The Georgia Republican Party’s State Executive Committee has voted to expel former GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan from being associated with the party.
The unanimous vote was finalized on Jan. 6, cutting Duncan’s ties to the GOP after years of accusations of disloyalty.
The resolution makes several allegations against Duncan, including accusations that he undermined GOP candidates, endorsed Democrat opponents and used his affiliation with the Republican Party for personal gain.
In a post on X, Duncan suggested that the resolution was not a good use of the party’s time.
“Hard to believe this is a good use of time for a party that’s only got a limited amount of time to figure out mass deportations, world peace and global tariffs. Learn how to take a victory lap not light another dumpster fire @JoshMcKoon,” he wrote, calling out the Georgia GOP chair.
According to the resolution, Duncan is “banned from all property owned or leased by the Georgia Republican Party and all events held by or under the authority of the Georgia Republican Party.”
The Georgia GOP said Duncan is prohibited from qualifying as a candidate for the Georgia Republican Party. The group also said his previous GOP nominations for lieutenant governor and, before that, the state House of Representatives, both races in which he won the primary and general elections, have been expunged.
The resolution demanded Duncan cease calling himself a Republican for personal profit or to undermine and sabotage the Republican Party and its candidates.
The resolution claims Duncan undermined and sabotaged some Republican candidates, including current Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and failed 2022 Senate candidate Herschel Walker.
It also notes Duncan’s public endorsements during the 2024 presidential race of President Biden and, when Biden dropped out, his subsequent endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as a violation of his allegiance to the GOP.
The Georgia GOP additionally said Duncan, in his role as a CNN commentator, used his Republican title to “attack the Republican Party.”
The state party also urged media outlets to refer to Duncan as an “expelled Republican” in future references.
By Dan Scavino - https://twitter.com/Scavino45/status/924068892984725504, Public Domain
President Donald Trump described the letter former President Biden left him inside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as “inspirational” and teased reporters that he may release the “very nice” note at some point.
Trump was asked about the letter, which he found inside the Resolute Desk on Monday with a little help from Fox News Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy, during a press conference announcing a $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
“It was a very nice letter,” Trump told reporters. “It was a little bit of an inspirational-type letter. Enjoy it, do a good job. Important, very important. How important the job is.”
The president added that he appreciated the letter so much that he may release it to the public.
“It was a positive, for him, in writing it,” Trump continued. “I appreciated the letter.”
Trump found the letter – addressed to “47″ – after Doocy asked if President Biden left him a letter while he was signing a flurry of executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday in front of a gaggle of reporters.
“He may have. Don’t they leave it in the desk? I don’t know,” Trump told Doocy before discovering the white envelope. “Thank you, Peter. It could have been years before we found this thing.”
“As I take leave of this sacred office I wish you and your family all the best in the next four years. The American people – and people around the world – look to this house for steadiness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that in the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace, and grace for our nation.
“May God bless you and guide you as He has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding.”
The letter was signed “Joe Biden” and dated Jan. 20, 2025.
The presidential tradition of leaving a letter to their successor began in 1989 when President Ronald Reagan left the White House after two terms in office, with former President George H. W. Bush taking over.
Bush continued the tradition despite losing the White House to former President Bill Clinton after just one term in office. The tradition has carried on to this day through Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Trump and Biden.
Biden has said Trump left him a “very generous letter,” but has so far declined to share the content of what Trump wrote, deeming it private.
Billionaire Elon Musk has no plan to back away from politics anytime soon.
SpaceX owner Elon Musk vowed to keep up his political activities in a social media post on Tuesday, saying he would take an active role in the GOP primaries ahead of the 2026 midterms.
“Normally, PACs go somewhat dormant after a big election,” Musk wrote on X, adding:
@America PAC is going to do the opposite and keep grinding, increasing Republican registrations in key districts around the country, in preparation for special elections and the midterms.
“And, of course, play a significant role in primaries,” Musk added.
Normally, PACs go somewhat dormant after a big election.@America PAC is going to do the opposite and keep grinding, increasing Republican registrations in key districts around the country, in preparation for special elections and the midterms.
Musk’s PAC reportedly spent some $200 million to help get Trump reelected in recent months. Musk himself, the world’s richest man, donated some $120 million to aid in Trump’s reelection bid – making him Trump’s second biggest backer after billionaire Timothy Mellon.
Musk’s pledge to stay active in GOP politics is the first sign his interest in the party extends far beyond Trump as activism.
A U.S. Secret Service employee has been placed on immediate administrative leave after reportedly celebrating the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in a social media post, Fox News Digital confirmed Friday.
