Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ) criticized the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry on Sunday, stating that it has been costing American&#8217;s time and money, and merely resulting in the fracturing of the United States.
&#8220;I just think we keep going down this road – keep spending more time, you know, many of us came to Congress because we really wanted to accomplish goals, really work on issues such as health care, work on issues dealing with prescription drugs, election security, the debt, the deficit, you know, the list goes on, and I can speak on an on about all the things that we need to do,&#8221; Van Drew told Fox News Host Maria Bartiromo during an appearance on &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures. “I just don&#8217;t think that we&#8217;re hearing anything new.&#8221;
&#8220;And real quickly, we must understand the importance and level of what impeachment is,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Hundreds of years of history and no one has ever been convicted of impeachment and that is the point.&#8221;
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Dem Rep calls out Democrats for “fracturing the nation” with impeachment inquiry <a href="https://t.co/ed0N3N5lBn">pic.twitter.com/ed0N3N5lBn</a>
&mdash; Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1196118508150624259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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House Democrats announced in September that they would be moving forward with an impeachment inquiry after a whistleblower reportedly accused President Donald Trump of asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for using his position as vice president to remove a Ukrainian prosecutor who was looking into his son&#8217;s business dealings.
The reports were not confirmed at the time of the announcement, and it was not until a day later that the White House released a transcript of Trump&#8217;s exchange with Zelensky. After the transcript was made public, many have argued that it fails to show the direct quid pro quo agreement initially alleged.
Democrats, however, have vowed to move forward with impeachment proceedings, and have subsequently followed through on that pledge. In October, the House voted on a resolution establishing the process for the investigation into the president. The measure passed largely along party lines, 232-196, with only two Democrats defecting on the vote.
Van Drew, a Blue Dog Democrat, was notably one of the only members of his caucus who broke with the ranks and voted against advancing the impeachment inquiry. The freshman congressman represents a district that he was able to flip blue during the 2018 election cycle, but that Trump carried in 2016.
The New Jersey lawmaker has not been shy about voicing his opposition to the impeachment proceedings, even earning praise for his stance from the president.
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&#8230;.we are going to have an Election very shortly.” Rep. Jeff Van Drew, Democrat of New Jersey. <a href="https://twitter.com/foxandfriends?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@foxandfriends</a> Thank you. Just another Witch Hunt by Nancy Pelosi and the Do Nothing Democrats!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1178465038643978243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;We&#8217;re going to have an election next year, let us have the election, let us fight through the election,&#8221; Van Drew said. &#8220;Let&#8217;s do what Republicans and Democrats and whomever else does, but this is going to get us nowhere.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;ve spent millions of dollars, in my opinion, tons of money, tons of time, tons of hurt, fracturing the nation apart and I haven&#8217;t seen this to be a good thing,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And now we are dealing with all sorts of technical issues, most of Americans don&#8217;t understand some of these technical issues, and they just don&#8217;t know really what to think.&#8221;

Room Lotto

WATCH: House Democrat Slams Impeachment Proceedings For &#8216;Fracturing The Nation Apart&#8217;

Donald Trump

Impeachment

Former Massachusetts governor and Democratic presidential candidate Deval Patrick shot down claims, Sunday, that he is running on the same platform as South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
&#8220;Pete Buttigieg I would argue is essentially making similar arguments you have about bringing the country together, that this is a bigger moment than a specific policy issue over here, nostalgia over there,&#8221; NBC News host Chuck Todd said during &#8220;Meet The Press.&#8221; &#8220;When I hear your message, and I hear what I&#8217;ve heard from Pete Buttigieg, I think, &#8216;Isn&#8217;t your message already represented?'&#8221;
&#8220;I have tremendous respect for Mayor Pete, as I do for [Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)], for the vice president, and the other candidates who are running &#8230; ,&#8221; Patrick replied. &#8220;My entry into the race isn&#8217;t about them and I&#8217;m not trying to climb on top of them in order to do what I want to do and what I think I can do.&#8221;
&#8220;I think that I have a record of being a bridge builder and I think that&#8217;s pretty important at a time when not just the party, in some respects, but the nation is deeply divided,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And divided, frankly, around issues where we have a remarkable amount of overlap in terms of economic anxiety and social tensions.&#8221;
Patrick announced last week that he was officially jumping into the crowded 2020 Democratic primary field and running for president. There was speculation that he was likely to seek the Democratic nomination as early as February 2018 when two close allies of former President Barack Obama &#8212; David Axelrod, Obama&#8217;s chief strategist, and Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to the former president &#8212; voiced their support for his candidacy. Patrick revealed in late-2018 that he had decided not to run, citing the pressure that a national campaign would put on his family.
Patrick, however, revealed to Todd that his campaign was only a week away from officially launching a presidential bid nearly a year ago, but on the eve of the announcement, his wife was diagnosed with uterine cancer. While Patrick stated in August that his wife was &#8220;glad&#8221; that he decided not to run, she is now cancer-free and has been instrumental in encouraging him to reverse the decision.
&#8220;[My wife] has also been one of the ones listening closely and responding to folks who said there is a lane for you,&#8221; Patrick said. &#8220;More to the point, the nation needs experience, not just a sensibility around bridge building, but actually some results in that respect.&#8221;
&#8220;And we are in crisis in many respects here in America ,and we used a crisis in Massachusetts to come out stronger economically, stronger socially, and more fair,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And I&#8217;d like to see if those experiences, and that aptitude, and that skill set can be offered in service.&#8221;
Patrick, who is the latest candidate to join the presidential race, is facing an uphill battle to win the nomination in a party that has consistently been pivoting further left of center. His recent position as a managing director at the renowned private investment firm Bain Capital has caused widespread backlash in a Democrat Party that is increasingly supportive of socialism.

