The President's Daily Brief - January 11th, 2024: Maritime Menace, Mayorkas in the Hot Seat, & Hunter’s Capitol Cameo

Episode Date: January 11, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We delve into the escalating tensions at sea, as the Houthis launch their most significant offensive yet on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, reinforcing the trepidation that grips many shipping lines over traversing the region. The heat turns up on Capitol Hill with the House Homeland Security Committee initiating impeachment hearings against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, closely following the shocking news of a vast number of migrants gaining access to the U.S. interior. A surprise twist at a House Oversight hearing unfolds when President's son, Hunter Biden, makes an unexpected entrance, setting the stage for a clash in Congress. In today’s Back of the Brief, a landmark meeting takes place at the Pentagon between top U.S. and Chinese defense officials, marking their first in-person discourse since January 2020. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your $1 per month trial at Shopify.com slash special offer. It's Thursday, January 11th,000. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Today, we'll start things off with the latest from the Red Sea as the Houthis launched their largest attack yet on commercial shipping vessels, demonstrating yet again why many shipping lines continue to avoid the region. Later in the program, we'll examine the unfolding drama on Capitol Hill as the House Homeland Security Committee launches impeachment hearings

against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mallorcas, days after revelations that an astonishingly high number of migrants are being granted entry into the United States. Then, we'll bring you the details of the chaotic scene at a House oversight hearing sparked by an unexpected visit from the President's son, Hunter. And finally, in today, Today's back of the brief, top U.S. and Chinese defense officials met face-to-face at the Pentagon this week for the first time since January 2020. We'll look at what was discussed and what it might mean for U.S.-China relations. But first up, the PDB spotlight. In one of the most significant confrontations to date in the Red Sea, U.S. and U.K. naval forces intercepted a barrage of

21 missiles and drones fired by Iranian-backed Houthi forces from Yemen, as per a U.S. Central Command statement. At around 9.15 p.m. on Tuesday, the Houthis unleashed an attack that included 18 drones designed for one-way attacks, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and one anti-ship ballistic missile. The intended target, of course, were the international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea, crowded with dozens of merchant vessels at the time of the attack. There were no reports of casualties or damage. Now, this attack marks the 26th incident targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea since the onset of Houthi hostilities on November 19th. In a statement, a Houthi military spokesperson claimed responsibility for a Tuesday's attack, framing it as a, quote, coordinated offensive

against an American vessel purportedly assisting Israel. This action, according to the spokesperson, was in retaliation against a treacherous attack, as they described it, by U.S. forces in December, which saw U.S. helicopters destroying three Houthi crafts that were maneuvering to assault a commercial ship. Signs are now emerging that U.S. and U.K. forces may be gearing up for a retaliatory strike, potentially targeting the sites from which Houthi troops, are launching their missiles and drones.

That would be a revolutionary concept. When probed about the likelihood of military action against the Houthis, UK defense minister Grant Shaps hinted at an imminent response, suggesting the public, quote, watch this space. Shaps also pointed fingers at Iran for backing the attacks, signaling a loss of patience with a stern, enough is enough. Now, in case you're wondering,

A stern warning of, enough is enough, may not sound all that threatening, but when combined with the posh British accent of the UK's defense minister, well, I suspected got the Houthis rethinking their strategy. We spoke at length last week on the PDB about the impact that these attacks could have on the global economy, as the Houthis have forced shipping companies to reroute their ships to avoid the area, taking a longer route around Africa's Cape of Good Hope. The Wall Street Journal has now reported sharp increases in ocean shipping rates and significant delays as ships are diverted. The cost to ship standard 40-foot containers has almost doubled since late November. In a sobering tally, industry executives estimate that the top 10 container shipping firms have redirected cargo worth approximately $200 billion away from the Red Sea since early December, a stark indicator of the conflict's far-reaching implications. All right, coming up, we've got two stories for you on the U.S. domestic front. The House Homeland Security Committee begins its impeachment hearings against DHS Chief

