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Lindsey Graham

 
Lindsey Graham Image
Title
Senator
South Carolina
Party Affiliation
Republican
2021
2026
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Representative Offices
Address
4 Carriage Lane
Building
None
Suite
Suite 401
City/State/Zip
Charleston SC, 29407
Phone
843-849-3887
Fax
843-971-3669
Address
2142 Boyce Street
Building
None
Suite
Suite 404
City/State/Zip
Columbia SC, 29201
Phone
803-933-0112
Fax
803-933-0957
Address
401 W. Evans St.
Building
McMillan Federal Building
Suite
Suite 111
City/State/Zip
Florence SC, 29501
Phone
843-669-1505
Fax
843-669-9015
Address
2 West Washington Street
Building
None
Suite
Suite 808
City/State/Zip
Greenville SC, 29601
Phone
864-250-1417
Fax
864-250-4322
Address
530 Johnnie Dodds Blvd.
Suite
Suite 202
City/State/Zip
Mt. Pleasant SC, 29464
Phone
843-849-3887
Fax
843-971-3669
Address
124 Exchange St.
Suite
Suite A
City/State/Zip
Pendleton SC, 29670
Phone
864-646-4090
Fax
864-646-8609
Address
235 E. Main St.
Suite
Suite 100
City/State/Zip
Rock Hill SC, 29730
Phone
803-366-2828
Fax
803-366-5353
News
02/14/2025 --foxnews
House Republicans advanced a bill that extends Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
02/14/2025 --nbcnews
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was aboard a plane headed to Munich on Thursday night that turned around after it "experienced a mechanical issue," according to the State Department.
02/13/2025 --forbes
Patel is a controversial nominee, having long raged against the so-called Deep State and prioritized his loyalty to Trump.
02/13/2025 --stltoday
Adding Canada would dramatically reshape presidential elections since it would instantly become the largest U.S. state. But is this even "a real thing"? Here's a closer look.
02/10/2025 --dailykos
President Donald Trump described his decision to pardon Jan. 6 rioters as a “great thing for humanity,” even as these same people are being charged with new crimes while others have recently revealed past histories of egregious criminal acts.During an interview on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump was asked how he could reconcile honoring first responders with his pardons for rioters who attacked Capitol Police officers.xReporter: You are going to meet with first responders today, but you pardoned hundreds of people who assaulted first responders.Trump: No, I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves... by our government. What I did was a great thing for humanity.— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-02-10T03:44:02.518Z“No, I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves, they were assaulted by our government,” Trump said. “I didn’t assault. They didn’t assault. They were assaulted. What I did was a great thing for humanity.”This is a lie. Capitol officers were beaten up by the rioters and have documented their injuries at length in the years following the attack—that was instigated by Trump after he lost the 2020 election.After being pardoned by Trump, the criminality has continued for some.Texas resident Andrew Taake was arrested by police on an outstanding charge of soliciting a minor. Police have accused the Trump supporter of sending explicit messages to an undercover officer posing as a teen in 2016. Taake pleaded guilty to a felony count of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon on Jan. 6—which runs directly counter to Trump’s false claim.In Indiana, Matthew Huttle was shot and killed by a police officer while purportedly resisting arrest. Police were investigating him for reportedly possessing a firearm.Other Jan. 6 rioters had criminal offenses predating the attack on the Capitol building.Theodore Middendorf, another beneficiary of Trump’s actions, was accused in Illinois of committing sexual assault against a 7-year-old girl and pleaded guilty to the charge. His fellow Jan. 6 rioter, Peter Schwartz had a string of convictions going back to 1994 and was accused of assaulting his wife “including by biting her on the forehead and punching her multiple times.”Another Trump backer who received Trump’s blessing was David Daniel of North Carolina, who has been charged with production and possession of child pornography—the alleged victims were under 12.A magistrate judge said the evidence in the case “suggests Defendant engaged in sexual acts with two young girls in his own family” and it is “alleged he took and kept photos of the genitalia of the victims.”In addition to these criminal cases, Trump’s pardon also freed Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy against the United States. In Tarrio’s case the judge found that Tarrio had committed an act of terrorism by breaching the Capitol.In the days leading up to the pardons, Vice President JD Vance had claimed that the action would only apply to people who had not committed violence. But Trump instead gave over 1,500 people a pass with no restrictions on many who tried to overthrow the government with weaponry and brutality.Even his closest allies have admitted that Trump made the wrong move.“Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think was a mistake, because it seems to suggest that’s an okay thing to do,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told NBC News in January.xxYouTube VideoTrump and other Republicans have long claimed they represent “law and order,” which Trump’s own history of criminal convictions disproved. But his decision to release violent offenders who are back on the street and committing more crimes further undermines the Republican claim. Campaign Action
02/10/2025 --columbian
WASHINGTON — Senators facing the most competitive reelection fights on the initial 2026 battleground map are mostly beginning the cycle with modest war chests that are likely to grow as they transition into campaign mode this year.