US-POLITICS-VOTE-PATRICK-2020

Deval Patrick Denies That He Has The Same Presidential Message As Mayor Pete

2020 Election

Pete Buttigieg

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) accused Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Saturday of bowing to the left-wing Twitter mob while crafting their single-payer health insurance proposals.
&#8220;The question is, who should make the choice about what people&#8217;s insurance is,&#8221; Bennet told CNN&#8217;s Victor Blackwell during an appearance on &#8220;New Day Weekend.&#8221; &#8220;Should it be Bernie and Elizabeth, or should it be the American people? Clearly the American people think it should be the American people since only one third of Democrats support Elizabeth&#8217;s plan.&#8221;
&#8220;You know, we should not be going into this election nominating somebody who is genuflecting to the Twitter base of the Democratic Party,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;It is not focused on the living, breathing, human beings who all they want to know is if their kids’ education is not defined by the income their family has, that if you work hard you can make a decent living, and you can retire with security.”
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I trust the American people to make their own decisions about their own healthcare coverage.
We can get to universal coverage with my Medicare-X public option plan without making private employer insurance illegal for 180 million Americans. <a href="https://t.co/FjZm4PnvQs">pic.twitter.com/FjZm4PnvQs</a>
&mdash; Michael Bennet (@MichaelBennet) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelBennet/status/1195783425246015488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The Colorado lawmaker noted that he agrees with former President Barack Obama who warned the Democratic presidential candidates on Friday to be aware of what voters actually want, especially when it comes to immigration and health care reform.
&#8220;The average American doesn&#8217;t think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it, and I think it&#8217;s important for us not to lose sight of that,” Obama told a group of wealthy Democratic donors at the Democracy Alliance gathering.
&#8220;There are a lot of persuadable voters and there are a lot of Democrats out there who just want to see things make sense. They just don&#8217;t want to see crazy stuff,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;They want to see things a little more fair, they want to see things a little more just, and how we approach that I think will be important.”
While the former president has largely remained silent during the 2020 election cycle, the remarks were seen by many as a veiled shot at Warren and Sanders, who have been vying for the far-left lane of the Democratic primary. Both progressive candidates have released Medicare for All proposals that would eliminate the entire private health insurance market in favor of a government-run plan, cost taxpayers tens of trillions of dollars, and remove 180 million Americans from their current insurance.
Bennet has been sounding the alarm on Americans&#8217; distaste for a complete overhaul of the health insurance market, instead standing behind a plan titled &#8220;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/981?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22medicare+x%22%5D%7D&amp;r=1&amp;s=2">Medicare X</a>,&#8221; which he introduced into the Senate with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) earlier in the year. The proposal would allow Americans to choose a public option, similar to Medicare, which would be offered alongside private insurance.
&#8220;This stuff is never going to pass, and I don&#8217;t know whether Elizabeth knows that or not,&#8221; Bennet said. &#8220;But I, as a progressive Democrat, I do not want us to spend the next 10 years in a losing battle for Medicare for All when what we need to be focused on is driving economic growth for everybody across this economy.&#8221;

14 Democratic Presidential Candidates Attend Iowa Liberty And Justice Celebration

WATCH: 2020 Democrat Slams Warren And Sanders For &#8216;Genuflecting To The Twitter Base&#8217;

