Summary
Here is a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
George Santos remained defiant ahead of the House expulsion vote. In a fiery press conference this morning on Capitol Hill, Santos accused the House ethics report which detailed “pervasive” fraud as “slanderous” and “littered in hyperbole, littered in opinion.”
Anna Kaplan, a former Democratic New York state senator who is challenging George Santos for his House seat, has responded to the upcoming House expulsion vote surrounding Santos, saying: “If George Santos is expelled tomorrow, the special election will be right around the corner. I am battle tested, and I am ready to flip New York’s third congressional district blue. We’ve already raised over $1m. We’re just getting started.”
New York Democratic representative Jamaal Bowman has released a statement in response to George Santos’s vows to introduce a privileged resolution to expel him today, saying: “No one in Congress, or anywhere in America, takes soon-to-be former congressman George Santos seriously, This is just another meaningless stunt in his long history of cons, antics and outright fraud.”
A New York appellate court reinstated a gag order on Thursday that prohibited Donald Trump and his lawyers from publicly commenting on court staff in the former president’s civil fraud case. “Petitioners having moved to stay enforcement of the aforesaid gag order and supplemental limited gag order pending hearing and determination of the instant petition. Now, upon reading and filing the papers with respect to the motion, and due deliberation having been had thereon, it is ordered that the motion is denied,” the court stated.
Donald Trump continues to attack the wife of the New York state judge Arthur Engoron, who imposed a gag order on Trump in the former president’s civil fraud case in New York. In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump has accused Dawn Engoron of posting anti-Trump memes on X, formerly known as Twitter. Dawn has said that the X account is not run by her.
Donald Trump’s lawyer Christopher Kise has condemned the reinstatement of the gag order, telling CBS: “In a country where the first amendment is sacrosanct, President Trump may not even comment on why he thinks he cannot get a fair trial.”
The Joe Biden administration has announced new action to protect communities from lead exposure. In a statement released on Thursday, the White House revealed that the Environmental Protection Agency has announced a proposal to “strengthen its lead and cooper rule that would require water systems to replace lead service lines within 10 years, helping secure safe drinking water for communities across the country.”
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A vote on Santos’s fate will take place tomorrow.
Republican leaders delayed the vote, saying that they have other business to get to today. Tomorrow’s vote will be the third time this year that the chamber has considered expelling Santos.
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The debate has concluded.
In a final defense, Santos remained defiant. He did not offer much defense of himself, but said he would not resign.
“If tomorrow, when this vote is on the floor, it is in the conscience of all of my colleagues that they believe this is a correct thing to do, so be it. Take the vote. I am at peace,” he said.
Matt Gaetz argues against precedent that expelling Santos would set
“I do not believe that the Long Island crew is acting in bad faith, just exceedingly bad judgement,” said the Florida Republican representative Matt Gaetz.
“Since the beginning of this Congress, there’s only two ways you get expelled. You get convicted of a crime or you participated in a civil war. Neither of those apply to George Santos and so I rise, not to defend George Santos, whoever he is, but to defend the very precedent that my colleagues are willing to shatter,” he added.
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“I’ve heard your argument. I feel your passion. I understand your position but you’re about to go too far. Just calm down and step back,” said the Louisiana Republican representative Clay Higgins as he addressed the House.
“This is what I advise my colleagues on both sides of the aisle … We’re talking about the removal of a member of Congress. Are the American people to believe the opinions of congressmen is a higher standard than the delivered vote of the American people? Is a report from a committee a higher standard than the two-year election cycle as established by our founding fathers and enshrined in our constitution? Calm down,” said Higgins.
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The floor has been yielded back to George Santos who is now saying: “We hear a lot about process, we hear a lot about findings … this process has been skewed, how this process is sloppy.”
He added that this process “is contradictory to the core”.
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Mississippi Republican Michael Guest says ethics report 'paints a picture of fraud'
The findings of the committee were shocking,” said the Republican representative Michael Guest of Mississippi.
“We know that the ethics committee authorized 37 subpoenas. They issued 43 requests for information. They interviewed 40 witnesses. They reviewed 172,000 pages of documents and they issued a 56-page investigation report,” he said.
“The report … paints a picture of the fraud committed by Santos,” he continued, pulling up a large display of the language used in the report.
“Representative Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” the display read, quoting from the report.
“He blatantly stole from his campaign. He deceived donors into providing what they thought were contribution to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit,” it added.
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“I’m not trying to be arrogant or spiteful or disrespectful of the [ethics] committee but I’m curious to know, what is the schedule of the ethics committee?” said Santos, complaining that other findings launched by the ethics committee have taken years.
