Politics

(WASHINGTON) — James Biden, the president’s younger brother, told lawmakers at a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday that the president “has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest” in his family’s business ventures — a key point Republicans are disputing in their ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

James Biden appeared before the GOP-controlled panel that said it has gathered scores of bank records and witness testimony as part of its effort to further an unproven theory that President Biden improperly supported and benefitted from his family’s overseas business affairs.

James Biden, 74, is a witness at the center of those allegations. During his deposition Wednesday, lawmakers are questioning him for the first time.

During his opening statement, James Biden said he kept business separate from his personal relationship with Joe Biden.

“Because of my intimate knowledge of my brother’s personal integrity and character, as well as my own strong ethics, I have always kept my professional life separate from our close personal relationship,” James Biden said. “I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else.”

Republicans have accused the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and, to a lesser extent, James Biden, of serving as conduits for Joe Biden to quietly benefit from their foreign business arrangements — allegations the White House has forcefully denied.

“In every business venture in which I have been involved, I have relied on my own talent, judgment, skill, and personal relationships — and never my status as Joe Biden’s brother,” James Biden said during his opening statements. “Those who have said or thought otherwise were either mistaken, ill informed, or flat-out lying.”

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin, told reporters that he has not heard anything from James Biden indicating that President Joe Biden had “anything to do with the business ventures of Hunter Biden or James Biden.”

Raskin wouldn’t answer questions from reporters on the specifics of the ongoing interview with James Biden

“I will allow the Republicans to reconstruct for you whatever they’re trying to accomplish, but I can assure you that he has restated our basic understanding … which is that Joe Biden had nothing to do with these business ventures,” Raskin added. “He was not involved in any way and he was not receiving any money from them. He was not a business partner, or a business associate.”

Prior to James Biden’s visit to Capitol Hill Wednesday, several key witnesses interviewed as part of the impeachment probe have shared exculpatory accounts that undercut key tenets of Republicans’ accusations against the president.

Republicans are nonetheless expected to press James Biden on his role in allegedly selling the Biden “brand” and proclivity to invoke his family name in business negotiations, as ABC News has previously reported.

On Wednesday morning, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said the focus of Wednesday’s interview with James Biden will be “the money, the business, the brand.”

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has separately taken a keen interest in two checks collectively worth $240,000 that James Biden sent his brother, Joe Biden, in 2017 and 2018.

Comer has framed those transactions — which occurred after Biden left the vice presidency and before launching his presidential bid — as evidence that he received “laundered” money from James Biden’s business deals, including one with a Chinese energy firm.

But bank records obtained separately by ABC News indicate they were repayments for loans that Joe Biden had made to his brother around the same time. Images of the physical checks support that conclusion, with each of them characterized in the memo line as a “loan repayment.”

James Biden addressed the two personal checks on Wednesday, saying in his opening statement that they were “short-term loans that I received from Joe when he was a private citizen, and I repaid them within weeks” and that Joe Biden “had no information at all about the source of the funds I used to repay him.”

“The complete explanation is that Joe lent me money, and I repaid him as soon as I had the funds to do so,” James Biden said.

James Biden explained that, at times, “because of the episodic nature of the income from my consulting work, there have been a number of occasions when my personal financial obligations have exceeded our available funds.”

He did not elaborate on how he used the loans from his brother.

After Comer issued a subpoena for James Biden’s testimony last year, his attorney, Paul Fishman, said there was “no justification” for the interview, and reiterated that “Jim Biden has never involved his brother in his business dealings.”

Of the loan repayments, Fishman added at the time that “there is nothing more to those transactions, and there is nothing wrong with them.”

The Republican investigation was dealt a blow last week when special counsel David Weiss filed felony false statement and obstruction charges against a confidential FBI source who accused President Biden and his son of accepting a $10 million bribe from a Ukrainian oligarch — an accusation core to Republicans’ impeachment case that the Justice Department said is false.

Other witnesses — a onetime and tangential business associate of Hunter and James Biden, Tony Bobulinski, and Hunter Biden’s former business partner, Devon Archer — have supported the committee’s notion that Joe Biden knew more about his family’s business affairs than the president, the White House and other business associates close to the family have let on.