Bernie Sanders

Elizabeth Warren

Medicare for All

Democratic presidential candidate Deval Patrick defended himself on Thursday for working as a managing director at Bain Capital, the private investment firm co-founded by Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
&#8220;Yes, I work at the place that was demonized in the 2012 presidential election,&#8221; Patrick told MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace, before she interrupted him and put forth that it was his own party which excoriated the renowned private equity firm.
&#8220;I&#8217;m about to tell you &#8212; you may remember because I was co-chair of that campaign. I didn&#8217;t buy into it then and I still don&#8217;t,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;There is a place for private equity in the private economy. There is a place for business in our lives.&#8221;
Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, widely criticized Romney over his financial ties while he was running for the presidency in 2012. While running for his second-term, Obama <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/us/politics/romney-demands-apology-from-obama-on-bain-allegations.html">portrayed the investment company</a> as a corrupt corporate raider that was destroying American jobs. Patrick, a close ally of Obama&#8217;s and a campaign surrogate, made waves when he broke with the campaign and notably referred to Bain as &#8220;a perfectly fine company.&#8221;
&#8220;They have a role in the private economy, and I&#8217;ve got a lot of friends there … on both sides of the aisle,&#8221; Patrick said <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2012/05/gov-patrick-praises-bain-romney-076905">at the time</a>. &#8220;I think the Bain strategy has been distorted in some of the public discussions.&#8221;
Nearly three years later, the former Massachusetts governor joined the firm in 2015 to launch and head up a platform focused on &#8220;social impact investing.&#8221; He resigned from the position last week after he formally announced that he was jumping into the crowded 2020 Democratic primary field and running for president.
&#8220;It is also true that capitalism generally has a lot to answer for &#8212; that is so and we need to be able to confront that and that is exactly the work that I have been doing at Bain Capital,&#8221; Patrick told Wallace. &#8220;But I&#8217;ve done that same work in other business settings before.&#8221;
Patrick, who is the latest candidate to join the presidential race, is seemingly facing an uphill battle to win the nomination in a party that has consistently been pivoting farther left of the aisle. He brushed off criticism that his background doesn&#8217;t align with the party&#8217;s far-left base.
&#8220;I love that the party has moved to the left. I love that we are the party of the woke. I believe that we also have to be the party of the still waking,&#8221; Patrick said. &#8220;And I have always conducted my personal life, and my business life, and my life as a civil rights lawyer, my life as an advocate, my life as a mediator, and as a governor that way. And why? It&#8217;s not because I&#8217;m trying to smooth over issues &#8212; I&#8217;m interested in getting at root causes.&#8221;
Patrick subsequently touted Massachusetts residents&#8217; 98% health insurance coverage during his tenure as governor of the state. While he was tasked with overseeing the statewide health care reform that provided near-universal insurance through state-level subsidies and individual mandates, it was actually Romney who helped develop the program and later signed it into law.

2014 W.E.B. Du Bois Medal Ceremony

Deval Patrick Splits With Obama And Other 2020 Dems: &#8216;There Is A Place For Private Equity&#8217;

Barack Obama

Mitt Romney

MSNBC news anchor Katy Tur pressed a guest during her show on Thursday about whether Republican lawmakers should be held responsible for gun deaths amid news of a school shooting that was happening at the time in Santa Clarita, California.
&#8220;You were just speaking about senators not showing the courage to put their seats at risk to pass common-sense gun reform, background checks, etc.,&#8221; Tur asked Ret. Special Agent Jim Cavanaugh with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. &#8220;Would you go so far as to hold them responsible for the deaths that are continuing, the lives that are continuing to be lost with gun violence?&#8221;
&#8220;I clearly do. All leaders have a responsibility to act responsibly to help the citizens and it is not responsible to block a debate or to block a vote and that is what&#8217;s happening,&#8221; Cavanaugh replied. &#8220;That is totally irresponsible, that&#8217;s not leadership, it shows no leadership integrity, it is done to protect their seats. They don&#8217;t want to have to vote on the bill because they are afraid in their state or district, their constituents won&#8217;t like the way the vote may turn out.&#8221;
Earlier in the interview, Cavanaugh accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) of being too scared to bring a variety of Democrat-backed bills that would enact strict gun control legislation onto the Senate floor for a vote, claiming that Republicans&#8217; seemingly unpopular positions would put them in jeopardy of losing their seats.
&#8220;I would say to Mitch McConnell &#8216;ok boomer, put the bills on the floor — why are you afraid to let the bills be voted on and debated on the floor of the Senate?'&#8221; Cavanaugh said. &#8220;That&#8217;s the most un-American thing that I can think of.&#8221;
&#8220;Soldiers will risk their lives to save children, policemen will, firemen will, but senators won&#8217;t risk their seat to save the children&#8217;s lives,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;That is really disgraceful.&#8221;
McConnell, conversely, has put forth that he would hold a vote on the legislation if any of the bills would ultimately be signed by President Donald Trump.
&#8220;If the president is in favor of a number of things that he has discussed openly and publicly, and I know that if we pass it, it will become law, I&#8217;ll put it on the floor,&#8221; McConnell said in September.
However, the overwhelming majority of the rank-and-file Republicans in the Senate are staunch advocates of the Second Amendment, and, accordingly, many of the anti-gun bills that Democrats have passed in the House are unlikely to gain much traction and advance through the upper legislative chamber.
As Cavanaugh talked to Tur, the active shooter situation at Saugus High School was still occurring and little in the way of details had thus far been released by authorities — including who the gunman was, the motivation behind the spree, or how the firearm in question was obtained. Accordingly, it is not clear whether any of the pending legislation would have had any direct impact on the Santa Clarita school shooting.
WATCH:
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A Conversation With Katy Tur