02/06/2025 --clickondetroit
President Donald Trump is meeting privately with congressional Republicans at the White House.
02/02/2025 --axios
As trade war fears circulate, lawmakers are manning their posts: Democrats are warning prices will skyrocket — while Republicans say the potential discomfort will be worth it in the end.The big picture: Economists fear the across-the-board tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China — and the immediate retaliation that followed — could further stress already strained U.S. households and walk back recent economic gains.Trump's 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and additional 10% tariffs on China could effectively tax the average U.S. household an extra $830 this year, an analysis from the nonpartisan nonprofit Tax Foundation found.The president conceded in a Sunday Truth Social post that there may be "SOME PAIN" as a result of his tariffs on the U.S.' top three trading partners, but he contended "IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID."Zoom out: Some of his close allies on Sunday echoed that sentiment.Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on NBC News' "Meet the Press" that if "prices go up, it's because of other people's reactions to America's laws." Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) characterized Trump's tariffs as a border tool, telling NBC's Kristen Welker they "are meant to bring Canada and Mexico the table for the fentanyl that is streaming into our communities." Almost all of the 21,900 pounds of fentanyl seized last year was at the southwestern border, but 43 pounds was recovered at the northern border, according to Customs and Border Patrol statistics.Vice President JD Vance said before Trump signed off on his anticipated tariffs that "we'll see what happens" regarding retaliation. He argued in an interview aired Sunday on Fox's "Sunday Morning Futures" that the real retaliation was "Donald Trump saying, 'no more.'"Yes, but: Trump's campaign-trail vision for tariffs as a cure-all does not align with the consumer consequences and supply chain disruptions economists and business interest groups foresee.Tariffs can raise revenue for the governments imposing them — but the impact of tariffs can be passed on to consumers through a wide array of everyday products. Most of the country's avocados and beer, for example, come from Mexico. Auto parts, oil and gas are also key resources the U.S. imports from Canada. Former Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) said on CNN's "State of the Union" said she's concerned that the president doesn't know his "end game" on his tariffs, adding, "If you're going to pick a fight in a bar, maybe you should scope the exits."Between the lines: For months, senators stressed they saw Trump's tariff threats as a negotiating tactic, Axios' Stef W. Kight, Justin Green and Hans Nichols report.Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told "Fox News Sunday" that "these tariffs are designed to get these countries to change their behavior" and that if those changes are made, "I think the tariffs probably go away."Lawmakers who spoke to Axios ahead of Trump's tariff kickoff often pointed to concerns about the taxes on imported goods triggering a rise in inflation, which was a sore spot for Democrats in November.But the tariffs happened — and now Democrats are on offense. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) characterized the move as the "Donald Trump Super Bowl tax," on CBS News' "Face the Nation," noting key imports from Mexico — like beer, avocados and tomatoes — could carry a larger price tag. His fellow Virginian, Sen. Tim Kaine (D), said Trump's first-term tariffs were "a tax on Virginia consumers," predicting Americans will see "higher prices for energy, higher prices for groceries."Kaine said he was struck by what he saw as the "irony" of Trump's executive order declaring an "energy emergency" followed by 10% tariffs on Canadian energy."The emergency is self-created," Kaine said.Go deeper: Trump builds a tariff wall
02/02/2025 --foxnews
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation as Health and Human Services secretary is "not a slam dunk" after last week's hearings.
