Cross-Examination

• Is Johnson picking up where McCarthy left off? Soon we’ll see whether House Speaker Mike Johnson learned anything from the experience of his predecessor. That lawmaker, Kevin McCarthy, was booted from the speakership last month for failing to follow through on his promise to bring 12 individual appropriations bills to the House floor rather than ramming everything through in a single massive and infuriating omnibus bill. Johnson has unveiled “a two-step short-term spending proposal that would keep money flowing to federal agencies into early next year, in a bid to stave off a partial government shutdown late next week,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “The measure wouldn’t impose spending cuts, and it also wouldn’t implement tougher anti-immigration rules at the U.S.-Mexico border, which some Republicans had said was critical to get their support.” If this doesn’t sound like a belt-tightening series of individual bills, that’s because it isn’t. Johnson called this proposal “a necessary step” but vowed that things will be different next year. “The Budget Control Act of 1974 spells this out into law,” said Johnson, referring to the proper congressional budgeting process, “and nobody’s followed it here for years. And that’s why we have the economic crisis we have — that combined with Bidenomics.”

• National Climate Alarmism Assessment: With much fanfare, the Biden administration is releasing the latest cult report on the global climate, officially known as the National Climate Assessment (NCA). Of course, the sole purpose of the report is to continue to push climate alarmism with solely political “solutions.” The Biden administration is playing up all the usual woke nonsense regarding the report by focusing on the supposed disparate impact of climate change on favored minority groups. Demonstrating that this assessment is more about getting people to believe in their favored narrative rather than resting on actual science, Vox reports that the administration is “including an accompanying podcast, art series, and even a poetry anthology compiled by two poet laureates and a climate scientist” to sell it to the American people. Fearmongering in order to justify more authoritarian measures is the real motivation behind this report.

• Half-trillion-dollar cost for illegals: How much is Joe Biden’s immigration crisis costing American taxpayers? Well, according to a new interim report released by House Republicans, the welfare cost for illegal aliens is roughly $451 billion. “Every day, millions of American taxpayer dollars are spent on costs directly associated with illegal immigration and the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border sparked by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ policies,” the report notes. Open-border proponents have long claimed that illegal aliens are a net economic good for the country, and whatever they cost is recouped in them paying taxes. However, the report states, “Only a small fraction is ever recouped from the taxes paid by illegal aliens, with the rest falling on the shoulders of American citizens and lawful residents.” Medical costs are a significant factor. Dr. Robert Trenschel, chief executive officer of Yuma Regional Medical Hospital, says that “migrants often require three times the amount of human resources to resolve their cases and provide them with a safe discharge.”

• Mayorkas avoids impeachment: In a 209-201 vote, the House decided against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday. The impeachment resolution had been raised back in May by firebrand Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene over Mayorkas’s “willful admittance of border crossers” in violation of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. Greene’s impeachment effort failed when eight Republicans joined Democrats to block it. Following the vote, a frustrated Greene slammed her Republican colleagues by saying: “I’m outraged. I can assure you that Republican voters will be extremely angry that they’ve done this.” While Mayorkas deserves impeachment, even if the Senate then ousted him, it would likely do little to change the Biden administration’s de facto open-border policy. Furthermore, Greene is known for little other than throwing rhetorical bombs and simply lacks the respect of the party, which is needed in order to get significant actions like an impeachment realized. Finally, keeping Mayorkas as the face of Joe Biden’s border malfeasance serves as a political liability for his reelection bid.

• Hamas and hospitals: Like thunder following lighting, so is the Left’s call for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas due to concerns over collateral loss of innocent human life. Hamas, of course, uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, counting on Western governments to pressure Israel into stopping its campaign against the jihadi terrorist organization. The latest example of this scenario is the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where intense fighting has surrounded its grounds and Israeli forces have placed the hospital under siege. That’s because Hamas built its headquarters in a tunnel complex under the hospital, all in order to propagate the claim that Israel is targeting civilians. Unfortunately, much of the Leftmedia dutifully reports it as if the villains are the Israeli forces for daring to lay siege to the hospital and root out Hamas terrorists. The White House knows this is the case, yet Joe Biden’s response was predictably disgraceful: “It’s my hope and expectation that there will be less intrusive action relative to the hospital. The hospital must be protected.”

