Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) brought her endorsement of Arizona House Speaker and congressional candidate Ben Toma (R-LD27) to the U.S. House floor.
During Tuesday’s House floor session, Lesko praised the state representative as “an accomplished and dedicated leader.” The congresswoman specifically applauded Toma’s work on passing universal school choice, voter ID, border security through e-Verify, and the state’s largest tax cut.
Lesko closed with what sounded like confidence in Toma’s fitness to represent the state at the congressional level.
“Speaker Toma’s career is a testament to his dedication to Arizona, his legacy of leadership will last for years to come,” said Lesko.
Lesko formally endorsed Toma in December, emphasizing Toma’s longtime residence and understanding of the eighth congressional district.
“Ben Toma lives in our district. He knows our district. He cares about the people who live in our district. As a legislator and Speaker of the Arizona House, Ben has a proven, conservative track record for getting things done and for standing up for the principles that have made our nation great. Now, more than ever, we need principled, experienced leaders, like Ben Toma, who will stand up for our values and advance our conservative priorities in Congress. I’m proud to endorse Ben Toma for Congress and will be working hard to get him elected because I know he will do a great job!”
I'm grateful to have the support and trust of Congresswoman Debbie Lesko. Her commitment to serving the West Valley is unparalleled. Thank you, Congresswoman! pic.twitter.com/MqkUoIstjv
Toma also has endorsements from former Sen. Jon Kyl; former Gov. Jan Brewer; State Sens. Frank Carroll (R-LD28) and John Kavanaugh (R-LD03); State Reps. Beverly Pingerelli (R-LD28), David Livingston (R-LD28), Quang Nguyen (R-LD01), and Justin Wilmeth (R-LD02); Surprise Mayor Skip Hall; former State Rep. Jean McGrath; Maricopa County Treasurer John Allen; Glendale Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff; and former Republican Senate candidate Jim Lamon.
Ten other Republicans who have filed a statement of interest for the eighth congressional district are 2022 attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh, State Sen. Anthony Kern, 2022 Senate candidate Blake Masters, former congressman Trent Franks, Isiah Gallegos, Rollie Stevens, Patrick Briody, Seth Coates, Jon Forsythe, and Jimmy Rodriguez.
An internal poll in December by National Public Affairs, a firm run by former Trump administration staffers, found Hamadeh had between 37 percent (uninformed of endorsements) and 45 percent (informed) voter support: a 23-point lead over the next leading candidate, Masters (14 percent uninformed, 10 percent informed). Franks followed behind (six percent uninformed, seven percent informed), then Toma (seven percent, both informed and uninformed), and then Kern (three percent uninformed, two percent informed). About 30 to 34 percent of polled voters remained undecided.
Another internal poll from last month by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates found that Hamadeh and Masters had equal voter support, both polling at 24 percent, with Franks following behind (nine percent), then Toma and Gallegos (three percent), and then Kern (one percent). 35 percent remained undecided.
Hamadeh has endorsements from a whole host of Trump administration officials, endorsees, and former President Donald Trump himself. Among Hamadeh’s endorsers are Senate candidate Kari Lake, Trump administration national security advisor Robert O’Brian, Trump administration national intelligence director Ric Grennell, Trump administration senior national intelligence advisor Kash Patel, Florida Congressman Cory Mills, and former Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward.
Seven Democrats to have filed a statement of interest for the eighth congressional district are Sheila Bilyeu; Donald Case; Bernadette Greene Placentia; Marc Lewis; Steven Sawdy; Mark Thompson; and Whitten Gregory.
Two Libertarians also filed their statements of interest: January 6 participant Jacob Angeli-Chansley, the “Shaman,” and Alex Kolb.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached under an effort initiated and led in part by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05).
The resolution to impeach Mayorkas for high crimes and misdemeanors passed 214-213, with three Republicans voting against it: Ken Buck (CO), Mike Gallagher (WI), and Tom McClintock (CA). Biggs has been proposing legislation to impeach Mayorkas since 2021.
In remarks preceding the impeachment vote, Biggs said the Founding Fathers were supportive of impeachment as a means of addressing serious offenses to the nation.
“It’s hard for me to conceive of any bigger offense against the nation than opening up the border and actually willingly and intentionally inviting in 10 million-plus illegal aliens to cross into the country,” said Biggs. “Secretary Mayorkas opened up our border and encouraged people to come in.”
