A minimum of 3 Republican lawmakers within the Space had been wearing tiny attack rifle pins on their lapels amid an alarming collection of mass shootings — and critics are exploding.
“To advertise that at the flooring of the Home is despicable and an insult to the entire sufferers of attack guns,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) advised a Nexstar Media reporter.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) stated that “anyone can put on no matter they would like, however you need to have some commonplace decency.”
In the meantime, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), who has worn the lapel pin for years, stated in a tweet that he allotted them to his colleagues to “remind folks of the 2d Modification of the Charter and the way necessary it’s in holding our liberties.” He seemed proud that he used to be “triggering” Democrats.
Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and George Santos (R-N.Y.) have each been photographed dressed in the pins. Luna did so on Monday lower than 48 hours after a mass taking pictures in her state that injured 11 folks, two of them seriously. There have been six mass shootings in Florida in January.
“You’ll be able to’t make this sh*t up,” Gomez tweeted.
He additionally identified the utter heartlessness of dressed in the pins throughout Gun Violence Survivors Week — and famous that Clyde is the landlord of a significant gun store in Georgia that earnings from gun use.
Anna Paulina Luna wore an attack weapon pin at lately’s Oversight listening to — lower than 48 hours after her state skilled a mass taking pictures.
Is it in reality in regards to the second Modification?
Humorous the way you didn’t point out you personal the No. 4-ranked gun retailer in GA.
Now not handiest are you mocking gun violence survivors throughout #GVSurvivors Week, however you’re creating a benefit off of mass shootings too. https://t.co/ykegFm8wuX
Based on one among Gomez’s feedback, Luna bizarrely tweeted a photograph of a signed, handwritten notice it seems that taped to a Space place of business door pronouncing: “Jimmy, forestall making an attempt up to now me!” — with the rifle pin connected.
As of early February, the Gun Violence Archive counted 54 mass shootings within the U.S. in 2023. Six of them concerned 4 or extra fatalities.
Regardless that handguns are maximum regularly utilized in mass shootings, AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles or an identical weapons — identical to those the lapel pins depict — are more and more a mass shooter’s weapon of selection, USA These days reported.
Some new GOP Space individuals are dressed in lapel pins formed like attack rifles, different Republicans have worn them for years, however Democrats @RepJimmyGomez & @RepGregoryMeeks say it is “despicable” and lacks “commonplace decency.” To this point in 2023 there were greater than 55 mass shootings. percent.twitter.com/9QxNdikHTJ
A Sep 11 first responders’ recommend despatched a pointy message to Area Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) and his 9/11 lie. (Watch beneath.)
John Feal, a 9/11 first responder, known as Santos’ falsehood that his mom died within the 2001 Global Industry Heart terrorist assault “disgusting” and condemned McCarthy for failing to do so towards the newly elected Republican for his twister of lies.
“Kevin, if you happen to’re staring at and if you happen to’re listening, be a person,” Feal stated. “Guy up. Display the management that you just had been voted in for and do the precise factor. This guy is leaving a path of ache in the back of him and no one’s doing the rest about it.”
Feal misplaced a part of his foot after it was once overwhelmed via a metal beam at Flooring 0, however he was once denied repayment.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) mentioned Tuesday that he needs to completely ban a lot of protection measures supposed to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, together with masks and vaccine mandates.
“When the arena misplaced its thoughts, Florida was once a shelter of sanity, serving strongly as freedom’s linchpin,” he mentioned at a press convention, consistent with CNN. “Those measures will ensure that Florida stays this manner and can supply landmark protections without spending a dime speech for clinical practitioners.”
DeSantis emerged as a darling of the Republican Celebration partly thru his opposition to federal pandemic pointers. He in the past enacted transient government orders to ban COVID-19 protection precautions and now hopes to make the insurance policies everlasting.
“We imagine that there’s no turning again from our route,” DeSantis mentioned on the press convention. “And we wish to lead with this. We wish to lead with this via making these types of protections everlasting in state statute, which we’re going to do within the upcoming legislative consultation.”
