Congress members visit Whipple Federal Building: "I was shocked to see that everyone in here has leg restraints"

Reps. Omar, Jayapal seek answers on ICE activity at Whipple Federal Building

 

Congress members visit Whipple Federal Building: "I was shocked to see that everyone in here has leg restraints"

By Jennifer Mayerle

July 24, 2026 / 7:06 PM CDT / CBS Minnesota

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been taking people they detain in Minnesota to the Whipple Federal Building for processing. On Friday, members of Congress were there for an oversight visit.

Democratic U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Pramila Jayapal of Washington state made their way into the building midday, calling congressional oversight their duty.

"I was shocked to see that everyone in here has leg restraints. That is not common practice in holding facilities and detention centers. And apparently, that is the practice when you are picked up to when you are released," Jayapal said.

They did learn some information about detainees despite saying they had to sign paperwork, agreeing they wouldn't interact with them.

Confronting Haiti’s Terrorist Gangs: The Gang Suppression Force and the Path Ahead

Hearing starts at 12:49 Mins.of video.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans

Streamed live on Jul 21, 2026

The House Foreign Affairs Committee holds a hearing titled, "Confronting Haiti’s Terrorist Gangs: The Gang Suppression Force and the Path Ahead," featuring the following witnesses:

The Honorable Michael Kozak

Senior Bureau Official

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs

U.S. Department of State

Colonel Justin Gorkowski

Co-Lead, Haiti Gang Suppression Force Tiger Team

U.S. Department of War

Confronting Haiti’s Terrorist Gangs: The Gang Suppression Force and the Path Ahead

The Cost of Doing Nothing: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison Fueled Minnesota’s Fraud Explosion

Read report 📚 

NOTE:

Press Release

Published: Jun 8, 2026

Oversight Committee Releases Bombshell Report Exposing Rampant Fraud Plaguing Minnesota’s Taxpayer-Funded Social Programs


Chairman Comer urges President Trump’s Anti-Fraud Task Force to conduct a thorough review of Minnesota’s social services program

WASHINGTON—The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a staff report today titled, “The Cost of Doing Nothing: How Tim Walz and Keith Ellison Fueled Minnesota’s Fraud Explosion.” The report exposes how senior Minnesota state officials, including Governor Walz and Attorney General Ellison, were aware of widespread taxpayer fraud in federally funded social programs for years, possessed the authority to stop payments and ban fraudulent providers from participating in these programs, but repeatedly failed to act. As a result, billions of American taxpayer dollars were potentially paid to fraudulent actors. The report includes testimony and documents obtained by the Committee showing that Minnesota state leaders consistently failed to address known fraud concerns and retaliated against state employees who sought to protect taxpayer funds, allowing criminal schemes to flourish and diverting critical resources from vulnerable Americans.

“Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison are responsible for one of the most stunning oversight failures this Committee has ever examined. Today’s report is the culmination of months of investigative work and reveals hard evidence showing how the Walz Administration failed to stop widespread fraud, allowing criminals to enrich themselves at the expense of American taxpayers. Billions of dollars were stolen because Minnesota state leaders turned a blind eye to rampant fraud and retaliated against state employees who dared to raise concerns. It is now clear the Walz Administration chose to protect the system rather than protect the taxpayer. Americans are fed up with fraud and expect action from the government entrusted with their hard-earned money. The House Oversight Committee has now passed over a dozen bills aimed at protecting taxpayer funds and strengthening oversight of federal programs ripe for fraud. This Committee will continue to work alongside President Trump’s anti-fraud task force to have the backs of hardworking Americans,” said House Committee on Oversight and Government Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).

He [Gene Wu, State Representative (D-TX)] just ADMITTED what we knew ALL ALONG...

Timeline on the partial government shutdown; Speaker Johnson looks to pa...

What to know about the partial government shutdown

January 31, 202612:01 AM ET

By
Lexie Schapitl

The U.S. Capitol is photographed on Jan. 27, 2026. Rahmat Gul/AP

The U.S. government has entered a partial shutdown after Congress failed to meet a deadline of midnight on Friday to complete work on a spending package to prevent funding from running out across multiple federal departments.

While funding has technically expired, Congress appears within striking distance of breaking the impasse that has led funds to expire across large stretches of government, including the Department of Defense, the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.

On Friday, the Senate approved legislation to fund each of these remaining government agencies through the end of the fiscal year in September, while also agreeing to a two-week stopgap bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. That two-week continuing resolution is designed to allow lawmakers to negotiate reforms at the agency after federal immigration officers in Minnesota killed two U.S. citizens this month.

However, the legislation must now be approved by the House, which is on recess until Monday. President Trump has already endorsed the package, and lawmakers in the lower chamber are expected to vote on it soon after their return to Washington.

WATCH LIVE: House moves to hold Bill, Hillary Clinton in contempt for de...

WATCH LIVE: House moves to hold Bill, Hillary Clinton in contempt for defying subpoenas

Fox News

The House Oversight Committee meets to consider resolutions recommending former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton be found in contempt of Congress for defying lawful subpoenas.

Plaskett narrowly escapes censure over her Epstein texts

Plaskett narrowly escapes censure over her Epstein texts

The Democratic delegate will keep her House Intel post after the House voted down a formal reprimand.

Nicholas Wu 

11/18/2025, 9:11pm ET


The House voted 209-214 Tuesday night against formally reprimanding Del. Stacey Plaskett for communicating with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 Oversight Committee hearing.

