(foxnews) – The Trump administration announced two key actions Wednesday designed to protect entities that sought to avoid supporting abortion.

Both announcements addressed longstanding issues handled by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights. In a press release Wednesday, HHS said it would block $200 million in federal Medicaid funds slated for California “due to the state illegally mandating that all health care plans subject to regulation by the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) cover abortion without exclusion or limitation.”

It also said it referred a case to the Justice Department involving a nurse who was allegedly forced to assist in an elective abortion. DOJ announced on Wednesday that it would bring a suit against the University of Vermont Medical Center over the issue.

“California and the University of Vermont Medical Center have violated federal conscience laws and refused to work with us to take corrective action, so we are now taking action to hold them to account,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said.

CBS ‘ABORTION ACCESS’ REPORTER SLAMS ‘TONE DEAF’ PENCE FOR HOLDING PRO-LIFE EVENT DURING PANDEMIC

Roger Severino, who leads the department’s Office of Civil Rights, said: “Whatever one thinks of the legality of abortion, no one should be punished for declining to pay for or assist in the taking of human life.”

The University of Vermont (UVM) Medical Center did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. According to WCAX, the CBS television station in South Burlington, Vt., the medical center said it didn’t feel it had discriminated against the nurse involved.

Dr. Stephen Leffler, president and CEO of the UVM Medical Center, reportedly said: “I want to be very clear we are very sensitive to our employees’ religious and moral beliefs, and we believe are very confident that we have a policy that protects our employees’ rights while being certain to offer all legal and safe procedures for patients that seek our care.”

The decisions came at the end of an administration which anti-abortion advocates have touted as being led by the “most pro-life” president in U.S. history.

Vice President Mike Pence held a triumphant event earlier in the day, declaring that “life is winning.”

During his speech, he heralded the administration’s “great progress” on the issue and touted the president’s efforts to “save lives” during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., mocked the “pro-life” label on Wednesday, tweeting that HHS’ decision came during a pandemic.

“Nothing like the ‘pro-life’ party eliminating healthcare during a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. California will survive without this $$ for now — but their frail, pathetic patriarchal system they are so desperate to protect won’t,” he said.

Despite that label, the administration has faced pressure from pro-life activists to do more with the limited time he has left.

placeholder
Live Action’s Lila Rose and Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden recently called on the administration to do more in an op-ed titled, “Just Defund Planned Parenthood Already — Here’s How.”

Following Daleiden’s explosive undercover videos in 2015 on Planned Parenthood, Congress sent referrals to the Obama administration regarding potential violations of fetal trafficking laws and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

After Trump took office, the Justice Department reportedly opened an investigation into the matter and Congress has urged the DOJ to update them on the issue. With roughly a month before President-elect Biden’s inauguration, the Trump administration has not yet announced further action on those two issues.

However, Biden has already announced his choice of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to take over HHS — pending Senate confirmation. A number of Catholic and conservative organizations have already criticized the pick of Becerra for being a pro-choice advocate. This makes the likelihood that Trump’s agenda at HHS after Biden assumes office will not be realized.

Becerra, like Biden, is a Roman Catholic.

According to WCAX, Vermont’s attorney general, T.J. Donovan, said the new lawsuit was baffling.

placeholder
“The idea that you’re going to file this type of lawsuit 35 days to go before there is a change in the administration where you will have a new attorney general, frankly, is baffling,” he said.

foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-conscience-abortion-hhs-california

(foxnews) – Members of Congress are still sharply divided over what should be the fate of Edward Snowden if he ever returned to the U.S.

“To those urging a pardon of Edward Snowden: You are suggesting President @realDonaldTrump pardon a traitor,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “Edward Snowden is NOT a victim. Snowden has American blood on his hands and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“To pardon Snowden would be a betrayal of all those who have sacrificed since 9/11 to protect our nation,” Graham continued.

Graham was responding to a call from Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, for President Trump to pardon Snowden and Julian Assange. She said the two whistleblowers should be rewarded for exposing “the deception and criminality of those in the deep state.”

Other Republicans have sided with Snowden, including Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who slammed a tweet from GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, of Wyoming, that said pardoning Snowden would be “unconscionable.”

“The Cheney ideology supporting forever wars puts more troops at risk than @Snowden ever did,” Gaetz tweeted back. He asserted that pardoning Snowden was “the right thing to do.”

Cheney claimed Snowden had put the U.S. and the military at risk by “giving secrets to Russian and Chinese intelligence.”