02/02/2025 --postandcourier
As of today, nobody is actually running to be the next S.C. governor. Nobody has filed, no PACs have been created, no staff have been hired. But the race is already on, with personal attacks flying and intrigue growing.
02/01/2025 --dailykos
Donald Trump's first full week in office was an abject disaster.The just-inaugurated president tried to implement a freeze on all congressionally appropriated federal funding. The blatantly unlawful effort would have led to massive human suffering had the administration not backed down amid a massive pressure campaign by Democratic lawmakers and a lawsuit filed by 23 Democratic attorneys general. He blamed the DEI bogeyman, aka diversity, equity, and inclusion, for the tragic Wednesday plane crash in Washington, D.C., before any investigation had taken place into what could have caused the disaster—and before all 67 victims had even been identified. He announced 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada that will spike grocery prices and effectively lead to tax increases for all Americans. And he started implementing his purge of the federal workforce, which could have damaging impacts on Americans, all in an effort to get revenge on the people he thinks wronged him.But instead of standing up to Trump, Republican lawmakers gave mealymouthed statements trying to defend his lawless and cruel behavior. Basically, nothing has changed since 2016. In what also feels like a bad case of deja vu, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan reported that Republicans are back to expressing private frustration with Trump, while publicly supporting his every whim.Republican lawmakers, including those most supportive of the president, are beside themselves with anxiety. When you speak to them—off the record, between friendly acquaintances—and ask how it’s going, they shift, look off, shrug: You know how it’s going.A GOP senator who supports the president had a blanched look. “He doesn’t do anything to make it easy,” he shrugged.What is the meaning of the averted eyes and anxious faces? It means Trump 2.0 isn’t better. It means for all the talk of the new professionalism in the Trump operation, they have to get used to the chaos again and ride it, tempting the gods of order and steadiness. After one week they concluded the first administration wasn’t a nervous breakdown and the second isn’t a recovery; instead, again they’re on a ship with a captain in an extended manic phase who never settles into soothing depression.Here’s a rundown of the chaos Republicans have been defending all week:Republicans on Trump blaming DEI for the plane crashWhile Democrats were quick to lambast Trump for his vile statement that diversity somehow caused the plane crash, GOP lawmakers were not.Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri went on Fox News to back up Trump’s baseless claim.The Federal Aviation Administration “is riddled with DEI problems and hiring problems and it’s inevitable that something is going to happen,” Burlison told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo.xREP. ERIC BURLISON: The FAA is riddled with DEI problemsBARTIROMO: Do you have any evidence though that any of those hires were DEI hires?BURLISON: Not until we get into the investigation[image or embed]— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 31, 2025 at 6:46 AM Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, agreed with Fox News host Will Cain, who said that, “DEI is a policy that exacerbates human error. We need to cut out every policy that allows for anything where we maximize the potential for human error.”“Yeah. President Trump is going to keep America safe,” Britt said in response to Cain’s assertion.xWILL CAIN: DEI is a policy that exacerbates human error. We need to cut every policy that allows for anything where we maximize the potential for human error.SEN. KATIE BRITT: Yeah. President Trump is going to keep America safe.[image or embed]— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 30, 2025 at 1:53 PM Instead of criticizing Trump for blaming DEI for the crash, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, gave Trump deference.“Well, he knows more about it than I do,” Hawley told reporters. “I'm sure he's been briefed on it now, multiple times, we haven't been briefed yet at all, so we need to be briefed on everything that we know so far.”Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina opted to play dumb.“I don’t know what happened last night,” Graham told HuffPost. “I don’t know if there’s any DEI component to it or not. I’ve heard nothing about that.Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas didn’t criticize Trump, but he did tell HuffPost that people should “wait to see the results of that investigation” before blaming DEI.“Obviously one or more people made a devastating and catastrophic mistake, but we should wait to examine the evidence and understand exactly what went on,” Cruz said.Republicans on Trump’s federal funding freezeAfter Trump’s Office of Management and Budget sent out a memo ordering the funding freeze, Republicans were quick to defend it, even though unilaterally halting funding that Congress already approved and signed into law strips lawmakers of their constitutional power of the purse.