Archer, who collaborated with Hunter Biden on multiple deals, told the committee that while Joe Biden met on a handful of occasions with their foreign business partners and was sometimes put on speakerphone in their presence, none of their discussions extended beyond pleasantries or delved into “commercial business.”

Bobulinski went so far as to suggest that James Biden had created a shell company to protect Joe Biden’s financial stake in the business deal with the Chinese energy company.

“Joe Biden is not on this document. He didn’t sign it,” Bobulinski said in his Feb. 13 interview with the committee. “However, I don’t know if Joe Biden had an ownership [stake in the shell company] … I just know that Jim Biden signed on behalf of it.”

Instead, Bobulinski, whose credibility has been called into question by Democrats after he coordinated with former President Donald Trump’s campaign ahead of the 2020 election, suggested that lawmakers put James Biden “under oath” to reveal “the extent” of Joe Biden’s alleged role.

Hunter Biden, who pleaded not guilty in October to federal gun charges and not guilty last month to tax charges, is expected to appear before the panel on Feb. 28.

ABC News’ Laura Romero contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — James Biden, the president’s younger brother, is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday — a high-stakes confrontation months in the making that could mark an inflection point in Republicans’ ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

The GOP-controlled panel says it has gathered scores of bank records and witness testimony as part of its effort to further an unproven theory that President Biden improperly supported and benefitted from his family’s overseas business affairs.

James Biden, 74, is a witness at the center of those allegations. During his closed-door deposition Wednesday, lawmakers will have the opportunity to question him for the first time.

Republicans have accused the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and, to a lesser extent, James Biden, of serving as conduits for Joe Biden to quietly benefit from their foreign business arrangements — allegations the White House has forcefully denied.

In fact, several key witnesses interviewed as part of the probe have shared exculpatory accounts that undercut key tenets of Republicans’ accusations against the president.

Republicans are nonetheless expected to press James Biden on his role in allegedly selling the Biden “brand” and proclivity to invoke his family name in business negotiations, as ABC News has previously reported.

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has separately taken a keen interest in two checks collectively worth $240,000 that James Biden sent his brother, Joe Biden, in 2017 and 2018.

Comer has framed those transactions — which occurred after Biden left the vice presidency and before launching his presidential bid — as evidence that he received “laundered” money from James Biden’s business deals, including one with a Chinese energy firm.

But bank records obtained separately by ABC News indicate they were repayments for loans that Joe Biden had made to his brother around the same time. Images of the physical checks support that conclusion, with each of them characterized in the memo line as a “loan repayment.”

After Comer issued a subpoena for James Biden’s testimony last year, his attorney, Paul Fishman, said there was “no justification” for the interview, and reiterated that “Jim Biden has never involved his brother in his business dealings.”

Of the loan repayments, Fishman added at the time that “there is nothing more to those transactions, and there is nothing wrong with them.”

The Republican investigation was dealt a blow last week when special counsel David Weiss filed felony false statement and obstruction charges against a confidential FBI source who accused President Biden and his son of accepting a $10 million bribe from a Ukrainian oligarch — an accusation core to Republicans’ impeachment case that the Justice Department said is false.

Other witnesses — a onetime and tangential business associate of Hunter and James Biden, Tony Bobulinski, and Hunter Biden’s former business partner, Devon Archer — have supported the committee’s notion that Joe Biden knew more about his family’s business affairs than the president, the White House and other business associates close to the family have let on.

Archer, who collaborated with Hunter Biden on multiple deals, told the committee that while Joe Biden met on a handful of occasions with their foreign business partners and was sometimes put on speakerphone in their presence, none of their discussions extended beyond pleasantries or delved into “commercial business.”

Bobulinski went so far as to suggest that James Biden had created a shell company to protect Joe Biden’s financial stake in the business deal with the Chinese energy company.

“Joe Biden is not on this document. He didn’t sign it,” Bobulinski said in his Feb. 13 interview with the committee. “However, I don’t know if Joe Biden had an ownership [stake in the shell company] … I just know that Jim Biden signed on behalf of it.”

