Latest news with #R-Fla
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's China ambassador pick gets kid-glove treatment on Capitol Hill
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee spared President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to China, David Perdue, some potentially awkward questions in his confirmation hearing on Thursday. Lawmakers steered clear of Perdue's past record of holding positions at odds with Trump's 'America First' policies like outsourcing U.S. jobs to Asia or his refusal to condemn crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Instead, they focused on issues ranging from perceptions of China's national security threat, the importance of allies and partners and how the dismantling of USAID undermines U.S. soft power. It's long been expected that Perdue would have a relatively easy path to confirmation. But it is notable that even the most outspoken supporters of the Trump agenda — think Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla) — or critics of China's human rights record — think Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) — stayed away from raising Perdue's mixed record in those areas. It could be an indication that his attacks on Beijing in recent months have mollified China hawks on the committee, or that lawmakers seeking less fraught ties see an upside to having someone with a nuanced view of U.S.-China relations as the U.S. emissary to Beijing. The lawmakers spared Perdue — a former senator from Georgia — from having to speak to why he criticized as overly broad Trump's imposition of steep tariffs on items ranging from washing machines to steel in 2018. At the time, Perdue instead argued for 'a more targeted approach' toward balancing U.S.-China trade. That gave lawmakers a natural opening to questions about Perdue's view of Trump's imposition ofnew 54 percent tariffson Chinese imports Wednesday. That didn't happen. Senators also did not press Perdue on his sympathy for Beijing's hostility to foreign criticism of the crackdown on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists in 2019. At the time, he expressed agreement with Beijing's view that the protests were 'an internal issue.' And there was no mention of Perdue's past support for offshoring U.S. jobs to countries with cheaper labor costs. The former CEO of Dollar General and a top executive at Sara Lee and Reebok, he was a strong proponent of moving jobs from the U.S. to Asia to save on manufacturing costs. Asked in 2005 about outsourcing U.S. jobs, Perdue said 'I spent most of my career doing that.' Perdue's two-hour-plus hearing instead focused mainly on his views of how China is pursuing 'a new kind of war' against the U.S. 'Marxist nationalism is reshaping China, and their global ambitions threaten the current world order,' he added. Those comments reflect Perdue's recent moves to rebrand himself as a tough-on-China proponent of the Trump administration's moves to counter Beijing's economic and military challenges to the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific. And they align with a bipartisan consensus about China's potential threat. Neither GOP nor Democratic committee members pushed back on his assertions. Purdue 'is clear eyed about the geopolitical realities,' while possessing 'a deep understanding for the culture and the customs of the Chinese people,' said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), in a nod to Perdue's past business experience in Hong Kong and China.
Politico
03-04-2025
- Business
- Politico
Trump's China ambassador pick gets kid-glove treatment on Capitol Hill
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee spared President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to China, David Perdue, some potentially awkward questions in his confirmation hearing on Thursday. Lawmakers steered clear of Perdue's past record of holding positions at odds with Trump's 'America First' policies like outsourcing U.S. jobs to Asia or his refusal to condemn crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Instead, they focused on issues ranging from perceptions of China's national security threat, the importance of allies and partners and how the dismantling of USAID undermines U.S. soft power. It's long been expected that Perdue would have a relatively easy path to confirmation. But it is notable that even the most outspoken supporters of the Trump agenda — think Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla) — or critics of China's human rights record — think Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) — stayed away from raising Perdue's mixed record in those areas. It could be an indication that his attacks on Beijing in recent months have mollified China hawks on the committee, or that lawmakers seeking less fraught ties see an upside to having someone with a nuanced view of U.S.-China relations as the U.S. emissary to Beijing. The lawmakers spared Perdue — a former senator from Georgia — from having to speak to why he criticized as overly broad Trump's imposition of steep tariffs on items ranging from washing machines to steel in 2018. At the time, Perdue instead argued for 'a more targeted approach' toward balancing U.S.-China trade. That gave lawmakers a natural opening to questions about Perdue's view of Trump's imposition of new 54 percent tariffs on Chinese imports Wednesday. That didn't happen. Senators also did not press Perdue on his sympathy for Beijing's hostility to foreign criticism of the crackdown on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists in 2019. At the time, he expressed agreement with Beijing's view that the protests were 'an internal issue .' And there was no mention of Perdue's past support for offshoring U.S. jobs to countries with cheaper labor costs. The former CEO of Dollar General and a top executive at Sara Lee and Reebok, he was a strong proponent of moving jobs from the U.S. to Asia to save on manufacturing costs. Asked in 2005 about outsourcing U.S. jobs, Perdue said ' I spent most of my career doing that .' Perdue's two-hour-plus hearing instead focused mainly on his views of how China is pursuing 'a new kind of war' against the U.S. 