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    DeSantis Addresses Soured Trump Relationship on Fox News

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    6
    Ron DeSantis via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is finally addressing what went wrong with his once-positive relationship with former President Donald Trump.

    During a Monday night appearance with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, the host asked DeSantis for his opinion on what soured between the two Florida Republicans.

    “The last time I interviewed President Trump, I was there in 2018, and I always saw the two of you as friends,” Hannity opened. “And I said to him a very simple question. I asked him. I said, ‘What happened?’ And I think it’s only fair to ask you the same question. What do you think happened?”

    “You know, I enjoyed supporting him when he was president,” DeSantis said, beaming in via satellite from Japan.

    “We worked really hard for his reelection in Florida, and I always had a good relationship with him. And then, once the midterm election happened, he started taking shots at me!”

    “I didn’t really do anything to do it except do a good job,” DeSantis added. “But that’s fine. I mean, Sean, you know, when you’re making things happen, you take incoming from a variety of targets. So that’s just the nature of the business. And I’m happy to stand strong and do what’s right.”

    Recently, the former President has targeted the Florida Governor with a barrage of attacks and nicknames.

    Earlier this month, a pro-Trump PAC released a new ad attacking DeSantis.

    DeSantis is widely expected to enter the 2024 White House race later this spring and has performed well in numerous national hypothetical polls.

    Prominent Foreign Politician Meets With Trump

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Marine One lifts-off after returning President Donald J. Trump to Mar-a-Lago Friday, March 29, 2019, following his visit to the 143-mile Herbert Hoover Dike near Canal Point, Fla., that surrounds Lake Okeechobee. The visit was part of an infrastructure inspection of the dike, which is part of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee Everglades system, and reduces impacts of flooding for areas of south Florida. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian) [Photo Credit: The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]

    On Monday, Former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron met with former President Donald Trump in a surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago.

    Cameron serves as the U.K. foreign secretary and is in the U.S. to urge lawmakers to back additional funding to Ukraine in its war against Russia.

    A spokesperson for the British government’s Foreign Office described the Mar-A-Lago meeting as “standard practice” to meet with an opposition candidate, with Trump being the presumptive Republican nominee for this year’s presidential election.

    It is unclear how the meeting went or what exactly was discussed. Trump has previously stated that he would end the war within 24 hours should he be reelected while he has also touted converting the cost of weapons transfers to Ukraine into a loan.

    Fox News has more:

    Cameron will meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday to discuss the $60 billion military aid package which he has held up for months, while the pair will also discuss the Israel-Gaza war.

    Last week, Cameron called on Western leaders to put pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans in Congress to approve the additional aid for Ukraine, as Britain and the European Union have already done.

    “Speaker Johnson can make it happen in Congress,” Cameron said in a video posted on social media platform X. “I’m going to go and see him next week and say, ‘Ukraine needs that money. It is American security, it’s European security, it’s Britain’s security that’s on the line in Ukraine, and they need our help.’”

    Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Blames Senate Loss on Trump

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    13
    Tech. Sgt. Samuel King Jr., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Following the disappointing results in Georgia’s Senate runoff election, the state’s Lieutenant Governor is voicing what he thinks happened.

    Geoff Duncan, Georgia’s No. 2 Republican official, told CBS that Herschel Walker “will go down in history as probably one of the worst candidates in our party’s history” and said Republicans should unequivocally blame Donald Trump for the GOP’s disappointing midterm results.

    “The only way to explain this is candidate quality,” Duncan added, alluding to Walker’s numerous controversies, including, but not limited to, claims he paid and pressured two women to have abortions despite running on a strict no-abortion platform and lied about his education, ties to law enforcement, and family.

    Duncan said Warnock’s victory in a once-red state should serve as a wake-up call for Republicans and force the GOP to face some hard truths about the former president and his pull among the electorate.

    “If we don’t take our medicine here, it’s our fault. … Every Republican in this country ought to hold Donald Trump accountable for this,” he said.

    Walker’s defeat hands Democrats an outright majority in the upper chamber of Congress, 51-49.

    Tim Scott Enters 2024 White House Race

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Michael Vadon, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    The 2024 Republican primary field is growing.

    Popular South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has officially declared himself a candidate for the GOP nomination for president.

    Scott filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Friday, ahead of an expected formal campaign launch on Monday.

    Scott joins a growing primary field for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, among the party’s most high-profile contenders.

    Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is widely expected to announce his presidential campaign next week.

    Other Republicans who have widely been speculated to be running but have not yet officially entered include former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu.

    January 6th Panel Votes to Recommend DOJ Prosecute Trump

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    17
    Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Monday, the House Select Committee investigating the events surrounding the January 6th, 2021 Capitol riot voted to recommend the Department of Justice criminally prosecute former President Donald Trump.