“Why rush this? To deliver a predetermined outcome sought out by some members of our conference? Or some members of this body?” he added.
“It is a predetermined necessity for some members in this body to engage in this smear campaign to destroy me. I will not stand by quietly,” he continued.
“Every member expelled in history of this institution has been convicted of crimes or confederate turncoats guilty of treason. Neither of those apply to me but here we are,” said George Santos in his House remarks.
“On what basis does this body feel that that precedent must be changed for me?” he said.
“I have been convicted of no crimes, Mr Speaker. My loyalty to this country … is true and unquestionable,” he added.
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House begins resolution debate on George Santos expulsion
The House has started its resolution debate on expelling New York Republican representative George Santos.
Santos has remained defiant and in denial of all charges against him, including wire fraud, arguing that his fellow lawmakers are “bullying” him out of the House.
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The Joe Biden administration has announced new action to protect communities from lead exposure.
In a statement released on Thursday, the White House revealed that the Environmental Protection Agency has announced a proposal to “strengthen its lead and cooper rule that would require water systems to replace lead service lines within 10 years, helping secure safe drinking water for communities across the country.”
The president’s bipartisan infrastructure law invests over $50bn for the largest upgrade to the nation’s water infrastructure in history, and today’s action builds on these historic levels of funding from president Biden’s Investing in America agenda, a key pillar of Bidenomics, to replace lead service lines across the nation,” the White House said.
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Joe Biden has once again reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to upholding protections surrounding reproductive healthcare.
“Congress must codify the protections of Roe v Wade,” he tweeted on Thursday.
My Administration will continue to protect access to reproductive health care.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 30, 2023
Congress must codify the protections of Roe v. Wade.
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Donald Trump’s lawyer Christopher Kise has condemned the reinstatement of the gag order, telling CBS:
“In a country where the first amendment is sacrosanct, President Trump may not even comment on why he thinks he cannot get a fair trial.”
Kise, who called today’s decision “a tragic day for the rule of law,” added: “Hard to imagine a more unfair process and hard to believe this is happening in America.”
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The screenshots Donald Trump posted on to Truth Social in which he accuses the wife of New York state judge Arthur Engoron of posting anti-Trump content include various memes that appeared to be posted by X user @dm_sminxs.
One meme shows Trump digitally altered into wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and mopping floors. The caption read, “He’ll never be in the WHITE HOUSE again. He’s headed for the BIG HOUSE.”
Another meme also showed Trump digitally altered into an orange prison jumpsuit and reading a book in a jail cell. Next to the meme says, “2024” and “HE’S HEADED FOR THE BIG HOUSE.”
Another meme featured two photos, one of what appeared to be an old woman writing “FUCK TRUMP” on a wall,” and another digitally altered photo of a bald Trump posing for a mugshot in an orange jumpsuit.
“This is the Judge’s Wife and Family that are putting these things out. I am not entitled to a Jury under this Statute. Can this be happening in America? This is the most unfair Trial in the History of New York, and I’ve had some pretty unfair Trials!” Trump wrote in a caption accompanying the screenshots of the memes.
Speaking to Newsweek, Dawn Engoron pushed back against the accusations, saying, “I do not have a Twitter account. This is not me. I have not posted any anti Trump messages.”
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Donald Trump continues attacks on judge's wife after gag order reimposed
Donald Trump continues to attack the wife of New York state judge Arthur Engoron, who imposed a gag order on Trump in the former president’s civil fraud case in New York.
Trump’s latest attacks of Dawn Engoron comes after a gag order against Trump was reinstated on Thursday. The order bans Trump and his lawyers from publicly commenting on court staff involved in the New York fraud case.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump has accused Dawn Engoron of posting anti-Trump memes on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Dawn has said that the X account is not run by her.
“I do not have a Twitter account. This is not me. I have not posted any anti Trump messages,” she said to Newsweek.
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The latest resolution from Santos to expel Bowman will not move forward if Santos is expelled from Congress, CNN reports.
George Santos introduced a privileged resolution today to expel Dem Rep. Jamaal Bowman for pulling a fire alarm when there wasn’t an emergency.
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) November 30, 2023
This resolution dies if Santos is expelled within the 2-day legislative window. No member can pick it up, per @haleytalbotcnn.
Santos has introduced a privileged resolution to expel New York representative Jamaal Bowman for pulling a Congressional fire alarm, C-span reported.
Santos introduced the resolution following an October incident when Bowman set off a fire alarm ahead of a House vote on a government spending stop gap bill to prevent a shutdown.
Bowman has fiercely denied intentionally pulling the fire alarm to delay the vote. The New York congressman said he mistakenly thought the alarm would open a nearby door.
