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GOP Congressman To Retire After Voting For Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill

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House Republicans’ majority will soon shrink by one…

On Monday evening, Tennessee Rep. Mark Green announced he plans to retire from Congress in the coming weeks.

Green, who currently serves as the House Homeland Security Committee chairmain, said he is leaving Congress for the private sector after the House votes again on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” in the coming weeks, in a statement first obtained by Fox News Digital.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from Congress. Recently, I was offered an opportunity in the private sector that was too exciting to pass up. As a result, today I notified the Speaker and the House of Representatives that I will resign from Congress as soon as the House votes once again on the reconciliation package,” Green said.

He called serving Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District “the honor of a lifetime.”

“They asked me to deliver on the conservative values and principles we all hold dear, and I did my level best to do so. Along the way, we passed historic tax cuts, worked with President Trump to secure the border, and defended innocent life. I am extremely proud of my work as Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and want to thank my staff, both in my seventh district office, as well as the professional staff on that committee,” Green said.

Green acknowledged in his statement that he had previously planned to retire in the last Congress, but reversed course. Republicans are expected to maintain their grip on Green’s district which voted for President Donald Trump by more than 20 percentage points over former Vice President Kamala Harris last year.

“Though I planned to retire at the end of the previous Congress, I stayed to ensure that President Trump’s border security measures and priorities make it through Congress,” he said.

“By overseeing the border security portion of the reconciliation package, I have done that. After that, I will retire, and there will be a special election to replace me.”

Republican leaders are hoping to complete consideration of Trump’s massive agenda bill by the Fourth of July or shortly thereafter.

The bill passed the House in a narrow 215-214 vote, and it is now being considered by the Senate. If the Senate changes the bill, as expected, the House will have to approve that version before it hits Trump’s desk.

The bill — titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” adopting Trump’s slogan for the measure — extends the tax cuts enacted by the president in 2017; boosts funding for border, deportation, and national defense priorities; imposes reforms, like beefed-up work requirements, on Medicaid that are projected to result in millions of low-income individuals losing health insurance; rolls back green energy tax incentives; and increases the debt limit by $4 trillion, among many other provisions.

It also does away with taxes on tips and overtime — two of Trump’s campaign promises — among other provisions.

House Democrat Says Lawmakers ‘Had Wagers Going’ On Trump, Musk Implosion

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UK Government, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

It was only a matter of time…

Some members of Congress believed the implosion of President Trump’s relationship with tech billionaire Elon Musk was so inevitable that they were wagering on how long it would last, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) suggested Thursday.

“We had wagers going on the floor: Is this relationship going to last three months? Is it going to last six months?” Gonzalez told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in an interview. “I don’t think anyone thought it was going to last a year.”

“I don’t think you needed to be a genius, though, to foresee that this eruptive and public display of divorce was going to happen at some point,” he added.

Trump and Musk publicly traded barbs on Thursday in an explosive end to their previously tight alliance, with cracks beginning to show in recent days as Musk blasted the House GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” as a “disgusting abomination.”

On Thursday afternoon, Elon Musk publicly endorsed a call for President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Responding to a post on his social media platform X by conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong — who suggested Trump should be impeached and replaced by Vice President JD Vance — Musk replied with a succinct “yes,” signaling his agreement with the sentiment.

The world’s richest man and SpaceX CEO said his space exploration company will ground the spacecraft used to shuttle astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station.

On Friday morning, Fox News reported that Musk may speak with some of the President’s aides in an apparent effort to calm the growing feud between the two powerhouses.

A senior White House official told Fox News that Trump does not expect to speak to Musk today. However, White House aides told Doocy that Trump administration staffers might try to talk to Musk. 

“No call scheduled or had. Musk wants a call. POTUS hasn’t made a decision,” a source familiar with the matter also told Fox News regarding a possible conversation between Trump and Musk.

Doocy also reported that a red Tesla vehicle that Trump bought during a Tesla demonstration on the South Lawn of the White House grounds earlier this year is now expected to be given away or sold off. 

The vehicle with Florida tags, as of Friday, remains parked near the White House on West Executive Drive.

