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    This is What 21 McCarthy Holdouts got in Committee Assignments

      By
      Madeleine Jackson
      -
      1
      House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy delivers remarks at the 2021 Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Washington DC, December 1, 2021. USDA Forest Service photo by Tanya E. Flores.

      Last month, over 20 House Republican lawmakers refused to vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid for House Speaker. However, after 15 grueling rounds of voting McCarthy finally held the Speaker’s gavel.

      Not every holdout got exactly what he or she had asked for, some won plum committee assignments from McCarthy, here’s what we know so far:

      Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a vocal McCarthy foe during the speaker fight, flipped to “present” in the 14th round. Gaetz will continue to serve on the Judiciary panel and was appointed by the Speaker to the new weaponization subcommittee.

      Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona a former head of the Freedom Caucus and one of the five so-called “Never Kevins,” kept his position on the powerful Judiciary and Oversight committee. The Arizona Congressman was also named chairman of the Judiciary’s subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance. Ultimately, Biggs changed his vote to “present” on the final ballot for speaker, helping propell McCarthy over the finish line.

      Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina flipped to back McCarthy on the 12th ballot, and will continue to serve on both the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees. McCarthy also named Bishop to the Judiciary’s new subcommittee on the “Weaponization of the Federal Government.”

      Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, the vocal McCarthy critic who voted “present” on the 14th and 15th ballots, was awarded a seat on the Oversight and Accountability Committee. She will also continue to serve on the Natural Resources panel.

      Rep. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, the freshman Congressman flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot and won seats on the Homeland Security Committee and Budget committees.

      Rep. Mike Cloud of Texas flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot. The Lone Star state Congressman won a new seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, which controls federal spending. McCarthy also named him to the new select committee investigating the origins of the Covid pandemic.

      Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, another lawmaker who flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot, will serve on the Appropriations Committee for the first time.

      Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona will serve on the Homeland Security Committee.

      Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida was nominated to run against McCarthy for speaker and flipped to him on the 12th ballot. Donalds was named by McCarthy as the “speaker’s designee” on the influential Steering Committee, which decides which lawmakers get committee gavels and seats. Donalds also won a coveted spot on the Financial Services Committee, a top panel known on Capitol Hill as an “A” committee.

      Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, one of the Never Kevins who flipped to “present” in the last round of voting, will serve on the Budget and Education and Workforce committees.

      Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot and was reinstated by Republicans on two committees —Oversight and Natural Resources panels. He was named chairman of the Natural Resources subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

      Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland will continue to serve on the Appropriations panel. Harris, a physician, will be the chairman of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration subcommittee.

      Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot. The freshman Congresswoman won a seat on the Oversight and Natural Resources panels.

      Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois will remain on the Agriculture Committee.

      Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, one of the “Never Kevins” who flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot, was named by the speaker as one of nine Republicans on the Rules Committee. Additionally, the South Carolina congressman will remain on the Financial Services panel and will serve on the Budget Committee too.

      Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee won a seat on the Financial Services Committee.

      Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus who brokered a deal between conservatives and McCarthy, will remain on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Perry also won a new seat on the Oversight committee.

      Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana, a “Never Kevin” who flipped to “present” on the final ballot, will continue to serve on Natural Resources.

      Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who helped Perry negotiate a deal with McCarthy, was tapped to serve on the Budget committee and the influential Rules Committee. The Lone Star state congressman will also keep his seat on the Judiciary panel.

      Rep. Keith Self of Texas will serve on the Foreign Affairs panel.

      Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, who flipped from “present” to vote for McCarthy on the 12th ballot, will continue to serve on the Judiciary panel.

      DeSantis Responds to Trump’s Worst Attack Yet

        By
        Madeleine Jackson
        -
        15
        Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

        Will Trump apologize for this?

        The 45th president of the United States is promoting a claim that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis “groomed” high school-aged girls.

        American Liberty News previously reported:

        Trump promoted a post that showed a grainy photograph of someone that is alleged to be DeSantis standing next to several women at a party who appear to be roughly the same age.

        “Here is Ron DeSanctimonious grooming high school girls with alcohol as a teacher,” the post claimed.

        Trump promoted the post on his social media channel, writing: “That’s not Ron, is it? He would never do such a thing!”

        The New York Times previously reported that the photo was published by a blog run by a Democrat super PAC and that two former female students said parties that DeSantis attended “took place after” they had graduated.

        The Florida Governor has been the recent target of a number of verbal attacks from Trump, however, the Governor refuses to sink to his level.