Biggs cited Mayorkas’ inability to confirm during his sworn testimony that the border was operationally under control as defined by the Secure Fence Act of 2006. Mayorkas implied that the standard was impossible to meet, and that DHS had created its own standard to meet.
“That is a violation of separation of powers, and it is also a violation of his oath of office and duties,” said Biggs.
Additionally, Biggs cited DHS implementing a catch and release policy by abusing the policy allowing parole passes for certain immigrants on a case-by-case basis for humanitarian purposes. Those passes granted temporary legal status to the migrants that received them. Over the course of several decades, only an average of several dozen migrants annually received parole passes. Under Mayorkas, over a million have been issued to illegal immigrants over the last three years.
The congressman also cited Mayorkas testimony that his administration wasn’t deporting illegal immigrants even if they had removal orders from a court.
Biggs said it was imperative to impeach Mayorkas to prevent the unrelenting, ever-worsening tide of illegal immigrants constituting the border crisis.
“It isn’t a matter of a policy difference; it isn’t a matter of incompetence or maladministration. This is somebody who is a public official who has breached the public trust, and if we keep him in office for another 12 months, we shall surely see several million more people in this country,” said Biggs.
The impeachment resolution now heads to the Senate.
Tuesday’s vote was the second attempt against Mayorkas. House Republicans failed to gain enough votes to pass the impeachment resolution last week.
Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) said that the impeachment was warranted and claimed the border crisis was a deliberate effort by Mayorkas.
“The crisis at the border was deliberate, which more than warrants this historic action,” said Crane.
The crisis at the border was deliberate, which more than warrants this historic action. https://t.co/labBRJir0r
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07) condemned the impeachment as “baseless” and that there was “no evidence” of wrongdoing by Mayorkas. Grijalva claimed that the border crisis was now Republicans’ fault, not the Biden administration.
“[H]e has lawfully carried out the policies of President Biden and still requires significant help from Congress to manage the issues we face at the border,” said Grijalva. “[House GOP] now bear full responsibility for the situation at our southern border.”
Instead of passing real immigration reform to fix our broken system or giving the necessary resources for Secretary Mayorkas and border communities to manage the humanitarian crisis, the House Republican majority moved forward with a baseless impeachment resolution. https://t.co/nppoLt51h2
Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., urged Congress to “take our nation’s fiscal health seriously” in response to the growing national debt.
Schweikert’s Daily Debt Monitor shows the federal government’s gross national debt increasing by $839 billion already this fiscal year, which began in October.
So far this fiscal year (3 months in), the total national debt has increased by $839 billion. That's ~$8.65 billion per day, and just over $100,000 per second.
I implore my brothers and sisters in Congress to take our nation's fiscal health seriously. pic.twitter.com/7XACzQ0mjM
“That’s ~$8.65 billion per day, and just over $100,000 per second,” Schweikert tweeted.
“I implore my brothers and sisters in Congress to take our nation’s fiscal health seriously,” the congressman continued.
The national debt has increased by more than $360 million per hour, $6 million per minute, and $100,00 per second this fiscal year.
The total national debt as of Jan. 4 was more than $34 trillion, compared to around $31 trillion on Jan. 4, 2023. This includes both intragovernmental and publicly held debt. Between 2023 and 2024, there was an increase in debt of more than $7 billion per day and $300 million per hour.
The national debt hit the $34 trillion record this month. The Congressional Budget Office’s January 2020 projections didn’t expect gross federal debt to surpass $34 trillion until fiscal year 2029.
The Congressional Budget Office expects the debt to only get worse in coming years. An estimate shows America’s entitlement spending, mandatory spending, and net interest payments on the debt will exceed the government’s total revenue by the early 2030s.
In June, Republican lawmakers and the White House agreed to temporarily lift the nation’s debt limit, making an agreement that lasts until January 2025.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated in its 30-year outlook last June that publicly held debt will be equal to a record 181% of American economic activity by 2053.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Arizona could gain a tenth congressional seat if population trends continue, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s new 2023 population estimates.
Population estimates for 2023 released on Dec. 19 show Arizona, Florida, and Idaho gaining one additional seat in the House of Representatives and Texas gaining two additional seats.