'Marxist nationalism is reshaping China, and their global ambitions threaten the current world order,' he added. Those comments reflect Perdue's recent moves to rebrand himself as a tough-on-China proponent of the Trump administration's moves to counter Beijing's economic and military challenges to the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific. And they align with a bipartisan consensus about China's potential threat. Neither GOP nor Democratic committee members pushed back on his assertions. Purdue 'is clear eyed about the geopolitical realities,' while possessing 'a deep understanding for the culture and the customs of the Chinese people,' said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), in a nod to Perdue's past business experience in Hong Kong and China.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP may look to Trump for answer on Luna's proxy vote war
With the House at a standstill amid GOP disputes about proxy voting for new parents, a sense is growing that President Trump might have to weigh in to get them out of the chaos — and he is already being pulled into the battle. The arcane disputes on constitutionality, quorum, discharge petitions, procedural rules, and hardball tactics from leadership appeared to — understandably — be extremely low on the president's priority list. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday she had not talked to Trump about the issue. If he didn't know about it before, he does now. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla), who is leading the GOP rebels as she advocates for parental proxy voting, said on NewsNation Wednesday night that she had talked to the president about the matter. 'The President assured that this would get resolved,' Luna said, arguing that she and the eight other Republicans who voted with her are not blocking Trump's agenda, since leadership could tee up legislation on judges and proof of citizenship to vote without killing her proxy voting push. The fact is, though, that the GOP dispute is derailing Trump-supported bills and could hold up the House floor indefinitely. Other Republicans are threatening to block any procedural rules to tee up other business until Luna's push is squashed, according to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). The clash has now broken out of legislative procedure-nerd circles and into the broader sphere — with Trump allies like Cleta Mitchell, the elections reform activist was central in Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, chiming in on X to scold Luna for being 'self-centered.' It seems that the only thing that has reliably held the fractious, razor-thin House Republican majority together this year on critical votes is Trump. The president talked on the phone with Reps. Keith Self (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) to push them to re-elect Johnson as Speaker, as the vote was still ongoing. And Trump had multiple phone calls with Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), a final holdout on the budget resolution framework teeing up his 'big beautiful bill,' in the minutes ahead of the stunning vote when the House adopted it. Others on the right outside of Congress are turning on Luna. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's daughter Evita Pilar Duffy noted in a post on X that her dad resigned from Congress in order to be with his family when her baby sister, who has down syndrome, was 'born with two holes in her heart and needed a very risky surgery,' saying members should resign if they have small children and cannot fill their duties as a member of Congress. Johnson has formed a close relationship with the president, with other Republicans sometimes chalking up the Speaker's success so far to that alliance. Luna has noted that Ivanka Trump oversaw extension of paid maternity and paternity leave benefits to the federal workforce in Trump's first term, and that Trump supported that. Luna said last week that she heard leadership was considering trying to get outside pressure on her — declining to confirm that meant Trump. 'You guys can assume,' she CAUCUS TO GROW AS LUNA EXITS: The House Freedom Caucus is expected to welcome between four to six new members in the coming weeks, the hardline group's chairman Andy Harris tells me. The news comes in wake of Luna leaving the House Freedom Caucus this week, outraged about how its members aggressively opposed her proxy voting for new moms push. And the group lost two others last year, when it removed Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) and Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) left. But it appears the group is poised to make up for that. 'I think we're in the position to add between four and six new freshman,' Harris told me. 'I suspect that we may even get more interest in the Freedom Caucus as I think we've shown that we can be effective.' 'We have the right amount of people,' Harris said. 