The White House News

The White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) quietly deleted a webpage tracking how much official time federal employees spend working on labor union tasks.

The OPM, which oversees federal employment and recruiting, removed both the webpage and reports assembled over the past two decades analyzing how much taxpayer money is spent funding union activities. Additionally, OPM appears to have stopped assembling official time reports, which have historically been published every few years during the past four presidential administrations since 1998.

“If federal employees are going to be legally permitted to engage in union work while on-the-clock, the very least taxpayers are owed is an accurate accounting of the associated costs,” Maxford Nelson, the director of research and government affairs at free market think tank Freedom Foundation, told Fox News Digital. 

“While the past four presidential administrations — two Democrat and two Republican — have documented and reported on the scope and cost of taxpayer-funded union time across the federal workforce every 1-2 years, the Biden administration has yet to do so even once,” he added. “Were a new analysis to be conducted, it would almost certainly show that more federal employees are spending more of their workday than ever away from their posts working on union business.” 

REPUBLICANS WARN BIDEN ADMIN’S FOREIGN FARM WORKER RULE IS ‘GIVEAWAY TO BIG LABOR’

The most recent OPM analysis of official time use was conducted in 2019 under the Trump administration. The report showed that federal employees with taxpayer-funded salaries spent 2.6 million hours working on union chores, costing American taxpayers about $135 million.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, an OPM spokesperson said the webpage and past official time reports were deleted as part of a website reconfiguration. However, the spokesperson failed to say when or if the site would be restored, and it remains unclear if any other webpages were impacted by the apparent months-long reorganization. 

BIDEN USES TRUMP’S OWN WORDS AGAINST HIM IN BID TO RECAPTURE THIS MAJOR VOTING BLOCK FOR DEMS IN 2024

“The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 provides official time to federal employees to conduct certain union activities in recognition that unions have a statutory obligation to represent all bargaining unit members, regardless if they pay dues,” an OPM spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

“Previous reports on official time are not currently available because OPM is reorganizing our website to improve navigation and customer experience.”

Meanwhile, the amount of time devoted to union tasks on federal taxpayer-funded salaries has likely experienced a sharp increase since President Biden took office. In May 2018, former President Trump issued an executive order limiting the amount of official time that could be used across the federal workforce to the extent permitted by law, an action Biden immediately repealed upon taking office in January 2021. 

And the Biden administration has broadly made promoting greater union membership a top priority. The White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment announced in March that OPM’s efforts to increase the number of federal workers in a labor union have led to an additional 80,000 workers unionizing since 2021, a 20% increase.

“Unfortunately, the Biden administration not only reversed Trump-era rules designed to minimize taxpayer-funded union time, but appears to be actively working to prevent the public from easily accessing past government research documenting how much time federal employees spend working for a union and what that lost time costs taxpayers,” Nelson told Fox News Digital.

“Instead, the Biden administration is spotlighting and celebrating its efforts to get more federal employees to join unions and to give these private special interest groups even more control over the already sclerotic federal bureaucracy. This administration’s contempt for taxpayers is palpable.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced this week that it arrested an illegal immigrant Brazilian fugitive wanted in his home country for failing to serve a prison sentence for raping a 5-year-old child in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

ICE said the Brazilian, identified as 37-year-old Saulo Cardona Ferreira, had received “multiple criminal convictions” in Brazil in 2019 for raping the child and had been sentenced to 14 years in prison, but he had fled the country. The town of Sorriso, Mato Grosso, had issued a warrant for his arrest.

The agency said that at an unknown time and place, he entered the U.S. illegally, meaning he evaded Border Patrol as a “gotaway.”

DENVER SPENDS MILLIONS ON TRANSPORTING MIGRANTS TO OTHER PARTS OF US

He was apprehended by ICE’s Fugitive Operations Team in the Massachusetts vacation spot during a vehicle stop. A spokesperson said that after being alerted via a law enforcement data review to his potential presence in the area in September, ICE began an investigation and apprehended him near his address on Nov. 14.

He is now in custody awaiting a court appearance before an immigration judge.

“This undocumented Brazilian national represented a significant threat to the inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons said in a statement. 

MASSACHUSETTS GOV. HEALEY WARNS MIGRANTS ARE PUSHING STATE’S SHELTER SYSTEM TO CAPACITY 

“He sexually assaulted a five-year-old child in his homeland and then ran from authorities when held accountable for his actions. ERO Boston will not allow such predators to threaten our residents. We will continue to apprehend and remove anyone who attempts to use our New England community as a refuge from justice,” he said.