“I fully support it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “This is the appropriate thing for a new administration to do.”"I think that’s normal practice at the beginning of an administration until they have an opportunity to view how the money is being spent,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee that crafts the spending bills Trump tried to freeze, told CNN’s Manu Raju that he “doesn’t have a problem” with Trump’s actions.“I think that’s probably what you ought to do when you’re coming in as a new administration,” Cole said.Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia defended the freeze, which could have impacted childhood cancer research, grants for low-income families to afford preschool, and free school lunches for needy children. A heartless McCormick said poor kids should work to earn those lunches.“When you talk about school lunches, hey, I worked my way through high school,” McMormick said during an interview on CNN. “I don’t know about you, but I worked since before I was even 13 years old. I was picking berries in a field before they had child labor laws that precluded that. I was a paper boy, and when I was in high school I worked my entire way through. You’re telling me that kids who stay at home instead of going to work at Burger King or McDonalds during the summer, should stay at home and get their free lunch?” xBROWN: Would you support getting rid of school lunch for vulnerable kids and getting rid of childhood cancer research?REP. MCCORMICK: Philanthropy is where you get most of your money for childhood cancer research. When you talk about school lunches, hey, I worked my way through high school.[image or embed]— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 28, 2025 at 8:18 AMThen there were the shameless flip-floppers. “President Trump campaigned on getting our spending under control. I support that objective, and as a former CEO, I know that sometimes you need to press pause to make sure spending lines up with your strategic plan,” freshman Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania wrote in a post on X, initially defending the freeze. “I am hearing from constituents about the spending pause and am closely monitoring what it means for PA. I understand this pause will not affect direct benefits to Pennsylvanians. If there are problems, I want to get them fixed, fast.”But after the Trump administration folded, he acted as if he was worried all along and was glad that the pause was pulled. “I’m grateful to all the Pennsylvanians who reached out about the Administration’s spending pause over the last 24 hours. The pause has been rescinded. Your input made a difference- thank you,” McCormick wrote.Republicans on Trump firing inspectors generalIn a Friday night massacre, Trump fired 17 inspectors general who are tasked with running investigations into waste, fraud, and abuse in federal agencies, violating a law that says presidents must give a written notice to Congress 30 days in advance of the firings that gives a “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for their dismissal.Instead of criticizing the lawless behavior, Republicans defended it.“Well listen, under the Constitution, Article 2 of the Constitution gives the president the executive authority, and the executive authority is over every officer, every employee of the executive authority,” Ted Cruz said in an interview on CNBC. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas also defended Trump."Ultimately, these inspectors general serve at the pleasure of the president. He wants new people in there. He wants new people focused on getting out waste and fraud and abuse and reforming these agencies. He has a right to get in there who he wants,” Cotton said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”Graham admitted that Trump probably broke the law when he fired the inspectors general, but said he doesn’t care."He won the election. What do you expect him to do, just leave everybody in place in Washington before he got elected?" Graham said in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” "This makes perfect sense to me. ... These watchdog folks did a pretty lousy job. He wants some new eyes on Washington."xBROWN: Would you support getting rid of school lunch for vulnerable kids and getting rid of childhood cancer research?REP. MCCORMICK: Philanthropy is where you get most of your money for childhood cancer research. When you talk about school lunches, hey, I worked my way through high school.[image or embed]— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 28, 2025 at 8:18 AMAccording to Graham, Trump can disregard laws because he won an election. Something tells me he would never say the same thing about a Democratic president. Thank you to the Daily Kos community who continues to fight so hard with Daily Kos. Your reader support means everything. We will continue to have you covered and keep you informed, so please donate just $3 to help support the work we do.
01/29/2025 --rollcall
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s nominee to be director of national intelligence, arrives for a meeting with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on Dec. 18.
