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    Joe Manchin Reignites 2024 White House Speculation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    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.”   

    Report: Mike Pence to Resist Special Counsel Subpoena

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Mike Pence via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former Vice President Mike Pence is reportedly planning to fight a subpoena for testimony as part of a Justice Department special counsel’s investigation into former President Donald Trump.

    Multiple sources close to Pence informed Politico that the former VP, who is rumored to be planning to announce a 2024 White House run, will likely address his plans to resist the subpoena during a visit to Iowa on Wednesday.

    The aides told Politico that Pence’s decision to challenge Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request has little to do with executive privilege, instead, he plans to argue that his former role as president of the Senate — therefore a member of the legislative branch — shields him from certain Justice Department demands.

    Pence allies say he is covered by the constitutional provision that protects congressional officials from legal proceedings related to their work — language known as the “speech or debate” clause. The clause, Pence allies say, legally binds federal prosecutors from compelling Pence to testify about the central components of Smith’s investigation. If Pence testifies, they say, it could jeopardize the separation of powers that the Constitution seeks to safeguard.

    “He thinks that the ‘speech or debate’ clause is a core protection for Article I, for the legislature,” said one of the two people familiar with Pence’s thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss his legal strategy. “He feels it really goes to the heart of some separation of powers issues. He feels duty-bound to maintain that protection, even if it means litigating it.”

    That’s because the legal question of whether the vice president draws the same “speech-or-debate” protections as members of Congress remains largely unsettled, and constitutional scholars say Pence raising the issue will almost certainly force a court to weigh in. That could take months.

    “It is admittedly a constitutionally murky area with no clear outcome,” said Mark Rozell, a George Mason University political scientist who specializes in executive privilege. “Since there is a legislative function involved in the vice president presiding over the Senate, a court very well could decide that it must address the scope of the speech or debate privilege and whether it would apply in this case.”

    Last week, Smith’s office moved to subpoena Pence in one of its most aggressive moves to date as its inquiries into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election accelerate. (RELATED: Special Counsel Overseeing Trump Criminal Probe Subpoenas Mike Pence)

    Notably, the Justice Department has previously argued in civil litigation that the “speech or debate” clause protects the vice president when working on Senate business. The department explicitly asserted in 2021 that Pence was shielded by the “speech or debate” clause in a civil lawsuit related to his role presiding over Congress’ Jan. 6 session.

    Progressive Democrat Announces Challenge to High-Profile Arizona Senator

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America

    Democrats are turning up the heat in Arizona.

    On Friday, new reports indicated Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is set to officially launch his Senate campaign to unseat Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) in 2024.

    According to Newsweek, Gallego is preparing to release a video announcing his campaign. The video was shot in the congressman’s home district and will be released in English and Spanish on Monday.

    Gallego, the chair of BOLD PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, plans to make the announcement via a video in English and Spanish that was shot in his home district, which includes parts of Phoenix, according to three sources briefed by the campaign.

    The progressive lawmaker and outspoken critic of Sinema has hinted at launching the Senate bid for some time. According to Fox News, Gallego told reporters last month that he was being encouraged by “some senators” to announce his Senate campaign.

    “There have been some senators that have encouraged me to run,” Gallego said. “There are some senators, some of Sen. Sinema’s colleagues, that are encouraging me to run.” 

    Gallego did not identify which of Sinema’s colleagues are telling him to run, but predicted they would “absolutely” support him in a Senate race next year.

    Last year, Sinema stunned everyone when she announced her detraction from the Democrat Party and switched to Independent. (RELATED: Kyrsten Sinema Leaves Democratic Party)

    “Americans are told that we have only two choices – Democrat or Republican – and that we must subscribe wholesale to policy views the parties hold, views that have been pulled further and further toward the extremes,” Sinema wrote in the op-ed announcing her decision.

    “Most Arizonans believe this is a false choice, and when I ran for the U.S. House and the Senate, I promised Arizonans something different,” she continued. “I pledged to be independent and work with anyone to achieve lasting results. I committed I would not demonize people I disagreed with, engage in name-calling, or get distracted by political

    Trump Tied with DeSantis in New Poll of GOP Voters

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0

    The latest Monmouth University poll shows that former President Donald Trump is tied with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the leading choice for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nominee.