READ NEXT: Fox’s Mark Levin Unleashes On Tuck

Report: Bondi Accused Of ‘Serious Professional Misconduct’

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Attorney General Pam Bondi is accused of “serious professional misconduct” in a Florida Bar complaint.

According to a report from The Miami Herald, in the complaint the group alleges Bondi has breached ethical duties in her current role and that “serious professional misconduct that threatens the rule of law and the administration of justice” has been carried out by the attorney general, the Herald reported.

Bondi is from Florida and previously served as the Sunshine State’s first female attorney general. A “Pamela Jo Bondi” is listed as a member of the Florida Bar “in Good Standing.”

A few months ago, Democrats pressed Bondi amid her confirmation hearing over her ability to push back against Trump, who had repeatedly stated he would come for his enemies and that he has the “absolute right” to do what he wants with her department.

Bondi is also stated in the complaint to have “sought to compel Department of Justice lawyers to violate their ethical obligations under the guise of ‘zealous advocacy,’” according to the Herald.

In a statement, Justice Department chief of staff Chad Mizelle told the Herald that “the Florida Bar has twice rejected performative attempts by these out-of-state lawyers to weaponize the bar complaint process against AG Bondi.”

Bondi has faced an onslaught of criticism from Democrat lawmakers and progressive groups since being confirmed as the Trump administration’s Attorney General.

Last month, the Justice Department pointed out the leftist bias of the American Bar Association (ABA) and ordered that it will bo longer have access to non-public information, including bar records.

The ABA uses a ratings process in which their Standing Committee rates each nominee “Well Qualified,” “Qualified” or “Not Qualified.” “Unanimous committee ratings appear as a single rating. In other situations, the rating from the majority or substantial majority (2/3 or more of those voting) of the Committee is recorded first, followed by the rating or ratings of a minority of the Committee. The majority rating is the rating of the committee,” the ABA notes on its website.

The Daily Wire continues:

“The ABA has a history of taking liberal positions on issues including abortion, the death penalty, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and the Second Amendment,” National Review stated in 2019. “The organization’s ideological bias has long tainted its ratings of judicial nominees. An entire book on the subject was written as early as 1965, Joel B. Grossman’s Lawyers and Judges: The ABA and the Politics of Judicial Selection.”

Of the 15 members on the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary in 2019, five donated to Barack Obama’s campaign, three to that of Hillary Clinton, and none to the three Republican nominees between 2008-2016. Incredibly, the ABA gave a minority “Not Qualified” rating to iconic Judge Robert Bork and other conservative legal scholars, including Richard A. Posner, Edith H. Jones, and William H. Pryor, among others.

“For several decades, the American Bar Association has received special treatment and enjoyed special access to judicial nominees,” Bondi wrote in a letter to ABA President William Bay. “In some administrations, the ABA received notice of nominees before a nomination was announced to the public. Some administrations would even decide whether to nominate an individual based on a rating assigned by the ABA.”

Ex-Biden Official Calls Karine Jean-Pierre ‘Kinda Dumb’ Amid Fallout From Party Switch

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White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing on Friday, July 30, 2021, in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Erin Scott)

A number of Biden-era officials were stunned that former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre revealed she has decided to abandon the Democrat Party despite serving under two administrations.

KJP’s revelation has been met with immense criticism from party insiders, including ex-Biden policy advisor Tim Wu who called the former press secretary “kinda dumb.”

In a blistering post that has now been deleted on X on Thursday, Wu wrote: “From WH policy staff perspective, the real problem with Karine Jean-Pierre was that she was kinda dumb. No interest in understanding harder topics. Just gave random incoherent answers on policy.”

Jean-Pierre, who served as former President Joe Biden’s press secretary for more than two years, revealed this week she is leaving the Democratic Party and releasing a memoir titled Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines. The book promises a scathing assessment of Biden’s final years in office, detailing what she calls “the betrayal by the Democratic Party” that led to his aborted re-election bid. (RELATED: Ex-Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Announces Switch To Independent)

Jean-Pierre’s pivot, according to Axios, drew immediate backlash from those she previously worked with.

“One of the most ineffectual and unprepared people I’ve ever worked with,” one former colleague told the outlet. “She had meltdowns after any interview that asked about a topic not sent over by producers.”

