Georgia lawmakers will turn attention to antisemitism, elections as 2024 regular session begins
Georgia’s General Assembly begins its 2024 regular session Monday and the top intrigue is whether Republicans, after longtime opposition, may agree to a further expansion of health care for poor adults under the state’s Medicaid program. Republican House Speaker Jon Burns of Newington said he wants to explore the idea, and Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said he is willing to consider it. Gov. Brian Kemp, the state’s top Republican, has championed a more limited expansion of coverage. LAWSUIT SAYS GEORGIA’S LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR SHOULD BE DISQUALIFIED FOR ACTING AS TRUMP ELECTOR Because it’s the second year of the two-year legislative term, all the measures that didn’t pass last year are still alive. That means things can happen fast, especially for bills that got close to passage. For example, many people expect a quick resolution on a push to create new educational vouchers. This also is an election year for the 180 representatives and 56 senators, although not for Kemp or Jones. Lawmakers may look toward measures that will please their supporters or win them votes. With state coffers bulging, further pay increases for public employees and teachers appear likely. Republicans are also pushing a further income tax cut. Here is a look at other top issues that could arise as state lawmakers meet for 40 business days over the next three months: LAWSUIT LIMITS Kemp has said he wants to make it harder for people to file lawsuits and win big legal judgments. He has said Georgia’s high insurance rates are among the harms of such lawsuits. Georgia lawmakers capped noneconomic damages including pain and suffering in a 2005 tort reform law, but the state Supreme Court overturned such caps as unconstitutional in 2010. Owners of commercial properties and apartments have been some of the biggest supporters of limits, saying they are getting unfairly sued when unrelated parties do wrong on their property. Another big backer is the trucking industry, which wants to end the right of people to sue insurers directly. Fighting about elections and the laws that govern them has rarely paused since 2018 in Georgia, and more measures could be debated in 2024. Some partisans may seek a measure clarifying that the State Election Board has legal authority to investigate Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, seeking an inquiry into the Republican’s handling of post-election audits following Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia. Those who question Biden’s victory also want a bill allowing them to review paper ballots, pursuing claims of counterfeit ballots. Raffensperger is asking for $4.7 million to be appropriated for machines to allow voters to check the computer codes printed on their ballots. Those who distrust Georgia’s electronic balloting system could counter with bills to outlaw the codes or to let voters mark ballots by hand. Some lawmakers are unhappy Raffensperger won’t update software on voting machines before the 2024 presidential election. The secretary says there is not enough time to install updates Raffensperger has renewed his call to eliminate runoffs after general elections when no candidate wins a majority. GEORGIA GOV. KEMP SETS DATE FOR SPECIAL ELECTION TO REPLACE STATE LAWMAKER Top Senate Republicans plan a bill to remove the requirement that the Georgia Supreme Court approve rules for a new commission to discipline and remove state prosecutors. The court in November ruled that it lacked authority to do so, which meant the commission could not begin operating. A House Republican also has promised a quick fix. Some Republicans in Georgia want the new commission to discipline or remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for indicting former President Donald Trump. Georgia’s law is one of multiple Republican attempts nationwide to control prosecutors. Opponents say the law creates a bias in favor of prosecuting people, but supporters say district attorneys violate their oaths of office if they don’t prosecute. A bill to define antisemitism in Georgia law stalled in 2023 in a debate over how the measure should be worded. The measure already was supported by many lawmakers and the pressure to act has only grown with strong Republican support for Israel in its war with Hamas. Sponsors say a definition would help prosecutors and other officials identify hate crimes and illegal discrimination targeting Jewish people. But some critics warn it would limit free speech, especially in criticizing the actions of Israel. Others don’t oppose a law, but object to the measure defining antisemitism by referring to a definition adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. A group of prominent evangelical Christians, including Pastor John Hagee of Christians United for Israel, Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and Jentezen Franklin of megachurch Free Chapel, wrote to Georgia lawmakers in December urging them to adopt the IHRA definition. House members made a big push in 2023 for a bill that would recruit more mental health workers, help people who bounce between hospitals, jails and homelessness, and study other needs. That measure faltered in a broader House-Senate dispute. GEORGIA FAMILIES SUE STATE AGENCIES, ALLEGING FAILURE IN CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH CARE This year, mental health leaders say they expect to focus on more money to raise pay, increase payments to service providers and open more crisis beds. But legislation may still be needed for some priorities, including addressing the backlog of pretrial mental health evaluations for people accused of crimes. Georgia could join other states requiring children younger than 18 to get their parents’ permission to create social media accounts. Republican Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas said in August that he would push such a proposal. Georgia wouldn’t be the first state to seek such a restriction, but efforts in other states have been challenged by lawsuits. In the House, Education Committee Chairman Chris Erwin, a Homer Republican, says lawmakers need to study whether threats and other social media activity hurt schools’ ability to function, although he has made no specific proposals.
