EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., suggested Speaker Kevin McCarthy needed to demonstrate his loyalty to House conservatives on Wednesday, after he and a group of House Freedom Caucus members derailed a procedural vote on a GOP-backed bill on gas stove access.

‘Kevin can’t choose House conservatives as his coalition partner on things that are messaging bills and facial in nature, and then choose to keep [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries] as his coalition partner on consequential $4 trillion decisions,’ Gaetz told Fox News Digital in reference to the debt limit vote.

‘He’s got to be forced into monogamy with us as his coalition partner or Hakeem. And if Hakeem is his coalition partner, then we’re not going to play out the failure theater on stuff like we saw put on the floor this week.’

Eleven hardline Republicans banded together to tank a procedural measure, known as a vote on rules, that was meant to precede a GOP bill cementing Americans’ access to gas stoves. It was the first time a rules vote has failed in two decades.

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and their allies have signaled they will blockade further action on the chamber floor over anger at McCarthy for how he handled the debt limit deal struck between him and President Biden over Memorial Day weekend, which passed along bipartisan lines in both the House and Senate. Many have claimed the GOP got ‘rolled’ on the compromise, pointing out that more Democrats than Republicans had voted for it in both chambers.

The rebels also accused GOP leadership of exacting revenge against Clyde for his and others’ attempt to block the debt limit bill from coming to a vote in the House last week by stymieing legislation introduced by Clyde to roll back a Biden administration gun control provision. 

A GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital that members of the dissenting group would be meeting with McCarthy later ‘in order to understand if he will understand how to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.’

‘We have an agreement with the Speaker. And I think that revisiting that agreement, and having an audit of compliance with that agreement, is the work ahead,’ the lawmaker said.

House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., told Fox News Digital on Wednesday, ‘I think it will stay at a standstill until there’s trust that has been reestablished.’

Buck said of the kind of guarantees members would need, ‘I don’t need commitments in writing. We’ve had those and they’ve been broken. And so I think that it’s more important that we actually see the plan implemented.’

He called for a time limit in the Senate to consider House-passed appropriations bills, and if the upper chamber fails to advance them in that time, that ‘the House doesn’t take up any Senate legislation at all.’ Buck also called for ‘personnel changes’ on the Rules Committee and others, but did not elaborate on who.

‘A lot of this could have been avoided had the Rules Committee agreed to a few amendments that members wanted. Even if the amendments didn’t pass, it still would have been appropriate to have members be able to amend a bill as significant as a debt ceiling bill,’ Buck said.

Conservatives have accused McCarthy of violating the terms of an agreement made to secure their support during the speakership vote earlier this year. 

‘We’re having to grapple with the fact that the agreement that allowed Kevin McCarthy to be speaker was violated,’ Gaetz said. ‘So now, we have to recreate the power-sharing infrastructure of the House of Representatives.’

He continued, ‘Right now, you know, we see Hakeem Jeffries as the more consequential coalition partner in Kevin’s eyes, and we don’t want that to be true. We want Kevin to be our speaker, not Hakeem’s speaker.’

Among those ‘broken promises’ made by McCarthy in January, Buck said, was a failure to tackle unauthorized spending – which he has said made up a large share of discretionary spending. 

‘They’ve been telling me that they have been trying to do things for several months now, and that the chairmen are not holding the hearings and getting things done. And they’re hoping to be able to move the chairs of the different committees,’ Buck said.

Both conservatives appeared to distance themselves from the idea of calling for a ‘motion to vacate the chair,’ which under the current terms allows just one House member to trigger a vote to take away McCarthy’s gavel. The idea had been floated by some hardliners in the conference last week amid the debt limit bill fallout. 

‘Certainly, there are groups that are meeting and talking about that at this point,’ Buck said, though he added, ‘We don’t have any plans to introduce the motion to vacate anytime soon.’

Gaetz said, ‘I’m not looking to vacate and I’m not looking to placate.’ Asked to elaborate, he answered, ‘I think those words speak for themselves.’

A federal judge on Tuesday halted two New York counties’ orders designed to block New York City from sending migrants to hotels in their jurisdictions as the Big Apple scrambles to tackle a migrant crisis.

Judge Nelson Roman of the Southern District of New York blocked the enactment of orders by Orange County and Rockland County that barred local hotels and motels from making rooms available to migrants from New York City.

The counties acted after New York City officials announced May 5 they would transport hundreds of migrants to the counties ahead of the end of Title 42 on May 11. 

Civil rights groups challenged counties’ moves, arguing that they are illegal and discriminatory.

Over 60,000 migrants flooded into the ‘sanctuary’ city in the last year, quickly overwhelming social services and homeless centers. NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has tried a number of creative ways to house migrants, including using school gyms and police training facilities. He recently proposed housing migrants in private homes.