The governor added that he plans to inspire the Republican-held Florida Area and Senate to fortify his insurance policies, which come with banning COVID-19 passports previously required for commute and prohibiting employers from hiring or firing staff in keeping with their vaccination standing.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis mentioned he expects the state’s Republican-held Area and Senate to fortify his insurance policies.
DeSantis mentioned his coverage proposal would come with law that “protects clinical execs’ freedom of speech,” a rebuttal to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) new legislation that defines spreading clinical incorrect information as doable skilled misconduct.
DeSantis invited dermatologist Jon Ward, who has made more than one unsubstantiated claims tying high-profile deaths to COVID-19 vaccines, to talk at his press convention.
“Governor DeSantis helps the most powerful loose speech coverage for physicians in The us,” Ward mentioned on the tournament. “I will be able to be venerated to be a few of the freest docs, who care for the freest sufferers, within the freest state in The us.”
Florida state Area Minority Chief Fentrice Driskell (D) later held a press convention of her personal and mentioned, “Smartly, that was once bizarre.”
DeSantis is recently main former President Donald Trump in numerous polls of Republican citizens and may just neatly turn out to be the birthday celebration’s nominee for 2024 ― even though some imagine he lacks attraction.
Whether or not Florida’s Republican-held legislature will fortify making his insurance policies everlasting continues to be observed. As for his maximum evident pageant, Trump instructed the “Water Cooler” podcast Monday that he’ll “care for” DeSantis “the way in which I care for issues” if the 2 move face to face.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The spouse of a northwestern Iowa county manager has been charged with 52 counts of voter fraud after she allegedly crammed out and solid absentee ballots in her husband’s unsuccessful race for a Republican nomination to run for Congress in 2020, federal prosecutors stated.
Kim Phuong Taylor, 49, used to be arrested Thursday and pleaded now not to blame to the fees ahead of being launched on a non-public recognizance bond, the Sioux Town Magazine reported. Her trial is scheduled to start March 20.
Prosecutors allege in an indictment unsealed Thursday that Phuong Taylor crammed out voter registration paperwork or delivered absentee ballots for folks in Sioux Town’s Vietnamese neighborhood who had restricted skill to learn and perceive English.
She crammed out “dozens of voter registrations, absentee poll request paperwork, and absentee ballots containing false data,” and delivered absentee ballots, on occasion with out the information of the folks whose names had been used, consistent with the indictment.
Pat Gill, who’s Woodbury County’s auditor and election commissioner, stated Thursday that he notified the Iowa secretary of state’s workplace after anyone contacted his workplace as a result of a poll have been fraudulently solid of their identify in November 2020.
49-year-old Kim Phuong Taylor, spouse of manager vice-chair Jeremy Taylor, has been charged via indictment with 26 counts of offering false data in registering and balloting, 3 counts of fraudulent registration, and 23 counts of fraudulent balloting. https://t.co/T2Gaolqo3z
He stated his workplace later supplied the FBI with suspected fraudulent registration paperwork and absentee ballots.
Phuong Taylor dedicated the fraud ahead of the June 2020 number one, through which her husband, Jeremy Taylor, a former Iowa Space member, completed 3rd within the race for the Republican nomination to run for Iowa’s 4th District congressional seat, prosecutors allege. The winner of that race, Randy Feenstra, simply received election to Congress that November.
Prosecutors contend that Phuong Taylor dedicated the similar fraud ahead of the November 2020 election through which Jeremy Taylor used to be elected to the Woodbury County Board, consistent with the indictment.
Jeremy Taylor isn’t named within the indictment and isn’t accused of wrongdoing.
Kim Phuong Taylor’s lawyer, John Greer of Spencer, Iowa, declined to remark at the fees, the Magazine reported.
Lower than per week into his tenure within the Space, Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) already has regulation named after him: The SANTOS Act, which punishes congressional applicants who willfully deceive citizens about who they if truth be told are.