Instead, Bobulinski, whose credibility has been called into question by Democrats after coordinating with former President Donald Trump’s campaign ahead of the 2020 election, suggested that lawmakers put James Biden “under oath” to reveal “the extent” of Joe Biden’s alleged role.

Hunter Biden is expected to appear before the panel one week later on Feb. 28.

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(WASHINGTON) — Just days ahead of the South Carolina Republican primary, former President Donald Trump’s campaign is expected to bring in at least $6 million from a fundraiser in Greenville, South Carolina, Tuesday evening, the Trump campaign told ABC News.

Trump’s latest massive fundraising haul comes amid a cash crush for his campaign heading deeper into the 2024 election year, after Republican rival Nikki Haley’s campaign outraised the Trump campaign during the month of January while Trump’s legal expenditures continue to snowball.

Latest campaign disclosures show that the Trump campaign raised $8.8 million in January while the Haley campaign raised $11.5 million the same month, but Trump still entered February with $30 million in the bank, more than double what Haley had in cash on hand.

The star-studded Trump fundraiser on Tuesday was hosted by top Republicans from the state, including Gov. Henry McMaster and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, as well as those who have previously been Trump’s political opponents, like Sen. Tim Scott, who was recently Trump’s 2024 rival, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was once critical of Trump but has since pledged to throw all his support behind him.

Fox News first reported on the $6 million haul from the Greenville fundraiser.

Ed McMullen, one of the co-hosts of the fundraiser, told ABC News they have already raised more than $6.8 million from the Greenville fundraiser, with more expected from additional contribution pledges made Tuesday night.

“That’s a historic number,” said McMullen, a Trump-appointed ambassador to Switzerland who has fundraised for Trump since the 2016 election, explaining this is the most amount raised from a single fundraiser in South Carolina.

The Trump fundraiser comes on the heels of a Haley fundraiser that took place in the same city of Greenville just the night before, hosted by a group of longtime friends and allies, like Bush-appointed former Ambassador David Wilkins, Greenville City Council member John DeWorken and businessman Dennis Braasch.

That was Haley’s third known fundraiser in South Carolina this month, after two earlier fundraisers in Columbia and Charleston.

Trump’s Greenville fundraiser took place at the home of South Carolina casino developer Wallace Cheves, a major Republican donor who had also raised money for Graham and McMaster.

It was co-hosted and attended by numerous longtime top Trump donors, including Greenville-based investor Dan Abrams and Charleston-based financier Scott Bessent, as well as George Glass, former Trump-appointed ambassador to Portugal.

Speaking before a crowd of roughly 150 to 200 donors, Trump made little mention of Haley other than that he’s expecting a big win in South Carolina this weekend and that an anticipated defeat in her home state is an indication that it’s time for her to get out of the race, McMullen said of his remarks at the fundraiser.

For the most part, Trump focused on general election issues like immigration and his fight against President Joe Biden, saying he’s moving beyond the primary after Saturday night, McMullen said.

Trump has been ramping up his fundraising this month, holding a major fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida last week, and scheduled to hold another fundraiser in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday.

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(WASHINGTON) — Sitting down for a town hall-style interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham just days ahead of the South Carolina Republican primary, former President Donald Trump on Tuesday did not back down from his comments comparing himself to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the wake of Navalny’s death, which the White House has blamed on Russia’s authoritarian president, Vladimir Putin.

After calling Navalny a “brave” person, Trump again compared himself to Navalny, attempting to argue his various legal battles and criminal charges, which he denies, are “a form of” what was experienced by the dissident activist and politician — who was imprisoned at the end of his life in notorious conditions.

“It’s a form of Navalny. It’s a form of communism or fascism,” Trump insisted when asked about more than $350 million in penalties he’s been fined by Judge Arthur Engoron after a lengthy New York civil trial in which Engoron castigated Trump for frauds that “shock the conscience.” Trump has promised to appeal.

The former president had been criticized by his primary rival Nikki Haley for not initially reacting to Navalny’s death last week. He said on Tuesday that “Navalny is a very sad situation, and he’s very brave — he was a very brave guy because he went back.”