ICE said that in FY 2022, it arrested 46,396 illegal immigrants with criminal histories, which included 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses.

Martha’s Vineyard was at the center of migration-related controversy last year when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew dozens of migrants to the liberal vacation destination. However, there appears to be no connection between those flights and Cardoso Ferreira — who likely arrived years earlier.

The arrest comes as the U.S. remains in the throes of a historic crisis at the southern border. There were more than 249,000 migrant encounters in October after a historic 2.4 million seen in FY 23. Cities have declared themselves overwhelmed, with Massachusetts officials also calling for more federal help as they face what they say is a “federal problem.”

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed recently that there were more than 600,000 gotaways in FY 23, and Fox News reported that there have been more than 1,000 a day since the new fiscal year began in October.

A social media firestorm erupted over President Biden’s fiery birthday cake that was lit with 81 candles.

Biden continued making history Monday, marking another year as the oldest sitting American president at the age of 81.

A photo was posted on the president’s X account featuring his flaming treat that was immediately burned by social media users for its “carbon emissions” and being a “fire hazard” given the amount of candles.

“As Biden celebrates his birthday —America represents the cake. Regardless of whether you are Republican, Democrat or Independent we are all feeling the heat from Biden’s failed policies,” commentator Mehek Cooke posted. 

BIDEN’S BIRTHDAY BLUES: WHITE HOUSE APPEARS TO DOWNPLAY SPECIAL DAY, CRITICS SAY AGE IS MORE THAN A NUMBER

“Joe Biden is so old, his birthday cake is a fire hazard,” conservative communicator Steve Guest wrote alongside the viral image.

“Joe Biden pictured with inflation,” Stephen L. Miller joked. 

TRUMP MEDICAL REPORT RELEASED AS BIDEN FACES CONCERNS OVER AGE, HEALTH

“There’s a portal to hell on a plate in front of him” said radio host Dana Loesch.

“The candles on President Biden’s birthday cake seemed to cast more light than his policies and leadership have over the past 3 years. America is in desperate need of clear, strong leadership, not the diminishing approach we’ve been witnessing,” one individual wrote.

“Anybody tracking the carbon emissions from Biden’s birthday cake?” said Larry O’Connor.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I thought this was a parody account at first glance. That pic wasn’t the best idea,” another social media user said.

“TONIGHT: Biden has bonfire in the White House to celebrate his 81st birthday,” an account belonging to the Republican National Committee posted on X.

“Is there anything he doesn’t set on fire?” Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe posted on X.

Biden’s birthday comes amid increased concerns over the president’s age and whether he will be able to complete another full term if re-elected in 2024. The age concerns come at the same time multiple polls have shown Biden trailing former President Trump in a head-to-head matchup, with many voters expressing the opinion that Biden’s age is a factor.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

U.S. automaker Ford Motor Company is dramatically scaling back an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant under construction in Michigan as its EV business continues to lose billions of dollars.

In an announcement Tuesday, Ford said it would resume the Marshall, Michigan, project, but reduce its scope by more than 40% and the number of jobs it is projected to create by more than 30%. Ford, which has struggled to make a profit from its ongoing shift to EVs as sales decline and costs soar, added that it remained confident in the future viability of its EV business.

“While we remain bullish on our long-term strategy for electric vehicles, we are re-timing and resizing some investments,” Ford said in a statement Tuesday. “As stated previously, we have been evaluating BlueOval Battery Park Michigan in Marshall.”

“We are pleased to confirm we are moving ahead with the Marshall project, consistent with the Ford+ plan for growth and value creation,” it continued. “However, we are right-sizing as we balance investment, growth, and profitability. The facility will now create more than 1,700 good-paying American jobs to produce a planned capacity of approximately 20 GWh.”

NEW REPORT UNMASKS TRUE COSTS OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATES: ‘REMAIN MORE EXPENSIVE’

The automaker added that the facility is still expected to be Ford’s first battery plant of its kind to enter operations when it is scheduled to open in 2026. The plant will, once it is operational, manufacture lithium iron phosphate batteries common in EVs.

Ford’s decision to decrease the size of the factory comes less than a year after it first announced the project alongside Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Ford pledged in February to invest $3.5 billion in the factory, create 2,500 “good-paying jobs” and have a gigawatt capacity of 35 gigawatt hours.