“The U.S. Secret Service will not tolerate behavior that violates our code of conduct. This employee was immediately put on administrative leave, and an investigation has begun,” a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News when asked about the employment status of Anthony Pough.
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
According to Real Clear Politics, Pough had posted on Facebook celebrating Kirk’s death, accusing the conservative leader of spreading “racism.”
“If you are Mourning [sic] this guy .. delete me. He spewed hate and racism on his show,” Pough wrote, according to the outlet. He also referenced the recent Evergreen High School shooting in Colorado that left two students injured, writing, “Especially when we should be mourning the innocent children killed in Colorado.”
Pough further claimed that Kirk’s death was “karma,” writing, “At the end of the day, you answer to GOD and speak things into existence. You can only circumvent karma, she doesnt [sic] leave.”
Kirk was attending a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon when a single shot rang out and struck Kirk in the neck. He was transported to a local hospital and was pronounced dead just hours later.
Real Clear Politics reported that Pough was in “Phase 2” of his career with the Secret Service, a stage where agents are focused on protective assignments. He had not yet been assigned to any regular detail protecting former President Donald Trump. According to the agency’s website, Phase 3 typically involves post-protective field, protection, or headquarters assignments.
Kirk was shot Wednesday afternoon while attending a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. He was struck once in the neck and later pronounced dead at a local hospital. He is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two young children, ages 1 and 3. The couple married in 2021. (RELATED: MSNBC Fires Analyst Matthew Dowd For ‘Unacceptable’ Charlie Kirk Comments)
Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika Kirk, as well as their two children, ages 1 and 3. The Kirks married in 2021.
Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance accompanied Kirk’s casket back to Arizona, where he resided with his family, on Thursday via Air Force Two.
First Lady Melania Trump participates in the Senate Spouses Luncheon at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, May 21,2025. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)
Things are about to get ugly…
First Lady Melania Trump is threatening to sue former President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, for $1 billion over “defamatory” claims linking her to late financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Melania’s attorney Alejandro Brito demanded that Biden “immediately retract the false, defamatory, disparaging and inflammatory statements made about Mrs. Trump,” which were contained in a video interview with Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan and posted to Youtube in early August.
Read the full letter:
“Failure to comply will leave Mrs. Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies available to her to recover the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that you have caused her to suffer,” Brito wrote.
In the video interview, titled “Hunter Biden Returns” video earlier in August, the former first son claimed “Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep.”
Biden also claimed that “Jeffrey Epstein introduced Melania, and that’s how Melania and the first lady and the President met.”
“If you do not comply with the above by August 7, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. EST, Mrs. Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce her legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for over $1 Billion Dollars in damages,” Brito wrote. “You are on notice.”
A source close to the matter told Fox News that Biden did not comply with the requests by the set deadline.
After Fox News published the piece, however, Melania Trump got Biden’s reply addressing the attorney’s letter when Callaghan posted a further interview with him to YouTube on Thursday.
Callaghan, holding up a copy at the interview’s opening, declared: “The day of presidential litigation has arrived!”
“We’re here, maybe, to give you the platform to apologize to the first lady for your statements that you made about her possible connection to Jeffrey Epstein,” the host said to Biden.
“F*ck that! That’s not going to happen,” Biden laughed.
Defending his comments as citation, Biden continued:
First of all is that, what I said was what I have heard and seen reported and written, primarily from Michael Wolff but also dating back all the way to 2019 when the New York Times – I think Annie Carney and and Maggie Haberman – reported that sources said that Jeffrey Epstein claimed to be the person to introduce Donald Trump to Melania at that time.
Biden added that he would not bow down to pressure or lawsuit threats: “I also think they’re bullies and they think that a billion dollars is going to scare me.”
I have this to say to them: If they want to sit down for a deposition and clarify the the nature of the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein, if the president and the First Lady want to do that and all of the known associates around them at the time of whatever time that they met, I’m more than happy to provide them the platform to be able to do it.
The letter comes after the Daily Beast pulled the article detailing allegations by journalist Wolff that Melania Trump was introduced to her husband Donald Trump via a modeling agent connected to Epstein, after a challenge from the first lady’s lawyers.
“Editor’s Note. After this story was published, The Beast received a letter from First Lady Melania Trump’s attorney challenging the headline and framing of the article. After reviewing the matter, the Beast has taken down the article and apologizes for any confusion or misunderstanding,” The Daily Beast posted in place of the article. The url for the article appears to have been amended to remove the original headline and now reads: thedailybeast.com/epstein-this-story-has-been-removed.
It also comes after famed Democrat strategist James Carville apologized to the first lady after repeating the same claim.