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also advocated for Snowden’s pardon.

“James Clapper brazenly lied to Congress denying that the Deep State was spying on all Americans. @Snowden simply revealed Clapper’s lies and exposed unconstitutional spying. He deserves a pardon from @realDonaldTrump,” he wrote on Twitter.

Trump in August told the New York Post he was going to “look at” pardoning Snowden.

“Many people think he should be somehow treated differently and other people think he did very bad things,” Trump said.

“There are a lot of people that think that he is not being treated fairly. I mean, I hear that,” Trump continued.

“When you look at [former FBI Director James] Comey and [former FBI Deputy Director Andrew] McCabe, and [former CIA Director John] Brennan — and, excuse me, the man that sat at this desk, President Obama, got caught spying on my campaign with Biden. Biden and Obama, and they got caught spying on the campaign.”

His comments were a remarkable reversal of course for the man he once deemed a “traitor.”

“Snowden is a spy who should be executed – but if it and he could reveal Obama’s records, I might become a major fan,” Trump wrote on Twitter in 2013.

Snowden faces espionage charges after disclosing the National Security Agency’s massive domestic surveillance program. His leaking revealed that the then-director of national intelligence, James Clapper, had lied to Congress about warrantless spying on U.S. citizens.

Snowden, hiding in Russia, said last year he would return to the U.S. if he would be guaranteed a fair jury trial.

“That is the ultimate goal, but if I’m going to spend the rest of my life in prison then my one, bottom-line demand that we all have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial,” Snowden said on “CBS This Morning.” He said that the U.S. government has “refused” to guarantee one.

“They won’t provide access to what’s called a public interest defense,” Snowden said.

The ex-NSA contractor blew the lid off U.S. government surveillance methods in 2013. Moscow has resisted U.S. pressure to extradite Snowden, who faces charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.

The Guardian in Britain published the first story based on Snowden’s disclosures.

It revealed that a secret court order was allowing the U.S. government access to Verizon phone records for millions of Americans. Later stories, including those in The Washington Post, disclosed other snooping, and how U.S. and British spy agencies had tapped into information from cables carrying the world’s phone and Internet traffic.

Snowden’s defenders maintain that the U.S. government has for years exaggerated the damage his disclosures caused.

Glenn Greenwald, an Intercept co-founder and former journalist at The Guardian, said there are “thousands upon thousands of documents” that journalists have chosen not to publish because they would harm peoples’ reputation or privacy rights or because it would expose “legitimate surveillance programs.”

In a memoir published last year, Snowden wrote that his seven years working for the NSA and CIA led him to conclude that the U.S. intelligence community had “hacked the Constitution” and put everyone’s liberty at risk, and that he had no choice but to turn to journalists to reveal it to the world.

“I realized that I was crazy to have imagined that the Supreme Court, or Congress, or President Obama, seeking to distance his administration from President George W. Bush’s, would ever hold the IC legally responsible — for anything,” he wrote, using an abbreviation for the intelligence community.

foxnews.com/politics/lindsey-graham-slams-calls-pardon-snowden-american-blood-on-his-hands

(breitbart) – President-elect Joe Biden’s choice to helm the Department of Energy, former Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-MI), has a history of publicly promoting theories about Russian collusion in the 2016 election.

Granholm, who if confirmed by the United States Senate as energy secretary, would be in charge of America’s nuclear arsenal, began pushing the notion that President Donald Trump was enamored of Russia in mid-2015, according to the former governor’s social media posts.

The former governor, in particular, was an early proponent of the idea that Trump’s reluctance to release his tax returns during the 2016 contest might have been tied to business dealings in Russia. At the time, Granholm even speculated that Trump might be a “tool” of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After Trump bested former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Granholm pivoted to suggesting that the Republicans had only carried the White House because of help from Russia.

During one particular appearance on CNN in August of 2018, the former governor argued that “Russian interference” in the 2016 race through social media platforms like Facebook had cost Clinton the election. At the time, Granholm also suggested that if Democrats, like then-Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), failed to do well in the upcoming 2018 congressional elections, it was likely because Russia played a role.

When pushed by a CNN political contributor that it was unfair to blame Russia for the “Democrats’ poor performance” in elections, both past and present, Granholm disagreed. “I can blame the Russians for interfering in this election, and every single intelligence agency says they did interfere” in 2016, the former governor said in response.