Adams declared a state of emergency May 5 and a ‘new voluntary program’ to transport migrants to other parts of New York state.

The judge found convincing the plaintiffs’ arguments that migrants were being discriminated against on the basis of national origin, alienage and race, which violates the equal protection clause under the Fourteenth Amendment.

The controversy is one of a number that arose between cities and states across the country as they seek to shift migrants to different jurisdictions. New York City’s migrant crisis was exacerbated by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s program to bus migrants to sanctuary cities including NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Cities in Texas have also bussed migrants to cities deeper into the interior. It was revealed this week that Florida officials, who have previously sent migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, have also been flying migrants to California.

Those flights sparked a furious response from California officials, who accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of kidnapping and exploiting the migrants involved. Florida officials pushed back, publishing video they say shows the flights were voluntary.

DeSantis on Wednesday said it was right that states and cities with ‘sanctuary’ policies bear the brunt of the migrant crisis.

‘If there’s a policy to have an open border, then I think these sanctuary jurisdictions should be the ones that have to bear that,’ he said. ‘We’re not a sanctuary in Florida.’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday defended sending migrant flights to California in recent days, arguing that states and cities with ‘sanctuary’ policies in place should bear the brunt of the ongoing migrant crisis.

DeSantis, who is running for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, visited the border in Arizona and was asked about the pushback his state has received from California for sending two migrant flights there – the state’s sanctuary policies limit cooperation with federal immigration officials.

‘These sanctuary jurisdictions are part of the reason we have this problem because they have endorsed and agitated for these types of open-border policies,’ DeSantis said. ‘They have bragged that they are sanctuary jurisdictions.’

California officials have accused Florida of exploiting vulnerable migrants and have even raised the possibility of filing criminal kidnapping charges against the Floridian officials responsible.

‘The state of Florida needs to be held accountable for these actions,’ California Attorney General Rob Bonta said this week. ‘These actions are cruel, they’re inhumane, they’re morally bankrupt, they’re wrong.’

He said it was a ‘cheap political act to get cheap political points.’ Bonta had previously issued a statement that called the move ‘state-sanctioned kidnapping’ and that his office was evaluating criminal or civil action against those involved in the transports.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom told NBC News on Wednesday that he believes a crime has been committed ‘on the basis of all the interviews and all the facts that are now in evidence.’

The Florida Division of Emergency Management told Fox News in an email that Florida flew the migrants to California as part of a voluntary relocation.

‘Through verbal and written consent, these volunteers indicated they wanted to go to California. A contractor was present and ensured they made it safely to a 3rd-party NGO,’ the email said.

The controversy is part of an ongoing battle over migrant transports, which began last year when Texas began bussing migrants to New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other sanctuary cities. Florida has also sent migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. New York City has sought to bus migrants to other parts of the state.

DeSantis shrugged off the controversy Wednesday, saying it’s right that sanctuary cities that have encouraged migrants to travel to the U.S. border should also receive the migrants.

‘They attacked the previous administration’s efforts to try to have border security. And so that’s the policies they’re staking out. And then what? When they have to deal with some of the fruits of that, they all of a sudden become very, very upset about that?’

He echoed his previous comments that the border should be ‘closed.’

‘I don’t think we should have any of this. But if there’s a policy to have an open border then I think the sanctuary jurisdictions should be the ones that have to bear that,’ he said. ‘We’re not a sanctuary in Florida.’

President Biden has joined far-left ‘Squad’ member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in linking the ongoing Canadian wildfires pouring smoke into the U.S. to the ‘climate crisis.’

‘We’ve deployed more than 600 U.S. firefighters, support personnel, and equipment to support Canada as they respond to record wildfires – events that are intensifying because of the climate crisis,’ Biden tweeted Wednesday. 

‘Here at home, we’re in close touch with state and local leaders to ensure they have the support they need. It’s critical that Americans experiencing dangerous air pollution, especially those with health conditions, listen to local authorities to protect themselves and their families,’ he added.

Earlier in the day, Ocasio-Cortez used the wildfires, as well as record-high temperatures in Puerto Rico, to push her signature Green New Deal, saying the world is ‘unprepared’ for the ‘climate crisis.’

‘Between NYC in wildfire smoke and this in PR, it bears repeating how unprepared we are for the climate crisis,’ she tweeted. ‘We must adapt our food systems, energy grids, infrastructure, healthcare, etc ASAP to prepare for what’s to come and catch up to what is already here.’

There are currently 413 active wildfires across Canada, 249 of them considered out of control, and, as of Sunday, around 8.15 million acres had already burned across the country, which is nearly 13 times the 10-year average, according to Reuters.

The wildfires have continued pouring smoke into the U.S., polluting the air along the East Coast, including the New York City area, which Wednesday afternoon, appeared orange like it was on the planet Mars.