One ex-official put it bluntly in conversation with Axios: “Today Karine lost the only constituency that ever supported her – party line Democrats.”

One White House reporter sarcastically called the project “amazing,” and suggested Jean-Pierre’s book won’t carry much weight.  

“Did she find the manuscript somewhere in that fat binder she toted around? If I were a historian writing about the Biden White House, I wouldn’t ignore what Karine has to say, but it’s not an account in which much weight will be invested — just like her briefings,” the White House reporter told Fox News Digital

A second White House reporter said they wouldn’t have even realized Jean-Pierre was in the news if Fox News Digital didn’t ask about it. 

“She left the Democratic Party? I honestly didn’t see that story and probably wouldn’t have even noticed. I turned off my KJP Google Alert on Inauguration Day,” the reporter reacted, before joking, “Has anyone circled back with Jen Psaki?”

A third White House reporter was “shocked” that Jean-Pierre had left the Democratic Party. 

“I have to pick my jaw up from the floor. It is unbelievable that she, of all people, would choose this path,” the reporter told Fox News Digital. 

“Just take a look at her entire career and identity,” they said. “You can’t change who you are just because you check a different box on a registration form. It’s also disappointing to see that she would turn her back on her party just because it’s hit a really rough patch… it speaks to character.”

Musk Says Trump Would Have Lost 2024 Election Without Him

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He can’t take this back…

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump’s feud about the “Big Beautiful Bill” hit a fever pitch on Thursday when the tech billionaire responded to the president’s criticism in a post on X.

“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate. Such ingratitude,” Musk wrote in a post responding to Trump’s remarks about him.

While speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said that he was “very disappointed” by Musk’s vocal criticisms of the bill. The president claimed that Musk knew what was in the bill and “had no problem” with it until the EV incentives had to be cut.

“I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here, better than you people. He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it,” Trump said. “All of a sudden, he had a problem. And he only developed the problem when he found out that we’re going to have to cut the EV mandate.”

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Former Florida Republican Announces Bid For Governor- As A Democrat

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Ron DeSantis via Gage Skidmore Flickr

A former Republican congressman and outspoken critic of Donald Trump is running for office…but this time as a Democrat.

David Jolly on Thursday officially launched his longshot campaign for governor as a Democrat. 

“Let’s end the politics of division and return Florida to voters who simply want an economy that works, the best education system in the world, safe communities, and a government that stays out of their doctors’ offices and family decisions,” Jolly said in a press release. 

“This is a different type of issues-driven, results-focused campaign, and it will be driven not by anger and division but by optimism and solutions,” he continued. “We are building a new coalition of Floridians who deeply care about their state and are desperate for real answers to real problems that are putting our quality of life at risk.”

Jolly previously represented Florida’s 13th congressional district, which includes parts of the greater Tampa area, from 2014 to 2017. He lost his seat to former Gov. Charlie Crist (D), who like Jolly, left the GOP. Jolly officially left the Republican Party in 2018.

The former Republican turned Democrat will face a fierce race in the Sunshine State that has become one of the most prominent red states in the country. Trump, who is now a Florida resident, won the state by 13 points in November. Republicans have also flipped a number of traditionally Democrat strongholds, including Miami-Dade County, and hold a voter registration advantage.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), who is term-limited, defeated Crist in his 2022 reelection bid by nearly 20 points.  

Jolly is the first Democrat to throw his name in the ring for governor. Former state Sen. Jason Pizzo (D-Fla.) is said to be mulling an independent run after leaving the Democratic Party last month. 

On the Republican side, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) officially launched his bid for governor earlier this year. Florida first lady Casey DeSantis is also rumored to be considering a bid. 

Marjorie Taylor Greene Turns On Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill

Marjorie Taylor Greene -Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, via Wikimedia Commons

Tensions are rising…

Staunch Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene seemed to side with Elon Musk’s opinion that the lawmakers who voted to support President Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act should be “ashamed” of themselves.

NewsNation host Blake Burman asked Greene on The Hill, “Congresswoman, you say in full transparency you didn’t know that this was in there and now you’re shining a light on it. How did you not know?”

