Politics

Politico reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declined on Thursday to say whether he would support Donald Trump if the former president becomes the Republican nominee to challenge President Joe Biden in 2024. DeSantis, who launched his own presidential campaign last month, was asked whether he would “support” in the wake of Trump’s recent barrage of criticism over the governor’s handling …

The New York Times reports: Senator Rick Scott of Florida is considering a late entry into the Republican presidential primary race, a move that would make him the latest high-profile Florida Republican to try to wrest the nomination from Donald J. Trump, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Should he enter the race, Mr. Scott, Florida’s former governor, …

CBS News reports: Former Texas Congressman Will Hurd announced he’s running for president on “CBS Mornings” Thursday. “This morning, I filed to be the Republican nominee for president of the United States,” Hurd told “CBS Mornings.” Hurd, 45, was first elected to serve Texas’s 23rd Congressional District in 2014, beating a Democratic incumbent by two points. The majority-Hispanic district stretches …

Reuters reports: After Ron DeSantis, an avid golfer, moved into the Florida governor’s mansion in 2019, workers installed a golf simulator worth tens of thousands of dollars in the private pool cabana so he could practice his game. But DeSantis did not pay for the simulator. Neither did the state government. Instead, it was funded by a wealthy donor and …

Florida Politics reports: A super PAC backing Ron DeSantis has released its latest attack ad. But rather than targeting political opponents such as Donald Trump or Joe Biden, it goes after Disney, Bud Light and classroom teachers. The Never Back Down ad “Once Upon A Time,” airing in Iowa and South Carolina, opens similarly to a classic Disney animated film. …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have expanded vote-by-mail access for people with disabilities — specifically people who are blind or paralyzed and need assistance marking their ballot. Advocates say Abbott’s veto of House Bill 3159 is a blow for voters with disabilities who have for years called for the Legislature …

NBC News reports: Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester launched her campaign for Senate in Delaware on Wednesday, becoming the top candidate to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Carper. Blunt Rochester, who represents the entire state in the House, had been expected to jump into the race since Carper announced his retirement last month. Carper even name-checked Blunt Rochester, one of …

San Francisco’s NBC affiliate reports: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tweeted out a campaign advertisement on Tuesday about what he saw in San Francisco, a city he described as “once-great.” In a minute-long video titled, “We Need to Restore Sanity Across This County,” posted at 4:34 p.m., the 2024 presidential candidate delivered a message while standing in front of a graffitied …

Pro Publica reports: In early July 2008, Samuel Alito stood on a riverbank in a remote corner of Alaska. The Supreme Court justice was on vacation at a luxury fishing lodge that charged more than $1,000 a day, and after catching a king salmon nearly the size of his leg, Alito posed for a picture. To his left, a man …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: A Cole County judge Tuesday rejected an attempt by Missouri’s top lawyer to stop a constitutional amendment to restore abortion rights, and ordered him to approve the fiscal note summary within 24 hours of the ruling. In a 28-page ruling, Circuit Judge Jon Beetem said Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who has refused to sign off …

The Hill reports: The White House issued a brief statement Tuesday expressing President Biden and first lady Jill Biden’s support for Hunter Biden, after he reached a plea deal with the Justice Department on federal tax and gun charges. “The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have …

The Washington Post reports: President Biden’s son Hunter has reached a tentative agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to two minor tax crimes and admit to the facts of a gun charge under terms that would likely keep him out of jail, according to court papers filed Tuesday. Any proposed plea deal would have to be approved by a …

The Washington Post reports: For decades, the ambitions of Florida’s Republican governors were stymied by the liberal-leaning state Supreme Court. That is, until Ron DeSantis was elected. The court let him erase a congressional district with a large Black population. It opened the door to a law making it easier to impose the death penalty. Now, it’s poised to rule …

“I have twice been elected to represent the nearly one million Texans who reside in Senate District 8, and it is a tremendous honor and privilege to be their voice in the Texas Legislature. “Each time I was elected, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of this great state, and Texas law compels each member …

Jezebel reports: “Today is a good day to remember: Christianity is the faith and America is the place slavery came to die,” the Missouri senator tweeted, managing to fail at both grammar and a basic grasp of history. In reality, as Jeet Heer and many others pointed out in response to Hawley’s inane commentary, the United States lagged decades behind …

Politico Europe reports: Liz Truss isn’t laughing at the lettuce that outlasted her premiership. Asked Monday about the Daily Star’s live stream of a lettuce that eventually outlasted Truss’ chaotic, market-crashing period in Downing Street, the former British prime minister did not see the funny side. “I don’t think it was particularly funny, I think it’s puerile,” Truss told Irish …

The New York Times reports: After years of deriding early and mail-in voting, claiming they lead to fraud and help Democrats to steal elections, top Republicans are changing their position, leading to a split in the party as the 2024 election approaches. The Republican National Committee recently announced that it had created a program to promote early voting, both by …

Mediaite reports: Florida Governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis mocked Bud Light over the Dylan Mulvaney scandal while serving drinks to a group of veterans at VFW post in Sparks, Nevada. DeSantis was one of the leading critics of the company for going “woke” and encouraged right-wingers to drop the beer for good. “Just so you know, I’ll serve …

USA Today reports: South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott on Sunday pushed back at former President Barack Obama’s criticism of Republican African Americans candidates who don’t give an “honest accounting” of racism in the United States. Scott, the lone Black Republican in the Senate and a GOP presidential hopeful, said Democrats drag out Obama whenever they feel threatened. “There’s no higher …

Florida Politics reports: After appointees of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took over Walt Disney World’s governing district earlier this year, its firefighters were among the few employees who publicly welcomed them with open arms. But that warm relationship is in jeopardy as a new district administrator has reopened negotiations on a contract that was approved last month by the unionized …