Trump Criticizes Hawley as Congressional Stock Trading Ban Advances
The bill changes and renames what was originally the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act. It is now known as the HONEST Act.
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Fox News
17 minutes ago
- Fox News
Democratic strategist says party lacks 'moral authority' on Texas redistricting fight
Democrats are fighting tooth and nail to stop Texas lawmakers' plan to redraw the state's congressional map, but critics, including one prominent member of their own party, say they don't exactly hold the moral high ground. Democrat legislators have fled the state to avoid votes on redistricting, which is expected to add more Republican seats to Congress for the Lone Star State. They're getting the rock-star treatment as they visit blue states, where several governors have vowed to gerrymander Republicans out of their own Congressional delegations in retaliation for the Texas effort. However, Democratic strategist Julian Epstein told "Fox News Live" on Saturday that his party is not immune from criticism, as many blue states have already gerrymandered in a way that limits Republican congressional representation. "No, I think they don't have the moral authority, and there's a lot of pearl-clutching going on," he said. Several blue states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Mexico, have no Republicans in their House delegations. And many feature oddly-drawn districts, seemingly crafted to limit GOP representation. "The Democrats don't have clean hands here. You look at states like Massachusetts, New Jersey[…] Illinois, California, and Democrats have effectively gerrymandered Republicans out of existence," Epstein added. Epstein cautioned that the nationwide redistricting battle could create a "race to the bottom," and that leaving Republicans and Democrats in states led by the opposite parties could lead to people feeling left out of the democratic process. Epstein cited New Jersey, in which Trump garnered 46% of the vote in 2024, but Republicans only have three out of the 12 congressional seats. Meanwhile, Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican, told Fox News Digital on Saturday that Democrats are guilty of "total hypocrisy and faux outrage." "The dirty little secret is Democrats have no problem whatsoever with states redrawing their congressional maps to maximize partisan political advantage. They're just furious that Republican states are starting to redraw their maps," Harrison said. "It's because Democrat state after Democrat state, for a decade, has been gerrymandering the hell out of their congressional maps," he said. "Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware, all of these states have zero. If you're a Republican in those Democrat states, you don't have any voice in Congress," he added. "And [there are] many, many more that have given you just one seat, Oregon, I think Maine and Maryland." In California, a special election is likely to occur in November to counteract the Texas redistricting plan. "We are talking about emergency measures to respond to what's happening in Texas, and we will nullify what happens in Texas," California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday with some Texas state lawmakers. "We'll pick up five seats with the consent of the people. And that's the difference between the approach we're taking and the approach they're taking," Newsom added. "We're doing it on a temporary basis. We're doing it in a fully transparent way and we're doing it by asking the people of the state of California for their consent and support." Harrison explained that Texas's redistricting push has numerous reasons behind it, including the population growth in the Lone Star state since the last census.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Beto O'Rourke Defiant After Legal Blow in Texas Redistricting Standoff
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Beto O'Rourke was defiant after a judge temporarily barred him and his political group from helping fund Texas Democratic lawmakers who left their home state to block redrawn congressional maps, which President Donald Trump has backed. The ruling marks a victory for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who alleged O'Rourke's group Powered by People engaged in bribery and deceptive fundraising. Paxton "wants to silence me and stop me from leading this organization," O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman who ran unsuccessfully for governor and Senate, wrote on X after the ruling on Friday. "He wants to stop us from fighting Trump's attempt to steal the five congressional seats he needs to hang on to power. But I'm not going anywhere." Newsweek has contacted Paxton's office and O'Rourke through Powered by People for comment via emails sent outside regular business hours. Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke speaks to attendees during a "Our Fight, Our Future" rally at The Millennium bowling alley on October 02, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke speaks to attendees during a "Our Fight, Our Future" rally at The Millennium bowling alley on October 02, 2024 in Austin, It Matters The Democratic lawmakers who left Texas have denied their Republican colleagues the quorum needed for a vote on the redrawn maps that could net the GOP five additional seats in the 2026 midterm elections. They face thousands of dollars in out-of-state lodging and dining costs. They also face fines of $500 for each day they are absent and these cannot be paid from their office budgets or political contributions under Texas House rules. Those who left have declined to say how long they'll hold out. What To Know Powered by People gave money to the Texas House Democratic Caucus to help cover their up-front costs, a spokesperson for the group told The Associated Press earlier this week. Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey, a Republican who was appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in 2019 and has since won reelection, granted Paxton's request for a temporary injunction. "Defendants have and will continue to engage in unlawful fundraising practices and utilization of political funds in a manner that either directly violates or causes Texas Democratic Legislators to violate" state law and House procedures, she wrote in her ruling. Her order bars Powered by People from using political funds to pay for travel, hotel or dining costs for the Texas Democrats who left the state or fundraising on their behalf. Powered by People filed a responding lawsuit against Paxton on Friday, alleging his investigation violates the group's right to association, free speech and equal protection, the Houston Chronicle reported. "The true motivation behind defendant's action thus appears to be an unlawful desire to retaliate against Mr. O'Rourke," it said. What People Are Saying Paxton celebrated the judge's ruling, saying in a statement on Friday: "Today, I stopped his deceptive financial influence scheme that attempted to deceive donors and subvert our constitutional process. They told me to 'come and take it,' so I did.'" O'Rourke responded to Paxton on X, saying: "Actually, you didn't. Still here, still raising and rallying to stop the steal of 5 congressional seats in Texas. Ironic that you'd accuse someone of bribery when you were impeached in Texas for taking bribes from Nate Paul." (Paxton was acquitted of bribery and corruption charges by the Republican-led Texas Senate in 2023 after the GOP-controlled House voted to impeach him). In another post, he wrote: "They want to make examples out of those who fight so that others won't. Paxton is trying to shut down Powered by People, one of the largest voter registration organizations in the country, because our volunteers fight for voting rights and free elections... the kind of work that threatens the hold that Paxton, Trump and Abbott have on power in Texas." What's Next O'Rourke is set to speak at a rally—dubbed "The People vs. The Power Grab"— in Fort Worth on Saturday afternoon. Fahey's order is to remain in effect for two weeks. She has scheduled a hearing for August 19.
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Sydney Sweeney and fixing the Senate
Last week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune delivered a less than celebratory message on the floor: 'You want to know how many civilian nominees President Trump has had confirmed by unanimous consent or voice vote?' he asked. 'None. Zero. Zero percent.' This was just before the Senate headed home for the summer — with over 100 nominees still unconfirmed. It was yet another chapter in the ever-expanding saga that is Congressional dysfunction. But according to Jim Secreto, who was a special assistant to the president for legislative affairs and director of confirmations under President Joe Biden, there is a way out of this — only sometimes, it requires you to send someone up in a helicopter to shoot a few feral cows. No, that's not a garbled euphemism. One Senate nomination hang-up occurred when Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico delayed the confirmation of a Department of Agriculture nominee until they'd agree to a briefing on feral cows roaming the Gila National Forest. Once the Forest Service signed off on mowing them down, the nominee was soon confirmed. 'Sadly, as the events of the Senate last week show, this kind of transactional dealmaking has all but vanished,' Secreto writes in this week's Friday Read, 'and for us to get back to fixing government and the broken state of U.S. politics in general, it needs to be revived.' Read the story. 'This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention.' Can you guess who said this about South Park after it satirized the Trump administration? Scroll to the bottom for the answer.