Three House Republicans — Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Lance Gooden of Texas and Dave Joyce of Ohio — voted with all Democrats against the measure. Three Republicans voted present: Reps. Andrew Garbarino of New York, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania and Jay Obernolte of California.

Plaskett drew scrutiny after documents released from the Epstein estate revealed her texts with him. She’s denied wrongdoing, saying on the House floor Tuesday that Epstein was a constituent, that her contact was limited to information-gathering and that it was not public information at the time that Epstein had been under federal investigation.

“I know how to question individuals. I know how to seek information. I have sought information from confidential informants, from murderers, from other individuals because I want the truth,” she said on the House floor.

Republicans contend Plaskett’s contact with Epstein was more substantive and shaped her questioning during the hearing, which Plaskett denies.

“Standing against a convicted predator’s influence in our proceedings is not partisan. It’s basic decency,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who brought the measure to the House floor through a fast-track process bypassing committees and Hill leadership.

But the measure rejected Tuesday by the House would have also removed Plaskett from the House Intelligence Committee, a step too far for some lawmakers. She would have been the latest House Democrats to be removed from a committee position by Hill Republicans after Republicans voted last Congress to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee for her past comments on Israel.

The failed vote to reprimand Plaskett comes on the same day the House voted almost unanimously to force the Department of Justice to release more files about its case against Epstein. The controversy has roiled Congress and split the MAGA base for months.

In retaliation for the move against Plaskett, Democrats introduced a measure to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and to remove him from the House Armed Services Committee. He’s faced a spate of ethical issues including an since-withdrawn allegation of assault and an ongoing legal dispute over a previous relationship. But that measure is likely to be withdrawn now that the Plaskett effort has failed.

The failure of the Plaskett measure prompted an outcry from conservative Republicans who had pushed for it, with some accusing leaders of cutting deals to avoid a vote on the Mills resolution.

“They’re brokering back end deals to avoid bringing forward justice in both Democrat and Republican chambers,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.). “So it’s literally covering up public corruption.”

Calen Razor contributed to this report.

Lead Art: Del. Stacey Plaskett during a July 2023 hearing. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

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Jayapal Hosts Shadow Hearing on Trump’s Assault on Families and Communities

09.18.2025 | News

Jayapal Hosts Shadow Hearing on Trump’s Assault on Families and Communities


WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, today hosted a Shadow Hearing titled Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Assault Destroys U.S. Families and Communities. This hearing examined the human costs of deportation on U.S. families and communities. It is the third in her series, Kidnapped and Disappeared, that highlights the multifaceted impacts of Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

“Donald Trump lied to the American people. He lied when he said he would bring grocery prices down. He lied when he said he would release the Epstein Files. And he sure as hell lied when it came to immigration enforcement,” said Jayapal. “This indiscriminate immigration enforcement has led to an increased number of family separations. According to a report earlier this week, more than 400 children have been sent to Office of Refugee Settlement shelters from the interior of the United States. In some cases, parents are being told their children will be taken away unless they give up their right to a hearing and to their country of birth. In other cases, children who arrived as unaccompanied minors are being sent back to government shelters for months after they had already been released to vetted sponsors. Families belong together, today we heard absolutely heartbreaking stories about how so many have been ripped apart — and we will continue to shine a light on these horrifying cases.”

A promise is a promise

A promise is a promise

Congressman and physician Raul Ruiz MPP 2001 made a pledge to serve.


By Theo Emery
Photograph by Mark Ostow

THE SUN WAS HIGH and the suit was hot. Raul Ruiz mopped his brow with a handkerchief as he walked the sunbaked sidewalks of Coachella, California, his hometown. He had a briefcase in his hand with a stack of carefully typed contracts inside.

In the scorching summer of 1990, the teenager in the itchy blue suit went from business to business with a proposition: Donate toward his college education, and he would return to the community as a physician. He made the pledge in writing, and he stapled the donor’s card to each signed contract.

These were long odds for the son of farmworkers in a poor and dusty community down the highway from the groomed golf courses of Palm Springs. Yet Ruiz made good on that promise. Not only did he return to Coachella to practice emergency medicine, but he came back with three graduate degrees from Harvard, including a master’s in public policy from the Kennedy School.

Today the 41-year-old physician represents the 36th District of California in Congress after pulling off one of the campaign upsets of 2012. In a race that even close friends doubted he could win, he dislodged Mary Bono Mack from the seat she’d held since 1998.

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Pelosi announces former DOJ official as new House general counsel

December 28, 2018 - 04:40 PM EST

BY JULIEGRACE BRUFKE

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), who is slated to take over as Speaker next month, announced Friday that former Justice Department official Douglas Letter will succeed Thomas Hungar as general counsel of the House of Representatives come January.

The House general counsel is responsible for providing nonpartisan legal advice and assistance to lawmakers, committees and staffers. They also provide legal representation for the lower chamber in the case of litigation.

"Douglas Letter has an outstanding and highly decorated record of achievement in service of America," Pelosi said in a statement. "He will bring deep experience and legal expertise to the House, as he counsels and represents our institution, Members and staff as House General Counsel."

Letter - who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley Law School - currently serves as a senior litigator at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he also teaches law. Prior to that, he served as the director of the Civil Division appellate staff at the Department of Justice.

"I look forward to serving the interests of the House of Representatives and its Members," Letter said in a statement Friday. "I am eager to apply my litigation experience as I take on the challenges and opportunities that come with the important position of House General Counsel."

Source

WATCH: House Democrats hold news briefing regarding special counsel