“Well, we don’t get the full bill text until very close to the time to vote for it, so that was one section that was two pages that I didn’t see,” replied Greene. “I find it so problematic that I’m willing to come forward and admit that those are two pages that I didn’t read because I never want to see a situation where state rights are stripped away, and that’s exactly what it– that’s what it says in that bill text, that it would take away states’ rights to regulate or make laws against AI for 10 years.”

She continued, “And I think that’s pretty terrifying. We don’t know what AI is going to be capable of within one year, we don’t know what it will be capable of in five years, let alone 10 years.”

Burman went on to ask Greene about Musk’s post attacking the “disgusting abomination” of a bill and declaring, “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

Last month, the House of Representatives voted 215–214 following a turbulent 48 hours that saw late-night committee sessions, procedural skirmishes, and lobbying by House Speaker Mike Johnson to get Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” over the line.

“He doesn’t specifically say you, but you did vote for it,” Burman pointed out. “Why do you think he’s doing this now, and do you take issue at Musk calling out folks like yourself?”

Greene responded:

You know, I take no issue with anyone calling out the government. I think the American people, including Elon Musk, have the right to do that every single day. As a matter of fact, I wish they would come to Washington and call out this government a lot more. I’m one of the people that ran for Congress because I was angry at Republicans. I wasn’t angry at Democrats, they say what they’re going to do. They support big government, they support massive spending, they support the invasion of our country by illegal aliens from all over the world, including cartels and helping the cartels make billions of dollars. I ran in 2020 because I was angry at Republicans, so I fully understand what Elon is saying and, you know, I agree with him to a certain extent.

She concluded, “However, I don’t want to continue this government on a CR that’s funding Democrat and Biden policies and funding, and this bill was important to transition over to exactly what the American people voted for.”

The White House defended the President Donald Trump-endorsed “big, beautiful bill” on Tuesday. 

Trump “already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday when asked about Musk’s social-media post. “It doesn’t change the president’s opinion.”

In May, when Trump was asked about Musk’s criticism of the bill on CBS, he responded, “Well, our reaction’s a lot of things,” before pivoting to talk about the votes needed to support pass the bill. 

“Number one, we have to get a lot of votes, we can’t be cutting — we need to get a lot of support and we have a lot of support,” he said. “We had to get it through the House, the House was, we had no Democrats. You know, if it was up to the Democrats, they’ll take the 65 percent increase.”

Kentucky Senate Democrat Switches Parties To GOP

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Another Democrat is calling it quits…

A Kentucky state Senator Robin Webb, who represents Kentucky’s rural 18th Senate district, revealed she is switching her party affiliation to Republican.

“First and foremost, I’m a mother, a rancher and a lawyer with deep personal and professional roots in Kentucky’s coal country,” Webb said while explaining the switch. “As the Democratic Party continues its lurch to the left and its hyperfocus on policies that hurt workforce and economic development in my region, I no longer feel it represents my values.”

“It has become untenable and counterproductive to the best interests of my constituents for me to remain a Democrat.”

“While it’s cliché, it’s true: I didn’t leave the party — the party left me,” Webb said.

This comes as a major blow to Kentucky Democrats, who have historically held a stronghold in rural regions of the state largely due to union workers and the coal industry. 

“Like countless other Kentuckians, [Webb] has recognized that the policies and objectives of today’s Democratic Party are simply not what they once were, and do not align with the vast majority of Kentuckians,” Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Robert Benvenuti added.

“I always respected that [Webb] approached issues in a very thoughtful and commonsense manner, and that she never failed to keenly focus on what was best for her constituents,” Benvenuti added. “It is my pleasure to welcome Sen. Robin Webb to the Republican Party.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told a local Louisville news outlet that he “would consider” a run as the Democrat nominee for president in 2028.

Beshear is among a handful of Democratic governors who have been floated as 2028 White House potentials, which also include Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gavin Newsom of California, JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.

Elon Musk’s Drug Use Sparked Campaign Trail Concerns

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An explosive new report from The New York Times revealed the disturbing frequency billionaire Elon Musk consumed illicit drugs while on the presidential campaign trail with Donald Trump.