    According to The Hill, the Monmouth University poll found a third of Republican voters saw Trump, who kicked off his campaign in November, as their top presidential pick, and another third favored DeSantis, who has yet to formally announce he’s running.

    Former president Mike Pence scored just 2 percent support and Nikki Haley — who is set to become the only other big-name Republican officially in the ring with Trump — earned just 1 percent.

    Trump closed the gap with DeSantis from a similar poll back in December that put the Florida governor ahead by 13 points, with 39 percent support compared to 26 percent for the former president. Trump has since climbed 7 points, and DeSantis has fallen 6 points.

    But despite the uptick in voters backing Trump for the GOP nomination, DeSantis takes the win in a hypothetical primary matchup between the two, earning 53 percent to Trump’s 40 percent.

    “Both Trump and DeSantis are well-liked by the party’s rank and file, but it’s likely that voter opinion of Trump is more firmly set than it is for DeSantis right now. The unknown factor is whether DeSantis can maintain this early edge if and when he gets on the campaign trail,” Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray said in a report.

    The Florida governor is said to be close to his final decision on whether he’ll run in 2024 and is widely expected to jump in the ring.

    Trump Scores Endorsement From Iowa Attorney General

    By
    admin
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    1
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former President Donald Trump scored a significant endorsement on Monday as he seeks to shore up support in the Hawkeye State.

    Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird (R) endorsed former President Trump during a campaign rally in Adel, Iowa.

    “We need a new president in the White House. I am so glad to get to be here today to introduce Donald Trump, ’cause he will secure our border, who supports that?” she said to a crowd of Trump supporters.

    “He will fight the terrorists. He will fix the economy. He will stand up for agriculture, and he will uphold our Constitution and our way of life,” she added.

    Trump continues to lead in national and local polling, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis placing second in the RealClearPolitics polling index of Iowa surveys.

    However, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) has yet to make a public endorsement in the GOP presidential primaries but has frequently campaigned alongside DeSantis.

    The former president criticized her approach to the primary in July, writing in a post on his Truth Social platform, “I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won. Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!”

    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.”

    Trump Endorses Jim Banks for Indiana Senate Seat

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1

    It’s never too early for Trump to dole out an endorsement.

    On Wednesday, Trump formally endorsed Rep. Jim Banks’s campaign for the Indiana Senate primary in what is the latest sign the GOP is warming up to his candidacy in the race.

    “Jim Banks is running for the United States Senate from the Great State of Indiana. I know Jim well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and WIN!” Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “Strong on the Border, Crime, our Military and our Vets, Jim will fight for low taxes and regulations, Sanity in Government, and our under siege 2nd Amendment.” 

    “Jim Banks is respected by all, will never let you down, and has my Complete & Total Endorsement!” he added. 

    Trump’s endorsement comes a day after former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels announced he would not pursue a Senate campaign.

    “After what I hope was adequate reflection, I’ve decided not to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate. With full credit and respect for the institution and those serving in it, I conclude that it’s just not the job for me, not the town for me, and not the life I want to live at this point,” Daniels wrote. 

    “I have never imagined that I would be well-suited to legislative office, particularly where seniority remains a significant factor in one’s effectiveness, and I saw nothing in my recent explorations that altered that view,” Daniels said, adding that if he had run, he would only have done so for one term.

    Daniels stressed in his announcement that he would have worked to lower the “personal vitriol” and temperature across the nation’s political sphere.

    “I would have tried to work on these matters in a way that might soften the harshness and personal vitriol that has infected our public square, rendering it not only repulsive to millions of Americans, but also less capable of effective action to meet our threats and seize our opportunities,” he said. 

    Trump Responds To Top RNC Lawyer’s Sudden Resignation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Donald Trump is not sad to see the Republican National Committee’s top lawyer go.

    “Great news for the Republican Party. RINO lawyer Charlie Spies is out as Chief Counsel of the RNC. I wish him well!” Trump posted late Sunday on Truth Social.

    Officials confirmed Saturday that Spies was leaving his post as RNC chief counsel roughly two months after taking the job as part of a broader staffing overhaul once Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee for November.