Biden interrupted by ‘cease-fire now chants,’ vows he’s working to get Israel ‘out of Gaza’
President Biden was drowned out by pro-Palestinian protesters chanting “cease-fire now” inside Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday. As the president spoke during a campaign event at the site of the 2015 massacre where authorities said an admitted white supremacist shot and killed nine Black worshipers, a protester interrupted, shouting, “If you really care about the lives lost here, then you should honor the lives and call for a cease-fire in Palestine.” “Cease-fire now! Cease-fire now!” the demonstrators chanted, as Biden insisted, “That’s all right.” As the demonstrators were swiftly escorted out of the church pews, Biden’s supporters soon chanted back, “Four more years!” STEFANIK DECLINES TO COMMIT TO CERTIFYING 2024 ELECTION RESULTS: ONLY ‘IF THEY ARE CONSTITUTIONAL’ “I understand their passion,” Biden said of the demonstrators. “And I’ve been quietly working, I’ve been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza using all that I can to do that. I understand the passion.” Another attendee shouted to Biden, “You’re an understanding person.” “They don’t realize that. You’re a good man,” the woman added, garnering applause. Biden thanked her and continued his speech by referencing the recent three-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. “After the Civil War, the defeated Confederates couldn’t accept the verdict of the war. They had lost. They did. So they say they embraced what’s known as the lost cause, a self-serving lie that the Civil War was not about slavery, but about states’ rights,” Biden said, attempting to connect some Trump supporters to defeated Confederates. “So let me be clear for those who don’t seem to know slavery was the cause of the Civil War. There is no negotiation about that,” Biden said. “Now we’re living in an era of a second lost cause,” he said. “Once again, there are some in this country trying to turn a loss into a lie. A lie which, if allowed to live, will once again bring terrible damage to this country. This time, the lie is about the 2020 election.” Deeming Jan. 6, 2021, “one of the darkest days in American history,” Biden recounted how “insurrectionists” and a “violent mob was whipped up by lies from a defeated former president, smashing windows, spraying blood on statues, ransacking offices.” PELOSI PANNED FOR SAYING BANNING TRUMP FROM BALLOT OVER JAN. 6 DEPENDS ON ‘DIFFERENT LAWS FROM STATE TO STATE’ “Outside, insurrectionists erected gallows, chanting, ‘Hang Mike Pence.’ Inside, they hunted for Nancy Pelosi, chanting, ‘Where’s Nancy?’” Biden said. “We saw something on Jan. 6 we’ve never seen before, even during the Civil War — insurrectionists waving Confederate flags inside the halls of Congress built by enslaved Americans and mobs attacked and called Black officers, Black veterans defending the nation, those vile racist names. “And yet an extreme movement in America, the MAGA Republicans, led by a defeated president, is trying to steal history now,” Biden said. “They tried to steal an election, now they’re trying to steal history, telling us that violent mob was, and I quote, ‘a peaceful protest,’ that that insurrection, those insurrectionists were, in his words, ‘patriots,’ that there was, quote, ‘a lot of love that day.’ In fact, the rest of the nation and the world saw a lot of hate and violence.” Biden accused Trump of “the worst dereliction of duty by any president in American history” and an attempt to overturn a “free and fair election by force and violence.” “We must reject political violence in America. Always, not sometimes, always. It’s never appropriate,” Biden said. Biden also ripped the “Big Lie” as a “conspiracy theory,” noting how the Trump team’s 60 lawsuits bringing election fraud allegations to court in 2020 were all defeated. “They don’t have respect for the 81 million people who voted the other way, voted for my candidacy and voted to end the presidency,” Biden said. “In their world, these Americans, including you, don’t count. But that’s not the real world. That’s not democracy. That’s not America. In America, we all count. In America, we witness to serve all those who in fact participate. And losers are taught to concede when they lose. And he’s a loser.”
