots were cast." As the vice chair of Trump's election commission, he was charged with investigating claims of voter fraud in the 2016 election. The panel found no major evidence of voter fraud and the committee was dissolved in 2018.

☆ DOJ asks Supreme Court to deny Trump's request to block House Democrats from getting his tax records
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and the House Ways and Means Committee asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to reject former President Donald Trump's request to block the panel from accessing his tax records. Earlier this month, Chief Justice John Roberts Chief temporarily blocked the Ways and Means panel from accessing Trump's tax records. Roberts said the case would remain on hold until the court acts and asked the committee to file a response to Trump’s request by Thursday. After the DOJ's filing, the committee also filed a similar 52-page argument Thursday against Trump's request. “The committee’s purpose in requesting President Trump’s tax returns has nothing to do with funding or staffing issues at the IRS and everything to do with releasing the president’s tax information to the public,” the lawyers wrote in a recent court filing.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next week’s Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, the White House announced Thursday. Tensions hit a high over the summer after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which Beijing viewed as an effort to undermine China’s territorial integrity. Although the two leaders have spoken virtually five times over the past two years, this will be their first in-person meeting since Biden became president. They will also discuss their policies toward North Korea and Ukraine, the official said. “The president believes that there is no substitute for face-to-face diplomacy to carry these discussions forward,” the official said.

☆ Biden says Elon Musk’s relationships with foreign countries 'worthy of being looked at'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Lauren-Egan-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Lauren Egan | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Asked whether Elon Musk posed a threat to national security, President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the billionaire’s “relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at.”“I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “Whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate — I’m not suggesting that — I’m suggesting it’s worth being looked at. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the new owner of Twitter, has significant business interests in China. That helped prompt Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., to call for an investigation into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia’s stake. But Musk has important relationships with the U.S. government, too, and those have continued under the Biden administration.

Former President Donald Trump was demonstrably weakened — and President Joe Biden strengthened — by Tuesday's midterm election results, just as the two begin to circle each other for a possible 2024 rematch. Democrats were in position to lose fewer seats in Congress in this year's midterms than Republicans did when Trump was president in 2018. "It’s not even a good night,” one former Trump campaign official said of the GOP's performance, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering fellow Republicans. Because it can’t be both," the former Trump campaign official said. "If Democrats want to lose the general election in 2024, they should start screwing with Joe Biden."

New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the head of House Democrats’ campaign arm responsible for protecting vulnerable incumbents in his party, has conceded his race in a phone call to Republican Mike Lawler, a spokesperson for Maloney's campaign said Wednesday morning. Maloney’s ouster will have larger implications for the House Democratic Caucus: It closes the door on a possible bid by Maloney for a second term as DCCC chairman. And it will reignite a fierce debate among House Democrats about whether one of their vulnerable members should be put in charge of the campaign operation. She survived her race for re-election but opted to retire just months later, ceding her seat in the Quad Cities to Republicans. Two California Democrats, Reps. Tony Cardenas and Ami Bera, have previously expressed interest in running for DCCC chairman in the 2024 cycle.

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