01/29/2025 --journalstar
Lawmakers ignoring voters
01/29/2025 --themirror
Former tech attorney Nicole Shanahan posted her threat to X Tuesday and went on to call out specific senators she claims to have helped win primaries in 2020
01/29/2025 --foxnews
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s former running mate Nicole Shanahan threatens to fund primary challengers against senators if they oppose confirming Kennedy to serve as HHS secretary.
01/29/2025 --salon
Trump will never face prosecution, but his deranged obsession with Jan. 6 is massively unpopular
01/29/2025 --dailynews_com
Questions continue to dog Tulsi Gabbard about a mysterious 2017 trip to Syria
01/25/2025 --stltoday
The firings were carried out without giving Congress 30-day notices — something even a top Republican said violated the law.
01/25/2025 --huffpost
The Trump administration has fired about 17 independent inspectors general at federal agencies.
01/21/2025 --forbes
Donald Trump's pick for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, is facing stiff criticism from Democrats—but most Republicans back him.
01/21/2025 --rollcall
Asylum seekers wait Tuesday to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol as seen from Tijuana, Mexico, after President Donald Trump began his second term in office with a series of tough-on-immigration measures.
01/20/2025 --foxnews
The officials previously wrote a letter claiming that Hunter Biden's laptop had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."
01/20/2025 --forbes
Donald Trump's pick for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, is facing stiff criticism from Democrats—but most Republicans back him.
01/20/2025 --foxnews
Politics is replete with comebacks – Richard Nixon, Winston Churchill and Vladimir Lenin make the cut. And so does President Donald Trump.
01/17/2025 --axios
GOP tax writers are gathering support for creative ways to make the price tag $0 for extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts.Why it matters: The procedural and budgetary gambit will free Republicans from the burden of finding the $4 trillion in spending cuts. But deficit hawks, including member of the House Freedom Caucus, haven't completely signed off on the novel approach.Zoom in: Scott Bessent, Trump's nominee for Treasury secretary, has privately indicated to senators that he's sympathetic to their view that the cost of extending the 2017 tax cuts should be zero, according to people familiar with the matter.By the numbers: Under a "current law baseline," extending Trump's personal and estate tax cuts will cost $4 trillion over 10 years.The tax cuts expire at the end of 2025, and the Congressional Budget Office has to score how much revenue the Treasury will miss if Congress passes it for another 10 years.But what if Congress runs the numbers from a different starting point, and considers "current policy"?Current policy has the tax cuts in place (at least until the end of the year). Among friends, say Republicans, what if we use current policy as the baseline? Then extending the tax cuts will cost ... zero.Between the lines: This fall, while still in the minority, Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) started talking about using a current policy approach.That strategy appears to be gaining momentum, especially in the Senate. House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) is also on board.The two Budget Committee chairs, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) haven't tipped their hands on their preferred approach.The bottom line: Republicans are seizing on the "current policy" paradigm in 2025, but plenty of Obama officials (including Jeff Zients, President Biden's current chief of staff) were for it in 2013.
01/17/2025 --rollcall
John Ratcliffe, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be director of the CIA, testifies Wednesday during his Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing.
01/16/2025 --cbsnews
Scott Bessent, tapped by Donald Trump to be treasury secretary, faced sharp questions from Democrats and Republicans on tax policy, tariffs, China, Russia sanctions and the IRS.
01/16/2025 --tulsaworld
Maybe instead of advocating for bipartisanship, Americans ought to pivot to demand breath tests before roll calls, says Editorials Editor Ginnie Graham.
01/16/2025 --tulsaworld
Maybe instead of advocating for bipartisanship, Americans ought to pivot to demand breath tests before roll calls, says Editorials Editor Ginnie Graham.
01/16/2025 --sgvtribune
Scott Bessent to say at his confirmation hearing that Donald Trump has opportunity to unleash “new economic golden age.”
01/13/2025 --pasadenastarnews
Other performers include country singer Lee Greenwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio.
01/13/2025 --dailynews_com
Other performers include country singer Lee Greenwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio.
01/13/2025 --forbes
Pete Hegseth, Doug Burgum and Doug Collins are among the nominees set to appear before senators beginning Tuesday.
