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Concord, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire lawmakers started the new year with old business Wednesday, taking up hundreds of bills left over from 2023. But they also looked ahead to the rest of 2024, with some Democrats demanding action on gun control and Republicans describing an agenda focused on the economy, public safety and other priorities.

Republicans hold a 14-10 majority in the Senate. But the GOP advantage in the House remains slim enough that like last year, Democrats could outnumber Republicans on any given day depending on attendance. Currently, there are 198 Republicans, 194 Democrats, three independents and four vacancies.

SUNUNU TELLS CHRISTIE HE CAN ‘BE THE HERO,’ HELP NIKKI HALEY BEAT TRUMP IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Before their sessions began, Democrats from both chambers held an outdoor news conference to outline a package of bills aimed at preventing gun violence. After the fatal shooting of a New Hampshire Hospital security officer in November, Republicans agreed to work with Democrats on a bill that would ensure that those who are involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals cannot purchase or possess firearms until it is determined that they are no longer a danger to themselves or others. But Democrats want to go further with legislation related to background checks, extreme risk protection orders, imposing waiting periods before gun sales and establishing a voluntary waiver of the right to purchase weapons.

“There are those in Concord in the building behind us who say that New Hampshire doesn’t have a gun problem, that we’re the safest state in the nation. And even that we’re lucky to live in a state that just happens to have some of the weakest gun laws in the country,” said Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth. “What I say to that is, tell that to the victims and their families. While no series of laws can ever completely stop gun violence and suicides, there are simple, sensible ways we can reduce the level of risk.”

At a separate news conference, Senate Republicans said their focus is maintaining the “New Hampshire advantage,” GOP shorthand for low taxes and a prosperous economy.

“It is vitally important, in my opinion and in all of our opinion, that we protect hard-working men and women from higher taxes, allow small businesses to thrive and maintain our really – compared to other states – good economic status,” said Senate President Jeb Bradley.

Beyond that, Republicans will focus on public safety – including bail reform, protecting the northern border and increasing penalties for drug trafficking and other crimes, said Sen. Sharon Carson. “Empowering parents,” expanding school choice, improving access to mental health treatment and protecting New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary also will be priorities, she said.

The House, meanwhile, voted Wednesday to move the state primary from September to August to lengthen what is one of the nation’s shortest general election windows. Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed a similar bill in 2021.

The Puerto Rico governor’s office must stop using the slogan “Making things happen” to promote the administration’s work because it looks like election campaigning, election officials said Wednesday.

PUERTO RICO’S OPPOSITION TO HOLD GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY AS RACE HEATS UP

The phrase can no longer appear on ads launched with public money by the administration of Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, who is seeking a second term in an election this year. The opposition Popular Democratic Party has challenged the administration’s use of the phrase.

Walter Vélez, who oversees the election comptroller’s office, told reporters that the slogan could allude to achievements and goals, both of which are barred under laws restricting the use of public funds for election-related advertising.

Sheila Angleró, a spokeswoman for Pierluisi, said the governor’s office is evaluating the decision.

A lawsuit filed in October last year by the Popular Democratic Party alleges that more than $3 million in public funds have been used to promote the slogan, and the case is pending in court.

Jesús Manuel Ortiz, the party’s president, said in a statement that it’s regrettable the slogan wasn’t struck down until this year, adding that the funds should not be used “to develop campaigns to highlight anyone’s image.”

Senators who are trying to strike a deal on a border security bill with the White House returned to in-person talks Tuesday and resumed Wednesday afternoon, but it’s unlikely a deal will be reached in the upcoming week. 

Last month, the Senate canceled part of its holiday recess – per the order of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. – to continue negotiations. But officials were unable to reach an agreement, so they left town and met a few times virtually, according to a source familiar with the talks. 

Lead Senate negotiators James Lankford, R-Okla., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., began negotiations with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other Biden officials a week before the upper chamber was scheduled to go on its holiday recess.

“We continue to move forward, not backward,” Murphy told reporters on Friday. “We don’t yet have a final agreement. And I think the nature of this agreement is going to be so complicated that we’re not going to know whether we have the votes until we bring it back to our caucuses.”

MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER HIT RECORD 302K IN DECEMBER, SOURCES SAY 

Last month, Lankford said in a statement that “significant progress has been made, but there is still no final agreement, much less legislative text.” 

“It is clear there are multiple unresolved issues that will take weeks to resolve rather than hours,” he added.

Meanwhile, 60 House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., ended their holiday break early to visit Eagle Pass, Texas, on the southern border Wednesday.

House Republicans have vowed that even if a deal in the upper chamber is struck, it won’t receive support from the GOP-controlled House unless it includes elements of H.R. 2, or the Secure the Border Act. One of the policies in the resolution would impose stricter standards for asylum eligibility. 