Alejandro Mayorkas just days after it's revealed that a shocking number of migrants are being allowed into the U.S. interior. Plus, chaos erupts during a House oversight hearing after the President's son Hunter makes a surprise appearance. Now if for some reason you needed any more evidence that Washington, D.C. is ground zero for dysfunctional political behavior, well, today's clown show should do the trick. I'll be right back. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamava Theater.com, only at Yamava

Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. Welcome back. The Homeland Security Committee of the House convened on Wednesday for the first in a series of hearings that could culminate in articles of impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas. As the head official in charge of border management, Mayorkas's tenure has overseen arguably the most severe migrant crisis in the nation's history. The U.S. saw the highest rate of illegal migrant encounters ever last month. Between December 1st and December 31st, more than 300,000 migrants were documented attempting to cross the U.S. southern border. The last three months of 23 saw almost 800,000 encounters. And of course, that number doesn't include the known

Godaways or individuals who slipped across without encountering law enforcement. Chairman Mark Greene of Tennessee opened the proceedings with pointed criticism, accusing the Secretary of deliberately neglecting to uphold congressional laws, thereby compromising national safety. The hearings aim to determine if Majorcas has consciously breached his oath of office. Now, that seems like a strange place to set the bar, meaning if the secretary breached his oath of office, it shouldn't matter whether he did so consciously or not. I mean, not being aware that you're breaching your oath of office just means you're also incompetent. Now, Democrats have dismissed the hearings as a baseless exercise, merely a tactic for

Republicans to energize their supporters and bolster fundraising efforts. One Democrat leader commented that, quote, I'll be damned if we're going to let those Republicans steal our tactic of holding baseless hearings simply to energize our supporters and bolster fundraising efforts." And, quote. And yes, I made up that quote. Should the House move forward with this impeachment, the process would then advance to the Senate, where Majorcas could face censure or even removal from his position. However, given that the Senate is currently controlled by the White House, the odds of that happening are about the same as the odds of the border crisis being successfully resolved. Okay, turning our gaze to the southern border itself, there's actually some good news,

well, and some bad news on that front. The good news is that there's been a noticeable decrease in migrant crossings since the new year began. As we reported back in December, Secretary's Blinken and Mayork has paid a visit to Mexican President Obelador in an attempt to stem the tide of migrants. apparently that meeting may have paid some dividends after all, at least temporarily. Twitter updates from a Border Patrol chief in the Tucson sector show a decrease in daily migrant encounters down to about 13,800 from a December peak of 19,400. However, before getting too excited about that shift, basic math tells us that if perhaps the number of daily encounters for January drops to say an average of 13,000, well, that would still mean a monthly total of over 400,000.

So, the good news is marginal, and now for the bad. We talk a lot about migrant encounters on this show. That's the term that DHS uses to describe incidents in which agents encounter and process non-citizens. But how many of those encounters actually result in illegal migrants being allowed into the interior of the country? Well, as it turns out, the number is shockingly high. A Fox News report reveals that Secretary Mayorkas in a private meeting with Border Patrol agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, acknowledged that over 85% of illegal immigrants apprehended at the southern border are being released into the country. figure that underscores the magnitude of the ongoing situation. Now, turning to our old pal math again,

if we just look at the last three months of 2023 when approximately 785,000 known encounters took place, well, 85% of 785,000, at least according to my calculator, is 667,250,000 individuals being bust around the country in that period of October through December. All right. The impeachment hearing against Secretary Majorcas wasn't the only drama on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Tensions flared at a House Oversight Committee hearing to decide whether to hold Hunter Biden in contempt after Hunter himself, along with his attorney and a small posse, made an unexpected

appearance in the committee hearing room. Amiss the backdrop of a markup session Wednesday morning, the committee considered a resolution to initiate contempt proceedings against the President's son. Now, this action stems from Hunter Biden's failure to honor a subpoena for a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees last December. The same day he was scheduled to appear at that deposition, the President's son appeared outside the Capitol building on the Senate side to deliver a public statement to the press. That's a fairly big middle finger to members of Congress.