01/12/2025 --columbian
Donald Trump’s claim that the U.S. doesn’t need anything from Canada is “simply false,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada’s energy minister and a potential candidate in the contest to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister.
01/09/2025 --journalstar
The Nebraska lawmaker at the center of last year's effort to replace the state's distinctive presidential electoral system with a winner-take-all model backed by President-elect Donald Trump was quick to renew the bid in 2025.
01/09/2025 --dailycaller
A post shared on Threads claims 22 states have not uploaded their Electoral College certifications. View on Threads Verdict: False The 2024 Electoral College votes are available via the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)’s website. The results of the 2024 presidential election were certified during a joint session of Congress on January [...]
01/09/2025 --foxnews
The House is expected to pass legislation sanctioning the International Criminal Court on Thursday in protest of its arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
01/08/2025 --kron4
President-elect Trump and Republican senators wrestled over the best strategy for moving Trump’s top agenda items, including border security and tax relief, during a two-hour meeting at the Capitol Wednesday night, but Trump largely resisted senators’ pleas to break his agenda up into two big bills. Many Republican senators, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune [...]
01/08/2025 --axios
President-elect Trump is leaving the rest of his GOP trifecta hanging on their reconciliation stalemate.Why it matters: Republican leaders on both sides of the Capitol have no interest in going against Trump. He has the power to quickly end this debate, but that's no closer after Wednesday's meeting with the Senate GOP.Trump pitched the idea of a single "beautiful bill," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told reporters after the meeting. That's where the momentum is headed, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said."[H]e heard from us that and from our leader that a two bill strategy is very much still very interested in," Sen. Shelley Capito Moore (R-W.V.) told reporters.But Trump keeps making it clear: He really doesn't care about the process.That apparent indifference on this key question will force the House and Senate to attempt to resolve their differences among themselves.Inside the room: Trump went over his Day 1 executive orders, a source in the room told us.Stephen Miller walked through the immigration ones in detail, three sources told Axios.About a dozen senators spoke during the meeting, with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) giving the most passionate defense of the two-bill strategy, two sources told Axios.Trump invited the senators and their spouses to Mar-a-Lago, but didn't name a date, two sources told us. Axios scooped his plans for a Senate bash last night.The bottom line: If the one bill versus two question is hard, agreeing to a topline number should be a real treat.P.S. Top Trump campaign staffer Alex Latcham will be executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund, with former Sen. Cory Gardner serving as CEO and chairman of the board, Axios scooped on Wednesday.
01/05/2025 --bostonherald
Speaker Mike Johnson vowed that an ambitious bill addressing a range of President-elect Donald Trump’s priorities will be voted out of the U.S. House in April, a tight schedule for his narrowly divided chamber.
01/05/2025 --axios
In the wake of the New Year's Day attack that killed over a dozen people in New Orleans, officials are reckoning with how they protect against — and track — enemies within U.S. borders.Meanwhile, a new congressional class faces a snowy start to its session and a sweeping agenda from the incoming president.Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, January 5. 1. Balancing threat surveillance and protected speech Rep. Jim Himes (R-Conn.) discusses the New Orleans car-ramming attack during a Jan. 5 interview on CBS News' "Face the Nation."Lone wolf attackers are "extraordinarily difficult to detect," said Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.That difficulty is further compounded when surveilling budding threats from Americans, Himes explained on CBS News' "Face the Nation."The big picture: "If you're in this country, you have constitutional rights — meaning the FBI can't say, without a warrant, I want your Facebook posts, I want your e-mails," he said. "That's what makes this very hard."Zoom out: The exact motivations and plan of the New Orleans attacker, identified as U.S. citizen and Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, are under investigation. But in several social media posts, Jabbar proclaimed support for ISIS, and an ISIS flag was recovered from the rented truck used in the attack.Friction point: In the aftermath of the deadly attack, local leaders have been under scrutiny over whether they could have prevented the tragedy via physical security measures, leaving the crowded street less exposed. On a broader level, the intelligence community faces the challenge of monitoring threats before an attack is implemented — in this case, when a threat actor begins showing signs of radicalization on social media.Yes, but: It's not as easy as it may seem. "If somebody is standing out on the street corner right now saying, ISIS is the greatest thing in the world, and the president is a traitor ... people would say, boy, we should interview that person — that is constitutionally protected speech," Smith explained. Smith continued, "This individual in New Orleans did post some Facebook posts saying, I pledge allegiance to ISIS ... What if we had that debate? Should Facebook have instantly submitted that to the FBI? And if so, where's the line?"Threat level: There "seem to be some real ISIS connections here that need to be followed up," Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said on ABC's "This Week." He likened the attack to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, pointing to Jabbar's trip to Cairo, Egypt, which FBI officials said occurred in 2023.Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said that beyond the threat of lone wolves, there are actors who have come across the border affiliated with outside groups that "still pose a threat to Americans and to the United States."Turner said the New Orleans investigation may uncover times when "we could have intervened.""Those will give us greater opportunities at which we'll look to how we might be able to, in the future, find others," he said.2. The reconciliation bill(s) battle Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) discusses the reconciliation bill process on CNN's "State of the Union" on Jan. 5.Get ready for "one big, beautiful bill."At least, that's what House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) says he and Trump are envisioning: a single reconciliation package that covers a myriad of MAGA goals, addressing the border, tax reform, the debt ceiling and more.If it comes to fruition, Axios' Mike Allen and Stef Kight report, it could be the biggest bill in American history.State of play: The bill would harness the budget reconciliation process to push its way through. That method allows budget-related bills to bypass the Senate's filibuster (60 votes), with only a simple majority needed.The benefit of presenting a plethora of policies together, Johnson said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," is that there's something everyone can enjoy."No one's going to love every element of a large package like that, but there'll be enough elements in there to pull everyone along," he said.Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) said he's "for doing it in one bill" on CNN's "State of the Union."But he added he wants to see the Trump agenda done "as quickly as we can," whether that's in "one reconciliation bill, if it's two, if it's ten."Yes, but: Not everyone loves the idea. Some Senate Republicans have voiced concern that pushing one massive bill through will slow down securing the border. "I'm very worried that if we don't put border first and get it done, it's going to be a nightmare for our national security," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Fox's Maria Bartiromo. The bottom line: While the GOP will hold a Washington trifecta, Johnson faces a razor-thin majority in the House and Trump's one-bill vision could test party unity.3. No snow day for Congress House Speaker Mike Johnson discusses the certification of the 2024 election with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Jan. 5.Neither rain nor snow will keep Congress from working tomorrow, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures."The big picture: Washington D.C. is forecast to see between 6 to 10 inches of snow on Monday, but federal law mandates Congress certify election results on Jan. 6.What he's saying: "We encouraged all of our colleagues 'do not leave town, stay here,'" Johnson said."Whether we are in a blizzard or not, we are going to be in that chamber making sure this is done," he said.State of play: Other Republicans have weighed in on the weather, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) posting to X that she "will walk to the Capitol" if she has to."Unless @elonmusk has figured out how to control the weather it looks bad. If you are a Republican member of Congress I'd get to Washington," Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) wrote on X.More from Axios' Sunday coverage:John Thune is still willing to challenge Trump"Major" winter storm to usher in severe Arctic outbreak across U.S.Klobuchar knows of no Democrats objecting to certifying Trump's win
01/05/2025 --rollcall
Speaker Mike Johnson, arriving in the House chamber after winning the gavel for the 119th Congress on Friday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
01/05/2025 --buffalonews
Famous figures such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Tesla and X owner Elon Musk pop up there.
12/31/2025 --columbian
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The cars begin lining up early in the morning to be screened by Secret Service agents under white tents near the fence that surrounds President-elect Donald Trump’s vast south Florida estate.
12/31/2025 --abcnews
President-elect Donald Trump calls his Mar-a-Lago resort the "center of the universe.”
12/31/2025 --huffpost
For the people he's selected for his administration — and those who seek to get jobs or curry favor with the incoming president — it's the place to be.
12/27/2024 --foxnews
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes told The UK Guardian newspaper in an interview that deporting DACA recipients and Dreamers are a 'red line' in a legal sense.
 
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