Stephen Dinan

Mayorkas changes tune on need for more border money after repeatedly seeking cuts

When President Biden sent Congress his Homeland Security budget in the spring, his director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement was peppered with questions from lawmakers about why he was asking for a cut in funding and fewer detention beds at a time when the border was out of control.

November 24, 2023

ICE makes progress in tracking down Title 42 ‘parole’ violators

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, prodded by a federal judge, has now issued hundreds of deportation charging documents to illegal immigrants caught and released around the end of the Title 42 pandemic border expulsion policy in May.

November 23, 2023

Biden’s Global Media CEO warns VOA over activism in Israel coverage

The CEO who runs the board in charge of Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and other U.S. government-funded news agencies lectured employees this week about crossing the line from journalist to activist.

November 23, 2023

IRS takes another mulligan, cancels new gig worker tax reporting for this year

The IRS gave gig workers a reprieve Tuesday, announcing they won't have to worry about meeting tough new rules requiring them to file paperwork on low-dollar payments collected on apps like Venmo and PayPal when they file their 2023 taxes.

November 21, 2023

Elon Musk’s X sues Media Matters, claims liberal group faked ‘Nazi’ scandal

Elon Musk's social media platform X sued Media Matters on Monday, claiming the liberal media-pressure group, in an effort to drive away business, "manufactured" posts that showed major companies' ads showed up next to Nazi content.

November 20, 2023

Pandemic relief fraud hunters beg for more time; offices set to close as avalanche hits

Congress is about to face major decisions on how seriously it wants to go after fraudsters who stole hundreds of billions of dollars in government assistance during the coronavirus pandemic -- and whether it wants to arm agencies to prevent a repeat in the future.

November 20, 2023

Biden student loan forgiveness ripe for fraud; 2 million claims were poised for automatic approval

The Education Department approved millions of applications for President Biden's now-defunct student loan forgiveness program without checking to make sure the borrowers were eligible, Congress' chief watchdog said in a new report.

November 17, 2023

Biden claims major victory on rooting out fentanyl flow; Beijing already makes good on Xi’s promises

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told Congress this week that the Chinese government is at the root of the fentanyl trafficking that has flooded the U.S., and he said Beijing could shut down the flow of drugs if it wanted.

November 16, 2023

Counterterrorism chief says no signs terror groups are exploiting porous U.S. borders; GOP doubtful

A top Biden administration security official told Congress Wednesday that she has seen no evidence that foreign terrorist groups are trying to sneak operatives into the U.S. through the southern border. In the face of GOP doubts, National Counterterrorism Center Director Christine Abizaid said there is a "vulnerability" along the border with Mexico, but terrorist networks don't appear to be exploiting it.

November 15, 2023

Mayorkas unaware that Clapper, Brennan signed Hunter Biden laptop disinformation letter

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Congress on Wednesday that he didn't know that three people he appointed to a new intelligence experts panel had spread disinformation about Hunter Biden's laptop just ahead of the 2020 election.

November 15, 2023

Marjorie Taylor Greene confronts Mayorkas with photo of constituents killed at border

Two days after her attempt to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas failed, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told the Homeland Security secretary he's not out of danger yet and will soon face another vote.

November 15, 2023

Harvard, top private universities pocket $7 billion a year in taxpayer cash

Stanford, Northwestern and the Ivy League universities have collected a combined $33 billion in taxpayer-funded grants and contracts and another $12 billion in tax breaks on their endowments over the last five years, according to new data from OpenTheBooks.com.

November 15, 2023

Feds say they can slash 30% of their office space, save billions after remote work empties buildings

The federal landlord agency says it can deliver a "telework dividend" and slash government's office space by as much as 30% over the coming years, saving billions of dollars a year, but it will take an initial investment from Congress to get it done.

November 14, 2023

Congress to demand inspector general probe decision to move FBI headquarters to Maryland

Senior lawmakers demanded Tuesday that an inspector general investigate the Biden administration's decision to move the FBI's headquarters to Maryland, saying the process was "contaminated" by political dealings.

November 14, 2023

Elbows, Smurfs, near-brawls: Fiery exchanges erupt at Capitol

Rep. Tim Burchett on Tuesday accused former Speaker Kevin McCarthy of elbowing him in the back while the Tennessee Republican was being interviewed in a hallway, the most prominent example of tempers flaring in several confrontations across the Capitol in a single day.

November 14, 2023

‘You look like a Smurf’: GOP chairman blasts Democrats trying to discredit Biden impeachment probe

House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer on Tuesday said "financially illiterate" Democrats were spreading a fake news story about the congressman's own finances to try to discredit his investigation into President Biden's family financial dealings.

November 14, 2023

DHS recorded 300,000 illegal entries in October; Border Patrol nabbed 13 terrorism suspects

Illegal immigration ticked down in October, though it was still the second-worst month on record, with Homeland Security recording 309,221 encounters with unauthorized migrants.

November 14, 2023

HHS refused to share files on illegal immigrant criminals with Congress

The Health and Human Services Department has refused to share with Congress case files on immigrants without documentation who are charged with crimes, forcing House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan to threaten a subpoena.

November 14, 2023

Marjorie Taylor Greene unleashes fury at Republicans who blocked Mayorkas impeachment

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday blasted the eight Republicans who sided with Democrats in derailing her effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, saying she couldn't fathom what more evidence they needed.

November 13, 2023

Mayorkas survives first House impeachment test

The House delivered a reprieve to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday, narrowly derailing an effort to impeach him.

November 13, 2023