Even after claims of Russian collusion were found to be unproven by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Granholm did not let go of the notion. In December 2019, the former governor intimated that Trump had “love for Putin” when sharing a photo of the president meeting in the Oval Office with the Russian ambassador to the U.S.

Granholm repeated the suggestion that Trump was somehow beholden to Russia as recently as September of this year.

Trump is not the only Republican that Granholm has accused of doing Russia’s bidding. On a number of occasions, the former governor has lambasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as “Moscow Mitch.” The nickname, which was first coined by MSNBC host Joe Scarborough after the release of the Mueller report, has been used by congressional Democrats to attack the Senate leader for refusing to support their proposal on election security.

McConnell, who is likely to be pivotal to Granholm’s chances for confirmation provided Republicans remain in control of the Senate pending two runoff elections in Georgia, has expressed displeasure at the nickname. In September 2019, the GOP leader told Hugh Hewitt, the conservative-leaning radio host, that the nickname amounted to nothing more than an “over the top effort” to “smear” him for refusing to support legislation favoring mainly Democrats.

It is unclear if Granholm’s history of pushing Russian collusion theories on social media will have any impact on her nomination. The president-elect’s transition team did not respond to comments for this story.

Granholm in recent weeks, though, seems to have become aware that her old social media posts could be controversial. Data compiled by Social Blade, a digital media analytics company, indicates that the former governor has deleted at least 67 old posts from Twitter since the start of December.

breitbart.com/2020-election/2020/12/15/bidens-energy-secretary-pick-spent-years-pushing-russian-collusion-theories/#

(breitbart) – Leaders of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference (USCCB) declared Monday that Catholics have a “moral responsibility” to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“Receiving one of the COVID-19 vaccines ought to be understood as an act of charity toward the other members of our community,” state Fort Wayne Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of the U.S Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, and Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, in a joint statement.

“In this way, being vaccinated safely against COVID-19 should be considered an act of love of our neighbor and part of our moral responsibility for the common good,” the bishops state.

The risk to public health posed by the coronavirus is very serious, the bishops assert, “as evidenced by the millions of infections worldwide and hundreds of thousands of deaths in the United States of America alone.”

Moreover, “in many cases the most important effect of vaccination may not be the protection it offers to the person who receives the vaccination, who may be of relatively robust health and unlikely to be seriously affected by the disease,” they write. “Rather, the more important effect may be the protection it offers to those who are much more likely to be seriously stricken by the disease if they were to contract it through exposure to those infected.”

The bishops do not make a pronouncement regarding the obligatory nature of all vaccines for all diseases, or where a line might be drawn between vaccines that are optional and those that are morally compulsory. They do, however, offer their judgment regarding the seriousness of the coronavirus.

“The world is currently facing a health crisis,” the bishops state. “The number of deaths from COVID-19 is now almost one and a half million worldwide. In the United States, the toll is approaching 300,000.”

Along with their judgment regarding the morally binding nature of the coronavirus vaccine, the bishops also add an extended reflection regarding the permissibility of using certain vaccines whose germ lines were originally obtained from the cells of aborted human fetuses.

“Given the urgency of this crisis, the lack of available alternative vaccines, and the fact that the connection between an abortion that occurred decades ago and receiving a vaccine produced today is remote, inoculation with the new COVID-19 vaccines in these circumstances can be morally justified,” they declare.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in September, about half of U.S. adults (51 percent) say they would definitely or probably get a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 if it were available.

The other half of American adults (49 percent), however, said they definitely or probably would not get vaccinated at the time.

Back in May, intent to get the COVID-19 vaccine was much higher, with 72 percent saying they would get a vaccine when it becomes available.

breitbart.com/health/2020/12/15/u-s-bishops-say-catholics-have-moral-responsibility-to-be-vaccinated-against-coronavirus/4

(breitbart) – On Monday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) stated that the lack of interest in the Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) story is a reflection of the larger problem in the Democratic Party that “they don’t even seem to care about China as a whole when it comes to viewing them as a threat, to viewing them as a foreign policy challenge.”

