Watch As Elizabeth Warren Takes A Tumble On Senate Floor
Warren tried to sit on a desk and fell backward
Cutting Government Spending Does Not Have To Be Political Suicide
After securing the border and enacting mass deportations, Trump and the GOP should indeed turn their attention to balancing the budget and paying down the debt.Rand Paul to refile criminal referral of Fauci to DOJ after Biden autopen revelations
Anthony Fauci was among the individuals with questionable track records who received controversial pardons just prior to former President Joe Biden leaving office.
Fauci, the fifth director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, specifically received a "full and unconditional" pass for possible federal crimes going back to Jan. 1, 2014 — around the time the Obama administration supposedly halted funding for dangerous gain-of-function research.
'Dr. Fauci, as you are aware, it is a crime to lie to Congress.'
Molecular biologist Dr. Richard H. Ebright of Rutgers University, a leading critic of Fauci's flirtations with gain-of-function research, previously provided Blaze News with insights into why Fauci might require an accountability shield, noting that he "violated federal policies on gain-of-function and enhanced potential pandemic pathogen research, committed conspiracy to defraud and perjury, used federal funds to commit crimes, and caused and covered up the cause of a pandemic that killed 20 million and cost $25 trillion."
The Oversight Project revealed earlier this year that like the other pardons hastily dispensed before Biden left office, Fauci's was signed with an automatic signature device. Unfortunately for Fauci, there is presently a great deal of uncertainty over the former president's involvement with the autopen pardons and their legitimacy.
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R) announced on Monday that he was refiling his criminal referral of Fauci to the Department of Justice. Paul's announcement follows the New York Times' publication of Biden's weak defense of his handlers' use of the autopen along with insights into who was actually behind Fauci's last-minute pardon.
"Perjury is a crime," Paul said on X. "And Fauci must be held accountable."
RELATED: Biden tried defending autopen use to the New York Times. He made it a whole lot worse.
During a Senate hearing in July 2021, Paul pressed Fauci about the National Institutes of Health funding research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origins of the coronavirus.
"Dr. Fauci, as you are aware, it is a crime to lie to Congress," Paul said.
"On your last trip to our committee on May 11 [2021], you stated that the NIH 'has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.' And yet, gain-of-function research was done entirely in the Wuhan Institute by Dr. Shi and was funded by the NIH," he continued.
'Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly.'
Paul's smoking gun was a 2017 WIV paper on SARS-related coronaviruses that discussed gain-of-function work on coronaviruses and acknowledged funding from NIAID as well as from the United States Agency for International Development's Predict program.
"Viruses that in nature only infect animals were manipulated in the Wuhan lab to gain the function of infecting humans," said Paul. "This research fits the definition of the research that the NIH said was subject to the pause in 2014 to 2017 — a pause in funding on gain-of-function."
When afforded an opportunity to retract his previous statement, Fauci instead dug in his heels, stating, "Senator Paul, I have never lied before the Congress, and I do not retract that statement," adding that the study referenced in the 2017 paper was not gain-of-function.
"Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly," added Fauci. "And I want to say that officially."
Paul subsequently referred Fauci to the DOJ, asking then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to open an investigation into the former NIAID director over his testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
The senator noted that contrary to Fauci's suggestion, research conducted "at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and funded under NIAID Award R01AI110964 fits the definition of gain-of-function research."
The recipient of this particular award was Peter Daszak's scandal-plagued organization EcoHealth Alliance, which congressional investigators indicated facilitated gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab and was formally debarred along with Daszak in January by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Paul asked the Biden DOJ again in 2023 to probe Fauci for allegedly lying to Congress after the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic released an email apparently showing the former NIAID director acknowledge that gain-of-function was indeed taking place at a Chinese institution which the U.S. Government Accountability Office confirmed had received NIH funding along with the WIV.
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Blaze News has reached out to Paul's office and the DOJ for comment.
Paul's referral comes on the heels of autopen bombshells printed in the New York Times.
Biden told the Times in a phone interview on Thursday that he orally communicated his clemency directions to aides, that the autopen was used liberally because they were dealing with "a whole lot of people" — a record number, actually — and that he did not personally approve every individual categorical clemency.
The White House emails turned over to investigators by the National Archives and reviewed by the Times also cast doubt on the provenance of Fauci's pardon and others like it issued in Biden's final hours in office.
The emails reportedly indicated that the former president's clemency instructions were written up on the basis of hearsay by aides to Biden advisers, then executed by the master of the autopen, Biden White House staff secretary Stefanie Feldman. When it came to the high-profile autopen pardons issued on Biden's final day, the final approval reportedly came not from Biden but from his chief of staff, Jeffrey Zients.