Two fellow New York lawmakers presented the invoice on Thursday, known as the Preventing Every other Non-Fair Officer Seeker Act. Underneath their invoice, a candidate for Congress who knowingly supplies false details about their background could be punished with a $100,000 tremendous or twelve months in jail. Or each.
The invoice from Democratic Reps. Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman come amid a gentle movement of bombshell revelations appearing that Santos lied about just about each element of his existence tale all the way through his congressional marketing campaign.
He lied about the place he went to highschool, graduating from faculty, being a celebrity volleyball participant at a faculty he by no means attended, working an actual property empire, having a high-profile profession on Wall Boulevard, working a charity that stored hundreds of canines, and being a biracial descendent of Ukrainian Jews whose grandparents survived the Holocaust.
The New York Republican has additionally claimed that his mom used to be a finance government who died on account of the 9/11 assaults and that 4 of his workers died within the 2016 Pulse nightclub taking pictures. Then again, no proof backs up both of those claims.
“I’m appalled on the degree to which George Santos has purposefully and frequently lied to the American public about each side of his skilled and private existence,” Torres stated in a observation. “His deception is a stain on our Democratic procedure and threatens to deprave the very establishment during which I’m deeply humbled and proud to serve.”
Is your actual identify even George Santos, friend?
Drew Angerer by means of Getty Photographs
Santos has additionally claimed to be married to a person and solid himself as the primary overtly homosexual non-incumbent Republican elected to Congress. However the Day by day Beast may just now not discover a marriage file in New York, and when Santos arrived within the Space this month, he used to be now not dressed in a marriage ring. There’s proof he used to be up to now married, although: to a lady in Queens, whom he divorced in 2019.
“The internet of lies George Santos used to defraud his citizens is a risk to our unfastened and honest elections, and we’ve a duty to make sure not anything like this ever occurs once more,” Goldman stated in a observation. “His whole candidacy for Congress used to be predicated on a marketing campaign of disinformation designed to lie to the citizens. Santos lied about this whole biography and resume, together with faith, circle of relatives historical past, schooling, {and professional} enjoy.”
He added: “I’m proud to enroll in my fellow New York Congressman Ritchie Torres to introduce this vital piece of regulation to safeguard the democratic procedure.”
Right here’s a duplicate of the SANTOS Act. It’s not really to head any place, however it’s a hell of a kick off point for the brand new Congress.
Santos has instructed such a lot of lies that he’s these days being investigated by means of the Nassau County district lawyer, the New York State Lawyer Normal’s workplace, and federal prosecutors within the Jap District of New York.
The nonprofit Marketing campaign Felony Middle has additionally filed a criticism with the Federal Election Fee, claiming Santos illegally used marketing campaign budget for private issues like hire. And this week, Torres and Goldman filed a criticism with the Space Ethics Committee to analyze whether or not Santos has violated the federal ethics legislation.
A rising choice of individuals of Congress have known as on Santos to surrender, as have state and native New York Republican leaders.
Santos instructed newshounds Thursday he has no plans to step down except “all 142,000” New Yorkers who elected him ask him to head.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has refused to sentence Santos and stated he plans to transport ahead with seating him on committees, which he doesn’t need to do. Requested Wednesday if he deliberate to take any motion in opposition to Santos given his fictional resume, McCarthy stated best, “In The usa these days, you’re blameless till confirmed responsible.”
The truth is that McCarthy wishes Santos to stick in workplace for his personal functions as a result of the Republicans’ razor-thin majority. McCarthy can best come up with the money for to lose 4 GOP votes on the rest, and with out Santos seated, he would have an excellent tighter margin to paintings with to cross the rest.
“On behalf of Congresswoman Greene, please be instructed that no additional use of [Dr. Dre’s] copyright shall be made by way of a political committee or by the use of social media outlet she controls,” the letter mentioned.
TMZ up to now reported that Dr. Dre’s legal professional, Howard King, wrote within the cease-and-desist letter that the artist would by no means give Greene permission “to broadcast or disseminate any of his song.”
WASHINGTON — Space Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has vowed to bar Democrats Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell and Ilhan Omar from serving on Space committees.