WATCH: MSNBC&#8217;s Katy Tur Questions If Republicans Are &#8216;Responsible For The Deaths&#8217; Of Students

Katy Tur

Media Bias

MSNBC

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is spending $100 million on digital ads against President Donald Trump despite not yet officially declaring his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to the presidency.
&#8220;We&#8217;re very clear,&#8221; Howard Wolfson, a top Bloomberg political adviser, told the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-2020-ads.html">New York Times</a> on Friday. &#8220;A case that we make for Mike is that he is the best candidate to take on Trump, and one of the reasons he is the best candidate is he can take the fight to him immediately and robustly.&#8221;
The advertisements are slated to begin airing on Friday in the battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and will continue running through the end of the presidential primary season. Bloomberg himself is not featured in the ad beyond the legally mandated disclaimers, but rather the ads will focus on attacking the incumbent president.
The high-priced ticket item is especially unique considering that it would potentially be in addition to any ads Bloomberg might purchase to promote his own candidacy.  CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/26/mike-bloomberg-likely-to-spend-over-100-million-on-a-2020-campaign-for-president-if-he-chooses-to-run.html">reported</a> that Bloomberg, who has an estimated net worth of more than $50 billion, has been prepared to spend more than the $100 million that he spent while he was running for mayor of New York City.
&#8220;We will have other ads that feature Mike Bloomberg,&#8221; Wolfson said. &#8220;You will be seeing a lot of Mike Bloomberg.&#8221;
The billionaire businessman, who filed as a Democratic presidential candidate in Alabama earlier in November because of the state&#8217;s early filing deadline, has not yet made an official declaration of a presidential run. In addition to Bloomberg entering the presidential race with a well-funded campaign, he would also have a significant amount of name recognition.
Bloomberg has been especially critical of the current 2020 Democratic primary field for the candidates’ dishonesty with the American people and their unwillingness to work across the aisle with their political adversaries.
&#8220;You know, I have my reservations about the people running and the way they are campaigning, and the promises they are making that they can&#8217;t fulfill, and their unwillingness to really admit what is possible and what is not, and their inconsistency from day to day and location after location,&#8221; Bloomberg said during an interview with CBS News in October. &#8220;This is not the way to run a railroad.&#8221;
&#8220;This country is in real trouble. We need somebody to pull people together,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And when they say &#8216;I&#8217;m not going to talk to somebody from across the aisle&#8217; — this is our country. What do you mean you&#8217;re not going to talk to somebody from across the aisle? We&#8217;ve got to work together. And I don&#8217;t see that.&#8221;
Wolfson also told The New York Times that the list of states included in Bloomberg&#8217;s campaign against Trump would continue to expand over time.
&#8220;If you believe, as Mike Bloomberg does, that Donald Trump represents an existential threat to our country, it is an all-hands-on-deck moment,&#8221; Wolfson continued to the New York Times. &#8220;The thinking is that the general election has started.&#8221;