Arizona confronts $1 billion deficit as state Legislature opens for 2024
A steep budget deficit caused by plummeting tax revenues and escalating school voucher costs will be in focus Monday as Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature return for a new session at the state Capitol. The Legislative new year officially begins in the afternoon with the governor’s annual State of the State address. The goal is to wrap up the legislative session within 100 days, but lawmakers typically go until May or June, especially when there are difficult problems to negotiate like a budget shortfall. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SEEN POURING INTO US THROUGH BREACH IN BORDER WALL IN ARIZONA The state had a budget surplus of $1.8 billion a year ago. But it now has a shortfall of about $400 million for the current fiscal year and another $450 million shortfall the year after. A tax cut approved by legislators in 2021 and signed into law by Hobbs’ Republican predecessor, Gov. Doug Ducey, replaced the state’s graduated income tax with a flat tax that took full effect last year. Arizona subsequently saw a decrease of over $830 million in revenues from income taxes, marking a nearly 30% decline from July through November. Meanwhile, a school voucher program expansion that originally was estimated to cost $64 million for the current fiscal year could now top $900 million, according to budget analysts. ARIZONA NONPROFIT PROVIDES SAFE PLACE AND SUPPORT FOR HOMELESS, PREGNANT MOMS: ‘OWE MY BLESSINGS TO THEM’ The voucher program lets parents use public money for private-school tuition and other education costs. Nearly 73,000 students participate now that all students can get the vouchers. The average scholarship is roughly $9,700 per student. Water will also be an issue for the Legislature amid a severe long-term drought in the arid southwestern state. Concerns are growing in Arizona about shortages from the Colorado River system, which provides the state with about 40% of its water, and about shrinking supplies of groundwater and regulation in rural areas. Calling drought the “challenge of our time,” Hobbs has limited housing development in parts of metro Phoenix over water concerns and canceled state land leases that for years gave a Saudi-owned farm nearly unfettered access to pump groundwater. Worries about a record number of migrant arrivals on Arizona’s southern border could also be a potent issue for state lawmakers in an election year.
Top Republicans call for briefing from Pentagon on Austin’s hospitalization
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, called on the Pentagon to provide transparency surrounding Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s “secret” hospitalization. “I am glad to hear Secretary Austin is in improved condition and I wish him a speedy recovery. However, the fact remains that the Department of Defense deliberately withheld the Secretary of Defense’s medical condition for days. That is unacceptable. We are learning more every hour about the Department’s shocking defiance of the law,” Wicker wrote in a statement. “When one of the country’s two National Command Authorities is unable to perform their duties, military families, Members of Congress, and the American public deserve to know the full extent of the circumstances,” he said. Wicker added that “Members must be briefed on a full accounting of the facts immediately.” “I am concerned about his health and shocked that the Pentagon and White House have not been more forthcoming about his condition or why he remains hospitalized. It appears that even the President, his national security advisor, and the Deputy Secretary of Defense were unaware of Secretary Austin’s hospitalization for at least three days,” Collins said in a statement Monday. “Given the extremely serious military decisions that the United States is dealing with, including attacks on our troops by Iranian-backed proxies, the war in the Middle East, and the ongoing aggression by Russia in Ukraine, it is inexplicable that the Secretary’s condition remains shrouded in secrecy.” She added, “I wish him a speedy recovery, but also believe that he must be forthcoming about the nature of his illness and his ability to do his job.” DOD SECOND IN COMMAND TOLD OF AUSTIN’S HOSPITALIZATION 2 DAYS AFTER TAKING OVER SOME OF HIS DUTIES Austin was hospitalized last Monday following complications from surgery, the Pentagon said. “On the evening of January 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for complications following a recent elective medical procedure,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. The news about Austin was shared with the media on Friday. “Worryingly, we now have more questions than answers,” Wicker said. Wicker inquired about the involvement of the Secretary of Defense’s staff, the timing of the President’s notification, and the reasons behind withholding information from the National Security Council. Wicker also asked the Pentagon about the extent of the Secretary’s incapacitation due to surgery. “The very fact that we have none of this information is an indictment of an administration which consistently holds Congressional authority on national defense matters in contempt,” he said. Ryder said that the hospitalization was kept from the press due to “medical and personal privacy issues.” DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN HOSPITALIZED FOLLOWING SURGERY COMPLICATIONS Other congressional Republicans also requested additional information about Austin’s hospitalization. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in a statement Saturday that Austin “must address promptly the troubling report that the Department of Defense didn’t immediately notify President Biden or the National Security Council that he was hospitalized and unable to perform his duties.” “The Secretary of Defense is the key link in the chain of command between the president and the uniformed military, including the nuclear chain of command, when the weightiest of decisions must be made in minutes,” he said. The top lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee released a statement on Sunday evening calling for “additional details” on Austin’s condition and why notification was delayed. “While we wish Sec. Austin a speedy recovery, we are concerned with how the disclosure of the Secretary’s condition was handled,” Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and ranking member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said. Other reports indicate top White House and Pentagon officials were also unaware of Austin’s hospitalization. Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report.