Crenshaw said, [relevant remarks begin around 3:30] “The double standard of the mainstream media is one of the largest challenges of our times. Everybody knows it. It’s infuriating, it’s corrupt, it’s disgusting, and it’s got to stop. And to your point about say, Swalwell, questions have to be answered there, but the left-wing media has no interest in even asking them. The Democrats have no interest in even asking them. We need to know what kind of information made it from the Intel. Committee, to Swalwell’s office, to Fang Fang. But we don’t, they don’t even seem to care. This is a microcosm of a much larger problem [in] the Democrat Party, which is they don’t even seem to care about China as a whole when it comes to viewing them as a threat, to viewing them as a foreign policy challenge.”

breitbart.com/clips/2020/12/14/crenshaw-lack-of-interest-in-swalwell-story-reflection-of-dems-not-caring-about-china/

(dailyconservative) – The left has been praising Jill Biden’s “doctor” title as if it lends credence to the scientific knowledge of the Biden administration amid this pandemic.

After the liberal loonies that host “The View” claimed Jill Biden should be the next surgeon general because she is “one hell of a doctor,” Tucker Carlson pulled the cover off of that scam:

Yes, Jill Biden is one hell of a doctor says Karen. She should be Surgeon General. Just don’t ask her to commit surgery. Don’t ask for advice in your coronary artery disease because she’s not actually a physician. She’s a Doctor of Education, which means basically nothing.
…
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal pointed this out. They ran an op-ed by Joe Epstein, made a true and obvious point. Jill Biden is not a doctor. No. Maybe in the same sense Dr. Pepper is.
…
In 2007, at the age of 55, she got a Doctorate in Education. So she’s got the same degree as Dr. Bill Cosby.

Tucker went on to recount the story Biden told over a decade ago about why Jill got her degree. Here’s a spoiler — it had nothing to do with helping others.

“In 2009, back when America was a lot more honest, Joe Biden explained why his wife got that degree quote, ‘She said, I was so sick of the mail coming to Senator and Mrs. Biden, I wanted to get mail address to Dr. and Senator Biden. That’s the real reason she got her doctorate.’” said Carlson. “In other words, Jill Biden was diagnosed with a very bad case of status anxiety, and she decided to cure that as so many do in our country with another pointless title.”

dailyconservative.com/sc1/carlson-rips-jill-biden.htm

(foxnews) – House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is calling out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for inconsistency when it comes to her decisions on her members voting in person.

“Pelosi is fine with House Democrats skipping work if the votes are about legislation, but in January she will demand every Democrat show up—in person—to vote for her for Speaker,” McCarthy said. “Her message is clear: her power is more important than anything else.”

A representative for Pelosi did not immediately return FOX News’ request for comment on McCarthy’s tweet.

Pelosi faces a tight battle for reelection as Speaker as she deals with Democrats’ slimmer majority in the House of Representatives when the 117th Congress begins on Jan. 3.

According to FOX News’ Chad Pergram, Democrats are likely to only hold a maximum of 222 out of 435 seats, while Republicans would have 213. In addition, Pelosi will have the additional challenge of the coronavirus pandemic preventing members from showing up to vote in person.

House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., recently penned a missive to fellow House Democrats warning them about the need to report to the chamber to start the 117th Congress on Jan. 3.

“Handing control of this chamber over to the Republicans would negate the will of the American people, block the Biden administration’s ambitious agenda, and continue President Trump’s disastrous policies long after he’s gone,” warned McGovern.

The Massachusetts Democrat also warned colleagues that “remote voting,” implemented for the pandemic, ceases at the beginning of the new Congress. The House can re-implement remote voting next year, but Democrats would have to show up in person for the vote for speaker and to approve a rules package.

“The physical presence of Members is needed,” implored McGovern. He also noted that “you must be present on the House Floor to be sworn in.”

McCarthy’s criticism of Pelosi comes as stimulus negotiations between Congress and the White House remain at a months-long stalemate.

In an update Sunday evening, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill said she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke over the phone at 4:30 p.m. to discuss “the latest developments on the omnibus and COVID talk.”

“The Speaker believes, at a time when the virus is surging, that the need for state and local funding is even more important, especially given the states’ responsibility for distributing and administering the vaccine,” Hamill wrote. “Health care workers and first responders are risking their lives to save lives and at the same time, are at the risk of losing their jobs without state and local support.”

Hammill noted that Pelosi “reiterated her view that a compromise on the liability issue should be found that does not jeopardize workers’ safety.” In addition, he said Pelosi “raised the recent bipartisan, bicameral agreement on surprise billing and the bipartisan support for its inclusion in the omnibus agreement,” which he claimed would yield “significant savings to pay for critical health initiatives.”

placeholder
“The White House has already expressed support for the surprise billing agreement,” he concluded. “The Speaker and Secretary agreed to speak again tomorrow.”