Allen &amp; Co. Holds Its Annual Sun Valley Conference In Idaho

Bloomberg Slated To Roll Out $100 Million Ad Buy Against Trump

Michael Bloomberg

Former President Bill Clinton advised President Donald Trump on Thursday that as someone who has been through his own impeachment proceedings while in the Oval Office, he should just focusing on working for the American people.
&#8220;My message [to Trump] would be, you got hired to do a job. You don&#8217;t get the days back you blow off,&#8221; Clinton told CNN&#8217;s Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper. &#8220;Every day is an opportunity to make something good happen.&#8221;
&#8220;And I would say, I have got lawyers and staff people handling this impeachment inquiry and they should just have at it,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Meanwhile, I am going to work for the American people, that&#8217;s what I would do.&#8221;
Clinton&#8217;s remarks arose as news of a school shooting was happening at the time in Santa Clarita, California. As the former president talked to Tapper, the incident was still occurring and few details had been released by authorities, including who the shooter was, the motivation behind the spree, or how the firearm in question was obtained.
Clinton further suggested that despite the ongoing impeachment inquiry, Trump needs to work with Congress to enact a slew of strict gun control legislations, including an assault weapons ban, an ammunition clip limit, and universal background checks.
&#8220;I mean, I think what happens is that [Trump] did indicate that he might go along with this, and then the gun lobby got ahold of him and pulled him back,&#8221; Clinton said. &#8220;But at some point, you know, denial is no longer an option. And the Congress is basically in denial of the consequences of doing nothing, or at least the people who are opposed to it. And the easiest thing to do, and they don&#8217;t want to pass.&#8221;
Clinton is notably one of only two presidents in American history who have been impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He was impeached in December 1998 on charges of lying under oath and obstruction of justice, stemming from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him, but ultimately acquitted by the Senate on both charges.
More than a century prior, former President Andrew Johnson was also impeached over charges of violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing his Secretary of War. He, too. was reprieved by the Senate.
House Democrats announced in September that they would be moving forward with an impeachment inquiry after a whistleblower&#8217;s testimony accused Trump of asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for using his position as vice president to remove a Ukrainian prosecutor who was looking into his son&#8217;s business dealings.
The reports were not confirmed at the time of the announcement, and it was not until a day later that the White House released a transcript of Trump&#8217;s exchange with Zelensky. After the transcript was made public, many have argued that it fails to show the direct quid pro quo agreement initially alleged.
The full House voted on a resolution in October outlining how the House Intelligence Committee will proceed with the hearings and gather evidence before turning over the process to the House Judiciary Committee to craft the articles of impeachment. The measure passed largely along party lines, 232-196, with only two Democrats defecting on the vote.

Concern Worldwide conference

Bill Clinton Gives Trump Some Impeachment Advice: Do Your Job

Bill Clinton

Baltimore Mayor Bernard &#8220;Jack&#8221; Young suggested on Thursday that the city&#8217;s leadership should not be held responsible for Baltimore&#8217;s consistently high murder rate because none of the leadership members personally committed any murders.
&#8220;There is not a lack of any leadership on my part. I have been moving this city forward &#8230; you know, because I&#8217;m not committing the murders and that&#8217;s what people need to understand,&#8221; Young told reporters during a press conference. &#8220;I&#8217;m not committing the murders, the police commissioner is not committing it, the council is not committing it. So, how can you fault leadership?&#8221;
Young&#8217;s remarks were in response to an <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-1112-jordan-taylor-20191111-yl3v2zq4pvdktaffv7urcd34oa-story.html">opinion piece</a> written by Y in Central Maryland President John Hoey, who blamed the city&#8217;s skyrocketing murder rate on the local government lack of initiative. Hoey penned the op-ed after a 31-year-old Y coach was killed during a home invasion while in his Baltimore residence.
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Mayor Jack Young on Baltimore homicides: &quot;I&#39;m not committing the murders. The police commissioner has not committed it. The council&#39;s not committing it. So how can you fault leadership?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Yg9MMRnUTE">https://t.co/Yg9MMRnUTE</a> <a href="https://t.co/5XExpSMGA2">pic.twitter.com/5XExpSMGA2</a>
&mdash; FOX Baltimore (@FOXBaltimore) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXBaltimore/status/1194729498194989057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;The truth is that we are in the midst of an existential crisis in the City of Baltimore. Our homicide rate is among the highest in the country, and the pace of violence and victims this year is exceeding last year’s already high pace,&#8221; Hoey wrote. &#8220;The reasons for this level of violence are complex and interlocking.&#8221;
&#8220;There is no one thing to be done to fix it, but there are definitely a set of laws, practices and actions at both the local and state level (with federal assistance) that could be used to significantly reduce the rate of violent crime if we had the will and focus to do it,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Other cities have successfully reduced their violent crime rate significantly, but in Baltimore we have had not just a crisis of confidence but, in my view, a crisis of leadership.&#8221;
City Council President Brandon Scott, who is challenging Young for Baltimore mayor, slammed Young for his response in a statement, according to <a href="https://foxbaltimore.com/news/city-in-crisis/mayor-young-says-leadership-isnt-to-blame-for-baltimore-murders">Fox 45 News</a>.
&#8220;Mr. Mayor, respectfully, this can&#8217;t be our response to violence as elected leaders in Baltimore,&#8221; Scott said. &#8220;Our residents deserve to know their leaders have a vision to coordinate our precious resources in the fight against violent crime effectively and urgently, not passing the buck.&#8221;
The city of Baltimore is already bracing to surpass the 300 homicides mark for the fifth year in a row — as of mid-November, 296 individuals have been killed in the city.
Baltimore had the worst homicide rate among the 50 largest cities in the country, as well as the second-highest violent crime rate overall, according to<a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-fbi-data-20180924-story.html"> FBI data</a> released in 2018. At the time, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan called the news &#8220;shocking and disappointing,&#8221; but further noted that &#8220;it doesn&#8217;t come as a complete surprise.&#8221;
Young became the mayor of Baltimore in May 2019 after his Democratic colleague, former mayor Catherine Pugh, stepped down amid investigations into corrupt business dealings. He had previously served for nearly a decade as the president of the Baltimore City Council.
Young&#8217;s campaign manager later issued a statement trying to clarifying his initial comments.
&#8220;While no leaders in our city are personally responsible for these crimes, ALL of us have a role to play in stopping them. And, as mayor, I take and will continue to take responsibility for making our city safer and cleaner,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;But the City leadership can&#8217;t do it alone. We need community leaders, stakeholders, and everyday Baltimoreans to come together and work to reduce gun violence.&#8221;