    The committee voted 9-0.

    According to Fox News, the first referral recommended by the committee is for Trump’s obstruction an official proceeding of Congress. The committee will also refer Trump to DOJ for conspiracy to defraud the federal government, making a false statement and inciting, assisting, or aiding and comforting an insurrection.

    In what is expected to be its final meeting on Monday, the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6 said it will formally ask the DOJ to pursue charges after a nearly 18-month probe into the former president’s involvement in the activities that lead to the Capitol breach on January 6, 2021.

    The committee’s unprecedented criminal referral holds no official legal weight, and a final determination in whether to pursue the charges will be up to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department.

    At Monday’s meeting, the committee’s members, seven Democrats and two anti-Trump Republicans, each presented a portion of their findings against Trump before taking the vote to issue criminal referrals. 

    The committee will also refer four Republican members of Congress to the House Committee on Ethics for defying the committee’s subpoenas. One of the Republicans who defied their subpoena was then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, (R-Calif.)

    The committee also subpoenaed:

    • Jim Jordan, R-Ohio
    • Mo Brooks, R-Ala.
    • Scott Perry, R-Pa.
    • Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.

    According to The Hill, It’s unclear if the Ethics panel will launch an investigation based on the select committee’s new recommendations. Unlike most other standing committees, membership on the Ethics panel is evenly divided between the parties. And the committee strives — at least rhetorically — to avoid the divisive partisan politicking that practically defines some of the other panels. 

    Yet with just weeks left in the 117th Congress, there’s a small and closing window for the committee to launch any new probes while Democrats are still in the House majority. And it’s unlikely that a GOP-led Ethics Committee would take the remarkable step of investigating the role of sitting Republicans in an event as polarizing as the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. 

    Kevin McCarthy Makes Key Concession in House Speaker Battle

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    15
    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.

    Current House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy just made a key concession in what has become an uphill battle to become Speaker of the House once the GOP takes control of Congress on Jan. 3rd.

    Six Republican sources familiar with internal discussions told CNN that McCarthy conceded to reducing the threshold that is required to force a floor vote on ousting the sitting speaker in an effort to win over holdouts.

    One of the numbers that has come up in recent conversations between McCarthy and GOP lawmakers – and which has not been previously reported – is a five-person threshold, according to two of the Republican sources.

    Currently, the majority of the House GOP is required to call for the so-called motion to vacate the speaker’s chair. However, some conservatives such as Reps. Matt Gaetz (FL) and Ralph Norman (S.C.) are pushing for a single member to be able to call for such a vote, which they see as an important mechanism to hold the speaker accountable.

    A five-person threshold, however, may be too low for the moderate wing of the party, some of whom have privately suggested they would be willing to agree on a 50-person threshold.

    The compromise which McCarthy previously said he would not budge on could be key to unlocking the votes he needs to secure the speakership. But his willingness to negotiate on the issue also shows how desperate McCarthy is to seal the deal, even if it means giving away some of his power.

    “The ‘devil is in the details’ as far as threshold & other rule concessions,” Norman said. “Until the details are spelled out, in writing and sealed with social media posts, people will not move on votes.”

    Joe Manchin Reignites 2024 White House Speculation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    3
    Joe Manchin via Wikimedia Commons

    A Democrat Senator isn’t ready to give up his presidential aspiration quite yet.

    West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin signaled that his interest in potentially launching his own presidential campaign has not been deterred by President Biden’s reported re-election plans.

    While speaking with Semafor’s Steve Clemmons, Sen. Manchin declined to rule out a bid for higher office. 

    “I don’t know what the next chapter will be, I don’t know [where] the future lies, I really don’t,” Manchin said when asked if he would run for president next year during a question-and-answer session hosted by Clemons.  

    “I can tell you one thing: I feel, like most Americans, we’ve got to come together. Americans want to be united, they want to be together and right now we’re going further apart,” he said.  

    He predicted that voters are going to be looking for “somebody” to bring the country together but didn’t say whether he would be the politician to do that as the next president.  

    “I’m not saying I have any aspirations” to run for the White House, he said, adding a caveat: “I’ve been [in Washington] 12 years. I don’t like what I see; I don’t the direction we’re going and I’m going to work and commit myself to try to get people who want to do the right thing to find the pathway forward, bringing the country back together.” 

    Manchin has recently criticized Democratic leaders for refusing to negotiate with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over a package of fiscal reforms to attach to legislation raising the debt limit.

    “It’s unreasonable for any senator, any congressperson representing the United States government to say, ‘I’m not going to negotiate,’” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. “If you can’t communicate and you won’t talk to each other, you got a problem.”   

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