On Monday, Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon announced he will not seek re-election.
“After 30 years in the Air Force and 10 years in Congress, it’s time to spend my future with the love of my life, our four kids, and our wonderful grandchildren. Thank you, Nebraska!” Bacon announced Monday.
When we started this journey in 2015, we had one grandchild. Today, Angie and I are blessed to have eight grandchildren. After 30 years in the Air Force and 10 years in Congress, it’s time to spend my future with the love of my life, our four kids, and our wonderful… pic.twitter.com/1OT11kB6oz
— Don Bacon 🇺🇸 🥓 ✈️ 🏍️ ⭐️ 🎖️ (@DonJBacon) June 30, 2025
Bacon’s announcement comes as Congress works overtime to pass President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” by their self-imposed July 4 deadline. Through the reconciliation process, the megabill seeks to deliver on the president’s key campaign promises, including tax cuts, immigration reform and energy production.
Bacon has represented Nebraska’s second congressional district since 2017. He won re-election in 2024 by less than two percentage points.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced Sunday he would also not seek re-election next year. Like Bacon, Tillis has been willing to buck Trump and the Republican Party on key issues, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Tillis was one of just two Republicans who voted against a procedural vote on the bill in the Senate this weekend.
President Joe Biden’s approval rating sank to a new low in a Marquette University Law School poll released this week.
According to the survey of 1,063 adults across the country, just 34% of the country approves of the way Biden “is handling his job as president,” while 66% disapprove, putting him underwater by a shell-shocking 32 points.
That’s the worst net approval rating Biden has posted in the poll since taking office. It appears that the president’s decision to go back on his word and pardon his son, Hunter Biden, for any crimes he may have committed over a more than decade-long period, may have contributed to his plummeting popularity. Just 29% of respondents said they approved of the pardon, while 71% disapproved.
Fifty-three percent, meanwhile, say that they approved of the way President-elect Donald Trump handled his job during his first term in office.
The plunge in the president’s approval was also fueled by soaring inflation – which started spiking in the summer of 2021
Biden has not achieved a positive net approval rating since July 2021. His previous low of -30 came this summer.
The president’s approval stands in the mid-30s to low-40s in the latest national surveys, including the most recent Fox News national poll, where Biden stands at 41% approval.
The president has faded from the news cycle over his last half-year or so in office after he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race in late July
Former Vice President Kamala Harris suggested this weekend that she may not be finished with presidential politics — leaving open the possibility of a third White House bid in 2028, despite two failed attempts and sinking poll numbers.
“I am not done,” Harris said in an interview with the BBC, hinting that she could “possibly” still become president someday. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service and it’s in my bones,” she added while speaking with British journalist Laura Kuenssberg.
The comments mark Harris’s strongest signal yet that she’s considering another run after losing to President Trump nearly a year ago. While she hasn’t confirmed her intentions, the former Democratic nominee’s remarks come amid renewed media appearances and ongoing speculation about her political future.
Just last month, Harris told MSNBC that she wasn’t thinking about 2028 — insisting her focus was elsewhere. “That’s not my focus right now. That’s not my focus at all, it really isn’t,” she said, claiming she instead wanted to help Democrats defend vulnerable seats during the midterms.
Harris also floated the idea of running for California governor, though she later announced in July she would not seek to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, another Democrat rumored to have presidential ambitions.
Her recent memoir, 107 Days, has only fueled speculation about her next moves — and stirred frustration within her own party. The book recounts her brief 2024 campaign after President Biden dropped out of the race, including her decision to pick Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate and her unsuccessful fight against Trump.
In the book, Harris criticizes Biden’s decision to run for reelection, calling it “recklessness” and saying he “got tired.” The memoir’s release, followed by a high-profile media tour, has drawn mixed reviews from prominent Democrats such as Pete Buttigieg and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who warn the book could divide the party further.