The risk, which McCarthy repeated this week, is retaliation for Democrats having got rid of Reps. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia from their committee assignments in 2021 for extremely inflammatory statements, together with about Omar.
The putative causes for Omar’s potential committee ban are slightly extra hazy. A refugee from Somalia and the primary African-born member of the Overseas Affairs Committee, Omar is a widespread goal for individuals of the GOP.
Republicans have ceaselessly claimed Omar, who has represented Minnesota’s fifth District since 2019, is an antisemite. However Omar stated she believes McCarthy desires her off committees as a result of she’s Muslim.
“I don’t in truth assume that he has a reason why out of doors of me being Muslim and considering I must no longer be,” Omar instructed HuffPost. “When you take a look at the feedback from Republicans, it’s exactly for handiest that reason why.”
For years, Republicans have centered Omar and espoused conspiracy theories about her, whilst shrugging off egregious behaviors and feedback from individuals of their very own birthday party, similar to when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) many times described Omar as a terrorist who would possibly blow up the Capitol.
Space Majority Chief Steve Scalise (R-L. a..) stated Tuesday that Republicans would believe taking away other people from committees as a result of Democrats had accomplished it.
“The Democrats set a precedent that we prompt them strongly to not cross down ultimate Congress,” Scalise stated. “They made up our minds they’d destroy the precedent that were in position for over 200 years and take away individuals of the opposing birthday party that our birthday party decided on to be on committees, in order that used to be a tradition they set.”
However Scalise declined to mention any Democrats would unquestionably get booted since neither birthday party had made committee appointments but. Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), a member of Democratic management, stated Tuesday that Democrats had been operating on their committee assignments and refused to get right into a “hypothetical” query about what would occur if McCarthy blocked individuals.
Space Speaker Kevin McCarthy has vowed to take away Rep. Ilhan Omar (middle above) from the Space Overseas Affairs Committee.
Tom Williams by the use of Getty Pictures
Republicans Gosar and Greene had been stripped in their committee assignments within the earlier Congress. In 2021, Gosar posted a video on social mediadepicting violence in opposition to President Joe Biden and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), whilst Greene has many times posted racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories and advocated for executing best Democrats, together with Omar.
McCarthy stated ultimate yr that he would permit Greene and Gosar to go back to their committees when Republicans regained keep watch over of the Space — a observation made the similar week the pair participated in a real white nationalist convention.
McCarthy can unilaterally block Swalwell and Schiff (each from California) from returning to the Space Intelligence Committee as it’s a “make a choice” committee over which the speaker has extra keep watch over than common status committees. Republicans have criticized Schiff for hyping what grew to become out to be bogus knowledge about Donald Trump in a discredited secret agent file. Swalwell had contacts with an alleged Chinese language secret agent who attempted to lend a hand his political occupation from 2011 to 2015, although Swalwell used to be no longer accused of any wrongdoing.
However taking away Omar from the Space Overseas Affairs Committee, must Democrats position her again on it, would most likely require a majority vote through all of the Space.
Omar has confronted a variety of allegations of antisemitism for her extremely inflammatory grievance of the Israeli govt. In 2019, the congresswoman apologized for her “it’s all in regards to the Benjamins” tweet — which she stated used to be supposed to criticize pro-Israel lobbying teams. Since then, Space Republicans rapidly started calling for Omar to be got rid of from Overseas Affairs, a vow McCarthy stated in November that he’d uphold.
“I promised you ultimate yr that as speaker she would now not be on Overseas Affairs, and I’m conserving that promise,” McCarthy instructed the Republican Jewish Coalition.
A variety of revolutionary Jewish organizations printed their very own letter a couple of weeks later opposing McCarthy’s vow, writing that the teams “categorically reject the advice that any of her coverage positions or statements advantage disqualification from her function at the committee.”
“As crude and as cynical as it’s for the nativist factions in our govt, focused on Muslims is reliably excellent politics,” stated Sumayyah Waheed, senior coverage recommend at Muslim Advocates, a countrywide civil rights team primarily based in Washington, D.C.