It’s unclear exactly how the fires originated, however parts of Canada have been experiencing drought conditions and unusually high temperatures, creating a ripe environment for wildfires to spark.

Canadian officials have reached out to other countries to help fight the more than 400 fires across the country that have displaced 20,000 people.

New York City is experiencing its worst air quality in recorded history, per FOX Weather’s analysis of EPA historical data, affecting millions of people.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other health and emergency management officials have warned residents to remain indoors as much as possible and limit their time outside. If residents must go outside, officials suggested wearing a mask.

Fox News’ Brianna Herlihy and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

The FBI is willing to allow all members of the House Oversight Committee to view the subpoenaed document that alleges President Biden was involved in a criminal bribery scheme, a source familiar told Fox News Digital. 

The source familiar said all members of the panel would be able to view the document in question — an FBI-generated 1023 form — in a secure location. It is unclear whether the secure location would be in a SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility) on Capitol Hill or at the FBI’s headquarters. 

The offer comes as House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is set to begin contempt of Congress hearings against FBI Director Wray on Thursday for failing to comply with the committee’s subpoena for the document. 

The document allegedly describes a $5 million criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.

The FBI brought the FD-1023 form to Capitol Hill on Monday for Comer and ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., to review in a secure SCIF, resulting from a back-and-forth between committee Republicans and the bureau over whether it was in compliance with his subpoena. 

The FBI initially offered to allow Comer to review the document at FBI headquarters, but amid Comer’s threats to hold Wray in contempt of Congress, the bureau offered additional accommodations to bring the physical document to Capitol Hill.

Despite the accommodation, Comer said Monday that the FBI is still not in compliance with the subpoena to turn over the physical document to the committee.

‘At the briefing, the FBI again refused to hand over the unclassified record to the custody of the House Oversight Committee,’ Comer said in a statement. ‘And we will now initiate contempt of Congress hearings this Thursday.’

‘Given the severity and complexity of the allegations contained within this record, Congress must investigate further,’ Comer wrote. ‘The investigation is not dead. This is only the beginning.’

The FBI, on Monday, said the move to hold the director in contempt is unwarranted, as the bureau has ‘continually demonstrated its commitment to accommodate the committee’s request, including by producing the document in a reading room at the U.S. Capitol.’ 

‘This commonsense safeguard is often employed in response to congressional requests and in court proceedings to protect important concerns, such as the physical safety of sources and the integrity of investigations,’ the FBI said in a statement. ‘The escalation to a contempt vote under these circumstances is unwarranted.’ 

Meanwhile, Comer said FBI officials confirmed Monday that the unclassified FBI-generated record ‘has not been disproven and is currently being used in an ongoing investigation by a confidential human source who provided information about the vice president by being involved in a criminal bribery scheme is a trusted, highly credible informant who has been used by the FBI for over ten years and has been paid over 6 figures.’ 

Comer added, ‘These are facts and no amount of spin and frankly, lies from the White House or congressional Democrats can change this information.’

Fox News Digital first reported Friday that the confidential human source who provided the Biden information to the FBI was a ‘pre-existing’ FBI source who has been used in multiple investigative matters separate from the Biden information.

The source told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source was used by the FBI for ‘at least several years’ before the generation of the June 2020 FD-1023 form that detailed the Biden allegations.

The source also told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source has been ‘consistently reviewed by the FBI’ and has been ‘found to be highly credible.’

The source said the individual participated in investigative matters during the Obama administration.

The revelations of the document come after Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, were approached by a whistleblower who said the FBI was in possession of a document — an FD-1023 form dated June 30, 2020 — that explicitly detailed information provided by a confidential human source who alleged that Biden, while serving as vice president, was involved in a $5 million criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national in exchange for influence over policy decisions.

The information in the FD-1023 form, according to the whistleblower, reveals ‘a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed as well as its purpose’ and details an arrangement involving an exchange of money for policy decisions. 

An FD-1023 form is used by FBI agents to record unverified reporting from confidential human sources. The form is used to document information as told to an FBI agent, but recording that information does not validate or weigh it against other information known by the FBI.

A proposal to allocate $100 million in federal funds to subsidize adult mental health programs easily cleared the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday.Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro supports the initiative, according to a spokesman.‘If we are talking about unmet mental health needs, this money is truly just a drop in the bucket, ‘ Mike Schlossberg, the bill’s Democratic sponsor, said.

A proposal to allocate $100 million in federal funds to pay for adult mental health programs easily passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Wednesday, a plan built on the recommendations of a state commission charged with issuing suggestions for coordinated care.

The bill passed 173-30 and was sent to the Senate. A spokesman for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said that he supports the legislation.

The American Rescue Plan Act money would bolster the behavioral health industry’s workforce, improve the criminal justice and public safety systems and expand access to support.