Kansas Gov. Kelly makes more aggressive push for Medicaid expansion as legislative session opens
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is more aggressive and openly political in pushing to expand Medicaid in Kansas as the Republican-controlled Legislature prepares to open its annual session Monday following five years of failed efforts to provide state health coverage to another 150,000 people. Kelly faces leaders of GOP supermajorities whose priorities are to cut income taxes and rein in local property taxes, not to expand Medicaid. But Kelly’s new plan includes hitting expansion-opposing Republicans hard later this year during races for legislative seats, an approach that cuts against years of self-branding as a bipartisan problem-solver who doesn’t care about politics. CALIFORNIA STATE HEALTH INSURANCE TO COVER SEX CHANGES FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS “My previous approach, which has always been to try to bring people together and work collaboratively and come up with consensus and then get good policy on the books — that hasn’t worked,” Kelly said during a recent interview. “Taking a more aggressive approach and — to be direct, a more political approach to it — might be the answer,” she added. For months, Kelly has toured the state for news conferences and roundtables to build support for Medicaid expansion. She said she modeled her campaign on one by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina, where a GOP-dominated legislature expanded coverage as of Dec. 1. Kansas is among only 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid in line with the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act, which promises federal funds to cover 90% of the new costs. In two other states, Georgia and Mississippi, top Republicans have signaled willingness to discuss expansion this year so the issue isn’t a dead letter. In Kansas, conservative opposition is rooted in small-government beliefs and decades of skepticism about social services. In the fall, House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson, both Wichita-area Republicans, derided Kelly’s events with business leaders, hospital administrators and health advocates as a “Welfare Express Tour” for “more government dependency.” “It’s about not using taxpayer dollars to fund free healthcare for a new population of able-bodied childless adults who don’t want to work,” Hawkins said in an email. For some Kansas residents, the issue is getting by. In Newton, 46-year-old Robyn Adams works 15 to 20 hours a week while she cares for her 15-year-old daughter and uses a manufacturer’s program to avoid paying $1,500 every two weeks for shots to manage her rheumatoid arthritis. She lost Medicaid coverage by working more hours, but not enough to qualify for federal subsidies for private insurance. Even covering a $40 copay before a doctor’s visit can be a financial challenge, so paying a larger monthly insurance premium is out of the question, she said. “We need insurance, too,” she said of low-income families. “Without the expansion, I don’t know — a lot of families are going to be in trouble.” 4 WAYS TO REPEAL OBAMACARE To attract GOP votes, Kelly has mandated that those who would newly qualify for Medicaid verify annually they are working. But Masterson told reporters, “It really doesn’t change the underlying facts.” In Kansas, childless adults without disabilities don’t qualify for Medicaid. Parents like Adams aren’t covered when their household incomes hit 38% of the federal poverty level. For a single parent of one child, it’s less than $7,500; for a family of four, it’s $11,400. An expansion would make both groups eligible if they earn up to 138% of the federal poverty level. A single, childless adult could earn $20,100; a single parent and one child, about $27,200; and a family of four, $41,400. Of the people who would qualify, 73% are in families with at least one full- or part-time worker, according to KFF, the research organization formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation. Many work in services and others are independent contractors, said Sean Gatewood, a former Kansas House member and spokesperson for the KanCare Advocates Network, a pro-expansion coalition. Kelly’s plan would increase the cost of the Kansas Medicaid program by 31%, about $1.35 billion a year. However, federal funds would cover all but $135 million, with the state imposing fees on hospitals and large private health insurance companies for most of the rest. The federal government also is offering remaining non-expansion states another financial bonus. A promise of an additional $1.8 billion over two years was crucial for GOP lawmakers in North Carolina. Kelly’s office expects Kansas to receive a total bonus of between $370 million and $450 million. But even if there is enough support to pass a bill expanding eligibility, Hawkins, Masterson and their allies can keep a plan from even clearing committees. Democrats’ attempts to offer expansion plans during debates on other measures have been ruled out of order, and even Republicans backing expansion have stood with their leaders on that point. Yet Kelly and other advocates see plenty of reasons to keep pushing, including North Carolina Gov. Cooper’s success. Cooper argued GOP lawmakers in his state felt pressure from an unusual coalition that included rural chambers of commerce and “tough-on-crime Republican sheriffs” who felt they were dealing with too many people who simply needed access to health care, “not handcuffs.” As for non-expansion states, Cooper said in a news conference: “I hope that they can take some of the lessons of the coalitions of people that we’ve been able to put together to try to succeed.”