** The Real Sydney Sweeney Problem ... The online uproar over Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ad quickly turned into fodder for conservatives to use against Democrats — even though elected Democrats had nothing to do with it. For Rob Flaherty, who served as former Vice President Kamala Harris' deputy campaign manager in 2024, that reveals a troubling truth about the asymmetrical information ecosystems on the left and the right. 'The fact that this moment became a thing at all ... says something real about the media ecosystem we're all trapped in,' he writes. 'And it says even more about why Democrats keep losing the culture war, and with it, the narrative war that inevitably shapes who wins elections.' Did the group of Democrats leaving Texas to break quorum and prevent a vote on Republicans' redistricting plan leave you behind in the Austin dust? When it comes up this weekend, just tip your Stetson and stick to these talking points. (From Associate Editor Dylon Jones) — The obvious tension is between Republicans and Democrats, but as a keen observer of Texas politics, you can point out other points of friction: 'The governor and the state attorney general seem to be competing over which one of them should get to kick the Democrats out of office. Abbott asked the Supreme Court to remove them, but AG Ken Paxton filed his own separate action and wrote a letter saying he's the one that has the authority to boot them. Sen. John Cornyn got involved too, taking Abbott's side — after all, the senator is running a primary campaign against Paxton.' — Point out just how dangerous the political climate has gotten to show you've been following the situation: 'There have already been multiple bomb threats at the hotel where Democrats are staying in Chicago. Thankfully, the St. Charles police sweep didn't turn up any bombs, and no one was hurt.' — Mention some of the GOP's tactics to pressure the Democrats into returning: 'Did you see the House Speaker, Dustin Burrows, announced that the Democrats would have to pick up their paychecks and per diems in person? He said the Constitution prevents him from withholding their money — but 'it does not dictate how we issue the pay.'' — Point out how this state battle is becoming a proxy for a national showdown between Democrats and Trump: 'It was notable that Texas Democrats appeared in California with Gov. Gavin Newsom. He's pushing for a counter-redistricting to undercut the Republicans' goals in Texas.' Trump Comes for the Fortune 500 ... Trump has taken on academia, government, the legal system and the media. Next on the list? It might just be the Fortune 500. Intel's shares plummeted after the president called on it's CEO to resign over past business dealings in China. 'The public demand for a Fortune 500 CEO to resign, delivered via social media, tells us something important about what Trump has learned in the seven months since he returned to the White House,' writes Charlie Mahtesian, 'and how that is leading to a creeping encroachment into every institution and corner of American life.' Metrinko's Bitter 'I Told You So Moment' ... In the leadup to the Iranian Revolution and the 1979-81 hostage crisis that tanked Jimmy Carter's presidency, Washington got rosy reports about what was going on in the country under its ally, the shah. But one diplomat had a different picture. He saw the trouble brewing on the horizon — but the government ignored his warnings, and he ended up being taken hostage himself. With tensions once again rising in the Middle East, 'the lesson for the current administration is the same as it was for its predecessors,' writes veteran war correspondent Scott Anderson. 'Government bureaucracy has a way of ignoring dissenting voices — and it does so at its own peril.' Conor Lamb Is Unfettered ... Conor Lamb got creamed in the 2022 Democratic Senate primary against now-Sen. John Fetterman, dismissed as a centrist stooge by the left. 'Progressives want you to know they're sorry about that,' writes Ben Jacobs. 'In light of Fetterman's seeming estrangement from the Democratic Party and his evolution into 'Trump's favorite Democrat,' the left has reconciled with Lamb, wondering if maybe they were a little too tough on the once up-and-coming lawmaker who had shot to national attention by winning a deep red district in a 2018 special election.' The Plan Netanyahu Doesn't Want You to Know About ... Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'wants us to believe, or at least wants the Trump administration to, that Israel has no alternative than to intensify the war,' writes Bernard Avishai. 'But this is not the case and hasn't been for the past 18 months. Hamas was never the necessary negotiating partner, or even the counterparty, to any deal that promised to succeed.' What might be, he says, is the Palestinian Authority — if it involves a range of Palestinian business leaders and their plans for the future. 'Indeed, the business community portends a new Palestinian leadership that can provide the know-how for economic rebuilding.' From the drafting table of editorial cartoonist Matt Wuerker. **Who Dissed? answer: It was White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers, in a statement to CNN. politicoweekend@