But House republicans have condemned Bowman’s actions and vowed to punish him, even going so far as to link it to riots caused by Donald Trump supporters on January 6.
New York’s Republican representative Nicole Malliotakis has responded to George Santos’s defiance amid efforts to expel him from the House, telling CNN:
“I believe that the Earth is round and that George Santos needs to go.”
Malliotakis, who previously voted to not remove Santos from the House, went on to say:
“Look, the previous vote, we had Republicans and Democrats vote against it, simply because we were waiting for the ethics [committee] to do its due diligence, to do the due process and come back and furnish the report so we could see what type of evidence and facts they were able to find. That is what we requested of the ethics committee early this year and it was premature to be voting on an expulsion before getting the results of their investigation.
But following the report being released. I don’t see how somebody can vote to keep him here… Santos is a stain on the institution. He does not represent his constituents well. He does not have the trust of his constituents nor the members of Congress and the sooner he is removed, the better off we’ll all be.”
Rep. Malliotakis: “I believe that the Earth is round and that George Santos needs to go...George Santos is a stain on the institution...and the sooner he is removed, the better off we will all be.” pic.twitter.com/4E8e1dEbp3
— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) November 30, 2023
Here is the reinstatement of the gag order on Donald Trump and his lawyers in his $250m New York civil fraud case:
“Petitioners having moved to stay enforcement of the aforesaid gag order and supplemental limited gag order pending hearing and determination of the instant petition.
Now, upon reading and filing the papers with respect to the motion, and due deliberation having been had thereon, it is ordered that the motion is denied; the interim relief granted by order of a Justice of this Court, dated November 16, 2023, is hereby vacated.”
NEWS:
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) November 30, 2023
Trump's gag order barring him from attacking the judge's clerk in his civil fraud case has been reinstated by an appellate court.
Developing, @TheMessenger https://t.co/WbnfEIqe9F pic.twitter.com/UsexrVpAZY
The political initiative Republican Accountability has hit back at George Santos’s claims that the efforts to expel him from the House is “all theater”.
“He’s sure one to talk,” the group said.
George Santos on expulsion: "The reality of it is it's all theater, it's theater for the cameras, it's theater for the microphones, it's theater for the American people at the expense of the American people because no real work is getting done."
— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) November 30, 2023
He's sure one to talk. pic.twitter.com/ZysbsIqixe
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Donald Trump gag order reinstated by New York appellate court
A New York appellate court reinstated a gag order on Thursday that prohibited Donald Trump and his lawyers from publicly commenting on court staff in the former president’s civil fraud case.
Last month, New York state judge Arthur Engoron imposed a gag order on Trump and his lawyers after they repeatedly went after his court staff including principal law clerk Allison Greenfield on social media.
Two weeks ago, a New York appeals court paused the gag order temporarily, with Judge David Friedman citing constitutional concerns surrounding Trump’s free speech.
Thursday’s move reinstates the gag order on the former president and his lawyers as the $250m case remains under way.
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In response to George Santos’s press conference, Josh Sorbe, the press secretary for the Senate judiciary committee, brought attention to the garbage truck behind Santos, saying:
That garbage truck at the George Santos press conference was a paid actor.”
The garbage truck at the George Santos press conference was a paid actor pic.twitter.com/g10tXDxbxH
— Josh Sorbe (@joshsorbe) November 30, 2023
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In a tongue-in-cheek post, Texas’s Democratic representative Jasmine Crockett responded to George Santos’s vows to expel New York Democratic representative Jamaal Bowman, saying:
So now instead of one expulsion, let’s have two! All the while, again, we could be working on the President’s package which has aid for cities feeling crushed by the migrant crisis or hell we could maybe pass a budget, but nope… we will have dueling expulsions. Welcome to preschool … I mean our prestigious congress (darn autocorrect).”
Good morning ALL… especially the trolls. 😊
— Jasmine Crockett (@JasmineForUS) November 30, 2023
Today is supposed to be Expulsion day, but the vote is still not scheduled as of yet… it’s looking like debate may take place today. We will see, BUT, there is a twist.
This morning George Santos held a press conference & basically…
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Democratic former New York state senator says she's ready to run if Santos is expelled
Anna Kaplan, a former Democratic New York state senator who is challenging George Santos for his House seat, has responded to the upcoming House expulsion vote surrounding Santos, saying:
“If George Santos is expelled tomorrow, the special election will be right around the corner. I am battle tested, and I am ready to flip New York’s 3rd congressional district blue. We’ve already raised over $1 million. We’re just getting started.”
If George Santos is expelled tomorrow, the special election will be right around the corner.
