Politics

Bloomberg News reports: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s top debt-ceiling negotiators walked out of negotiations Friday morning, an abrupt reversal from optimistic signals on progress from both sides a day earlier. The Republican team’s departure from the closed-door session about an hour after it began Friday morning threw into doubt the status of talks to avoid a US default. One person …

The Associated Press reports: Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina made it official Friday: He’s running for president. Scott, the Senate’s only Black Republican, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his intention to seek his party’s nomination in 2024. His candidacy will test whether a more optimistic vision of America’s future can resonate with GOP voters who have …

Radar Online reports: Ron DeSantis is determined to recruit Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders as his running mate before making a formal announcement on his 2024 presidential bid, sources close to his campaign told RadarOnline.com exclusively. Insiders claim that DeSantis has set his sights on the former Trump press secretary to be his VP pick after she won the race …

The Dispatch reports: Chris Sununu is accelerating plans to run for president, with close allies telling The Dispatch the New Hampshire governor wants to seek the Republican nomination and is exploring avenues for mounting a viable 2024 campaign. In telephone calls and in-person meetings, Sununu is pitching a potential White House bid to wealthy Republican donors in New Hampshire who …

Axios reports: Republican Sen. Tim Scott’s not-yet-official campaign for president is launching a $6 million ad buy in several states early next week. The move suggests the South Carolina senator will be able to boost his profile with voters as he tries to be heard over better-known GOP contenders such as former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who …

The Washington Post reports: The House Freedom Caucus said it’s calling on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to suspend his negotiation on raising the debt limit with the White House and instead focus on getting the House-passed “Limit, Save, Grow Act” through the Senate. “There should be no further discussion until the Senate passes the legislation,” a statement from the Republican …

Semafor reports: Hedge fund founder Anthony Scaramucci plans to back former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the Republican presidential primary and expects billionaire Steve Cohen will support him, too. Speaking to Semafor at his SALT conference in New York, Scaramucci said Wednesday that Christie will draw interest from Wall Street donors with whom he has close ties. Christie has …

NBC News reports: Two of the three self-proclaimed FBI whistleblowers who testified before a House subcommittee on Thursday had their security clearances revoked because their conduct on Jan. 6 cases brought into question their allegiance to the United States, a bureau official wrote in a letter to members of Congress this week. A third FBI employee, a special agent who …

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: Dennis Kucinich, the former Cleveland mayor and U.S. congressman, has joined Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign. Kennedy, the son of the former U.S. attorney general and environmental lawyer who’s become well known as an anti-vaccine activist, is mounting a longshot challenge against President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic primary. Kucinich, who ran for …

The New York Times reports: Ms. Feinstein’s frail appearance was a result of several complications after she was hospitalized for shingles in February, some of which she has not publicly disclosed. The shingles spread to her face and neck, causing vision and balance impairments and facial paralysis known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome. The virus also brought on a previously unreported …

The Washington Examiner reports: Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) has committed to backing his fellow Republican colleague Tim Scott (R-SC) as he prepares to launch a run for the White House in 2024. Rounds has offered effusive praise for the South Carolina senator in recent days and on Wednesday revealed his endorsement in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “I think …

Bloomberg News reports: The US Supreme Court left in place a broad liability shield for social media companies for content posted by users, insulating Twitter Inc., Facebook Inc. and Google LLC from claims that they provided assistance to Islamic State terrorists. Acting in a case involving Google, the court said it wouldn’t rule on efforts to limit the immunity internet …

NBC News reports: A bipartisan bill set to be unveiled Thursday by Reps. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., would block members of Congress from getting paid if the U.S. enters debt default or if the government shuts down. The No Pay for Congress During Default or Shutdown Act, shared in advance with NBC News, would withhold lawmakers’ pay …

CBS News reports: CBS News has learned that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is nearing a decision to launch a dark-horse bid for the White House, and has begun hiring political consultants who have advised previous Republican presidential campaigns, according to GOP sources familiar with the planning. Burgum is expected to make a decision within the next couple weeks, the …

Reuters reports: Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis will officially enter the 2024 U.S. presidential race next week, according to two sources familiar with the decision, immediately becoming Donald Trump’s biggest rival for the Republican nomination and shaking up a contest that largely has been one-sided. DeSantis will likely file paperwork declaring his candidacy on May 25 to coincide with a …

Florida Politics reports: Florida’s Attorney General is rejecting a claim that the state’s Governor is a “White supremacist,” calling it “untrue.” During a segment on the Fox News program “The Story with Martha MacCallum,” Ashley Moody was asked about a charge from radio personality Charlamagne tha God that the Governor’s opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) meant that he …

Florida Politics reports: A top financier of Ron DeSantis’ gubernatorial campaigns recently gave a large donation to a political committee linked to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, whom the Governor may soon face in a Republican Primary for President. Billionaire GOP megadonor Ken Griffin, the CEO of hedge fund Citadel, wrote a $1 million check March 7 to Miami For Everyone, …

Tampa’s ABC affiliate reports: While at a non-denominational Christian private school in Tampa, DeSantis stood on a stage behind a “Let Kids Be Kids” sign to say that a “rogue element of the medical establishment” was engaging in “basically the mutilation of minors.”  DeSantis also signed a bill into law that he described as an extension of the Parental Rights …

The Associated Press reports: Legislation banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy will become law in North Carolina after the state’s Republican-controlled General Assembly successfully overrode the Democratic governor’s veto late Tuesday. The House completed the second and final part of the override vote after a similar three-fifths majority — the fraction necessary — voted for the override earlier …

Philadelphia’s PBS affiliate reports: Former City Councilmember Cherelle Parker is the projected winner of the hotly contested Democratic mayoral primary, according to the Associated Press, and in line to make history as the first woman to be Philly mayor. With more than three-quarters of precincts reporting, Parker was showing 33% of the vote, prevailing by a double-digit margin over the …