“In last week’s podcast episode, we spoke with Judd Legum,” he said. “After the episode, we received a letter from Melania Trump’s lawyer. He took issue with our title of one of those YouTube videos from that episode and a couple of comments I made about the first lady. We took a look at what they complained about, and we took down the video and edited out those comments from the episode. I also take back these statements and apologize.”
An aide to the first lady, Nick Clemens, told Fox News in a statement, “First Lady Melania Trump’s attorneys are actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies by those who spread malicious, defamatory falsehoods. The true account of how the First Lady met President Trump is in her best-selling book, ‘Melania.’”
[Photo Cred: Office of the President of the United States, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]
President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro.
The lawsuit alleges Navarro used personal email accounts to conduct official White House business, “constituting presidential records.” The DOJ also accused the former Trump adviser of violating federal record-keeping laws when he didn’t copy the emails into an official government account or respond to the National Archives requests for the messages.
“Mr. Navarro is wrongfully retaining Presidential records that are the property of the United States, and which constitute part of the permanent historical record of the prior administration,” the lawsuit states. “Mr. Navarro’s wrongful retention of Presidential records violates District of Columbia law, federal common law, and the [Presidential Records Act].”
The Justice Department said officials initially approached Navarro about handing over the missing emails, but he refused “absent a grant of immunity for the act of returning such documents.”
Navarro’s attorneys, John Irving and John Rowley denied withholding the messages.
“As detailed in our recent letter to the Archives, Mr. Navarro instructed his lawyers to preserve all such records, and he expects the government to follow standard processes in good faith to allow him to produce records,” Navarro’s lawyers told POLITICO. “Instead, the government chose to file its lawsuit today.”
The civil lawsuit was assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton.
The lawsuit marks the latest in a string of public battles between the former Trump adviser and the U.S. government. In June, Navarro was charged with contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with the January 6th panel’s subpoena requests.
Former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]
This could be big…
On Thursday, President Trump floated the possibility of holding a Republican National Convention ahead of the midterm elections.
While Trump did not offer any details about where the convention would take place or what would happen there, he touted various statistics that have been beneficial for the Republican Party this year.
The GOP is fighting to maintain control of both the House and Senate in 2026.
“The Republican Party is doing really well. Millions of people have joined us in our quest to MAKE AMERICA, GREAT AGAIN. We won every aspect of the Presidential Election and, based on the great success we are having, are poised to WIN BIG IN THE MIDTERMS,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“We have raised far more money than the Democrats, and are having a great time fixing all of the Country Destroying mistakes made by the Biden Administration, and watching the USA heal and prosper. The results are incredible, a record pace!!! In that light, I am thinking of recommending a National Convention to the Republican Party, just prior to the Midterms. It has never been done before. STAY TUNED!” he added.
Historically, midterms have been tough elections for the party controlling the White House, typically losing roughly 25 seats in the House. Trump and the Republicans lost 41 House seats in the 2018 midterms.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
By NCDOTcommunications - https://www.flickr.com/photos/39320593@N03/53833141855/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=149981273
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is offering unusually candid reflections on President Joe Biden’s failed 2024 reelection campaign, acknowledging that the decision to run for a second term may have harmed the Democratic Party — while carefully laying the groundwork for a potential 2028 presidential bid.
Speaking to reporters after a veterans-focused town hall in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday night, Buttigieg said “maybe” Biden’s 2024 candidacy was a mistake, adding that “with the benefit of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that’s the case.”
The remarks came amid renewed scrutiny over Biden’s final year in office, spurred in part by revelations from the new book Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, which alleges that White House aides masked signs of cognitive decline in the then-president. Biden dropped out of the 2024 race in July after a widely criticized debate performance against now-President Donald Trump, a moment that triggered a wave of Democratic defections and calls for him to step aside.
He was replaced by then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who went on to lose the general election to Trump in November.
While offering a subtle critique, Buttigieg also defended his former boss’s capabilities during key moments in 2024, citing the administration’s response to the Baltimore bridge collapse.
“Every time I needed something from him from the West Wing, I got it,” Buttigieg said. “The same president the world saw addressing that [collapse] was the president I was in the Oval with, insisting that we do a good job, do right by Baltimore.”
Readers should note that the bridge’s reconstruction has yet to begin.
Buttigieg was one of Biden’s earliest and most high-profile endorsers after dropping out of the 2020 Democratic primary, and later became a key member of the administration.
Buttigieg’s Iowa visit — which included a town hall attended by 1,800 people, meetings with former 2020 campaign staffers, and a videographer from his political action group Win the Era — has fueled speculation about a White House run in 2028. His decision earlier this year not to pursue an open Senate seat in Michigan, where he now resides, added to the chatter.