BEIJING-BACKED GREEN ENERGY FIRM IS EXPANDING IN US, POSING SERIOUS NATIONAL SECURITY RISK: REPORT

“Today’s generational investment by an iconic American company will uplift local families, small businesses, and the entire community and help our state continue leading the future of mobility and electrification,” Whitmer said at the time. “Let’s continue bringing the supply chain of electric vehicles, chips and batteries home while creating thousands of good-paying jobs and revitalizing every region of our state.”

The Whitmer administration also agreed to help fund the project with nearly $2 billion in direct subsidies and tax breaks. It is unclear if the state will lower its subsidy levels for the project in light of Tuesday’s announcement. Whitmer’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.

“The bad deal the governor and Democrats negotiated for Michigan taxpayers just got a whole lot worse,” Michigan state House Republican Leader Matt Hall said in a statement. “Even with Democrats’ premature push for electric vehicles and $1.8 billion in state incentives, Ford is cutting back the project and slashing job creation because most people just won’t buy unaffordable, inconvenient EVs.”

“Gov. Whitmer was desperate to land a Ford plant after losing out to more economically competitive states, so she rammed through an expensive deal to get a handful of low-wage jobs,” he added. 

“This deal was a disaster from the start, and now Ford is cutting job plans by 32%. If the original proposal misrepresented Ford’s plans, the hundreds of millions of dollars tied to job creation should be revoked under the contract. The governor must right-size state funding and ensure taxpayers aren’t left on the hook for her failure.”

HOUSE CCP PANEL PROBES BIDEN ADMIN OVER CHINESE GREEN ENERGY PROJECT ON US SOIL

Ford projected earlier this year that its EV division was projected to lose a staggering $4.5 billion in 2023 alone despite higher revenues. And last month, the company reported a loss of $1.3 billion in its EV division during the third quarter, the period between July and September, which amounts to a $62,016 loss per EV sold in that time span.

The company’s announcement Tuesday further represents a blow to President Biden’s green energy agenda, which includes policies to promote the rapid growth of the EV industry. Biden has set the goal of ensuring half of all U.S. car purchases are zero-carbon by 2030 and his administration has taken action restricting future gas-powered vehicle sales.

And Ford has also received widespread criticism and congressional scrutiny over its Marshall battery factory.

Ford said when it unveiled the project in February that it had reached an agreement with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), a Ningde, China-based firm, to manufacture its battery cells at the plant using services provided by the Chinese company. Republicans and national security experts have blasted the company for teaming up with CATL, citing the firm’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

CCP-TIED ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMPANY AWARDED MORE THAN $500 MILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY FOR SECOND US PLANT

Although it is not state-owned, Chinese investors tied to the CCP have held financial stakes in CATL, according to a New York Times review. The Chinese government has also taken strategic steps over the last decade to bolster CATL and other electric vehicle industry companies based in China. 

In addition, Zeng Yuqun, who founded CATL in 2012 and remains its top executive, was identified last year as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee. According to a U.S. government report published in 2018, the CPPCC is a “critical coordinating body” that brings together representatives of Chinese interest groups and is led by the CCP’s Politburo Standing Committee.

The CPPCC highlighted Yuqun’s work with CATL fortifying China’s lithium supply chains, which are crucial for electric vehicle production and other green energy development.

In September, a group of House Republicans – led by Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith, R-Va. – wrote to Ford CEO Jim Farley, expressing concern over the proposed plant.

“While Ford has labeled this project a ‘commitment to American manufacturing’ and asserts it will create 2,500 new American jobs, we are concerned that Ford’s partnership with a Chinese company could aid China’s efforts to expand its control over United States electric vehicle supply chains and jeopardize national security by furthering dependence on China,” they stated in their letter.

“Should China gain control of domestic electric vehicle production, the United States would be exposed to serious national security risks at a time of escalating geopolitical tensions.”

GOP leaders on the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party have raised concerns about the project in separate inquiries to Ford.

A Missouri judge is expected to decide this week if voters in the state will be required to present photo identification in order to cast their ballots in upcoming 2024 elections. 

In October 2022, Cole County Presiding Judge Jon Beetem had already rejected a lawsuit brought by the Missouri League of Women Voters, NAACP and two voters challenging a law passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature making it mandatory that voters show photo identification to cast a regular ballot. Under the 2022 law, people within a valid government-issued photo ID are still able to submit provisional ballots, which will be counted if they return later that day with a photo ID or if election officials verify their signatures.

However, a third voter has since joined the lawsuit, and Beetem is presiding over a trial on the matter that began last week and is expected to continue until Wednesday. 