        On Wednesday, a reporter asked if DeSantis’s proposal to make it easier for government officials to sue the media for defamation would address Trump’s “damaging” posts about him. After defending his panel proposals, DeSantis got more direct about Trump’s attack:

        “I spend my time delivering results for the people of Florida and fighting against Joe Biden,” DeSantis said to applause. “That’s how I spend my time. I don’t spend my time trying to smear other Republicans.”

        Prominent National Conservative Group Distances Itself From Trump

          By
          Madeleine Jackson
          -
          7
          Gage Skidmore Flickr

          The Club for Growth has invited six possible Republican presidential candidates to its annual donor retreat. Former President Donald Trump isn’t one of them.

          The anti-tax super PAC spent $150 million in the past two election cycles boosting GOP candidates across the country. Its leader, David McIntosh, believes the Republican Party’s chances of reclaiming the White House in two years’ time will be significantly diminished if Trump becomes the party’s nominee.

          Now, McIntosh wants to do all he can to introduce major donors to other possibilities.

          The New York Times reports:

          “The party should be open to another candidate,” Mr. McIntosh said, suggesting that Republicans had already lost too many elections with Mr. Trump as the face of the party.

          The group and the former president clashed during last year’s Ohio GOP Senate primary. Trump sent McIntosh a vulgar message less than one month after graciously introducing him at a rally.

          In OHSEN, Trump had expected McIntosh from the Club for Growth to stop supporting Mandel after Trump backed Vance. The Club aired a new spot today featuring Vance quotes criticizing Trump in the past. Trump had his assistant send McIntosh a text saying, “Go f*^% yourself.” April 21, 2022

          The Times continues:

          Mr. McIntosh insisted that there was no personal animosity guiding the group’s interest in seeking another option for the 2024 nomination. Instead, he said that Mr. Trump had proved to be toxic among general election voters, adding that Republicans had lost elections in 2018, 2020 and 2022 on the former president’s watch.

          Mr. Trump’s standing among Republicans dipped in public opinion polls in November and December. In addition to being largely blamed for the Republicans’ disappointing midterm season, he was also roundly criticized after hosting a private dinner — a week after his campaign announcement — with Kanye West, who has been denounced for making antisemitic statements, and Nick Fuentes, an outspoken antisemite and prominent young white supremacist.

          What do you think? Is Trump the strongest nominee to win in 2024? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

          Biden Canceled Trump’s Program Identifying Chinese Threats Last Year

            By
            Madeleine Jackson
            -
            0
            Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

            President Biden’s incompetency as President is unavoidable.

            After the President permitted a Chinese spy balloon to traverse the country for the better part of a week it is important to remind Americans that last year Biden chose to cancel a program launched by the Trump administration to identify Chinese threats to national security.

            According to The Daily Wire, Matt Olsen, the Biden administration’s assistant attorney general in charge of the national security division, claimed that Asians had said the program was biased against them, saying, “We helped give rise to a harmful perception that the department applies a lower standard to investigate and prosecute criminal conduct related to that country or that we in some way view people with racial, ethnic, or family ties to China differently.”

            “Make no mistake. We will be relentless in defending our country from China,” he added.

            A few weeks before Biden ended Trump’s China Initiative, former FBI director Christopher Wray acknowledged that when he took his job in 2017 and examined the scope of Chinese theft of American technology, it “blew me away. And I’m not the kind of guy that uses words like ‘blown away’ easily.”

            “There is no country that presents a broader, more severe threat to our innovation, our ideas and our economic security than China does,” he added.

            “The scale of their hacking program, and the amount of personal and corporate data that their hackers have stolen, is greater than every other country combined,” Wray concluded.

            The China Initiative was implemented by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2018.

            “Today, we see Chinese espionage not just taking place against traditional targets like our defense and intelligence agencies, but against targets like research labs and universities, and we see Chinese propaganda disseminated on our campuses. … This Department of Justice—and the Trump administration—have already made our decision: we will not allow our sovereignty to be disrespected, our intellectual property to be stolen, or our people to be robbed of their hard-earned prosperity.  We want fair trade and good relationships based on honest dealing.  We will enforce our laws—and we will protect America’s national interests.”

            DeSantis Receives Unexpected Rescue After Being Called ‘Racist’

            By
            Madeleine Jackson
            -
            0

            Florida Governor Ron DeSantis received an unexpected rescue after being called a racist.