    There were reportedly tensions between Trump and Spies after Spies had criticized Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent and stolen.

    “Charlie approached RNC Chief of Staff, Chris Lacivita, about potential time commitment conflicts and it was agreed that, while we appreciate and value Charlie’s expertise and professionalism, he cannot do this role full time and still maintain the obligations to his law firm that he has spent years successfully building,” RNC spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said in a statement to The Hill.

    The RNC had announced in March it was hiring Spies, along with former One America News host Christina Bobb and former Trump administration attorney Bill McGinley to lead its legal efforts, with the latter two focusing on election integrity.

    Report: Trump To File For New Hampshire Primary In Person

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Donald Trump is reportedly planning to file for the New Hampshire primary in person this week.

    The filing period for New Hampshire’s presidential primary opened earlier this month, and the window closes Oct. 27. 

    A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign confirmed reporting from The Associated Press that Trump will visit the Granite State’s secretary of state office to formally file ahead of a campaign rally in Derry. 

    Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan (N.H.) and New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley held a press conference Monday ahead of Trump’s formal filing in the state to talk about the former president’s “failures.”

    “As Trump files for the [New Hampshire] primary today, Granite Staters are remembering just how disastrous his presidency was for our state,” Buckley said.

    “Trump has proven over and over that we cannot trust him with New Hampshire’s economy or important crises — at home or on the world stage.”

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who have polled as some of Trump’s top challengers in the GOP primary, have already filed, according to the latest posting from the New Hampshire secretary of state. 

    North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s ex-running mate, are also among the GOP White House hopefuls who have already signed up. 

    CNN Clashes With Trump Spokeswoman, Abruptly Ends Interview

    By
    admin
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    0
    CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

    On Monday morning, CNN anchor Kasie Hunt abruptly ended her interview with Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. The interview aired during CNN’s “This Morning,” just three days before the network is set to host the first Trump-Biden debate on Thursday.

    Fighting Words From Team Trump

    The tension escalated when Leavitt accused the debate moderators, Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, of having a bias against President Trump.

    “That’s why President Trump is knowingly going into a hostile environment on this very network, on CNN, with debate moderators who have made their opinions about him very well known over the past eight years and their biased coverage of him,” Leavitt stated, previewing the upcoming debate.

    Visibly annoyed by Leavitt’s remarks, Hunt defended her colleagues. “I’ll just say my colleagues, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, have acquitted themselves as professionals as they have covered campaigns and interviewed candidates from all sides of the aisle. I’ll also say that if you talk to analysts of previous debates, that if you’re attacking the moderators, you’re usually losing.”

    Fox News reports:

    After Hunt tried to steer the conversation back to the debate, Leavitt told Hunt that it would take just five minutes to research Tapper and his commentary on the former president. 

    “Ma’am, I’m going to stop this interview if you’re going to continue to attack my colleagues,” Hunt said. 

    After Leavitt argued she was stating facts about Bash and Tapper, Hunt cut the interview off, her voice rising as she went back to the panel.

    “I would like to talk about Joe Biden and Donald Trump, whom you work for,” Hunt said. When Leavitt continued, Hunt signaled to cut her off.

    “I’m sorry, guys, we’re going to come back out to the panel,” Hunt said, clearly fuming. “Karoline, thank you very much for your time. You are welcome to come back at any point. She is welcome to come back and speak about Donald Trump, and Donald Trump will have equal time to Joe Biden when they both join us later this week in Atlanta for this debate.”

    Thursday’s Debate: What You Need to Know

    The first 2024 presidential debate featuring President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is scheduled for Thursday, June 27, at 9 p.m. (ET).

    CNN will host the event at their Atlanta studios, without a live studio audience.

    The debate will have strict rules. When one candidate isn’t speaking, their microphone will be muted. Each candidate will have only a pen, paper and water at their podium. There will be two commercial breaks during the 90-minute event.

    Viewers can watch the debate live on multiple platforms, including CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español and streaming on Max (formerly HBO Max). The debate is the first of two agreed upon by both campaigns, with the second one scheduled for September 10, hosted by ABC News.

    Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News

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