Last year, Beetem ruled that neither of the first two voters “alleged a specific, concrete, non-speculative injury or legally protectable interest in challenging the photo ID requirement,” FOX 2 St. Louis reported. The new, third plaintiff is John O’Connor, a 90-year-old man from Columbia, Missouri, with poor vision and trouble walking. 

According to the Missouri ACLU and Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, which added O’Conner to the litigation against the state, the elderly resident had an expired passport and driver’s license when the law took effect last year. The lawsuit says O’Conner, who was born in New York and had trouble locating his birth certificate, later secured a non-driver’s license with his wife’s help. However, that was only because officials accepted his expired driver’s license, going against guidance from the state Revenue Department that long-expired licenses are not permissable records to use when seeking new IDs, according to ABC News. 

MISSOURI’S VOTER ID LAW IS BACK IN COURT. HERE’S A LOOK AT WHAT IT DOES

Republican Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office is defending the law at trial. 

“I will always fight to maintain Missouri’s accessible, secure and creditable elections. Regarding this case – every person has been able to vote – no one has been denied a ballot because they didn’t have an ID,” Ashcroft said in a statement. “As specified in statute, my office will help get an ID for anyone who needs one to vote. Furthermore, if someone does not have an ID on Election Day, if they are registered, they can still vote.” 

“Missouri has passed voter ID three times to protect our elections and I keep getting sued to stop the law. Today we are back in court defending voter integrity,” Ashcroft added on X Monday. The state legislature previously passed laws in 2006 and again in 2020 to require voters to present photo ID but both those measures were struck down in court. 

Republicans said the goal of the 2022 law was to deter voter fraud, but the plaintiffs in the case argue the legislation places unconstitutional hurdles on voting, suppressing turnout. 

During opening arguments Friday, Assistant Attorney General Peter Donohue defended the 2022 legislation as a “common-sense law designed to uphold that sacred right” to vote. Claiming the burdens are minimal and that the benefits are substantial, he added that Missouri will issue an identification card for a voter who needs one at no cost and help them obtain the documents. 

WIDESPREAD SUPPORT FOR VOTER ID AND MAKING EARLY VOTING EASIER: NATIONAL POLL

“Protecting the integrity of elections is absolutely a compelling governmental interest,” Donohue said.

Rutgers University political science professor Lorraine Minnite testified Monday that she concluded “instances of voter fraud nationally and in Missouri is exceedingly rare.” 

Another expert witness for the Missouri NAACP and the League of Women Voters, Kenneth Mayer, a political scientist from the University of Wisconsin, testified that about 175,000 votes cast in St. Louis County – or 8.4% of the total – between 2018 and 2022 were cast by people who did not have a Missouri-issued driver’s license, nondriver identification or a federally issued ID with their birth date, The Missouri Independent reported. Those figures were slightly higher in Jackson County, Mayer said, and nearly double in Boone County. 

Denise Lieberman, director of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, told FOX 2 that more than 137,000 valid Missouri registered voters do not have any Missouri ID on file with the Missouri Department of Revenue. Additionally, an additional 140,000 have an expired form of ID that would not be eligible to allow them to vote, she said. 

Before the 2022 midterm elections, it was acceptable for Missourians to present a voter registration card, a student identification card, a bank statement or utility bill or a valid out-of-state driver’s license to cast their ballots in the state. Mayer testified that overall turnout for 2022 was about 20% lower than the presidential year of 2020, but the number of provisional ballots cast was four times higher. “Voters frequently misunderstand the kind of ID that is required,” he claimed. 

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, led a group of GOP lawmakers who raised the alarm in a letter Tuesday claiming the Biden administration’s Department of Energy “suddenly” reassigned a director in the department. 

The letter, sent to DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm, states that on October 17, Steven Black, the director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (DOE-IN), was abruptly reassigned to a “Senior Advisor” role within the energy department without explanation.

“We are also aware that a study conducted by an outside contractor, which the Department has had in its possession since April, outlines disturbing findings as to the state of counterintelligence across the Department, to include the national laboratories,” Risch wrote. 

“As you are well aware, the Department of Energy and the research it supports, especially at the national laboratories, is among the most important national security work undertaken by this country,” the letter continued. “The findings in the contractor study, which Congress requested, are deeply concerning.”

BIDEN INVOKES WARTIME POWERS TO FUND ELECTRIC HEATERS AS HE CRACKS DOWN ON GAS APPLIANCES

The letter – which was signed by Republican Sens. John Barrasso, Marco Rubio, Steve Daines, Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy, Tom Cotton, Jerry Moran, John Cornyn, and James Lankford – said if Black presided over the DOE-IN during a time when there were “serious shortcomings with regard to counterintelligence,” then Black shouldn’t be in any office with national security assignments. 