On Wednesday, Mnuchin, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and McCarthy unveiled a $916 billion COVID-19 relief package to Democrats, which includes money for state and local governments and robust liability protections for businesses, schools and universities.

McCarthy told Bloomberg the proposal also includes a one-time $600 stimulus check for adults — half the payment included in the March CARES Act — and $1,200 for couples, as well as $600 per child.

However, it would eliminate the proposal for $300 a week in boosted federal unemployment benefits included in a $908 billion framework unveiled by a group of bipartisan senators earlier this month.

Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it “progress” that McConnell agreed to back the $916 billion offer, but maintained that the ongoing bipartisan negotiations are the best path to a deal.

“Members of the House and Senate have been engaged in good-faith negotiations and continue to make progress,” they said in a joint statement. “The bipartisan talks are the best hope for a bipartisan solution.”

They also called the elimination of jobless aid “unacceptable.”

As a result, lawmakers will continue to rush to try and strike a deal before the end of the year, as at least 12 million Americans are set to lose their unemployment benefits the day after Christmas, while eviction moratoriums for renters and protections for student borrowers are set to lapse.

Accord to Johns Hopkins University, the United States has surpassed more than 16.2 million coronavirus cases.

foxnews.com/politics/kevin-mccarthy-calls-nancy-pelosi-out-over-house-voting-inconsistency-her-power-is-more-important

(nationalistreview) – Biden’s proposed pick for attorney general accused of sexual harassment

Lindsey Boylan, a former aide of Andrew Cuomo and local city politician, has accused the governor of sexual harassment. Boylan does not offer many details but in her Twitter post indicated that there were others who had watched the harassment take place. Little more is known at this time, but one thing is certain: progressives now face a challenge. Time will tell whether or not they truly “believe all women.” Boylan’s Tweets are embedded below.

The news comes a day after Joe Biden’s team leaked that they were considering Cuomo for Attorney General.

“Yes, New York Governor Cuomo sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched. I could never anticipate what to expect” would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years,” Boylan wrote on Twitter.

“I’m angry to be put in this situation at all. That because I am a woman, I can work hard my whole life to better myself and help others and yet still fall victim as countless women over generations have. Mostly silently.”

She concluded: “I hate that some men, like Governor Cuomo, abuse their power.”

nationalistreview.net/2020/12/13/governor-andrew-cuomo-accused-of-sexual-harassment-by-another-democrat-politician/

(breitbart) – President Donald Trump traveled to the Army/Navy football game Saturday afternoon, receiving a roar of cheers from the military cadets and midshipmen.

The annual game was held at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, at Michie Stadium.

The president entered the stadium with a fist pump as he walked to the center of the field to participate in the opening coin toss.

In response, the crowd roared with chants of “USA! USA! USA!”

Navy won the toss by calling tails.

The game was originally scheduled for Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia but was moved due to state limits on outdoor gatherings.

Trump also attended the annual rivalry game in 2018 and 2019, as well as in 2016 after he was first elected president.

breitbart.com/politics/2020/12/12/donald-trump-gets-a-rock-star-welcome-at-army-navy-football-game/

(breitbart) – Seventeen people were shot, three fatally, over the weekend in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s (D) Chicago.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports the first fatality of the period occurred at 8:30 p.m. Saturday night, when a 24-year-old man in a vacant lot was shot multiple times. The lot was located “in the 1500 block of South Sawyer Avenue.”

The man was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead.

The weekend’s second fatality occurred just after midnight Sunday morning, as a 37-year-old man “was leaving a residential building.”

A suspect on foot ran up to him and fired shots, striking the 37-year-old in the head. The suspect then entered a vehicle and fled the scene and the victim was transported to a hospital, where he died.

The third fatality was discovered at 7 p.m. Sunday, as police officers conducted a wellness check “in the 300 block of East 53rd Street.” They found a 27-year-old who had been shot in the neck and was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead.

Breitbart News noted a 50-year-old man was stabbed in the face while riding Chicago’s Red Line train early on Sunday morning. WGN reported the man was was riding “near the 100 block of West Cermak Road” when a passenger near him pulled a knife and stabbed him.

The stabbing victim was transported to a hospital in fair condition.

Forty people were shot, six fatally, last weekend in Mayor Lightfoot’s Chicago.

breitbart.com/politics/2020/12/14/17-shot-3-fatally-over-the-weekend-in-mayor-lightfoots-chicago/