“He could have stayed away, and frankly, probably would have been a lot better off staying away and talking from outside of the country as opposed to having to go back in because people thought that could happen and it did happen,” Trump said, referring to Navalny returning to Russia after German officials said he had been poisoned in 2020. (The Kremlin denies being involved.)

“And it’s a horrible thing,” Trump continued on Fox News, before quickly comparing his own legal battles to what Navanlny had gone through.

Ingraham pressed Trump multiple times on whether he sees himself as a potential political prisoner, but Trump repeatedly dodged the question.

“If I were losing in the polls, they wouldn’t even be talking about me,” Trump said the second time Ingraham asked him. 

Prosecutors have rejected that partisanship influenced them. Trump faces 91 charges; he has pleaded not guilty to all of them.

During a commercial break right after talking about Navalny, Trump said: “After that last question, I need a drink. Where the hell did this water come from? Where did this water come from?”

While attacking President Joe Biden’s diplomacy, Trump again boasted about his relationship with Putin and other authoritarian foreign leaders. He has sought to contrast Biden’s record with his own, maintaining that while he was in the White House, there was more peace and stability in the world.

“I know Putin very well. And I know President Xi [Jinping] of China, I know more Kim Jong Un [of North Korea], I know very well, I did a great job with him,” he said.

Trump again indicates he wouldn’t defend NATO countries over spending

In a section during the town hall on NATO, which wasn’t aired after it was taped, Trump doubled down on his promise that he wouldn’t commit to protecting member countries if they didn’t “pay their dues,” reiterating his long-standing criticism that some foreign allies don’t contribute enough to their own defense spending relative to the U.S.

“Does this mean you’re not going to defend NATO countries if they haven’t paid their 2-point-whatever percent?” Ingraham asked.

“Well yeah, sort of it does,” Trump said to cheers. “They said, ‘I can’t believe it. Nobody else ever said that.'”

Trump also again claimed that he was responsible for ensuring NATO allies started paying more into defense spending to meet a goal set in 2014 of 2% of a country’s gross domestic product.

“If I said I would defend, then they wouldn’t pay,” Trump said. “As soon as I said, ‘That’s right. That’s exactly what it means,’ the money came pouring in.”

Trump’s remarks on NATO have stirred notable controversy. Haley called what he said “bone-chilling” and Biden slammed it was “shocking” and “un-American.”

The post-World War II treaty is widely seen as having helped deter a continent-wide conflict on Europe.

Trump claimed on Tuesday that former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama didn’t do anything other than give speeches to NATO allies, leaving the United States to foot 100% of defense spending, which is false.

Trump dodged questions about how he would specifically stop the war in Ukraine, sparked by Russia’s invasion. He seemingly took aim at other NATO countries for not providing more aid to Ukraine.

When Fox News asked Trump to respond to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s new suggestion that Putin might “have” something on Trump — to use as leverage — Trump called that “misinformation” and contended that he was tougher on Russia than any other president.

Wouldn’t work with McConnell in the Senate

In another unaired segment from the town hall taping, Trump looked ahead to a potential second presidency and said he doesn’t think he would be able to work with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“He’ll probably end up endorsing me honestly. I don’t know that I can work with him. … He made it very easy for the Democrats,” Trump said, later adding, “So I don’t know what his status would be.”

With just four days before the next big race for the GOP presidential nomination, in South Carolina, Trump made very little mention of Haley, his main remaining primary challenger, only saying he believes she doesn’t know how to get out of the race.

“I don’t think she knows how to get out of it,” Trump said. 

He has won every contest so far and holds a huge lead in polls, but Haley has vowed to fight on, saying her message against him is important.

“She is doing poorly in the polls. Look, if she was doing well, I’d understand it,” Trump said of Haley.

When asked how many debates with Biden he would commit to, Trump said he would do “as many as necessary” but said he believes Biden wouldn’t want to debate him.

Trump once again floated the idea of holding a campaign event in Madison Square Garden and the Bronx in New York City, pointing to unauthorized immigrants coming to the city.

“It’s horrible what’s going on,” he said. “I think there’s a chance that people are very, very unhappy.”