“By means of stripping Rep. Omar of her committees, McCarthy kills two birds with one stone: He makes an attempt to silence an efficient, principled voice at the Overseas Affairs Committee, and he stokes the unpleasant tradition of anti-Muslim hate for inexpensive political issues,” she added.
Omar, who is among the first two Muslim ladies elected to Congress, has lengthy been centered through Republicans in a chain of Islamophobic assaults and has been the topic of demise threats. In March 2019, a poster of Omar and the September 11 assaults used to be posted at an tournament backed through the Republican Celebration of West Virginia. That very same yr in July, then-president Donald Trump stated the 4 revolutionary congresswomen of colour referred to as the “Squad,” together with Omar, must “return and lend a hand repair the utterly damaged and crime-infested puts from which they got here.”
“Up to now, the Republican Celebration management has accomplished not anything to sentence and hang their very own individuals in command of repeated cases of anti-Muslim hate and harassment,” Omar stated in November 2021 after Boebert refused to make an apology without delay to the congresswoman after suggesting she used to be a terrorist.
“This isn’t about one hateful observation or one flesh presser; it’s a few birthday party that has mainstreamed bigotry and hatred. It’s time for Republican Chief McCarthy to in truth hang his birthday party responsible.”
GOP Rep. George Santos, the newly elected Area member from New York who has admitted to fabricating his paintings and schooling historical past, is now being accused of intensive marketing campaign finance violations.
Monday’s allegations are available a grievance the nonpartisan Marketing campaign Prison Heart filed with the Federal Election Fee, which might continue with a proper investigation into Santos. The grievance widely accuses Santos ― who’s already going through different federal and native investigations into lies about his background ― of the usage of his 2022 marketing campaign finances to hide non-public wishes, mendacity about how his marketing campaign spent cash and hiding the foundation of his marketing campaign finances.
Santos, the brand new grievance claims, has been “knowingly and willfully concealing the real resources of his marketing campaign’s investment, misrepresenting how his marketing campaign spent its cash, and illegally paying for private bills with marketing campaign finances. In particular in mild of Santos’s mountain of lies about his existence and {qualifications} for administrative center, the Fee must totally examine what seem to be similarly brazen lies about how his marketing campaign raised and spent cash.”
Santos’ marketing campaign finance stories comprise a large number of crimson flags, the watchdog notes. One is his declare that he loaned $705,000 to his personal marketing campaign, even if 2020 data point out he best had $55,000 to his title. His claims that he earned thousands and thousands in 2021 and 2022 from a consulting industry are “imprecise, uncorroborated, and non-credible in mild of his many earlier lies,” the crowd alleges.
Santos is accused of mendacity about a number of facets of his non-public historical past, starting from his paintings a enjoy to his connections to probably the most worst tragedies in American historical past.
Newsday LLC by way of Getty Pictures
The FEC remaining week demanded that Santos supply extra details about contributions and likely donors to his marketing campaign, consistent with CNN.
In its grievance, the Marketing campaign Prison Heart additionally flagged dozens of bills in Santos’ data totaling precisely $199.99 ― only one cent below the volume for which the FEC calls for itemized receipts.
“The sheer choice of those just-under-$200 disbursements is fantastic,” the crowd says, “and a few bills seem to be unimaginable given the character of the article or provider coated.”
Santos additionally seems to have used marketing campaign cash to pay for his personal place of dwelling, the grievance alleges. Santos marked greater than $13,000 in his disclosure paperwork as “condominium apartment for workforce” or “hire & hire deposit” at a New York deal with for what in truth seems to be his own residence in suburban Lengthy Island.
One “neighbor mentioned Santos himself have been dwelling there for months,” the grievance says, “and two others mentioned that they’d noticed Santos and his husband coming and going.”
Santos didn’t instantly go back a request for remark.
After the New York Occasions reported that it used to be not able to make sure a lot of Santos’ claims about his non-public historical past, the Lengthy Island flesh presser admitted to The New York Publish remaining month that he had lied all over his marketing campaign about his process enjoy and faculty schooling.