            Black leaders in Miami apologized to Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis after one of its members called him a racist last week, according to reports from Fox News.

            Pierre Rutledge, chair of the Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board, issued a statement on behalf of his board that apologized to DeSantis for a comment made at their Wednesday meeting from a member who said, “Our governor is racist.”

            “We take it to heart when someone uses the term racist,” Rutledge said Friday. “Words matter. And so as chair, I must start by saying we want to pull that back. There’s nothing wrong with saying ‘we’re sorry.’ That’s not what we intended to say or be depicted by anyone. And that’s not the feeling of this board.”

            The member labeled DeSantis a racist due to the ongoing controversy of an African-American history Advanced Placement course. Earlier this year, Gov. DeSantis rejected the course because he claimed the content did not focus on Black history, instead, the course contained Black Lives Matter and queer issues. 

            DeSantis has defended the decision from his Department of Education to remove the African-American history course, which he said pushes a political agenda.

            “This course on Black history, what’s one of the lessons about? Queer theory,” DeSantis said. “Now, who would say that an important part of Black history is queer theory? That is somebody pushing an agenda.”

            Black leaders and Democrats in Florida have pledged to defend and keep the course in schools.

            The College Board removed aspects of the course last Wednesday opposed by DeSantis. The course will be reevaluated by the Florida Department of Education to determine if it is appropriate for schools.

            Trump Claims DeSantis was Nearly Brought to Tears over Endorsement

              By
              Madeleine Jackson
              -
              11

              Donald Trump seems to have his eyes set on dragging Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s name through the mud.

              Trump made his latest unprovoked attack against the Florida governor during an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday.

              “Ron DeSantis got elected because of me. You remember he had nothing. He was dead. He was leaving the race,” Trump claimed. “He came over and he begged me, begged me for an endorsement. He was getting ready to drop out. I gave him an endorsement, and as soon as I gave that endorsement, in fact, I said you’re going to have a hard time.”

              “He said if you endorse me, I’ll win. And there were tears coming down from his eyes,” Trump claimed. “He said if you endorse me, I’ll win. I said you know what, Ron, Ron was one of 150 people that was on television. I mean, Jim Jordan was the best, and others were great. But he was one of 150, Hugh, that was on television, and he was supporting me on the impeachment hoax number one, and a little bit on the impeachment hoax number two. And I said I don’t know Adam Putnam, so we’ll do it.”

              During the sprawling interview, Trump also slammed his former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley over her potential White House run.

              Trump has recently fired off a barrage of attacks against DeSantis, who is potentially considering mounting his own presidential campaign.

              On Wednesday, Trump accused DeSantis of being a “RINO Globalist” as he criticized his response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

              “The real Ron is a RINO GLOBALIST, who closed quickly down Florida and even its beaches,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Loved the Vaccines and wasted big money on ‘Testing.’ How quickly people forget!”

              Red State Governor Appoints New ‘Border Czar’

                By
                Madeleine Jackson
                -
                0
                Construction continues on new border wall system project near Yuma, AZ. Recently constructed border wall near Yuma, Arizona on June 3, 2020. CBP photo by Jerry Glaser.

                Don’t mess with Texas.

                Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) is sick and tired of the Biden administration’s lack of action at the U.S.-Mexico border.

                In his strongest move yet to defend the border, Gov. Abbott created a new position in his administration to battle the ongoing illegal immigration crisis.

                “For nearly two years, the State of Texas has taken unprecedented, historic action under Operation Lone Star in response to the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border,” said Abbott. “To continue doing what no other state in the history of our country has done to secure the border, I hired Mike Banks as the State of Texas’ first-ever Border Czar.”

                “As an award-winning Border Patrol Agent, with decades of federal law enforcement and border security experience, Mike is the perfect choice to oversee Texas’ fight against the surge of illegal immigration, lethal drugs, and deadly weapons flowing into our state and nation,” Abbott continued. “I have no doubt that Mike’s strong record of leadership and wealth of experience will provide Texans—and Americans—the level of border security expertise they deserve from a proper Border Czar.”

                Banks said, “Protecting our nation’s border is something I have dedicated the last 23 years of my life to, and I am very passionate about it. I look forward to strengthening our relationships with law enforcement partners and the community, leveraging all that we can to further protect our great state of Texas and the United States.”

                According to The Daily Wire, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had 251,487 encounters with illegal aliens last month, the highest number ever recorded in U.S. history.

                December’s numbers marked ten straight months of 200,000+ illegal alien encounters per month on the southern border.