Tim Scott joins Trump

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott was in the audience for the town hall taping and Trump gave him a shoutout, saying once again that Scott has been a better advocate for Trump than himself.

“In a very positive way, he has been much better for me than it was for himself,” the former president said. “I’ve watched him and he doesn’t like talking about himself. But boy, does he talk about Trump.”

Trump downplayed the role of vice president but said he was looking for someone “that could help you from the voting standpoint.” Scott is thought to be among the possible names whom Trump could pick for the Republican ticket.

“One thing that always surprises me is that the VP choice has absolutely no impact,” Trump said. “It’s whoever the president is.”

Later, Scott joined Trump on stage to tout Trump policies and what Scott called his support from the Black community.

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(WASHINGTON) — Just days ahead of the rematch between former President Donald Trump and Nikki Haley, this time in the South Carolina Republican primary on Saturday, two of Trump’s top aides say he’s already well on his way to securing the Republican nomination at least by March 19.

In a memo sent out to reporters on Tuesday morning, shortly before Haley gave a speech in which she vowed to continuing running against Trump, his advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles wrote that under what they consider “the most-generous model” for her, Trump is still expected to clinch the delegates needed to win the Republican nomination by March 19 — two weeks after Super Tuesday, when 15 states vote at once.

If not accounting for “the most-generous model” for Haley, the advisers said that Trump is expected to win the nomination one week earlier, by March 12.

To do that, he’ll need to earn 1,215 of the total 2,429 delegates available.

Trump’s advisers also urged the Republican National Committee to rally behind him to begin their general election campaign against President Joe Biden and Democrats, even with Haley remaining in the race.

Still, Haley during her speech in South Carolina on Tuesday said she’s not dropping out soon because she believes her message is important and more voters deserve to be “heard” beyond the three states to cast ballots so far.

“Of course, many of the same politicians who now publicly embrace Trump privately dread him,” Haley told supporters in Greenville. “They know what a disaster he’s been and will continue to be for our party. They’re just too afraid to say it out loud.”

“Well, I’m not afraid to say the hard truths out loud,” Haley continued, drawing applause. “I feel no need to kiss the ring. And I have no fear of Trump’s retribution. I’m not looking for anything from him. My own political future is of zero concern.”

Trump has already secured 63 delegates from Iowa, New Hampshire, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Nevada and Haley has just 17 delegates — and 50 delegates are up for grabs in the upcoming South Carolina Republican primary.

The following week, Trump and Haley will be competing for 189 delegates from Michigan, Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington, D.C., and on Super Tuesday on March 5, they’ll compete for 874 from 16 states and U.S. territories.

Trump is ahead of Haley in nearly all of these states, according to 538’s polling averages, though that includes states that don’t have up-to-date polls and 538 isn’t tracking every state.

LaCivita and Wiles in their memo claimed that under the “the most-generous model” for Haley, they expect Trump to earn 114 delegates in the week following the South Carolina primary, 773 delegates from Super Tuesday and an additional 192 delegates the two weeks after that, when primary contests in key states like Georgia, Arizona and Florida take place.

The next step for the Trump campaign, they wrote, is to claim Haley is “not newsworthy” and for the RNC to become “one with the Donald J. Trump for President campaign,” a position that Haley has pushed back on as anti-democratic.

“We don’t anoint kings in this country,” she said on Tuesday. “We have elections.”

LaCivita and Wiles claimed the campaign and the RNC should begin coordinating “convention planning, fundraising, strategy, and state party tactics” with the other campaign arms of the national party as soon as possible.

LaCivita and Wiles also attacked Haley for courting non-Republican voters in primaries where that is allowed, likening it to “hijack[ing] GOP contests.”

“The results of 5 elections overwhelmingly sent an unmistaken message: Nikki Haley doesn’t represent Republicans any more than Joe Biden does,” they wrote.

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(GREENVILLE, S.C.) — Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is vowing to stay in the 2024 Republican primary race despite being rejected by voters in the few early states so far and trailing rival Donald Trump in numerous polls.

As Haley said in a speech on Tuesday in South Carolina, her home state, she will be continuing her campaign because she believes her anti-Trump message is important and more voters elsewhere in the country deserve to be “heard.”