“My sins listed below are embellishing my resume,” he mentioned. “I’m sorry.”
Media stories have endured to poke holes within the tales Santos offered citizens. Investigations have discovered proof that he lied about graduating from faculty, operating an actual property empire, having a high-profile occupation on Wall Side road, operating a charity that stored hundreds of canine and being a biracial descendent of Ukrainian Jews whose grandparents survived the Holocaust.
His claims that his mom died because of the 9/11 assaults and that 4 of his staff died in 2016′s Pulse nightclub capturing additionally seem to be lies.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) put her fellow Area Republicans on blast after a number of of her far-right colleagues held the speakership hostage via 15 rounds of balloting ultimate week.
In an interview on CBS Information’ “Face the Country” on Sunday, Mace referred to as out Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) specifically when requested how she was once going to paintings with this extremist contingent in her birthday celebration. (See the video beneath.)
“What you noticed ultimate week was once a constitutional procedure reduced via the ones forms of political movements. … I’ve as many independents and Democrats as I’ve Republicans in my district. I’ve to constitute everyone. I’m involved that common-sense regulation is not going to get via to get a vote at the ground.”
Later within the interview, Mace chimed in on resume-faking Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), telling Brennan it’s “very tricky to paintings with any individual who can’t be depended on.”
“It is rather transparent his whole resume and existence was once manufactured,” she mentioned.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) it sounds as if felt it was once no giant deal that GOP lawmakers just about were given right into a bodily struggle at the Space flooring over the chaotic effort to elect their new speaker.
Right through the 14th vote to select the brand new chief on Thursday evening, Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) was once observed retaining Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) again because the latter furiously faced his colleague Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).
Gaetz was once amongst a gaggle of about 20 GOP holdouts combating Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from profitable his bid to steer the Republican Celebration’s majority. Gaetz in the end voted “provide” within the fifteenth spherical of votes Saturday, permitting McCarthy to change into speaker after he made a number of concessions to the far-right bloc.
On “Fox Information Sunday,” host Shannon Bream discussed the disagreement and requested Jordan how American citizens can consider his celebration to control after what performed out.
“Once in a while democracy is messy, however I’d argue that’s how the founders meant it,” Jordan stated. “They sought after actual debate, actual enter from all other people, and then you definitely get a choice ― whether or not it’s one vote or 15 votes, Kevin McCarthy remains to be speaker of the Space. I’ve observed a wide variety of video games cross into further innings and additional time. That’s simply the way it works.”
“I’d argue that is precisely how the founders meant it” — Jim Jordan on Fox Information Sunday in keeping with a query about Republicans just about coming to blows at the Space flooring %.twitter.com/5p56KOIAfi
The remaining time a Space speaker election required two or extra votes at the flooring was once 1923. The remaining time it required 15 or extra was once earlier than the Civil Struggle.
The standoff mirrored important divisions inside the GOP caucus, and plenty of political observers seen it as a relating to preview of what’s to come back in a Space beneath slender Republican regulate. Republicans received a 222-212 majority within the November midterms.
Some Republicans, like Jordan, have waved away grievance over the balloting circus. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who voted towards McCarthy within the first 11 rounds, argued that a “little transient warfare” was once a excellent factor.
“One of the most tensions you noticed on show after we noticed one of the most interactions there between Mike Rogers and Matt Gaetz, we want a bit of that, we want a bit of this breaking the glass,” he stated.
Others, alternatively, have voiced issues concerning the deal McCarthy struck. “You’ll’t let the insurgency caucus take grasp and dictate,” Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) stated Sunday, predicting that this was once “best the start” of a “tough and rowdy” consultation of Congress.
Democrats ― and it sounds as if, many citizens ― have been unimpressed with the Republican disarray. Space Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) stated Sunday that he was once “very stricken through the way in which the Congress has began, and optimistically, that doesn’t portend for what’s to come back.”
In step with fresh polling through CBS Information/YouGov, a 55% majority of respondents stated they disapproved of the speaker election procedure.