Arizona and Idaho narrowly missed gaining a seat with the official apportionment counts two years ago. Arizona was only 79,509 away from adding a tenth seat, while Idaho was 27,579 away from a third.
The estimates show Illinois, Minnesota, and New York each losing one seat, while California would lose two.
The Census Bureau’s new population estimates would provide both the Grand Canyon State and Idaho with the needed seats for a new representative. Arizona would have 111,058 people above the cut-off for an additional seat.
Arizona’s population growth ranked seventh highest in the United States from 2022-2023, increasing by more than 66,000. Arizona had 7,365,684 residents in 2022 and rose to 7,431,344 in 2023, census data shows.
Election Data Services also predicts that 13 states would change seat numbers by the end of the decade, with eight states gaining one or more seats and seven states losing one or more seats.
Arizona would gain one seat; Florida would gain three; Georgia, Idaho, Utah, North Carolina, and Tennessee would gain one; and Texas would gain four.
But the Census Bureau noted potential inaccuracy in its 2030 predictions.
“Projections tend to assume a straightforward line from the initial points of observation on a linear line to the end point,” a news release reads. “But changes can take place over the time period covered by the line.”
People may be drawn to Arizona due to its low taxes. Arizona’s flat individual income tax rate of 2.5 percent took effect in 2023.
The majority of Arizona’s new residents come from California, which has an income tax rate of 13 percent, the highest in the nation. One in every five people who moved to Arizona between 2017 and 2021 came from California, according to census data.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
On Tuesday, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) and the House Freedom Caucus spoke in opposition to Congress’ plan to raise the debt ceiling: the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA).
Under the current plan, the debt ceiling would increase from $31.5 trillion to $36 trillion by 2025, with no cap in place. Without a raise in the debt limit by June 5, the government will be in default.
“Instead of estimating the actual debt ceiling that will be imposed by that date, January 1, 2025, they simply say that will be the date, there will be an unlimited cap,” said Biggs. “There won’t be a cap for 19 months of the Biden administration, and the Biden administration is probably the most profligate we’ve seen.”
Honored to stand with my colleagues in the @freedomcaucus today.
The national debt current growth rate is projected at over $4 trillion in new debt. Biggs forecasted an increase to $5 trillion by 2025.
Biggs claimed that the version of the FRA agreed to under House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) would only delay, not prevent the IRS from hiring 87,000 new agents costing $71 billion. Biggs said these agents would not only be weaponized against taxpayers, but presented a significant financial burden.
Biggs further claimed that the FRA establishes Green New Deal tax credits and subsidies for the wealthy. He further criticized the PAYGO program, which would require government bureaucrats to justify how they would afford their expenditures; Biggs noted that a similar program already exists in Congress, yet that program hasn’t slowed spending. He added that Congress also already waives PAYGO provisions.
“How come it is Republican leaders always tell us ‘next year we’ll fight hard’?” asked Biggs.
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07) also opposed the FRA, but for different reasons. Grijalva expressed opposition to the FRA in his capacity as Democratic ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee. He argued that the FRA would jeopardize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Watch the full press conference here:
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY-04) criticized the Senate for attempting to corner the House into approving their version of the funding bill.
“[The Senate is] sending us a giant omnibus bill the day before the government funding runs out, and saying, ‘Pass the Senate version or the House will be responsible for the shutdown,” said Massie.
House Republican Conference leadership backs the FRA. The chairwoman, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) claimed the FRA would stop runaway inflationary spending, rescind executive overreach, and improve everyday Americans’ financial status.
With the Fiscal Responsibility Act, House Republicans will:
1. Stop out-of-control inflationary spending. 2. Rein in executive overreach. 3. Lift Americans out of poverty.
McCarthy also characterized the FRA as a win, adding that their version eliminates COVID-19 spending, prevents $5 trillion in new tax proposals, and enacts more work requirements for welfare recipients.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress in January that the U.S. had reached its statutory debt limit and would run out of funding sometime in early June. In a follow-up letter last week, Yellen specified the expiration date as June 5.
She disclosed that her department would fulfill over $130 billion of scheduled payments in the first two days of June, including payments to veterans as well as Social Security and Medicare recipients. Yellen added that scheduled payouts would leave the Treasury unable to satisfy all its fiscal obligations.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