WI Republicans introduce medical marijuana bill after Gov. Evers voices support
Wisconsin Republicans on Monday unveiled a highly restricted plan to legalize medical marijuana in the state, a proposal years in the making that comes less than a week after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers voiced support for the idea. The bill would limit medical marijuana only to severely ill people with chronic diseases such as cancer and is far from the full legalization that Evers and Democrats have pushed unsuccessfully to pass for years. Still, Evers said last week that he supports creating a medical marijuana program if that’s all that can be done now. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has said that the program detailed in the bill announced Monday was as far as Assembly Republicans could go. Republicans hold a 64-35 majority in the Assembly and a 22-11 advantage in the Senate. Last year, Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said a bill to create a medical marijuana program could pass this legislative session — as long as regulations are put forward to ensure that it would be limited to only those who are in serious pain. WISCONSIN GOV. EVERS TO CONSIDER MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION PROPOSAL BY REPUBLICANS The bill unveiled Monday would limit the availability of marijuana to people diagnosed with certain diseases, including cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, severe muscle spasms, chronic pain or nausea, and those with a terminal illness and less than a year to live. Patients would be required to have a doctor’s diagnosis to obtain the marijuana at one of only five state-run dispensaries. The number of dispensaries could grow, said Republican Rep. Jon Plumer at a news conference. “We want to make this available to people, but we want to have tight controls on it as well,” Plumer said. Recreational marijuana is legal in neighboring Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan. Vos said it was modeled after the medical marijuana law that was in place in Minnesota before it moved to full legalization. The bill would have to clear the Assembly and Senate and be signed by Evers before it could take effect. Evers and LeMahieu did not respond to requests for comments on the measure. In a potential warning sign for the measure’s chances in the Senate, Assembly Republicans created their plan without the involvement of Republican Sen. Mary Felzkowski, who has been the biggest proponent for medical marijuana legalization in the Senate. A bill she introduced in 2022 is the only one to ever get a public hearing in the Legislature. WISCONSIN CONSULTANTS HIRED TO REDRAW GOP-DRAWN LEGISLATIVE MAPS FOLLOWING COURT RULING Evers said last week in voicing support for the concept that he had not seen an actual bill. “I would think that getting it all done in one fell swoop would be more thoughtful as far as meeting the needs of Wisconsinites that have asked for it,” Evers said. “But if that’s what we can accomplish right now, I’ll be supportive of that.” Wisconsin remains an outlier nationally. Thirty-eight states have legalized medical marijuana and 24 have legalized recreational marijuana. The push for legalization in Wisconsin has gained momentum as its neighbors have loosened their laws. Marquette University Law School polls have shown large majority of Wisconsin residents have supported legalizing marijuana use for years.
Nikki Haley to participate in Fox News town hall amid polling surge with one week until Iowa caucuses
PROGRAMMING ALERT: Watch the Fox News Town Hall with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley LIVE tonight at 6pm ET. DES MOINES, IA. – With one week until Iowa’s caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nominating calendar, Nikki Haley will participate in a Fox News town hall as her numbers move in the right direction. “Momentum is surging, Nikki’s message is resonating, and Americans are rallying behind our movement in droves,” the GOP White House candidate’s campaign wrote in an email to supporters on Monday. And Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in former President Donald Trump’s administration, touted in a Fox News interview this past weekend that “we can feel the momentum on the ground. We can feel the excitement.” Once a long-shot for the nomination, Haley has soared in recent months, thanks in part to her well-regarded performances in the first three Republican presidential primary debates. GREAT EXPECTATIONS: THE PRESSURE’S ON FOR TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND HALEY TO PERFORM IN IOWA’S CAUCUSES Haley over the past month has caught up with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the latest Iowa polls and in national surveys, for a distant second place behind Trump, who remains the commanding front-runner for the nomination as he makes his third straight White House run. And Haley has surged to second place and narrowed the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and votes second – just eight days after Iowa. Helping to boost Haley in New Hampshire, where independent voters play a crucial role in the state’s storied primary, is popular Gov. Chris Sununu, who backed her last month. CHRISTIE TURNS UP THE VOLUME ON HALEY AS SHE CLOSES THE GAP WITH TRUMP But with her rise in the polls comes more scrutiny for Haley, and more incoming fire from her rivals, as she takes questions Monday evening at a Fox News town hall in Des Moines from hosts “Special Report” chief political anchor Bret Baier and “The Story” executive editor and anchor Martha MacCallum. The hour-long town hall starts at 6pm ET and will be in front of a live audience. Haley’s failure to mention slavery when answering a question late last month over the caucuses of the Civil War quickly went viral, and provided instant ammunition for her GOP presidential competitors. So did her comments this past weekend that you “change personalities” from Iowa to New Hampshire and last week that New Hampshire voters “correct” the results of the Iowa caucuses. DeSantis, who is staking much of his campaign on a strong Iowa finish, charged Thursday in a local radio interview in the Hawkeye State that Haley was “incredibly disrespectful to Iowans to say somehow their votes need to be corrected.” And another rival – former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is making his second White House run – accused Haley of acting “immature.” Haley, during a CNN town hall last week in Iowa, said her comment was intended as a joke, noting “we’ve done 150 plus town halls. You got to have some fun, too.” FIRST ON FOX: HALEY FUNDRAISING SOARS THE PAST THREE MONTHS Christie and DeSantis have also taken aim at Haley for not being vocal enough in her criticism of Trump, and criticize her for not categorically saying she wouldn’t accept – if asked – to serve as the former president’s running-mate. Meanwhile Trump, his campaign, and an aligned super PAC, have increasingly targeted Haley in recent weeks. Longtime Iowa-based Republican consultant Jimmy Centers noted that Trump’s campaign and DeSantis – through his aligned super PAC – “have built organizational juggernauts.” “Ambassador Haley has a message that is resonating, and she has built momentum. Now is the time for a campaign’s organization to shine,” Centers, who served as communications director for former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and current Gov. Kim Reynolds, emphasized. While Haley has been criss-crossing Iowa, holding town halls and reaching out to voters, Monday’s town hall with Fox News will give her access to a wider audience, both in the Hawkeye State and across the nation. DeSantis joins Fox News Tuesday for a similar town hall, with Trump taking questions from Baier and Macullum on Wednesday. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
‘Snitch line’ was set up to intimidate group trying to change left-wing laws, says movement leader
Washington’s Democrat-controlled legislature could field a half dozen citizen initiatives pushing back on progressive policies ranging from carbon-pricing to parents’ rights, despite what petitioners described as an intimidation campaign from the left. The group Let’s Go Washington said it delivered six initiatives with more than 2.6 million signatures in total to the Secretary of State’s Office. “We made it so far over the finish line that I would be totally shocked if any of these didn’t qualify,” LGW founder Brian Heywood told Fox News last week. WASHINGTON MAYOR CLAIMS SHE’S BEING HARASSED AFTER CALLING 911 ON ‘FAR RIGHT’ ACTIVISTS AT WALMART Indeed, during a pre-session meeting of legislators Thursday, House Speaker Rep. Laurie Jinkins told reporters she believed the initiatives had been “provisionally certified,” but may not be fully certified until mid-February. “I’m very saddened when I think about why the initiative process was established in this state,” Jinkins, a Democrat representing Tacoma, said. Now what “we have is an ultra-wealthy, multi-millionaire buying his way onto the ballot.” Although Heywood, a businessman who moved from California to the Evergreen State in 2010 to avoid income taxes, characterizes the initiatives as “nonpartisan,” his detractors disagree. “You have here one MAGA multi-millionaire bankrolling a cynical effort to reduce his own taxes, without really worrying about the damage that it causes to our communities,” Aaron Ostrom, executive director of the progressive group Fuse Washington, told Fox News. It’s “an extreme Republican agenda that takes direct aim” at schools, working families, seniors and “clean energy solutions aimed at solving the climate crisis,” he added. BLUE STATE’S $143 MILLION HOMELESS PROGRAM GOT LESS THAN A THOUSAND PEOPLE HOUSED. NOW GOVERNOR WANTS MORE LGW has faced fierce opposition. The mayor of Yakima called 911 in September to report “far right-wing petitioners at Walmart” she believed were harassing shoppers. Last month, former Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna accused Fuse Washington, SEIU 775 and other groups of a “coordinated intimidation campaign” against LGW signature gatherers, according to a cease and desist letter reported on by The Seattle Times. Alleged tactics included harassment of signature gatherers outside supermarkets and the creation of a hotline for reporting their locations, which was publicized by the state Democratic Party, ACLU of Washington and other groups. “We believe in the right both to support and oppose initiatives,” ACLU of Washington political strategies director Alison Holcomb told Fox News in an emailed statement. “No one can obstruct the signature gathering process, but conversely, just as asking for a signature is a free speech right, so is asking someone not to sign. An attempt to shut down and intimidate into silence those asking voters not to sign petitions is an infringement of civil liberties.” Heywood called it a “snitch line.” Ostrom said LGW is “trying to manufacture a controversy.” “Signature gatherers, they will tell people anything to get their signature,” Ostrom said. “So we’re going to make sure voters know what they’re signing.” LGW needed to secure more than 324,000 valid signatures for each of the proposals. They exceeded that figure by at least 100,000 signatures each, according to the group’s count, although the figures will likely decrease as the Secretary of State’s Office validates signatures. The initiative with the most signatures would repeal the state’s new cap and trade program, which critics say raised Washington’s gas prices by about 45 cents per gallon. The state’s largest electric company says the law also contributed to rising energy costs, but the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission barred them from telling customers that on their bills. ‘I WANT MY HOUSE BACK’: WASHINGTON HOMEOWNER LIVES IN VAN WHILE DEADBEAT TENANT LISTS HOUSE ON AIRBNB “There’s this delusion on the left that there’s some club full of rich cronies that get together and smoke cigars and drink champagne and figure out ways to not pay taxes,” Heywood said. “But this is really individuals who have to drive 45 minutes each way to work every day and whose gas bill has gone up through the roof. And their groceries are more expensive because of the carbon tax.” Other initiatives would repeal the capital gains tax, prohibit state and local income taxes, allow employees to opt out of the state’s long-term care insurance program, roll back some restrictions on when police officers can engage in vehicular pursuits and allow parents of public school students to review instructional materials and student records upon request. The Washington ACLU opposed the latter two initiatives, arguing that police pursuits are the “second leading cause of officer-involved killing” in the state and often harm bystanders. Holcomb said the second initiative creates overly broad, burdensome requirements on schools. Washington’s 60-day legislative session starts Monday. Legislators could adopt the initiatives and make them law right away. If they reject them or take no action, the initiatives would appear on the November ballot. Lawmakers could also put forth alternative policies which would appear next to the original initiatives on the ballot. Ostrom said he’s “optimistic” voters in the deep blue state will reject the initiatives. Heywood, on the other hand, said he’s heard “a lot of kind words from people who felt disenfranchized.” “If I’m wrong and the people don’t support this, then so be it,” he said. “But if I’ve tapped into people that are feeling frustrated, we’re giving people an opportunity to share their voice.”