• Target invites more shoplifting: “We don’t tell big retail how to do their jobs. They shouldn’t tell us how to do ours.” So said Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper in an X post brimming with frustration. The retail giant of “tuck-friendly” swimsuits and other wokeish wearables seemed genuinely interested in curbing the shoplifting problem that cost it more than $1.2 billion this past year alone. But no. Instead, Target seems more concerned with bad publicity than stopping bad actors from stealing its stuff. “I can’t make this stuff up,” said Sheriff Cooper. “Recently, we tried to help Target. Our Property Crimes detectives and sergeant were contacted numerous times by Target to help them with shoplifters, mostly who were known transients. We coordinated with them and set up an operation … and then were told by their head of regional security that we could not contact suspects inside the store; we could not handcuff suspects in the store; and if we arrested someone, they wanted us to process them outside, behind the store.” Apparently, Target would rather encourage thieves than risk a law-and-orderly social media post. For this, it’ll get what it deserves — and so will its customers.

• Leftmedia hack shills for Biden: No one ever accused former White House correspondent John Harwood of journalistic professionalism, but his latest bout of bias would make even the water-carriers at MSNBC blush. “Biden needs expert political guidance,” began his X post innocently enough. But then the derangement kicked in: “Voters are unhappy. Trump could win despite his flagrant criminality and deranged mental state.” Apparently, the sorry Harwood — who was let go by CNN last year and before that had been rightly rebuked for his bias during a 2015 Republican debate and for his private communications with Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign — sees the “flagrant criminality” and the 91 felony counts against Trump as purely legit and not the least bit politically motivated, but he can’t bring himself to even mention the clear-as-day influence peddling of the Big Guy and his Biden Crime Family. And he calls Trump “deranged” while somehow looking past the cognitive wasteland that is Joe Biden’s brain. But Harwood wasn’t finished. “Journalists need to better convey 2 realities: the US economy is doing well, not poorly; Biden at 80 is handling the job effectively right now.” As one fed up reader of Harwood’s X post replied, “Journalists need to do a better job lying for the regime.”

• “Trans women” displace real women: Anything a woman can do, a man can do better, right? Wrong. And demonstrably so. Take child-bearing, for example: We’ve yet to meet a man who can, er, carry a woman’s water on this front. But that didn’t stop a charitable organization named Endometriosis South Coast from proudly announcing that Steph Richards, a “transgender” dude who demands females pronouns, was its new CEO. If you’re unfamiliar with endometriosis, it’s a disease that affects the lining of the uterus — which is a reproductive organ that women have and men don’t. As for Richards, he describes himself as “an intersectional feminist and human rights activist,” and he’s pictured on an ESC social media post alongside a quote that reads, “Isn’t it ridiculous that I’ve got to my 40s before any medical professionals even mentioned endometriosis?!” It sure is ridiculous, “Steph,” but not for the reason you think. Conservative women rightly called it “a shocking appointment,” while Richards trolled back, “Enjoy conservatives falling apart.”

Headlines

• Inflation was flat in October from the prior month, core CPI hits two-year low (CNBC)

• Supreme Court announces new ethics code (Roll Call)

• Photos of cocaine found at White House released (PJ Media)

• Senate Republicans demand Biden DOD rescind abortion policy that inspired Tuberville’s holds (Daily Signal)

• Biden mulls approval of fresh $10 billion for Iran (Washington Free Beacon)

• Hamas envisioned deeper attacks, aiming to provoke an Israeli war (Washington Post)

• National media finally notice DC crime wave after Biden granddaughter marginally involved in 863rd carjacking incident of 2023 (Washington Free Beacon)

• Bee prophecy fulfilled: Migrants flee back to South America after realizing the American Dream doesn’t exist anymore (Not the Bee)

• Voting group founded by Abrams, once led by Warnock, faces financial scrutiny (Politico)

• Women ousted from sorority after backing lawsuit to remove “transgender” member (Fox News)

• Over 16,000 sign petition condemning “non-binary and transgender extravaganza” Macy’s Parade (National Review)

• Major beauty pageant files for bankruptcy days before competition with “trans” women (Townhall)

• “Grow up”: Cartoonist speaks out after Washington Post censors Hamas drawing (National Review)

• Policy: Transformative legislation for higher education (National Review)

• Humor: Newsom deploys giant can of Febreze over San Francisco to mask poo smell (Babylon Bee) | Newsom assures homeless they can resume pooping on sidewalks once his boss leaves (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.