When asked if his trip signaled the start of a 2028 exploratory phase, Buttigieg offered a carefully measured response.
“Right now, I’m not running for anything,” he said. “What’s exciting and compelling about an opportunity like this is to be campaigning for values and for ideas rather than a specific electoral campaign.”
Still, when informed that many audience members said they would support him in 2028, Buttigieg responded with appreciation.
“Of course, it means a lot to hear that people who supported me then continue to believe in what I have to say.”
Though Iowa’s status in the Democratic primary calendar was downgraded for 2024, it remains a symbolic and strategic stop for presidential hopefuls. Buttigieg famously won the Iowa caucuses in 2020, edging out Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and building momentum that carried him into the top tier of Democratic contenders before ultimately endorsing Biden.
The Democratic Party continues to grapple with the fallout of the 2024 loss. Biden’s decision to run again — despite growing concerns about his age and health — divided the party and is now seen by some as a major factor in the GOP’s return to power.
With Vice President Harris having failed to secure victory in the general election and many long-time party leaders aging, figures like Buttigieg are increasingly in focus.
As Buttigieg tests the waters in early states and maintains a national platform through veterans advocacy and public speaking, it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to emerge as a top potential contender for the next Democratic presidential nomination.
[Photo Credit: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R) responded to former President Donald Trump’s comments over the weekend naming him as a potential running mate.
Trump revealed to Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo over the weekend he is considering Scott, along with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be the next vice presidential running mate. (RELATED: Trump Names Two People When Asked About Potential VP Picks)
“The only thing I can tell you is that the one thing we need is four more years of President Donald Trump,” Scott told Fox News Digital on Monday.
“We were better off under Trump. In order for us to be successful, the one thing I can’t afford to do is take my eye off the ball. The eye on the ball means making sure that President Trump gets four more years,” he added.
Over the weekend, Trump told Bartiromo that his top priority in choosing a vice presidential candidate is selecting someone who could easily step into his shoes in case of an emergency.
Trump brings up Tim Scott and Kristi Noem when asked about his pick for Vice President
“Always, it’s got to be who is going to be a good president. Obviously, you always have to think that because in case of emergency. Things happen, right? No matter who you are, things happen. That’s got to be No. 1,” Trump said.
On Monday, former Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway advised the President to consider choosing a person of color for VP during an op-ed published in The New York Times.
“With a crisis on the border, economic dissatisfaction, fears about crime, a parents’ rights renaissance and multiple wars and threats across the globe, Mr. Trump’s deputy must be able to navigate chaos and challenges at home and abroad,” Conway wrote.
“Taking all of this into consideration, if I were advising Mr. Trump, I would suggest he choose a person of color as his running mate, depending on vetting of all possibilities and satisfaction of procedural issues like dual residency in Florida,” Conway wrote. “Not for identity politics a la the Democrats, but as an equal helping to lead an America First movement that includes more union workers, independents, first-time voters, veterans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and African Americans.”
Conway listed Sen. Tim Scott, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) among the potential options.
Kari Lake speaking with supporters at a "Stand for Freedom" rally at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Scottsdale Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]
Former television news anchor-turned-staunch Trump supporter Kari Lake has been declared the winner of Arizona’s highly competitive gubernatorial primary.
With an estimated 94% of ballots counted, Lake has 46.78% of the vote, compared to Karrin Robson with 44.03%. Lake will now face off against Democratic nominee Katie Hobbs in the November 8th general election in what is expected to be one of the most closely watched races in the country.
Early Wednesday, Lake prematurely declared victory in the GOP primary while addressing supporters.“I wanted to come out here tonight, I wanted to say, ‘Wow, we already have the final results,’” she said. “But we know how our election systems work and they don’t work well. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m standing here.”
With three-quarters of the vote in, Robson led Lake by eight. However, Arizona is a state where mail-in ballots get tabulated first. Then, Election Day votes are counted. The process is the same in Florida. The result, depending on the order chosen by a given state, created red and blue mirages in 2020, given Democrats’ tendency to vote by mail and Republicans’ overwhelming desire to vote on Election Day.
Two years ago, that phenomenon lead to Biden leading Trump by four points in increasingly reddish Florida early on election night before Trump overtook him by a relatively decisive three-point margin. For Lake — who won the Election Day count in some precincts by as much as 40 points — the result was the same.
The highly anticipated race set up a proxy war between former President Donald Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence. Trump, who has become a kingmaker of sorts within the GOP threw his support behind Lake. Meanwhile, Pence and current Arizona Governor Doug Ducey chose Robinson.
Trump’s endorsements have become a sort of gauge of his own power within the GOP as he toys with launching a third presidential campaign.