White House responds to GOP calls for Sec Austin’s resignation after mystery ailment, hospitalization
The White House said President Biden has “full trust” in Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as calls mount for the defense leader to resign or be fired in light of his quiet hospitalization in an intensive care unit that even the White House was unaware of for days. A White House official told Fox News Digital on Monday morning that President Biden has no plans to replace Austin and “continues to have full trust and confidence in the Secretary.” The White House’s comment follows former President Trump, saying Sunday that Austin “should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty.” “He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was or might be,” Trump added in his Truth Social post. DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN RESUMES DUTIES, WAS IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT FOR DAYS AS PUBLIC KEPT IN THE DARK “He has performed poorly and should have been dismissed along with ‘General’ Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular, the catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our Country,” Trump continued. The media was alerted on Friday by the Pentagon that Austin was hospitalized the evening of Jan. 1, and remains under the care of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Details surrounding Austin’s medical condition remain unclear, with officials only detailing that he underwent an elective medical procedure last month, and was hospitalized in the days following. DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN HAS NO PLANS TO RESIGN, PENTAGON SAYS President Biden, the National Security Council and top Pentagon leaders – including Austin’s deputy, Kathleen Hicks – were kept in the dark for days that Austin had been taken to the hospital’s intensive care unit for treatment on New Year’s. Republicans are now increasingly calling for Austin’s resignation and demanding answers as to how Biden was kept out of the loop regarding the hospitalization. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD AUSTIN REMAINS HOSPITALIZED AFTER MYSTERY PROCEDURE; DOD REMAINS MUM ON RELEASE Austin “has been a disaster since Day One and should be replaced by someone who will focus on making the military ready to fight and win wars instead of advancing woke political causes of the Biden admin. Enough is enough,” Rep. Jim Banks said over the weekend to Axios. “He isn’t capable of leading the Department of Defense. And he just proved it again by keeping it a secret when he was very sick and in the ICU,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X. Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said “there must be consequences for this shocking breakdown” in duties and communication. PENTAGON FACING BACKLASH OVER FAILING TO DISCLOSE SEC. AUSTIN’S ILLNESS: ‘HARMS CREDIBILITY’ “The secretary of defense is the key link in the chain of command between the president and the uniformed military, including the nuclear chain of command, when the weightiest of decisions must be made in minutes,” Cotton said in a statement. “If this report is true, there must be consequences for this shocking breakdown.” Senate Armed Services Committee members have also pushed back and demanded answers about the lack of communication on the hospitalization, including GOP Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Roger Wicker of Mississippi. “Unacceptable & dangerous. @SecDef is a key member of the U.S. national security team & has a critical role in our most sensitive military & nuclear protocols,” Scott said in a comment provided to Fox News Digital. “Sec. Austin must come to SASC immediately, explain why this happened & who helped keep it from our nation’s leaders.” DEFENSE SECRETARY AUSTIN HOSPITALIZED FOLLOWING SURGERY COMPLICATIONS Wicker said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital that the matter “further erodes trust in the Biden Administration, which has repeatedly failed to inform the public in a timely fashion about critical events.” “Worryingly, we now have more questions than answers. Why was the notification process under 5 U.S.C. 3349 not followed and who made the determination not to follow it? What role did the Secretary of Defense’s staff play? When exactly was the President notified? What justification did the Department have for withholding information from the National Security Council? To what extent was the Secretary incapacitated by his surgery? The very fact that we have none of this information is an indictment of an administration which consistently holds Congressional authority on national defense matters in contempt,” Wicker said. GOP SENATORS OUTRAGED OVER ‘SHOCKING BREAKDOWN’ RELATED TO DEFENSE SEC LLOYD AUSTIN’S SECRET HOSPITALIZATION Fox News Digital reached out to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson for comment on the matter and on the calls for Austin to resign. Maj. General Pat Ryder said that Austin had informed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of the hospitalization the day after he was admitted, with others notified later that week. Ryder added in a previous comment to Fox News Digital reported Monday that Austin does not plan to resign in light of the controversy. “Secretary Austin has no plans to resign,” Ryder said. “He remains focused on conducting his duties as Secretary of Defense in defense of our nation.” Though still hospitalized, Austin has resumed his duties and is now recovering from the treatment and undisclosed illness. This is not the first time Republicans have called for Austin’s resignation. Lawmakers and retired military personnel called on him to step down in 2021, when the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan.