'It would be a problem if we're too small or too large. I think we're in the sweet spot right now.' The group has around 30 members, outsiders estimate. It does not make its membership list public, keeping with a tradition of secrecy about its inner workings. Judging from re-posts on the Freedom Caucus X account, two of those new recruits appear to be Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) — who has already made plenty of headlines — and Rep. Mark Harris (R-N.C.). Mark Harris's spokesperson told me he 'has great respect for the House Freedom Caucus' and 'looks forward to advancing commonsense, conservative policies in the House.' Rep. Marlin Stuzman (R-Ind.), a founding member of the group who took an eight-year hiatus from Congress, has also re-joined the group. 'When we started it, Obama was president, and our push was to push leadership to the right on our negotiations with President Obama,' Stutzman told me. 'It's very different now. I see Freedom Caucus as a support tank for President Trump.'Americans for Prosperity is launching a seven-figure national Tax Day as and grassroots campaign to highlight tax hikes Americans will face if Trump's tax cuts are not extended. The digital says: 'This huge tax hike would create a lot of angry voters.' The group is also planning rallies in states around the issue. The goal is to push Congress to extend the tax cuts as fast as possible. The Third Term Project – an initiative spearheaded by Republicans for National Renewal, which describes itself as a nationalist and populist group – plans to target local Republican party organizations to adopt resolutions in stating support for a constitutional amendment, to allow Trump to seek a third term. As I , the sample resolution 'calls upon federal and state legislators to initiate appropriate constitutional amendment processes under Article V' to allow the president 'up to three terms in office.' It frames the third term push in terms of 'voter choice,' saying that 'expanding voter choice strengthens American institutions while maintaining constitutional safeguards.' Trump forms alliance with another union — Present at Trump's 'Liberation Day' announcement of reciprocal tariffs was United Autoworkers (UAW) President Shawn Fain, who heaped praise on his announcement of 25 percent tariffs on foreign automobiles. The union, though, has sharply criticized Trump for moving to end collective bargaining for federal workers and opposed him in the election. .Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
03-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
GOP may look to Trump for answer on Luna's proxy vote war
With the House at a standstill amid GOP disputes about proxy voting for new parents, a sense is growing that President Trump might have to weigh in to get them out of the chaos — and he is already being pulled into the battle. The arcane disputes on constitutionality, quorum, discharge petitions, procedural rules, and hardball tactics from leadership appeared to — understandably — be extremely low on the president's priority list. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday she had not talked to Trump about the issue. If he didn't know about it before, he does now. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla), who is leading the GOP rebels as she advocates for parental proxy voting, said on NewsNation Wednesday night that she had talked to the president about the matter. 'The President assured that this would get resolved,' Luna said, arguing that she and the eight other Republicans who voted with her are not blocking Trump's agenda, since leadership could tee up legislation on judges and proof of citizenship to vote without killing her proxy voting push. The fact is, though, that the GOP dispute is derailing Trump-supported bills and could hold up the House floor indefinitely. Other Republicans are threatening to block any procedural rules to tee up other business until Luna's push is squashed, according to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). The clash has now broken out of legislative procedure-nerd circles and into the broader sphere — with Trump allies like Cleta Mitchell, the elections reform activist was central in Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, chiming in on X to scold Luna for being 'self-centered.' It seems that the only thing that has reliably held the fractious, razor-thin House Republican majority together this year on critical votes is Trump. The president talked on the phone with Reps. Keith Self (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) to push them to re-elect Johnson as Speaker, as the vote was still ongoing. And Trump had multiple phone calls with Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), a final holdout on the budget resolution framework teeing up his 'big beautiful bill,' in the minutes ahead of the stunning vote when the House adopted it. Others on the right outside of Congress are turning on Luna. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy 's daughter Evita Pilar Duffy noted in a post on X that her dad resigned from Congress in order to be with his family when her baby sister, who has down syndrome, was 'born with two holes in her heart and needed a very risky surgery,' saying members should resign if they have small children and cannot fill their duties as a member of Congress. Johnson has formed a close relationship with the president, with other Republicans sometimes chalking up the Speaker's success so far to that alliance. Luna has noted that Ivanka Trump oversaw extension of paid maternity and paternity leave benefits to the federal workforce in Trump's first term, and that Trump supported that. Luna said last week that she heard leadership was considering trying to get outside pressure on her — declining to confirm that meant Trump. 