Baltimore

WATCH: Baltimore Mayor Dodges Responsibility For Skyrocketing Murder Rate: ‘I’m Not Committing The Murders’

Crime

Murder

Former Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) suggested on Thursday that if Americans care about the safety of children, then they need to vote for Democratic candidates so that they can pass a host of gun control legislation.
&#8220;You feel, I think, as a freshman especially just coming in, you feel this sense of powerlessness, like, we&#8217;ve done our part, what else can we do right now? And to me it just says with complete and utter clarity, we don&#8217;t have a choice but to flip the Senate and to get somebody in the White House who is going to make this a priority,&#8221; Hill told CNN&#8217;s Anderson Cooper. &#8220;So, regardless of your other political beliefs, if you think that the safety of our kids matter, then that&#8217;s to me what needs to get you to the polls.&#8221;
Hill&#8217;s remarks were in reference to the news of a school shooting that was happening at the time in Santa Clarita, California. As Hill talked to Cooper, the incident was still occurring and little details had been released by authorities, including who the shooter was, the motivation behind the spree, or how the firearm in question was obtained.
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Here&#39;s the clip of <a href="https://twitter.com/KatieHill4CA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KatieHill4CA</a> saying, &quot;we don’t have a choice but to flip the Senate and to get somebody in the White House who is going to make this a priority&#8230;if you think that the safety of our kids matter&#8230;&quot; in response to the Santa Clarita school shooting. <a href="https://t.co/VqzGBTZKjR">pic.twitter.com/VqzGBTZKjR</a>
&mdash; Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Julio_Rosas11/status/1195023492757901312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;It&#8217;s your worst nightmare. I mean, every single member of Congress,&#8221; Hill said. &#8220;I think, it&#8217;s constantly in the back of their head of whether something like that is going to happen in your home district because it&#8217;s the worst thing that could happen.&#8221;
&#8220;And I think one of the hardest parts about it is that, you know, what are we supposed to say at this point?&#8221; she continued. &#8220;We have passed background checks, we have passed four different pieces of legislation that would make an immediate impact on reducing gun violence. And it&#8217;s just sitting on [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell&#8217;s desk.&#8221;
Accordingly, the Democrat-led House passed a host of anti-Second Amendment bills that subsequently stalled in the Senate. The legislation includes enacting universal background checks and so-called &#8220;red flag&#8221; laws, which allow for temporary gun confiscation for individuals deemed a danger to oneself or to others.
Once considered a rising star of the party, the former California congresswoman announced her resignation from Congress in October amid an ethics probe into allegations that she had an affair with her congressional staffer, in violation of House rules. Despite published text messages, Hill denied the relationship, but subsequently admitted to a relationship with a campaign staffer.
However, Hill, many of her Democratic colleagues, and members of the media have portrayed the ex-freshman lawmaker as a victim of so-called &#8220;revenge porn&#8221; and sexist double standards for a slew of private photographs that were widely circulated after the story of her affair emerged.
Hill revealed on Wednesday that she was &#8220;starting to resurface&#8221; following her fall from grace, and state that she might &#8220;be a little bit more unfiltered&#8221; now that she is no longer an elected official. Her interview with CNN regarding the alleged school shooting was her first public appearance since she left Washington, D.C. in disgrace.

U.S. Representative Katie Hill (D-CA) speaking at the Ignite

WATCH: Katie Hill Suggests Americans Should Vote Democrat If They Care About Children