“Many of the same politicians who now publicly embrace Trump privately dread him. They know what a disaster he’s been and will continue to be for our party. They’re just too afraid to say it out loud,” Haley told supporters in Greenville.

“Well, I’m not afraid to say the hard truths out loud. I feel no need to kiss the ring. And I have no fear of Trump’s retribution. I’m not looking for anything from him,” she continued, drawing applause. “My own political future is of zero concern.”

She went on to make clear that, regardless of the outside chatter, she isn’t seeking to be Trump’s running mate or “trying to set up a future presidential run.”

At the same time, Haley suggested she would not keep running against the former president for the GOP nomination just to run against him. 

“My purpose has never been to stop Trump at all costs,” she said.

A Trump campaign spokesman responded to Haley on social media with a lewd retort: “She’s going to drop down to kiss a– when she quits, like she always does,” he wrote.

South Carolina will hold its Republican primary, the next big race in the nomination fight, on Saturday. 

“But on Sunday, I’ll still be running for president. I’m not going anywhere,” Haley said.

According to 538’s polling average, she trails Trump by more than 30 points in South Carolina.

She is behind by similar margins in other states.

Haley has repeatedly pointed to the fact that only three states have voted so far in this year’s GOP nominating race, though she has lost in every one of those elections — including in Nevada, to “none of these candidates.”

Voters “deserve a real choice. … We don’t anoint kings in this country,” Haley said. “We have elections.”

In her speech, she said she’d heard from “the American people” — a mother who “just wants a return to normalcy,” a high school student who “finally has hope that America will make it” — and they fueled her determination.

“They see the same polls as me. But more importantly, they have the same belief as me. They believe in America. They believe America can do so much better — that we must do better. And they know when the country’s future is on the line, you don’t drop out. You keep fighting,” Haley said. “In fact, you fight harder than ever.”

“Dropping out would be the easy route,” she continued. “I’ve never taken the easy route.”

Haley made a similar case for herself during a campaign stop in Greer, South Carolina, on Monday night, telling her supporters she would stay in the GOP primary through Super Tuesday on March 5 and beyond.

“Go tell your family and friends that America’s depending on what they do on Saturday,” Haley said. “I promise you this, on Sunday, I’m headed to Michigan and then we’re going to Super Tuesday states and we’re going to keep on going.”

During her remarks on Tuesday, Haley continued to blast both Trump and President Joe Biden.

“The truth is, Americans already know what Joe Biden and Donald Trump will do,” she said. “But we’re just as concerned with who they are. They’re dividers at a time when America desperately, urgently needs a uniter. All they do is turn us against each other. Trump calls his fellow Americans vermin. These are dangerous times.”

“The majority of Americans don’t just dislike one candidate. They dislike both,” she said. “As a country, we’ve never seen such dissatisfaction with the leading candidates. We’ve never had so many Americans mired in pessimism and division. We still have a chance to restore their faith. I will fight as long as that chance exists.”

Haley, as she has done often on the trail, again cited Biden and Trump’s ages — at 81 and 77.

“We’re talking about the most demanding job in human history. … You give it to someone who is disciplined, someone who can work day and night for eight years straight,” she said. “No vendettas. No drama. Just results.”

But whatever her “serious concerns” about Trump, she said, she was not “Never Trump” and “never [has] been.”

“Like most Americans, I have a handful of serious concerns about the former president,” she said. “But I have countless serious concerns about the current president.”

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(EAGLE PASS, Texas) — Texas is building a new military base for National Guard members deployed to the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas — where state and federal authorities have been in a tense conflict over dealing with immigration — Gov. Greg Abbott said.

At a news conference on Friday, Abbott announced the construction of what he said would a new “base camp” that could house up to 2,300 soldiers.

“As opposed to being scattered around many different places across this region, they will be operating out of one place. It will amass a large army in a very strategic area. It will increase the speed and flexibility of the Texas National Guard to be able to respond to crossings,” Abbott said.

Officials expect that by mid-April they’ll have a 300-bed capacity and will add another 300 each month until completion, Texas Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer, Abbott’s top military adviser, said at the Friday press conference. The camp will include several features like large dining halls, individual rooms for soldiers and medical care facilities.