Despite sliding approval ratings, Harris dismissed concerns about her viability. “If I listened to polls I would have not run for my first office, or my second office — and I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here,” she told Kuenssberg.
During her book tour, Harris has returned to attacking the Trump administration, accusing the president of “weaponizing” federal agencies and lacking “guardrails.”
“He said he would weaponize the Department of Justice — and he has done exactly that,” Harris told the BBC, citing Trump’s actions against several high-profile figures, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, former national security adviser John Bolton, and former FBI Director James Comey.
Harris also criticized what she described as political interference in the media — referring to the temporary suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel following controversial comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “You look at what has happened in terms of how he has weaponized, for example, federal agencies going around after political satirists,” she said. “His skin is so thin he couldn’t endure criticism from a joke and attempted to shut down an entire media organization in the process.”
Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe was removed from a California city council meeting by police after a self-described act of “civil disobedience” while attacking Donald Trump.
The reason for Kluwe’s protest revolved around a sign proposed for Huntington Beach’s public library, which would have the words “Magical,” “Alluring,” “Galvanizing” and “Adventurous” next to each other. The words spell out MAGA.
“Through hope and change our nation has built back better to the golden era of Making America Great Again!” the signage reads.
Video captured Kluwe speaking at the City Council meeting, where he criticized the MAGA movement, which is typically associated with President Donald Trump’s campaign message, “Make America Great Again.” He opined that it was “a Nazi movement.”
“I’m gonna take my time to say what MAGA has stood for these past three weeks,” said Kluwe. “MAGA stands for trying to erase trans people from existence. MAGA stands for resegregation and racism. MAGA stands for censorship and book bans. MAGA stands for firing air traffic controllers while planes are crashing. MAGA stands for firing the people overseeing our nuclear arsenal.”
“MAGA stands for firing military veterans and those serving them at the VA, including canceling research on veteran suicide,” the former punter added. “MAGA stands for cutting funds for education, including for disabled children. MAGA is profoundly corrupt, unmistakenly anti-democracy, and most importantly, MAGA is explicitly a Nazi movement.”
Kluwe then slightly elevated his voice to say, “You may have replaced a swastika with a red hat, but that is what it is.
“I will now engage in the time-honored American tradition of peaceful civil disobedience,” Kluwe said at the end of his speech to the City Council before walking up to the front where the council members were sitting.
Video posted by HB Protect on X showed police officers quickly arresting Kluwe, who was face down on the floor with a crowd cheering behind him for his actions. The City Council’s feed cut out before Kluwe was seen rushing the council members.
He was then carried out by three police officers, two of whom holding one arm each and the other carrying the former punter’s legs.
Kluwe was charged with disrupting an assembly. He told the Orange County Register he was released around four hours after his arrest. He said his belief was that the plaque was more “propaganda” than celebrating the library, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Watch:
Kluwe, 43, played eight years in the NFL, all for the Minnesota Vikings, from 2005-12.
President Donald Trump is throwing his support behind former Fox News host Steve Hilton in California’s 2026 gubernatorial race, issuing a forceful endorsement as Republicans look to compete in a state long dominated by Democrats.
“I have known and respected Steve Hilton, who is running for Governor of California, for many years,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post announcing his backing.
He is a truly fine man, one who has watched as this once great State has gone to Hell. Gavin Newscum and the Democrats have done an absolutely horrendous job. People are fleeing, crime is increasing, and Taxes are the highest of any State in the Country, maybe the World. Steve can turn it around, before it is too late, and, as President, I will help him to do so! With Federal help, and a Great Governor, like Steve Hilton, California can be better than ever before! Steve Hilton has my COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENT. He will be a GREAT Governor and, importantly, WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!!! President DONALD J. TRUMP.
Hilton is one of more than a dozen Republicans vying for their party’s nomination in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. A former adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron, Hilton later became a prominent conservative media figure in the U.S., hosting The Next Revolution on Fox News from 2017 to 2023.