Anderson Cooper

Children

Katie Hill

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated on Thursday that if the state of Alabama re-elects him as their United States senator in 2020, he will be President Donald Trump&#8217;s &#8220;number one supporter&#8221; in the upper chamber.
&#8220;You know what the president feels about your ultimate decision two years ago, to recuse yourself from the Russian matter,&#8221; said Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer. &#8220;We are all well aware about your history together. When was the last time you communicated with him?&#8221;
&#8220;It is been some time. I haven&#8217;t talked to him recently,&#8221; Sessions replied. &#8220;We had a disagreement on that but he knows that in the Senate I was his number one supporter.&#8221;
&#8220;I was his first supporter, but more than that I was the number one advocate for the issues he ran on,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;If I go back to the Senate I can tell you, I will be his number one supporter in the Senate and I will be his number one advocate for the issues that he is talking about because they are issues that the average American cares about.&#8221;
Sessions held Alabama&#8217;s junior Senate seat for four terms before he was appointed to the role of attorney general under Trump. Trump and Sessions&#8217; relationship soured after the former AG recused himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Trump ultimately forced Sessions&#8217; resignation from the Department of Justice.
Sessions announced more than a week ago that he was officially throwing his hat into the ring and running to regain the U.S. Senate seat in Alabama that he previously occupied. While announcing his candidacy, he reiterated his support for the president and said he will largely be running on his agenda. However, Trump told reporters earlier in November that he is still unsure whether or not he will be endorsing Sessions.
&#8220;Well I haven&#8217;t gotten involved. I saw he said very nice things about me last night. But we&#8217;ll have to see,&#8221; he said before departing the White House on November 8th. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t made a determination.&#8221;
Hemmer further pressed Sessions on whether he believes Trump will ultimately support his candidacy.
&#8220;I hope so. I&#8217;m certainly going to hope that will happen and he said he&#8217;s not going to attack me in the race,&#8221; Sessions replied. &#8220;We are taking our case to the people of Alabama and they will decide who their next senator is. It&#8217;s not my seat, it&#8217;s the people&#8217;s seat in Alabama. That&#8217;s who I will be asking.&#8221;
Democrats won control of Alabama&#8217;s Senate seat in 2017 after the state held a special election to replace Sessions, who vacated the seat when he was tapped to head the Justice Department. Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) defeated his Republican challenger Roy Moore, who faced massive blowback after allegations arose that Moore had molested a teenager in the 1970s.
Despite the controversy, Jones won the special election by less than 2% of the vote and is now considered to be one of the most vulnerable incumbent senators in the 2020 election cycle. The typically red state voted for Trump by nearly 30 points.

Farewell Ceremony For Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein

Jeff Sessions Vows To Be Trump&#8217;s &#8216;Number One Supporter&#8217; In The Senate

Alabama

Jeff Sessions

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced a resolution into the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday to place real-time debt clocks in the main meeting rooms of the House Budget Committee and House Appropriations Committee.
&#8220;The fruits of our nation&#8217;s fiscal irresponsibility was on full display this month as we topped $23 trillion in debt,&#8221; Roy wrote in <a href="https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-chip-introduces-know-debt-resolution">a press release</a>. &#8220;In response to such a sad achievement, I introduced a simple piece of legislation titled the &#8216;Know Debt Resolution&#8217; &#8230; it is quite clear to me that if Congress ever intends to eliminate the national debt, we need to at least know what the national debt is.&#8221;
The Know Debt Resolution (also known as <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/686?s=1&amp;r=7">H.Res. 686</a>) instructs the House clerk to install a display onto the walls of the two separate meeting rooms. The displays would show the amount of national debt in real time so that Congress can be aware of the rapidly increasing debt when debating legislation that would affect the nation&#8217;s fiscal situation.
The resolution already has three co-sponsors, Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and states that the country&#8217;s &#8220;national debt is the greatest threat to the national security of the United States.&#8221;
The United States continues to accrue at least $100 million in debt every hour and the projected federal deficit for 2020 is expected to hit the $1 trillion mark.
&#8220;As we all know — the first step in correcting behavior is realizing there is, in fact, a problem,&#8221; Roy said. &#8220;The purpose of putting a debt clock in both committee rooms is to force members of Congress to recognize that we have a problem.&#8221;
&#8220;Congress continues to spend money that we do not have, borrowed on the backs of our children, our grandchildren, and our grandchildren’s children. We are mortgaging our progeny&#8217;s future for a present we cannot afford,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Most Republicans and Democrats in Washington have found something they can regularly agree on in a bipartisan basis &#8212; increased spending across the board.&#8221;
The Texas congressman, who serves as a member on the House Freedom Caucus, has long been an outspoken opponent of the skyrocketing government debt and deficit. He has repeatedly and vocally urged Congress to act on reducing discretionary and mandatory spending.
&#8220;A debt clock — strategically placed in the very locations where Congress exercises its Article One power to appropriate and budget is a common-sense step towards a course correction in the disastrous journey that both the Republicans and Democrats have plotted for the American people over the past many years,&#8221; Roy continued in his statement.
&#8220;I&#8217;m proud to have stood up for fiscal sanity since entering the halls of Congress. It is high time for Congress to take seriously the issue of our skyrocketing national debt,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I plan to continue fighting for a balanced budget, reduced spending and ensuring that I can pass down an America to my children and grandchildren that is freer than the one I inherited from my parents and grandparents.&#8221;