'You guys can assume,' she said. I'm Emily Brooks, House leadership reporter at The Hill, here with a weekly look at the influences and debates on the right in Washington. Tell me what's on your radar: ebrooks@ FREEDOM CAUCUS TO GROW AS LUNA EXITS: The House Freedom Caucus is expected to welcome between four to six new members in the coming weeks, the hardline group's chairman Andy Harris tells me. The news comes in wake of Luna leaving the House Freedom Caucus this week, outraged about how its members aggressively opposed her proxy voting for new moms push. And the group lost two others last year, when it removed Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) and Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) left. But it appears the group is poised to make up for that. 'I think we're in the position to add between four and six new freshman,' Harris told me. 'I suspect that we may even get more interest in the Freedom Caucus as I think we've shown that we can be effective.' 'We have the right amount of people,' Harris said. 'It would be a problem if we're too small or too large. I think we're in the sweet spot right now.' The group has around 30 members, outsiders estimate. It does not make its membership list public, keeping with a tradition of secrecy about its inner workings. Judging from re-posts on the Freedom Caucus X account, two of those new recruits appear to be Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) — who has already made plenty of headlines — and Rep. Mark Harris (R-N.C.). Mark Harris's spokesperson told me he 'has great respect for the House Freedom Caucus' and 'looks forward to advancing commonsense, conservative policies in the House.' Rep. Marlin Stuzman (R-Ind.), a founding member of the group who took an eight-year hiatus from Congress, has also re-joined the group. 'When we started it, Obama was president, and our push was to push leadership to the right on our negotiations with President Obama,' Stutzman told me. 'It's very different now. I see Freedom Caucus as a support tank for President Trump.' THREE MORE THINGS… Americans for Prosperity is launching a seven-figure national Tax Day as and grassroots campaign to highlight tax hikes Americans will face if Trump's tax cuts are not extended. The digital ad running in the DC market says: 'This huge tax hike would create a lot of angry voters.' The group is also planning rallies in states around the issue. The goal is to push Congress to extend the tax cuts as fast as possible. The Third Term Project – an initiative spearheaded by Republicans for National Renewal, which describes itself as a nationalist and populist group – plans to target local Republican party organizations to adopt resolutions in stating support for a constitutional amendment, to allow Trump to seek a third term. As I scooped earlier this week, the sample resolution 'calls upon federal and state legislators to initiate appropriate constitutional amendment processes under Article V' to allow the president 'up to three terms in office.' It frames the third term push in terms of 'voter choice,' saying that 'expanding voter choice strengthens American institutions while maintaining constitutional safeguards.' Trump forms alliance with another union — Present at Trump's 'Liberation Day' announcement of reciprocal tariffs was United Autoworkers (UAW) President Shawn Fain, who heaped praise on his announcement of 25 percent tariffs on foreign automobiles. The union, though, has sharply criticized Trump for moving to end collective bargaining for federal workers and opposed him in the election. Fox News has more on the unlikely alliance.
The Hill
24-02-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
DeSantis: Donalds hasn't been part of victories we've had in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) took a swipe at Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) Monday as the congressman inches closer to launching his gubernatorial campaign in the state. 'My view is Donald Trump just got into office. I want these congressmen focused on enacting his agenda. They haven't done very much yet,' DeSantis told reporters when asked whether he planned to endorse Donalds. 'They're not putting his executive orders into place. We'll see what they do on the spending, but we have such a narrow majority that to be trying to campaign other places and missing these votes, I think, is not something that's advisable at all,' he continued. 'The reality is we've achieved victories in Florida. We need to start achieving those victories up there,' he said. 'I think people look at it and say you've got a guy like Byron, he just hasn't been a part of any of the victories that we've had here over the left over these last years. He's just not been a part of it. He's been in other states campaigning doing that and that's fine, but OK, then deliver results up there.' DeSantis made the comments at a press conference announcing Florida Department of Government Efficiency efforts. The governor and the congressman fell out during the 2024 Republican presidential primary when Donalds endorsed President Trump over DeSantis. While DeSantis and Trump have made efforts to repair their relationship after their primary battle, Donalds has become one of Trump's most vocal surrogates. Trump publicly pushed Donalds to launch a gubernatorial bid on Thursday, writing on his platform Truth Social that the congressman 'would be a great and powerful governor for Florida.' Donalds told The Hill on Friday that he has not spoken to DeSantis about his expected gubernatorial run, but he said, 'I know we will.' When asked whether DeSantis will endorse him, Donalds said 'it's too early for that.' Donalds has privately told Florida Republican donors and operatives that he plans to run for governor, but he stopped short of announcing a bid at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday. 'As for me, stay tuned,' Donalds told the conference.