His candidacy has also drawn support from high-profile conservative figures, including former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and actor Jon Voight, helping to elevate his profile in an already crowded GOP field.
On the Democratic side, the race is shaping up to be equally competitive — and potentially fragmented. Declared candidates include Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Rep. Katie Porter, and billionaire donor Tom Steyer, with the possibility of additional entrants. Because California uses a “top-two” primary system — where all candidates compete on the same ballot regardless of party and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election — a crowded Democratic field could split the vote.
That dynamic has, in past elections, created an opening for Republicans to consolidate support behind a single candidate and potentially secure a spot in the general election, even in a heavily blue state. If Democratic voters divide their support among multiple well-funded contenders, it raises the possibility — however narrow — of an unexpected general election matchup.
Hilton, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in London, has leaned into his outsider profile and policy background. In addition to his media career, he has been active in policy circles and previously called for investigations into alleged voter fraud following the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s endorsement gives Hilton an early boost in the Republican primary and signals where the former president’s political influence may shape the race. It also aligns Hilton closely with Trump’s broader message on crime, taxes, and governance — themes Republicans hope will resonate with voters frustrated by California’s high cost of living and quality-of-life concerns.
The 2026 election will determine who replaces Newsom, who cannot seek another term due to term limits. While Democrats remain favored in statewide contests, the structure of the primary — combined with a divided field — could make this race more competitive than usual, particularly if one Republican emerges as a clear standard-bearer.
Failed gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams recently claimed President Trump is attempting to shift the United States from a democracy to an autocracy.
Abrams appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” where guest host Anthony Anderson asked her to explain the “10 steps to autocracy.”
Abrams said her 10 steps apply to “every nation that has become an autocracy having been a democracy,” specifically referencing Brazil India, Russia, and the Philippines.
“Start with winning an election,” Abrams said. “Usually the last one you’ll get to have for real.”
Office of U.S. House Speaker, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Abrams’ next steps included expanding executive power and weakening Congress and the judicial branch.
“Like, I don’t know, the Supreme Court is giving you unfettered power and saying we don’t have the ability to stop things,” Abrams said, presumably referencing the recent Supreme Court ruling limiting nationwide injunctions.
Abrams then conveniently avoided mentioning former President Joe Biden, who notably ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down his student loan forgiveness plan.
Abrams then said autocracies then “gut the civil service” to “break democracy” and put loyalists in the FBI “so they go after your enemies.”
She again failed to mention that under the Biden administration, Trump was charged in four criminal cases that were widely viewed as political prosecutions.
Abrams said that Trump “[going] after DEI” was evidence that he was looking for someone to blame, which she said was another hallmark of autocracies.
She then suggested Trump’s mobilization of the National Guard and the U.S. Marines in Los Angeles was one step away from a full autocracy.
Watch:
Stacey Abrams says the fact that Trump sent the National Guard and ICE to keep peace and deport illegal aliens, means he will cancel future elections
“You send the U.S. Marines into spaces where they should not be, you send the National Guard in, you kidnap people off of the streets and pretend that’s normal,” Abrams said.
“Once you’ve done those nine steps, step 10 is easy,” Abrams said. “That’s when you decide there won’t be new elections because everyone’s either afraid, poor, broken, or complicit.”
Abrams has claimed dozens of times that the 2018 gubernatorial election was stolen from her. In 2019, she said, “I didn’t lose. I got the votes. But we won’t know exactly how many because of how they cheated.”
Failed Democrat candidate Stacey Abrams wrongly blames the Texas floods on the National Weather Service even though the NWS had extra staff and did the best job possible to warn people.
President Donald Trump has privately expressed growing frustration with Attorney General Pam Bondi in recent weeks, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Monday, fueling renewed speculation about whether she could become the first Cabinet official replaced in his second term.