Pelosi panned for saying banning Trump from ballot over Jan. 6 depends on ‘different laws from state to state’
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was panned on social media Monday for saying that banning former President Trump from the 2024 ballot depended on “different laws from state to state.” During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, host George Stephanopoulos asked Pelosi, “If you believe he engaged in insurrection into the plain meaning of the 14th Amendment, you believe he’s ineligible to be president?” “Those laws… that are up to the states. They have different laws from state to state. I don’t think he should ever have been president,” Pelosi said. Interjecting, Stephanopoulos corrected, “It’s the Constitution.” “But nonetheless,” Pelosi continued. “There is a view of the Constitution and Article 14, section three, that he should not be able to run for president. But that’s not the point. The point now is that, again, different states have different laws. We don’t think in California that it – it applied in our state. That’s what the decision was made here. But anyway, not to go into that because that’s very intricate. What is very clear is that the American people want us to honor our oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” STEFANIK DECLINES TO COMMIT TO CERTIFYING 2024 ELECTION RESULTS: ONLY ‘IF THEY ARE CONSTITUTIONAL’ The exchange was highlighted on X by the RNC Research account and amplified by various conservative users. “Nancy Pelosi told [Stephanopoulos] today that states can overrule the Constitution and take Trump off of the ballot. Tell me again which party is trying to destroy democracy?” another user, known as Insurrection Barbie, wrote to her 127,000 X followers, reacting to the ABC interview. The Constitutional Conservative wrote on X, “Nancy Pelosi said that states can ignore the constitution because they have different laws. George Stephanopoulos was dumbfounded & brought up the constitution & Pelosi shrugged it off. These are the types of dangerous people running our government.” “@SpeakerPelosi doesn’t care what the constitution says. It’s time for the American people to wake the f— up!” the account added. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber decided in late December to include Trump on the list of candidates certified to run in the March primary, committing “to abide by the rule of law” despite telling the Los Angeles Times she personally feels Trump’s actions “to be abhorrent and disturbing and an attack on democracy.” Weber’s decision came after Maine’s Democratic secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, ruled that Trump was ineligible to appear on that state’s ballot over his role in the Capitol riot, and Colorado’s Supreme Court decided, by a 4-3 vote, that Trump should not be on the Republican primary ballot, citing the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection” clause. TRUMP DEMANDS RELEASE OF SUPPORTERS JAILED FOR JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT: ‘I CALL THEM HOSTAGES’ The U.S. Supreme Court said last week it will take up Trump’s appeal in the Colorado case in February. In the interview held the day after the three-year anniversary of the Capitol riot, Pelosi also warned about Jan. 6 messaging during a “campaign year.” “We have people who don’t want to believe the truth for whatever attitudes they have otherwise. But again, during this period, this campaign year, it behooves us to speak with respect for all concerned in a unifying way to bring people together,” Pelosi said. “He is not above the law. And it remains for the case, the courts to settle that. That’s not up to us. It’s up to the courts to settle that.” Pelosi’s X account also shared another clip from the ABC interview, blaming Trump for allegedly delaying sending National Guard troops to the Capitol. She said, “Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell and I were begging the administration to send the National Guard,” yet it still “took hours.” However, Trump has repeatedly said Pelosi is responsible for the Jan. 6 riot, claiming the then-House speaker and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser denied Trump’s approval of 10,000 National Guard members at the Capitol beforehand. “The former president incited insurrection on January 6th with a violent mob that desecrated the Capitol, some wielding Confederate flags under the dome that Lincoln built – and the evidence against him comes from his fellow Republicans,” Pelosi wrote Sunday. “Democrats will protect and defend our democracy and our Constitution, with liberty and justice for all.”