                Meadows Ally Plans to Plead Guilty

                  By
                  Madeleine Jackson
                  -
                  0
                  Office of Congressman Mark Meadows, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

                  A Republican who ran to replace former Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) after he joined the Trump White House will plead guilty to accepting an illegal campaign contribution.

                  Federal prosecutors have charged Lynda Bennett for knowingly accepting a $25,000 campaign contribution from a relative that was made in someone else’s name.

                  Monday’s court filing indicated Bennett’s plan to plead guilty. Details surrounding the illegal contribution have largely been kept secret.

                  “This case involves a technical violation of campaign-finance regulations, based on a loan from a family member. Lynda looks forward to putting it behind her,” Bennett’s attorney, Kearns Davis, told Fox News Digital by email Monday. 

                  Sentencing guidelines for violations of 52 USC 30122 list maximum penalties of five years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $50,000.

                  Bennett, an outspoken GOP activist ultimately lost her 2020 Congressional campaign to controversial firebrand Madison Cawthorn by about 32 percentage points, or 15,000 votes.

                  Federal campaign finance laws prohibited individual contributions that exceeded $2,800 for the 2020 primary cycle or $2,800 for that year’s general election cycle.

                  According to The Hill, Meadows’s wife, Debbie was close with Bennett and reportedly encouraged the former president to endorse her in the primary.

                  This story is breaking. Click refresh for the latest updates.

                  RNC Holds Highly Anticipated Leadership Vote

                    By
                    Madeleine Jackson
                    -
                    12
                    Ronna McDaniel via Gage Skidmore Flickr

                    The Republican National Committee held its long-awaited leadership vote on Friday.

                    Ronna McDaniel won a fourth term to head the Republican National Committee (RNC) during a secret ballot vote by members on Friday.

                    Ronna McDaniel has led the RNC since being tapped by former President Trump to the role in 2016. However, disappointing midterm results prompted criticism from Republicans across the nation.

                    McDaniel fended off two challengers — California attorney Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

                    NBC News correspondent Vaugh Hillyard reported McDaniel received 111 votes for RNC chair. Dhillon come in second with 51 votes, while Lindell and former Congressman Lee Zeldin trailed in a distant third and fourth place, receiving four and one votes respectively.

                    McDaniel, the niece of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), ran the RNC while Trump was president. She dropped the “Romney” from her name when she became RNC chairwoman in 2017, making her just the second woman to ever hold the position. She is one of the longest-serving RNC chairs ever. 

                    On Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron. DeSantis (R) plunged into the race, saying the RNC needed “new blood” and offering favorable comments for Harmeet Dhillon. (RELATED: DeSantis Dives into RNC Leadership Race)

                    “I think we need a change, I think we need to get some new blood in the RNC,” DeSantis said in an interview with Florida’s Voice. “I like what Harmeet Dhillon has said about getting the RNC out of D.C. … We need some fresh thinking.”

                    Dhillon, a California attorney who was a legal adviser for Trump’s 2020 campaign, emerged as a major opponent set to disrupt McDaniel-re-election plans.

                    Mike Lindell, a staunch Trump supporter and MyPillow CEO, led a disappointing campaign for RNC chair.

                    Lindell focused his RNC campaign on protecting election “integrity.”

                    Trump in Hot Water Again After Posing with Infamous Philly Mob Boss

                      By
                      Madeleine Jackson
                      -
                      7

                      Trump is facing criticism after a photo emerged of him with the infamous Philadelphia mon boss, Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino.

                      Trump posed for the photo obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer with Merlino earlier this month at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach. The two, along with an unidentified third man, flash Trump’s customary “thumbs-up” hand signs and smiles while wearing golfing attire.

                      “President Trump takes countless photos with people. That does not mean he knows every single person he comes in contact with,” said a Trump spokesperson after The Inquirer shared a copy of the photo with his campaign.

                      Merlino was convicted in 2001 in a racketeering case and served a decade in federal prison and is known for connections to mob with operations in Philadelphia and Atlantic City. After his release, he relocated to Boca Raton, Florida before being arrested again in 2018 on a gambling-related charge.

                      Trump has recently come under fire for his contact with controversial public figures like Kanye West and Nick Fuentes.

                      Last year Trump hosted a dinner while the rapper also known as Ye was in the middle of his anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi meltdown. West was also accompanied by Nick Fuentes, one of the most infamous white nationalists and Holocaust deniers in the country. Trump has asserted that he was unaware Fuentes would be attending the dinner.

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