Barrasso is a ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources committee and Rubio is the Committee on Intelligence’s vice chairman.

HOUSE GOP DEMANDS BIDEN ADMIN REVEAL IMPACTS OF WAR ON APPLIANCES: ‘BURDENSOME REGULATIONS’

The senators are requesting answers regarding why Black was abruptly reassigned after 11 years, whether the contractor study influenced this decision and seeking clarity on his new role within the department. 

It also seeks information about when the department received the study in April and its stance on the conclusions. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Energy for comment.

BIDEN ADMIN ISSUES ECO REGULATIONS IMPACTING AIR CONDITIONERS, REFRIGERATORS

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., on Monday became the second Senate Democrat to urge a cease-fire in Israel’s war against the terrorist group Hamas.

“I am calling for a ceasefire — a cessation of hostilities by both sides,” Merkley posted on X. “To endure, the ceasefire and the following negotiations must accomplish other essential objectives, including the release of all hostages and a massive influx of humanitarian aid.”

Merkley joins the number two ranking Senate Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and several far-left House lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who have each called for a cease-fire in Gaza.

Durbin said earlier this month that both sides must agree to any cessation of hostilities and that Hamas must release every hostage taken captive in the Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel. More than 1,200 Israelis were massacred on that day when Hamas terrorists infiltrated the country from Gaza and indiscriminately tortured, raped and murdered innocents. Some 240 people were taken hostage back to Gaza. 

ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE DEAL WITH HOSTAGE RELEASE IS IN FINAL STAGES

Israel responded to the attacks by declaring war on Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces has since bombarded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and conducted ground operations to free hostages, wipe out the terrorists and erase their capability to attack Israel.

Thousands of Palestinian civilians have been caught in the crossfire. Israel and U.S. officials say Hamas hides terrorist military targets behind civilian infrastructure including homes, schools and hospitals. The Hamas-led health ministry in Gaza claims more than 12,700 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, but Hamas does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, and those numbers cannot be independently verified.

With casualty numbers rising, United Nations officials have declared a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and world leaders have demanded an immediate cease-fire. Israel, with support from President Biden, has so far refused these demands, insisting that an end to hostilities would be surrender to Hamas. 

In a statement released on Medium, Merkley condemned Israeli “de facto annexation” of Palestinian territory and said that while he supports the Jewish state’s right to self-defense, he is “deeply disturbed” by how Israel has conducted the campaign since Oct. 7. 

STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS ‘TRANSITION PERIOD’ MUST FOLLOW ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

“Israel has unleashed a bombing campaign on Gaza of phenomenal ferocity. Israel defends this campaign as necessary to strike Hamas wherever necessary. But the impression the world has been left with is one of indiscriminate bombing,” Merkley said.

“Air strikes have leveled much of Gaza City and hit crowded refugee camps, schools, hospitals, and even shelters operated by the United Nations,” he continued. “The result is mass carnage.” 

Comparing Israeli actions to “massive mistakes” made by America after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Merkley warned that Israel is losing international support and said weeks of cease-fire are needed to evacuate Palestinian civilians, deliver humanitarian aid and allow foreign citizens who wish to leave the territory an opportunity to do so. 

“Hamas must release all the hostages without conditions and lay down their arms. And Hamas, which continues to defend the savage slaughter of Israeli citizens on October 7th and advocate for the obliteration of Israel, has to go. It can no longer have operational control of Gaza,” Merkley said. 

LIVE UPDATES ON THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Meanwhile, negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a potential cease-fire and hostage release deal are in their final stages, sources tell Fox News.

The deal could include a potential hostage release as well as a temporary end to fighting to get humanitarian aid into the region. Israel’s war cabinet was scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. ET to discuss a possible deal.

“It does appear the final details are being discussed toward a cease-fire that would end fighting in Gaza for up to five days and include the release of some hostages,” Fox News’ Trey Yingst reported from Israel Tuesday afternoon.

“We understand, according to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, that a deal is approaching,” Yingst reported. “Reports indicate it would include the release of dozens of Israeli and foreign citizen hostages. The hostages are expected to be only women and children and would be exchanged for [Palestinian] prisoners being held in Israel.”

Mark Regev, the senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed Tuesday that any cease-fire would be temporary. 

Fox News Digital’s Lawrence Richard and Fox News’ Trey Yingst contributed to this report.