The Senate will return to session on Monday, but it’s unlikely there will be an agreement upon return. Plus, 15 GOP lawmakers sent a letter to Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso, of Wyoming, requesting a conference meeting next week to discuss the ongoing negotiations, which they have claimed are clouded by secrecy.

CHIP ROY ON SKIPPING GOP BORDER VISIT: REPUBLICANS NEED TO ‘PUT UP OR SHUT UP’ 

“Rushed and secret negotiations with Democrats who want an open border and who caused the current crisis will not secure the border. The American public deserves an open and transparent process,” the senators wrote last month.

Republicans tied the condition of increased aid to Ukraine to the implementation of stricter border security measures in the national supplemental security request prior to the holiday recess. However, the demand for this linkage, which encompasses aid to Israel and Taiwan alongside Ukraine, arose soon after President Biden urged its passage in October. 

Murphy said he opposes this approach.

DEMOCRAT SENATOR SOUNDS ALARM ON ‘CRISIS’ AT SOUTHERN BORDER, URGES NEGOTIATORS TO STRIKE A DEAL

“I’ve worried from the beginning, that tying immigration to Ukraine was a recipe for failure,” he told reporters last week. 

The total amount of supplemental aid the White House first requested in October amounts to roughly $106 billion and includes $14 billion to assist Israel. Biden urged Congress to take swift action on the package, and Ukraine President Volodymr Zelenskyy made a final plea in December to both chambers in private meetings.

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The White House has sent more than $100 billion to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. Biden announced the administration would send $250 million in additional military aid to the Eastern European nation last week.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. 

A Utah House member has announced his decision to enter the race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, three months after he told residents in the state that he had “decided to stay out of the U.S. Senate race” to focus on unfinished business for his constituents.

Utah Rep. John Curtis, a Republican who previously sought election to the state Senate as a Democrat in 2000, announced his campaign to a local TV station Tuesday.

Curtis, who has represented Utah’s Third District in the House since 2017, told KSL-TV that he believes he can take the work he’s doing in the House and continue to build on it with a bigger platform in the Senate.

“I think part of my ‘aha’ moment was I can do all of those and actually have a bigger platform and accomplish more,” said Curtis, the former mayor of Provo, Utah, who also served as a county-level Democratic Party official at one time.

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The decision from Curtis, who had considered entering the race in September, came after the lawmaker said in an October op-ed that he had decided against making a run for the Senate, citing his “commitment to the residents of the 3rd District.”

“We’ve accomplished a lot but my work for them is not done. I believe we need elected leaders who are more concerned about doing their job than getting the next job. To walk away now would leave a commitment unfilled. I want to finish the job,” he said at the time.

On Tuesday, however, Curtis had a change of heart and said people had asked him to reconsider his decision not to run.

“The second I made the announcement that I was not going to run, I started to have people reach out to me asking me to reconsider,” Curtis told the TV station. “The very people who [I] had made that commitment to were a lot of those voices who said, you can actually serve us better in the Senate than you can in the House. And so without that, I don’t think I could have changed my mind.”

“I actually carry my seniority with me from the House to the Senate, so I won’t start as number 100. I think that’s very important for the state,” he added. “I also bring that experience of how to pass legislation. … I bring that, and then I also bring a Utah focus. People know that I’m not the guy who wakes up and tries to get on TV at night. I wake up and say, ‘What can I do for the district?’ And I think people have really appreciated that.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Curtis’ campaign said that the lawmaker “cares deeply about the future of Utah which is why he is running for the U.S. Senate.”

“After many Utahns from across the state reached out and urged him to run, John decided it was the right thing to do,” the spokesperson added. “He has a proven conservative track record of getting things done for Utahns and will continue to work hard every day to help make the state an even better place.”

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Curtis’ decision comes after Romney announced in September he would not be seeking reelection to the upper chamber in 2024. In announcing his decision, Romney declared he’s not “retiring from the fight,” and he bashed both President Biden and former President Donald Trump while calling for “a new generation of leaders.”

Curtis now joins a growing field of Republicans seeking to replace Romney.

Former Utah state House Speaker Brad Wilson, Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, Roosevelt Mayor Rod Bird Jr., former GOP Sen. Mike Lee’s staffer Carolyn Phippen, and a handful of others announced their campaigns for the open Senate seat last year. Brent Orrin Hatch – one of six children of the late Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch – also announced his candidacy Tuesday.

Curtis told the Salt Lake Tribune that his decision to join the crowded field of candidates came after he had “personal conversations” with a handful of U.S. senators who also encouraged him to enter the race.