The Journal reported that Trump has complained repeatedly to aides that Bondi has been “weak” and “ineffective” in carrying out his priorities at the Department of Justice. While Trump has continued to praise Bondi publicly, people familiar with internal discussions say his criticism behind the scenes has intensified as he presses the department to move more aggressively on investigations tied to his political and legal grievances.
Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and longtime Trump ally, has been viewed by many inside and outside the administration as politically aligned with the president’s worldview and loyal to his agenda. Her close relationship with Trump dates back more than a decade, including her role as a prominent defender during his first impeachment and her work supporting his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. That history has made Trump’s apparent dissatisfaction all the more striking.
One recent flashpoint came with Bondi’s handling of materials related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi had publicly suggested that relevant files were “on her desk,” raising expectations among Trump’s supporters that long-sought disclosures were imminent. When the Justice Department later released binders that critics said contained largely irrelevant or already public information, backlash quickly spread across conservative media and among grassroots MAGA activists. The episode contributed to perceptions among some Trump allies that Bondi had overpromised and underdelivered.
Trump’s frustrations, according to the Journal, are part of a broader effort to pressure the Justice Department to act more forcefully against figures he views as responsible for years of investigations into his conduct. The report noted that Trump has discussed appointing special counsels as a way to bypass what he sees as slow-moving or resistant leadership at DOJ. Chief among his complaints is Bondi’s failure, in his view, to pursue criminal cases against individuals such as former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Those grievances are not new. Last September, Trump inadvertently posted to Truth Social a message that appeared to be intended as a private communication to Bondi. Addressed to “Pam,” the post urged her to pursue legal action against Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff, and James, whom Trump accused of wrongdoing. “They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,” Trump wrote, adding that delays were damaging the administration’s “reputation and credibility.” The post was later deleted, and reporting indicated it had been meant as a direct message rather than a public statement.
Despite his private complaints, Trump has continued to defend Bondi in public. In a statement included in the Journal’s report, Trump said, “Pam is doing an excellent job. She has been my friend for many years. Tremendous progress is being made against radical left lunatics who are good at only one thing, cheating in elections and the crimes they commit.”
Still, some of Trump’s closest allies say patience among his supporters is wearing thin. Steve Bannon, a longtime adviser and influential voice in conservative media, told the Journal that Bondi is “bleeding support from her and President Trump’s most loyal troops.” “Folks are desperate for action and just haven’t seen it,” Bannon said.
Trump’s dissatisfaction with his attorney general also fits a familiar pattern. During his first term, he frequently clashed with then–Attorney General Jeff Sessions, publicly criticizing him for recusing himself from the Russia investigation and accusing him of failing to use the Justice Department to defend the president. Trump has long bristled at institutional constraints within DOJ, arguing that they have been selectively enforced against him and his allies.
For now, there is no indication that Trump has made a final decision about Bondi’s future.
By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America - Karrin Taylor Robson, CC BY-SA 2.0,
On Wednesday, Arizona Republican Karrin Taylor Robson launched her comeback gubernatorial bid.
Robson, a small business owner and lawyer, launched her campaign with a new ad centered on President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and her desire to help take back her state from incumbent Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Robson lost her primary bid in 2022 to Trump-backed Republican nominee Kari Lake.
Robson scored early support from Trump less than two months ago during his visit to Arizona as president-elect.
“I thank President Trump for his strong endorsement and look forward to working with him to secure our border and make Arizona safe again,” Robson said in a statement first obtained by Fox News Digital. “Katie Hobbs has made it harder to live, work, and raise a family safely in this state. Like President Trump, I know how to create jobs. And like President Trump, I will not rest until our border is secure and Arizona families are safe,” she continued.
“Katie Hobbs and Joe Biden’s insane agenda has made life more expensive and dangerous,” Robson stated. “I will fight every day alongside President Trump for stronger borders, a stronger economy, and a stronger Arizona.
President Trump said Robson would have his support if she ran for governor while he was delivering remarks at Turning Point Action’s AmericaFest in December.
“Are you running for governor? I think so, Karrin, ’cause if you do you’re gonna have my support, OK?” Trump said at the time.