It was a choreographed bit of theater designed by Hunter's attorney and aided by Democrats, including Eric Swalwell. Despite his willingness to speak in a public forum, Biden has steadfastly refused to testify in a private session, citing concerns that Republicans could selectively leak aspects of his testimony. Now, the whole spectacle on Wednesday began as Hunter, accompanied by his legal counsel, walked into the committee hearing in person and sat in the audience. Democrats on the committee appeared nonplussed about his appearance, likely because they, unlike their Republican counterparts, had been advised of the plan ahead of time.

The session swiftly escalated when Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace confronted Hunter with a few choice remarks, accusing him of embodying white privilege and cowardice for ignoring a congressional subpoena. She went on to accuse the first son of having no balls. and called for his immediate arrest and detention. Hunter then responded, No balls, lady, have you seen my videos? Again, uh, made up quote. Hunter Biden, as attorneys, ultimately left the hearing room before the committee could vote on the contempt resolution. Cameras, of course, followed Hunter's every move, and the orchestration of the carnival fueled speculation that the stunt was in part designed to garner more footage for a pro-hunter

documentary currently being produced. The chaos continued outside the hearing room as Hunter left. As Biden walked out, reporters peppered him with questions while an unidentified man shouted at him, quote, are you on crack today? A clown car then pulled up outside the building and all the members of the committee piled in. Biden's attorney denounced the committee Republicans, accusing them of, quote, improper partisan motivations. That, of course, would be the first time the Republicans or Democrats have ever accused the other party of improper partisan motivations. In case Biden's attorney isn't aware, Capitol Hill is powered 100% by improper partisan motivations. It's a fuel that produces way too much hot air and noxious odor.

Anyway, this latest controversy adds to the growing legal challenges for the President's son, who is also grappling with two criminal indictments related to tax evasion and federal gun charges. Okay, coming up in the back of the brief, a big step, perhaps, in the thawing of U.S. and China relations, as top defense officials from both countries met face-to-face at the Pentagon for the first time since January 2020. I'll be right back. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly, Joe.

during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Kayak, got that right. In today's back of the brief,

U.S. and Chinese defense officials met on Monday and Tuesday for high-level talks in Washington, D.C., marking the first time in four years that Chinese military officials have visited the Pentagon. It also marks the re-engaged. of in-person military-to-military talks between the U.S. and China, following a virtual meeting between top U.S. and Chinese generals on December 21st. The communication channel between the two militaries was suspended by China over the summer of 2022

in the wake of a surprise visit to Taiwan by former House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi. President Biden and China's leader Xi Jinping had agreed to restore military-to-military communications at a summit in San Francisco back in November. The two sides reportedly spoke on a range of global and regional security issues. Pentagon officials said the U.S. stressed, quote, the importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication with their Chinese counterparts, particularly due to heightened tensions in the South China Sea. While both sides are eager to avoid any misunderstanding between the two militaries in the region, U.S. officials did reiterate the right to operate

in international waters along with U.S. allies. A readout provided by the DOD said the U.S. made it clear to China that we, quote, will continue to fly, sail, and operate safely and responsibly wherever international law allows, end quote. U.S. officials also reportedly addressed China's repeated harassment of Philippine vessels lawfully operated. in the South China Sea. The thorny issue of Taiwan, of course, also came up, with Chinese officials pushing the U.S. to stop arming Taiwan and emphasizing that, quote, China will not make any concession or compromise on the Taiwan question, end quote. Well, that seems fairly straightforward. This comes as Xi reiterated his intention to reunify Taiwan with mainland China during his New Year's

of address. Now, while the meetings marked encouraging progress regarding U.S.-China relations, I mean, frankly, any dialogue is good dialogue when you're talking about the world's two largest militaries, there were no policy breakthroughs. An unnamed defense official told reporters, quote, the bottom line is that we're going to keep working to open the lines of communication because they're important for preventing competition from veering into conflict, end quote. The official then accepted their award for the best statement of the obvious by an unnamed defense official for the month of January. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Thursday, 11 January. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com.

I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Ryan Reynolds here for MintMobil. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities, so do like I did and have one of your assistants assistants to switch you to MintMobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available.

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