Citing “multiple sources,” the Tribune reported that “Romney was one of those senators who lobbied him to join the race.”

Asked about the Tribune’s report, Liz Johnson, Romney’s chief of staff, told Fox News Digital that the senator is “staying out of the race.”

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“Utah is fortunate to have several candidates who are interested in serving in the Senate, and Senator Romney appreciates their willingness to serve. He is staying out of the race,” she said.

Curtis’ campaign did not specifically say whether Curtis had received support from Romney, but told Fox News Digital that the “congressman has received encouragement from many elected officials.”

“Most of those would like to stay personal and private,” the campaign spokesperson added.

Republicans carry a substantial advantage in Utah, outnumbering Democrats by a more than 3-to-1 margin.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A U.S.-led coalition of 13 countries issued a warning to Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Wednesday, vowing consequences should the group continue attacks in the Red Sea.

The U.S. was joined by the U.K., Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands and New Zealand in Wednesday’s statement. The nations said that the destabilization of trade throughout the Red Sea is “unacceptable” and vowed consequences.

“Ongoing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilizing. There is no lawful justification for intentionally targeting civilian shipping and naval vessels. Attacks on vessels, including commercial vessels, using unmanned aerial vehicles, small boats, and missiles, including the first use of anti-ship ballistic missiles against such vessels, are a direct threat to the freedom of navigation that serves as the bedrock of global trade in one of the world’s most critical waterways,” the nations wrote.

“Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews. The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways. We remain committed to the international rules-based order and are determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks,” the statement continued.

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There have been roughly two dozen attacks on international shipping by the Houthis since Oct. 19. The Houthis say their attacks are aimed at Israel-linked ships to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

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The Houthis have launched missiles at numerous ships in recent weeks and struck a Maersk container vessel on Saturday.

Last month, the U.S. announced the formation of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an international initiative to protect commercial ships traveling through the Red Sea. Since then, approximately 1,200 merchant ships have traveled through the region, and none had been hit by drone or missile strikes until Saturday.

Currently, there are five warships from the U.S., France and the U.K. patrolling the waters of the southern Red Sea and the western Gulf of Aden. The ships have so far shot down a total of 17 drones and four anti-ship ballistic missiles.

Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called out Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday, labeling his migrant busing policy “a remarkable failure of governance.” 

Mayorkas, who faces impeachment proceedings in the House for his handling of the illegal immigration crisis, blamed Abbott, a Republican, for failing to cooperate with officials in Democrat-led cities that have been overwhelmed by migrant arrivals. 

“Let me identify one fundamental problem here, and that is the fact that we have one governor in the state of Texas who is refusing to cooperate with other governors and other local officials,” Mayorkas said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Emphasizing the need for the country to “stand united” on immigration, Mayorkas said, “it’s a remarkable failure of governance to refuse to cooperate with one’s fellow local and state officials.” 

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Abbot began bussing migrants to New York City and other sanctuary jurisdictions last year in protest of the Biden administration’s border policies. Abbott’s office has said it has sent around 27,000 migrants to New York City since then and has done so to relieve pressure on besieged border communities.

The illegal immigration crisis — which broke a record in December with over 300,000 encounters at the border in a single month — has put a strain on Democrat-led cities that lack the resources to house them. New York and Chicago have attempted to unload migrants in surrounding suburban neighborhoods, which in turn have complained that they cannot house them and threatened to send migrant buses back to the Texas-Mexico border. 

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams said last week his city is at a “breaking point” after 161.000 migrants have arrived since spring 2022, including those who have arrived on their own. The mayor issued an executive order restricting when and where buses may drop off migrants, but a “loophole” in the city’s order was reportedly found after migrants were delivered to train stations in New Jersey, from which they departed for the Big Apple. 

“We’re dealing with a bully right now, and everything is on the table that conforms with the law,” Adams said of Abbott on Tuesday. 

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Mayorkas told MSNBC that federal teams have been dispatched to Chicago, Denver and New York to assist in managing migrant arrivals and ensure that migrants eligible to work receive their work authorization as quickly as possible. 

“We’ve also successfully sought some funding from Congress to assist cities, and in our supplemental budget request we’ve requested additional funding for that purpose,” Mayorkas said. 

House Republicans have blamed Mayorkas as the border crisis has worsened under his leadership. The Homeland Security Committee will hold its first impeachment hearing into the secretary on Jan. 10 as Republicans accuse Mayorkas of refusing to enforce immigration laws.

Mayorkas said he will “certainly” cooperate with the committee’s investigation and “continue to do my work as well.” 

Fox News Digital’s Timothy H.J. Nerozzi, Anders Hagstrom, Houston Keene and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.