Cook Political Report ranks the general election race as a “toss-up,” likely making it one of the most competitive races in the upcoming midterms.
The “Building A Better Arizona PAC” launched last month backing Robson, who formerly served on the Arizona Board of Regents. Former Arizona Republican Party Chairman Robert Graham and former Arizona Senate President Karen Fann created the group.
The primary is Aug. 4, 2026. It’s unclear if Hobbs will face a major challenger in the Democratic primary.
Robson will likely face off against another pro-Trump Republican during the primaries. Supporters of Rep. Andy Biggs hope that the president will shift gears and back his campaign instead, given his strong political agreements with him.
The congressman has already gained the endorsements of Reps. Lauren Boebert, Paul Gosar, and Eli Crane.
“Andy Biggs is the greatest thing since sliced bread,” Sen. Mike Lee( R-Utah) said on X. “Arizonans, do yourselves a big favor and elect this man as your next governor!”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held talks with Donald Trump’s team about a potential endorsement and job in the former president’s second administration, according to a report from The Washington Post.
The Post’s Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer, citing four people familiar with the situation, reported on Monday that conversations about a Kennedy Jr. endorsement began shortly after the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this month.
“I have a lot of respect for President Trump for reaching out to me. Nobody from the DNC, high or low, has ever reached out to me in 18 months. Instead they have allocated millions to try to disrupt my campaign,” Kennedy Jr. said.
The independent presidential candidate would only say about the conversations that “I am willing to talk to anybody from either political party who wants to talk about children’s health and how to end the chronic disease epidemic.”
According to the report from the Post, there were “concerns” among Trump advisors that Kennedy Jr. could be too problematic.
“President Trump met with RFK and they had a conversation about the issues just as he does regularly with important figures in business and politics because they all recognize he will be the next president of the United States,” a Trump spokesperson said.
George Conway, a prominent conservative attorney and longtime critic of President Donald Trump, filed paperwork Monday with the Federal Election Commission to explore a bid for Congress as a Democrat.
Conway, a co-founder of The Lincoln Project — a group of self-described Republicans formed to oppose Trump’s presidency — is considering a run in New York’s 12th Congressional District. The Manhattan-based seat is currently held by Rep. Jerry Nadler, who is retiring at the end of this term. The district is one of the safest Democratic seats in the country, meaning the decisive contest is expected to take place in a crowded Democratic primary rather than the general election.
BREAKING: George Conway, former conservative lawyer and fierce Trump critic, has filed to run in New York’s 12th Congressional District. pic.twitter.com/oShKms9xCP
Conway was married for 22 years to Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s former campaign manager and later White House senior counselor. The couple, who share four children, divorced in 2023. Though George Conway was at one point considered for roles in the Trump administration, he ultimately declined to serve and instead became one of the president’s most outspoken detractors.
Kellyanne Conway speaking with attendees at the 2018 Young Women’s Leadership Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Hyatt Regency DFW Hotel in Dallas, Texas. {Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons}
Kellyanne Conway detailed the strain on their marriage in her 2022 memoir, Here’s the Deal, calling her husband once a “Trump-loving, MAGA-cap-wearing” supporter who, she wrote, “slowly turned his back” on her and their children during her time in the White House. She recounted a July 4 weekend argument in 2019 during which George told her, “You have ruined yourself and you have embarrassed this family.”
“I’ve embarrassed this family?” she wrote in response. “You abandoned me for Twitter and she’s not even hot.”
Months after that incident, George Conway helped launch The Lincoln Project, which aimed to block Trump’s reelection. In August 2020, he announced he would take a leave of absence from the organization to spend more time with his family; Kellyanne Conway announced the same day that she would leave her White House position.
In early 2021, Conway publicly called for The Lincoln Project to shut down following allegations of serial sexual harassment against co-founder John Weaver, a longtime adviser to the late Sen. John McCain.