— Anna M. Kaplan (@AnnaMKaplan) November 30, 2023
I am battle tested, and I am ready to flip New York's 3rd Congressional District blue.
We've already raised over $1 million. We're just getting started.
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Here is another clip from George Santos’s fiery press conference in which he also railed against pro-Palestine protestors in New York who are calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza where nearly 15,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes.
Speaking to reporters, Santos blamed the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, and the Joe Biden administration’s immigration policies.
He said:
“Yesterday we had a band of vandals who thought it was appropriate to fight the NYPD. This is what took place just yesterday and that’s on secretary Mayorkas because a lot of these people, they’re not here because they love this country. They’re not here because they want the best for this country. Why are they here? It’s starting from inside.”
Rep. George Santos blames pro-Palestinian demonstrations in New York City on the Biden admin's open border policies:
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) November 30, 2023
"That's on Sec. Mayorkas, because a lot of these people, they're not here because they love this country." pic.twitter.com/zazXScgCuO
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Here is a clip of George Santos telling reporters that “this is not how at least I thought this year would go,” referring to the developments surrounding his potential expulsion from the House.
“I don’t think this is how most people in the media would think this year would go,” he said, adding, “It’s just an unfortunate circumstance.”
“We can all look back and say this is not how at least I thought this year would go. I don’t think this how most people in the media would think this year would go.”
— The Recount (@therecount) November 30, 2023
— Rep. George Santos (R-NY) ahead of tomorrow’s vote on a resolution to expel him from the House pic.twitter.com/U3SPDpVHd7
Jamaal Bowman: 'no one takes George Santos seriously'
New York Democratic representative Jamaal Bowman has released a statement in response to George Santos’s vows to introduce a privileged resolution to expel him today, saying:
“No one in Congress, or anywhere in America, takes soon-to-be former congressman George Santos seriously, This is just another meaningless stunt in his long history of cons, antics and outright fraud.”
Jamaal Bowman just sent out the following statement on George Santos's effort to expel him today pic.twitter.com/WAWVTtrHsK
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) November 30, 2023
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George Santos was also asked during his press conference whether he was wearing anything he bought with campaign funds, including the Ferragamo shoes he was wearing, NBC’s Kate Santaliz reports.
“No, nothing,” he replied, adding, “These shoes are six years old.”
Asked Santos if he was wearing anything bought with campaign funds - including the Ferragamo shoes he was wearing
— Kate Santaliz (@kate_santaliz) November 30, 2023
“No, nothing.” Santos said looking down at his clothes. “These shoes are six years old.” pic.twitter.com/sc0d8ynRON
Here is a clip from George Santos’s press conference earlier this morning during which he decried the expulsion effort as “theater.”
“If I leave, they win” he added.
George Santos during expulsion press conference: "It's all theater. It's theater for the cameras. It's theater for for the microphones." pic.twitter.com/4ThGG3tVoT
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) November 30, 2023
George Santos claims he is being bullied in defiant press conference ahead of House expulsion vote
George Santos remains defiant ahead of the House expulsion vote against him that is set to take place tomorrow.
In a fiery press conference this morning on Capitol Hill, Santos accused the House ethics report which detailed “pervasive” fraud as “slanderous” and “littered in hyperbole, littered in opinion.”
He also appeared to launch a veiled threat against House members who vote against his expulsion, saying:
“If the House wants to start different precedent and expel me, that is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body because this will haunt them in the future where mere allegations are sufficient to have members removed from office when duly elected by their people.”
He also launched a tirade against New York Democratic representative Jamaal Bowman who was charged last month with setting off a false fire alarm in a House office building ahead of a House vote on a government funding bill. Bowman pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a fine of $1,000.
Santos said:
“Jamaal Bowman gets a pass. That’s why today at noon, I’m going to be introducing a privilege motion for expulsion of convicted and guilty-pleaded congressman Jamaal Bowman… I think that that’s consistency.”
Santos then routed back to the expulsion efforts against him, saying:
“If I leave, they win. If I leave, the bullies take place. This is bullying… The reality of it is it’s all theater. “It’s theater for the cameras, theater for the microphones, theater for the American people at the expense of the American people.”
Santos added that he will be “filing a slew of complaints in the coming hours of today and tomorrow” in order to “keep the playing field even.”
He also said that he will not be “unpacking the report,” adding, “It is counterproductive for me to do so at this time.”
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Reports are emerging of an individual detained and heavy police presence at scene after a vehicle crashed into a barricade on Capitol Hill this morning.
The details surrounding the crash remain unclear.