The move may also deepen the tension between the state and federal governments as Abbott continues to implement his own strategies to deter migrants from crossing in between ports of entry at the southern border.

Against the city’s wishes, Texas seized full control of a Shelby Park on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande in January, enclosing a 2.5-mile area with barriers and concertina wire and staffing it with Texas National Guard troops.

It has been the epicenter of state and federal government showdown as Abbott continues to restrict Border Patrol’s access to the area, preventing them from apprehending migrants crossing in one of the region’s major hotspots.

The Biden administration has sued the state of Texas over a law that would give new authority to local police to crack down on those suspected of entering the country illegally.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court intervened in the state-federal dispute and issued an order allowing federal authorities to cut down the razor wire installed by Texas in areas where it was otherwise difficult to help migrants in distress.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has been critical of the Texas governor, calling Abbott’s unilateral actions on the border “unconscionable.”

“It is unconscionable for a public official, to deliberately refuse to communicate, coordinate, collaborate with other public officials in the service of our nation’s interests, and to refuse to do so with the hope of creating disorder for others,” Mayorkas said in a recent interview with the Associated Press.

At the Friday press conference, Texas Maj. Gen. Suelzer said that in the coming weeks the Texas National Guard will be expanding operations and installing new barriers north and south of Eagle Pass, an indication that the state continues to build barriers despite the Supreme Court ruling last month that Border Patrol agents are allowed to remove or destroy razor wire fencing to apprehend migrants attempting to enter the United States. Suelzer did not specify if the expansion of those efforts means they will also restrict access to federal agents in those areas.

Without providing any evidence, Abbott claimed his efforts at Shelby Park and in other parts of the border are responsible for the number of crossings in the area dropping in recent weeks and increasing in Arizona and other parts of the border. The state’s operations at Shelby Park cover roughly 1% of the entire southern border. But the governor did acknowledge that the number of migrant encounters in the region might once again climb in the coming months.

“As we all know, come springtime, there’s going to be additional caravans that are making their way through the southern and central part of Mexico deciding where they are going to be going,” Abbott said. “We want to make sure that when they come to the crossroad about, ‘Are they going to go to Texas? Are they going to go elsewhere?’ They will know the wrong place to go is the state of Texas.”

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(WASHINGTON) — During a South Carolina speech Tuesday where former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley vowed to stay in the 2024 Republican primary race, she grew emotional speaking about her husband — recently the subject of jabs from former President Donald Trump — who is deployed to Africa with the South Carolina Army National Guard.

At times holding back tears, Haley reflected on her husband, Maj. Michael Haley, and his second deployment. Haley said he left to keep not only his family safe, but also the country.

“The kids and I know Michael … stepped up to defend our nation’s freedom and our way of life,” Haley said at the event in Greenville, South Carolina.

“They have made their stand because America is worth fighting and even dying for,” Haley said. “Now, I will continue to make my stand because America is worth living for.”

Haley told the audience that as she prepares for what could come in the future, her husband remains on her mind.

“As I prepare for what lies ahead, Michael is at the forefront of my mind,” Haley said. “I wish Michael was here today, and I wish our children and I could see him tonight, but we can’t. He’s serving on the other side of the world where conflict is the norm, where terrorists hide among the innocent.”

Haley’s husband, who was deployed last year to Africa, was recently mocked by Trump, who implied during a campaign event in Conway, South Carolina, that he’s in Africa to get away from his marriage.

After initially questioning why Haley’s husband was not on the campaign trail, Trump took to social media last week to say that he should return from his deployment to “come back home to help save her [Haley’s] dying campaign.”

Haley blasted Trump for the comments, saying that anyone who disrespects military families can’t be president.

“Michael is deployed serving our country, something you know nothing about,” Haley wrote on X. “Someone who continually disrespects the sacrifices of military families has no business being commander in chief.”

Michael Haley also responded to the insult made by the former president. In a post on X, he tagged the former president as well as multiple news outlets and shared a meme: a portrait of a wolf with bold white text overlaid that read, “The difference between humans and animals? Animals would never allow the dumbest ones to lead the pack.”