‘It is a little strange to talk about $100 million as a number that is both large and small, but that’s actually what we’re looking at here. This money will have a deeply personal impact on people across the commonwealth,’ said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Schlossberg, a Lehigh County Democrat. ‘That being said, if we are talking about unmet mental health needs, this money is truly just a drop in the bucket.’

The measure stems from the effort that began last session when the Legislature created the Behavioral Health Commission on Adult Mental Health. The 24 members — from the behavioral health field, state agencies and a variety of communities — were told to determine how to divvy up federal funds designated for such uses.

The largest chunk of funds, $34 million, would go toward workforce development and retention in the behavioral health field, which would include training, paid internships, loan repayment and tuition assistance.

About $32 million would address criminal justice and public safety programs through grants administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Sponsors said it would help reduce recidivism.

Additional funds would pay for supporting suicide prevention programs, integrating behavioral health with physical health in primary care practices, developing peer-led mental health and substance use services and developing grants for technology and training for telehealth providers.

Other bills eyeing mental health also are in the pipeline, including legislation to support children’s mental health in schools, ongoing funding for the suicide prevention hotline 988, plus funding for counties’ services.

A top priority for counties is securing more state aid for the safety-net mental health services that they administer. They say there aren’t enough beds or counselors for people who need help after demand spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A spokesman for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania said it supports the legislation, even though the money is not helping fund the county-run services. For those services, counties are seeking an additional $150 million — an almost 60% increase — while Shapiro’s budget proposal included just $20 million more.

<!–>

–>

The use of handheld cellphones while driving a car will be outlawed in Michigan under legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that will take effect on June 30.

The new law will expand Michigan’s ban on texting and driving to apply to all handheld cellphone use while operating a motor vehicle, including making calls or scrolling social media. Motorists will still be able to use hands-free devices.

‘We need to remove distractions and make our roads safer for everyone who’s using them,’ Whitmer said at a bill signing in Plymouth. ‘Each traffic death is more than just a statistic. It’s a human being.’

Over half of all states currently have bans on handheld devices for all drivers. Data released earlier this year by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that in 2021 there was a 12% rise in fatal crashes involving at least one distracted driver, with 3,522 people killed.

Penalties for distracted driving will also increase. A first offense could cost drivers $100 and/or 16 hours of community service and then $250 for each subsequent offense and/or 24 hours of community service.

If a driver accumulates three or more violations within three years, a court could require that a driving improvement course be taken.

Law enforcement, first responders and other public emergency workers will still be allowed to use a cellphone while performing official duties. Anyone calling or texting 911 or other emergency services will also be exempt from the law.

The new law will take effect during the most dangerous time of the year to be on the road, the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Whitmer said.

Multiple individuals who have lost family members to distracted driving crashes joined Michigan lawmakers at the bill signing. Steve Kiefer, a retired General Motors executive whose son, Mitchel, was killed in a 2016 distracted driving crash, said that while ‘we can’t bring our loved ones back, this legislation will help save hopefully all of your loved ones.’

<!–>

–>

A man accused of aiding a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor pleaded guilty Wednesday, the ninth conviction in state and federal courts since agents broke up an astonishing scheme by anti-government rebels in 2020.

Shawn Fix said he provided material support for an act of terrorism, namely the strategy to snatch Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home in Antrim County. Prosecutors agreed to drop a weapon charge.

Fix trained with a militia, the Wolverine Watchmen, for ‘politically motivated violence,’ prosecutors have said, and hosted a five-hour meeting at his Belleville home where there was much discussion about kidnapping Whitmer.

Fix, 40, acknowledged helping plot leader Adam Fox pinpoint the location of Whitmer’s home, key information that was used for a 2020 ride to find the property in northern Michigan.

‘Guilty,’ Fix told the judge.

He appeared in an Antrim County court, one of five people charged in that leg of the investigation. A co-defendant pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in March, leaving three other men to face trial in August.

Fix, who faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, agreed to testify if called by prosecutors.

The main kidnapping conspiracy case was handled in federal court, where four men, including ringleaders Fox and Barry Croft Jr., were convicted. Two others were acquitted.

Separately, three men were convicted at trial in Jackson County, the site of militia training, and are serving long prison terms.

Whitmer, a Democrat, was targeted as part of a broad effort by anti-government extremists to trigger a civil war around the time of the 2020 presidential election, investigators said. Her COVID-19 policies, which shut down schools and restricted the economy, were deeply scorned by foes.

But informants and undercover FBI agents were inside the group for months, leading to arrests in October 2020. Whitmer was not physically harmed.

After the plot was thwarted, Whitmer blamed then-President Donald Trump, saying he had given ‘comfort to those who spread fear and hatred and division.’ Last August, after 19 months out of office, Trump called the kidnapping plan a ‘fake deal.’

<!–>

–>