Huge police presence on the House side; someone crashed into the barricade pic.twitter.com/xmDu3Z76v1
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) November 30, 2023
Santos expulsion vote due on Friday
The indicted congressman George Santos faces a US House expulsion vote tomorrow.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Friday on whether to expel the scandal-plagued Republican, who represents New York’s third district, Reuters reports.
Santos faces criminal corruption charges and new accusations that he misspent campaign money, according to Republican aides.
Several lawmakers have introduced motions targeting the first-term lawmaker after a report by his House colleagues suggested that federal prosecutors should bring additional charges against Santos, 35, who fabricated large aspects of his life story in his election campaign.
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In response to what his future plans are, Santos said: “I’m going to do whatever I want. Whatever comes my way, I have the desire to stay very much involved in public policy and advocacy for specific issues.”
He added that he will do whatever in his power to see Donald Trump back in the White House in 2024.
“I’m not running for re-election because I chose not to put myself, my family through this process because here’s the reality when it comes down… I would have an uphill battle against the press, I will have an uphill battle against the party,” said Santos.
“There’s a point in time where you just say, you know, enough is enough. I’m 35-years old which doesn’t mean that it’s goodbye forever,” he continued.
“I know they’re all judge, jury and executioner because evidence isn’t really conviction or a verdict and allegations neither,” said Santos.
“I mean, the way they’re looking at this, they just needed a reason to do it,” he added, referring to the ethics committee.
“I’m proud of my voting record. I’m proud of the work I got to do… I leave here no regrets as far as my voting goes,” said Santos.
“No regrets as far as my advocacy bills go, every single issue from healthcare…with gay rights abroad or with foreign aid, I really stand firm that I’m proud of the work that I put forward. I wish I could do more,” he added.
In response to a question to whether he expects the expulsion efforts to pass, Santos said: “I don’t know.”
He went on to add, “Today is my second year wedding anniversary and I’m going to enjoy it and try to forget the fact that it’s been one year from hell.”
“I will be filing a slew of complaints in the coming hours of today and tomorrow to make sure that we keep the playing field even because at this point, I have been nothing generous and kind with my time,” said Santos.
“I am not unpacking the report, It is counterproductive for me to do so at this time. There will be a time that I will unpack it entirely and go line by line,” he said.
Santos says expulsion move 'is all theater'
“The reality of it is it’s all theater,” said Santos.
“It’s theater for the cameras, theater for the microphones, theater for the American people at the expense of the American people,” he added.
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“Nobody here has ever seen ethics reports of any other members whose been under investigation but yet again, changing precedent for me,” said Santos.
“It seems like that’s all fair game so there we go. They go ahead and release this report – it’s littered in hyperbole, littered in opinion,” he added.
George Santos holds news conference
“It’s amazing to me that this House continues to push me out,” George Santos told reporters.
“If the House wants to start different precedent and expel me, that is going to be the undoing of a lot of members of this body because this will haunt them in their future,” he added.
George Santos faces very rare fate of expulsion from Congress, with vote on Friday
Freshman Republican congressman and notorious fabulist George Santos is holding a press conference this morning ahead of an expected vote from the House where members will decide whether or not he gets to stay as a member of the august body.
The New York representative was elected last year but quickly saw his résumé torn to pieces by investigative reporting and past actions subjected to legal scrutiny. He admitted embellishing that résumé.
In addition, Santos has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal fraud charges but has not yet stood trial. He is accused of making tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges on credit cards belonging to campaign donors.
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Congressman George Santos faces vote on his expulsion
Good morning, US politics live blog readers, it’s going to be a lively day in Washington as the House of Representatives prepares to vote on Friday on whether to expel New York Republican congressman George Santos, and the freshman fabulist is due to hold a press conference on Capitol Hill at 8am ET, buckle in.
We have a separate live blog on the death of Henry Kissinger, you can follow that here.
What’s coming up:
New York congressman George Santos is holding a press conference in Washington, due at 8am US eastern time today, ahead of an expected vote on whether the House will take the very rare step of expelling him as a member.
The House of Representatives is due to vote tomorrow on a number of issues, including whether to boot out Santos, who is accused of breaking the law with his use of campaign funds as well as being a serial liar. He’s refused to resign. The vote was expected today but has been pushed back.
The White House media briefing is due at 1pm ET with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a struggling hopeful for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, is going to debate California’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom (seen by many as a decent presidential prospect) tonight at 9pm ET, for reasons best known to themselves.
GOP Trump challenger and rising prospect Nikki Haley is launching her first ad and, after being boosted by right-winger Charles Koch’s PAC earlier this week has also received encouraging words from banking giant JP Morgan Chase’s chief exec Jamie Dimon.
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