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(WASHINGTON) — An American MQ-9 Reaper flying near Yemen has been shot down by Houthi militants, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News and the Pentagon later said on Tuesday.

The Houthis said they had targeted the Reaper as well as two American ships in the Gulf of Aden in a statement Monday.

This is their second downing of a Reaper, having shot one down one in international airspace near Yemen in November.

The U.S. has designated the Houthis as a global terrorist organization amid rising regional tensions and a consistent deployment of missiles and drones against each other since war in Gaza broke out.

The Pentagon says the drone, taken down by a surface-to-air missile, has not been recovered and that an investigation is ongoing.

Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh conceded that Houthi “attacks are getting more sophisticated,” but she insisted “our dynamic strikes or coalition strikes absolutely have an impact.”

Singh noted an “uptick” over the weekend of activity by the Houthis, who are backed by Iran.

“If Iran does have a role to play with the Houthis, it’s not doing it,” she said, urging the Iranians to exert influence over the Houthis to tame tensions.

The U.S. conducted what it calls five self-defense strikes Sunday against the Houthis, one of which targeted an unmanned underwater vessel, the first submarine the U.S. says the Houthis have employed since tensions began to flare in October.

The Coast Guard reported an interdiction this month that seized the components of the underwater drone that U.S. forces targeted Sunday.

The remotely-operated Reaper is charged primarily with intelligence gathering and costs more than $50 million, according to the Air Force.

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty and Will Gretsky contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — American diplomats are preparing to present a resolution to the United Nations Security Council calling for a temporary cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of all hostages held inside the enclave and making several other demands related to the impact of Israel’s campaign on Palestinian civilians, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

While the draft resolution is markedly more critical of Israel’s siege of Gaza than prior public statements expressed before the council by Biden administration officials, it also condemns Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7 — a censure the Security Council has so far failed to pass.

The U.S., Qatar and Egypt are working to broker such an agreement between Israel and Hamas. While talks have stalled in recent weeks, negotiators are still optimistic a deal can be reached.

“The differences between the parties, they have been narrowed. They haven’t been sufficiently narrowed to get us to a deal, but we are still hopeful, and we are confident that there is the basis for an agreement between the parties,” one U.S. official said.

On Tuesday, the U.S. vetoed a resolution introduced by Algeria calling for an immediate pause in the conflict, marking the third time the Biden administration has rejected demands for a cease-fire in the chamber.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield explained that she voted against the measure because it did not condition the cease-fire on the release of hostages, arguing that it would derail ongoing talks that would accomplish both goals.

“While we cannot support a resolution that would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy, we look forward to engaging on a text that we believe will address so many of the concerns we all share,” she said.

Beyond demanding the release of hostages for a cease-fire, senior administration officials say the U.S. resolution makes clear that Israel’s planned ground offensive into Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering, should not proceed “under current circumstances.”

Additionally, officials say the draft states that there can be no reduction in territory in the Gaza Strip or any forced displacement of Palestinians — demands that run counter to public statements expressed by the most conservative members of Netanyahu’s government.

The measure also calls on Israel “to lift all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance, open additional humanitarian routes, and to keep current crossings open,” one official said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that his country would not be dissuaded from its mission by any form of international pressure.

“We are committed to continuing the war until we achieve all of its goals, which means the elimination of Hamas, the release of all the abductees and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said. “There is no pressure–no pressure — that can change that.”

While the language in the draft resolution is markedly more critical of Israel’s campaign than prior public statements by American representatives at the U.N., it also condemns Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7 — a censure the council has so far failed to pass.

U.S. officials signaled that they would not rush to bring their proposal to a vote in the chamber, saying they anticipated allowing ample “time for negotiations.”

But it’s unclear whether any amount of time will allow diplomats to break through gridlock in the council.

In late October, a U.S.-led effort to pass a resolution calling for extended humanitarian pauses was rejected by Russia and China, two other permanent members of the body with veto power.

After torpedoing the U.S. text, representatives from both countries hastily submitted their own proposal calling for an immediate cease-fire, which, in turn, was quashed by the U.S.

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