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Key Senator: Trump’s DOJ, FBI Slow-Walking Assassination Attempt Investigations
Sen. Ron Johnson has issued a subpoena to FBI Director Kash Patel for the agency's records on the shooter and the shooting.Trump notches 'big, beautiful' win following Jeffries' drawn-out spectacle
President Donald Trump notches the first major legislative victory of his second term in office after months of tumultuous negotiations on Capitol Hill.
The House passed the final version of the "big, beautiful bill" Thursday in a 218-214 vote after a tense overnight rules vote that was finalized just after 3:20 in the morning. The bill passed with 218 Republicans voting in favor of the legislation, while Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvaniajoined 212 Democrats and voted against the bill.
Leading up to the final vote, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) gave a record-breaking eight-hour, 44-minute speech on the House floor to stall the vote, even putting a fellow Democratic lawmaker to sleep. Vice President JD Vance joked in a post on X that a GOP rep texted him about how Jeffries' speech swayed his vote.
“I was undecided on the bill but then I watched Hakeem Jeffries [sic] performance and now I’m a firm yes."
"Democrats are focused on performing," Speaker Mike Johnson said ahead of the vote. "Republicans are focused on delivering."
Although the bill has been embraced by the president and the majority of the MAGA coalition, Massie and Fitzpatrick are not the only ones who took issue with the legislation.
'This Independence Day will mark the beginning of America's golden age.'
RELATED: Vance casts tiebreaking vote after Republicans betray Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'
Leading up to the vote, several House Republicans argued the Senate had "watered down" the bill beyond recognition. Conservatives were particularly concerned that the Senate did not properly address removing Biden-era green energy subsidies as well as limiting Medicaid access for criminal illegal aliens.
Other Republicans, Massie in particular, maintained that the spending levels in the bill are unsustainable.
"There’s no such thing as a tax relief without spending cuts," Massie said. "Gov’t can reduce the tax rate, but the spending still must be paid for. Gov’t must borrow money (which raises interest rates & requires more taxes later) or print money (which causes inflation). Both hurt Americans."
Many of these conservatives who had reservations over the bill met with the president at the White House on Wednesday morning leading up to the vote. In the end, Johnson managed to get the bill across the finish line with just a fewvotes to spare. Notably, Johnson passed the first version of the bill in the House with a 215-214 vote.
RELATED: Republicans rage over Senate's ‘watered-down’ version of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'
Vance had to cast the tiebreaking vote in the Senate on Tuesday after three Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Rand Paul of Kentucky — voted against the bill. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was also a tough sell, calling it "one of the hardest votes" she has taken during her time in the Senate.
After a record-breaking 27-hour vote-a-rama, Murkowski came around and voted to pass the bill, although she said the "bill needs more work across chambers and is not ready for the President's desk."
Despite Murkowksi's plea to continue working on the legislation, the bill is headed right to the president's desk. Trump is expected to hold a signing ceremony at the White House on July 4.
"After years of failed policies, we stepped up to put Americans first and fulfilled our promises," Republican Rep. August Pfluger of Texas told Blaze News. "On July 4, 2025, we will return power to where it belongs — with the American people. This Independence Day will mark the beginning of America's golden age."
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Vance casts tiebreaking vote after Republicans betray Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'
President Donald Trump is getting closer to codifying the first landmark legislation of his second term, but the fight is not over.
After a record-breaking 27-hour voting marathon, the Senate narrowly passed Trump's "big, beautiful bill" in a 51-50 vote. Vice President JD Vance cast the tiebreaking vote after three Senate Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Rand Paul of Kentucky — voted against the legislation.
'This performative theatre won’t solve the problem.'
The bill is now headed back to the House, where lawmakers will scramble to meet the president's ambitious July 4 deadline.
This deadline will not be easy to meet. During the drawn-out vote-a-rama, several key provisions failed to make it into the Senate's final draft, raising concerns among House Republicans.
RELATED: GOP-controlled Senate keeps taxpayer dollars flowing to criminal aliens after parliamentarian's ruling
Several Republicans were outraged about one provision in particular. The Senate rejected an amendment that would reduce Medicaid funding for states that offer the social program to criminal aliens after the parliamentarian ruled against the provision, increasing the vote threshold from a simple majority to 60 votes.
RELATED: Republicans rage over Senate's ‘watered-down’ version of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'
"If the Senate won’t do their job, DHS MUST," Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas said of the amendment. "Because this performative theatre won’t solve the problem. It’s great messaging, but it does nothing."
"Illegals should not get Medicaid," Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said in a post on X. "This should not have to be said."
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