Politics

DeSantis: Report On Banned Biden Poem Is A “Hoax”

“This poem hoax. And so what this is, this is some book of poems. I never heard of it. I had nothing to do with any of this, but it was a book of poems that was in an elementary school library. “And the school or the school district determined that was more appropriate to be in the middle school …

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DeSantis Signs Bill Shielding SpaceX From Liability

Rolling Stone reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill regarding spaceflight on Thursday just one day after he announced his presidential run in a glitch-filled interview with Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces. DeSantis signed into law CS/SB 1318 – Spaceflight Entity Liability along with 27 other bills. The law exempts “spaceflight entity from liability for injury to or …

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DeSantis Spox Has Flame War With Teen Trump Troll

Mediaite reports: Christina Pushaw, a top adviser to Ron DeSantis, argued with a 16-year-old Trump supporter about botox and Ukraine on Twitter just one day after the Florida governor launched his campaign for the presidency. The argument started on Thursday after “GOP Josh” — a 16-year-old supporter of former President Donald Trump — asked Pushaw, “How much of the $1M …

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WSJ: North Dakota Gov To Launch WH Bid On June 7

The Wall Street Journal reports: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is poised to enter the Republican presidential nomination race and is planning a June 7 event in Fargo, N.D., to make a major announcement, sources familiar with his plans told The Wall Street Journal. The wealthy former software entrepreneur from a heavily Republican state is expected to join a rapidly …

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McCarthy: “No Agreement Yet” On Debt Ceiling Deal

Huddle reports: The multi-trillion-dollar question on everyone’s mind is whether the negotiators can reach an agreement to lift the debt ceiling before the clock ticks too much further. There’s lots of rumblings from lawmakers on both sides that there could be a handshake deal today, with lawmakers returning to Washington Tuesday or Wednesday for votes — but that may well …

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DeSantis Admin Pressures FL Lobbyists For Donations

NBC News reports: Officials who work for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration — not his campaign — have been sending text messages to Florida lobbyists soliciting political contributions for DeSantis’ presidential bid, a breach of traditional norms that has raised ethical and legal questions and left many here in the state capital shocked. NBC News reviewed text messages from four DeSantis …

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GOP Rep: Biden Won’t Appoint “White Guys” As Judges

The Daily Beast reports: Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) cried oppression on the House floor Thursday when he complained to peers that Joe Biden isn’t appointing enough straight “white guys” to be judges. In the president’s first two years, he appointed 97 federal judges. “I was expecting maybe 25 or 30 were white guys,” Grothman said. “Five of the 97 judges …

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SCOTUS Curbs EPA’s Power To Conserve Wetlands

CBS News reports: The Supreme Court on Thursday curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate certain wetlands that qualify as “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act, curbing what has long been seen as a key tool to protect waterways from pollution. The high court ruled against the agency in a long-running dispute with Idaho landowners …

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Majority Of Californians Say Feinstein Is Unfit To Serve

Politico reports: Nearly two-thirds of Californians believe Sen. Dianne Feinstein is no longer fit to serve in office due to her health condition, a new poll found. The respondents, which ranged across the ideological spectrum, cited the 89-year-old Feinstein’s latest illness as the reason she should resign, according to the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored by The …

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Trump +42 Over DeSantis In New Iowa Caucus Poll

Emerson College Polling reports: Former President Donald Trump holds 62% support in the Republican caucus, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with 20% support. Five percent support former Vice President Mike Pence and former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley respectively, 3% support US Senator Tim Scott (SC). Nearly three in four Iowa voters find it very (40%) …

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DeSantis Adds Fake Military Flyover to Campaign Video

Axios reports: The super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign altered footage to include the sound and sight of fighter jets flying over the Florida governor in its video promoting his campaign launch. The video by Never Back Down, called “A President for the People,” includes a scene with DeSantis raising his arm to the sky in front of a …

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House To Leave For Long Weekend With No Debt Deal

CNN reports: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appears set to send members home after votes on Thursday, signaling that debt negotiations with the White House will continue as the risk of a first-ever default grows. While the speaker urged lawmakers to stay close to the nation’s capital over Memorial Day weekend, his top deputy, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, announced that …

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DeSantis To Forgo Traditional Launch With Iowa Event

ABC News reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to forgo a traditional presidential campaign launch and will instead hold his “campaign kickoff” event next week in the key state of Iowa, according to campaign plans exclusively obtained by ABC News. The May 30 kickoff event will begin a four-day swing through 12 cities and towns in the early nominating states …

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DeSantis Issues Presidential Campaign Launch Video

Fox News reports: Saying that he’s “running for president to lead our great American comeback,” Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida formally launched his White House campaign in a video released by his political team. “Our border is a disaster. Crime infests our cities. The federal government makes it harder for families to make ends meet. And the president flounders,” …

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DeSantis Signs Repeal Of Florida’s Resign-To-Run Law

Florida Politics reports: The same day Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his campaign for President, he signed legislation exempting himself from the state’s resign-to-run rule. DeSantis signed an elections package (SB 7050) that includes language allowing Florida elected officials to run for President or Vice President without submitting an irrevocable resignation letter. This isn’t the first time Florida has changed its …

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McDaniel: Debt Default Risk “Bodes Very Well” For GOP

“The vast majority of Americans feel like we’re not heading in the right track. And then you look at this debt ceiling crisis. You look at us about to default, and you see that president took 90 days out from negotiating. “He refused to come to the table with Republicans. Republicans have put a plan on the table and this …

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Ted Cruz Only +5 Over Dem Challenger In Senate Poll

The Hill reports: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) holds a 5-point lead over the Democrat running for his seat, according to a new poll. The University of Texas at Tyler poll found that 42 percent of registered voters would support Cruz in the 2024 Senate race, while 37 percent said they would back Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas). Among Texans surveyed, 41 …

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DeSantis Files FEC Paperwork Declaring Presidential Bid

CNN reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose clashes with Disney and aggressive pursuit of conservative victories has made him a leading Republican Party figure, has filed to run for president in 2024. His filing with the Federal Election Commission comes ahead of the announcement he’s set to make Wednesday evening with Twitter owner Elon Musk on the site’s audio platform, …

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Roberts Signals Ethics Reforms For Supreme Court

USA Today reports: Chief Justice John Roberts told an audience he is committed to ensuring the “highest standards of conduct” at the Supreme Court as pressure has mounted from congressional Democrats for changes in the wake of a series of scandals involving Justice Clarence Thomas. Without offering specifics or addressing the recent controversies directly, Roberts framed the ethics debate as …

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Politico: Why Florida Has Never Produced A President

Some history ahead of DeSantis’s launch later today: No Florida politician has ever been elected president. A half-dozen have run in the last 50 years — essentially the period in which the state evolved from political backwater to electoral powerhouse — but all have ended up in the same place, dead in the water long before the nominating convention. Most …

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