The article comes as Musk is exiting the Trump administration after a whirlwind several months in which he led efforts to cut down on the government’s size.

Musk told people he was using ketamine so often that it was impacting his bladder, along with utilizing psychedelic mushrooms and taking ecstasy, the Times reported. The Times reporting included interviews with dozens of individuals Musk worked with or knew, along with obtaining private messages. 

The tech executive, who was advising the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) panel on federal government cost-cutting measures, would travel every day with a box containing 20 pills, the Times said, citing individuals who have seen the box and the photo of it. Some of the pills were marked as Adderall. 

Musk has publicly spoken about his mental health before, describing “great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress.” The tech billionaire has also refused the use of traditional antidepressants and said he was prescribed ketamine for depression, taking it “about every two weeks.”

According to the Times, some of Musk’s friends have severed ties with the tech billionaire over his public behavior.

“Elon has pushed the boundaries of his bad behavior more and more,” Philip Low, a neuroscientist, told The Times. 

The Times also reports Musk received advance warning of employee drug tests at SpaceX, despite the company’s obligations as a federal contractor to maintain a drug-free workplace.

The Wall Street Journal reported in January 2024 that Musk has used cocaine, LSD, psychedelic mushrooms and ecstasy at private parties, prompting concerns from board members and executives at SpaceX and Tesla.

“After that one puff with Rogan, I agreed, at NASA’s request, to do 3 years of random drug testing,” Musk wrote in a social media post shortly after that article was published. “Not even trace quantities were found of any drugs or alcohol. @WSJ is not fit to line a parrot cage for bird.” 

The report comes after Musk announced Wednesday that he would be departing the White House as his 130-day period as a special government employee expires.

Report: Trump Says He Will ‘Look At’ Pardon For Gretchen Whitmer Kidnapping Conspiracy

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers remarks during a press briefing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich., on April 29, 2025.​ The visit marked President Trump’s 100th day in office, during which he announced the basing of F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets at Selfridge—underscoring the installation’s growing strategic role. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by 2nd Lt. Paige Bodine)

Speaking to reporters Wednesday from the Oval Office, President Donald J. Trump said he is open to reviewing the cases of those convicted in connection with the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, calling the prosecutions potentially unjust and saying “a lot of people think they got railroaded.”

“I’m going to look at it. I will take a look at it. It’s been brought to my attention,” Trump said in response to questions about possible pardons for the men convicted in the case.

“I did watch the trial. It looked to me like somewhat of a railroad job, I’ll be honest with you. It looked to me like some people said some stupid things—you know, they were drinking—and I think they said stupid things.”

The comments come as President Trump continues to highlight what he calls the Biden administration’s weaponization of federal law enforcement and the justice system—a message that resonates with many conservatives concerned about double standards in legal prosecutions.

“A lot of people think they got railroaded,” Trump repeated. “And probably some people don’t. But I’ll take a look at it.”

The case involved Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., who were convicted in 2022 for what federal prosecutors described as a plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer from her Michigan vacation home during the COVID lockdowns. The prosecution’s narrative focused on the pair’s frustration over pandemic mandates, which they said amounted to government overreach.

Fox was sentenced to 16 years in prison, and Croft to 19 years, on multiple conspiracy charges, including a scheme to use a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors claimed they were part of a larger militia movement called the “Wolverine Watchmen.”

However, even mainstream legal analysts and civil liberties watchdogs raised concerns at the time about the FBI’s heavy involvement in the case, including the use of over a dozen informants and undercover agents who appeared to guide, encourage, and escalate the planning efforts.

Some defense attorneys went so far as to claim that the plot was manufactured by federal operatives, with one legal team calling it a “federal setup from day one.” In fact, three other men tried later in connection with the plot were acquitted on all charges in 2023, further fueling criticism that the entire case may have been an exercise in political theater during a heated election cycle.

President Trump’s interest in revisiting the case follows his recent high-profile pardon of former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins, a well-known Virginia conservative convicted in a controversial cash-for-badges case. Trump described Jenkins as a victim of a “corrupt and weaponized Biden DOJ,” echoing his belief that the justice system has been used selectively to punish his political allies.