House Oversight and Reform Committee

GOP Congressman Introduces Legislation To Install National Debt Clocks Into Congressional Rooms

Chip Roy

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) fired back on Wednesday morning after MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace accused the New York congresswoman of being a &#8220;shill&#8221; for President Donald Trump.
&#8220;It would appear [Stefanik] is drinking the same loony tune juice with her breakfast as [former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley],&#8221; Wallace tweeted. &#8220;Going from occasionally reasonable Republicans to Trump shills.&#8221;
Wallace&#8217;s remarks were seemingly in reference to Stefanik&#8217;s parliamentary inquiry prior to hearing testimony from the witnesses at Trump&#8217;s impeachment proceedings. Stefanik, who has been critical of House Democrats&#8217; impeachment procedure, questioned House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) on when he would respond to Republicans&#8217; request to call certain witnesses.
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Hi 👋 <a href="https://twitter.com/NicolleDWallace?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NicolleDWallace</a> ! I am flattered that you are comparing me to <a href="https://twitter.com/NikkiHaley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NikkiHaley</a> ! HUGE compliment! Instead of ever standing in front of voters as a candidate or putting your name on the ballot, you just keep attacking <a href="https://twitter.com/GOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gop</a> women who have. Sad. Get outside of the <a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MSNBC</a> bubble! <a href="https://t.co/aBOn3lLuju">https://t.co/aBOn3lLuju</a>
&mdash; Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) <a href="https://twitter.com/EliseStefanik/status/1194647314952011776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Accordingly, House Republicans sent Schiff a letter on November 9th that listed the witnesses they would like to bring to testify in front of Congress. The list included, among others, former Vice President Joe Biden&#8217;s son Hunter and the whistleblower who initially launched the impeachment investigation into the president. Schiff has still not formally responded to the letter.
The New York congresswoman then stated a point of order, inquiring whether Schiff will continue prohibiting witnesses from answering questions like he did during the closed-door depositions that he has been conducting over the past few weeks. The House Intelligence Committee chair subsequently denied blocking answers except to protect the identity of the whistleblower.
Only days earlier, Haley ignited a media firestorm after she provided an unequivocal defense of the president while promoting her recently released book, &#8220;With All Due Respect: Defending America With Grit And Grace.&#8221;
&#8220;I never had any concern on whether he could handle the job, ever … In every instance that I dealt with him he was truthful, he listened, and he was great to work with,&#8221; Haley replied when questioned about Trump&#8217;s capacity for the presidency during a live appearance on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Today Show.&#8221; She further noted that she believes he is a &#8220;truthful&#8221; leader.
Haley was immediately met with accusations of auditioning to replace Vice President Mike Pence at the top of the ticket in 2020, or even positioning herself for her own presidential run the following election in 2024. She has repeatedly denied the accusations. Haley has not only been a vocal supporter of the vice president, but she has also endorsed a Trump-Pence ticket in the upcoming election cycle.
Also the former governor of South Carolina, Haley is largely seen as a leading conservative woman in the Republican Party. Although she has at times been critical of Trump, she has also become a generally close ally of the president&#8217;s over time. Stefanik, who became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she assumed office in 2015, applauded the comparison of herself to Haley.
&#8220;Hi [Nicole Wallace]! I am flattered that you are comparing me to [Haley]! HUGE compliment!,&#8221; Stefanik replied to Wallace. &#8220;Instead of ever standing in front of voters as a candidate or putting your name on the ballot, you just keep attacking GOP women who have. Sad. Get outside of the MSNBC bubble!&#8221;

Rep. Elise Stefanik

Congresswoman Fires Back At MSNBC Host For Attacking Her As A Trump Shill

Nicolle Wallace

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) revealed on Wednesday that he is officially endorsing former Vice President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination to the presidency in 2020 after dropping out of the primary race only weeks earlier.
&#8220;I think this election for many, many Democrats, regardless of where you live, is about who can beat [President] Donald Trump,&#8221; Ryan said during an appearance on MSNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Morning Joe.&#8221; &#8220;And the key to that is who can beat Donald Trump in Michigan and Wisconsin and western Pennsylvania, in Ohio. And I am convinced that is Joe Biden.&#8221;
&#8220;I just think he is the person who has the sensibilities,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got a lot of great candidates, but the touch with those blue collared workers that we have to have if we are going to beat Donald Trump, which is the goal here.&#8221;
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/RepTimRyan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepTimRyan</a> endorses Joe Biden for president <a href="https://t.co/7gT6ohRHfw">pic.twitter.com/7gT6ohRHfw</a>
&mdash; Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morning_Joe/status/1194581918903394306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Ryan ended his own long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination in late-October after months of struggling to gain traction with voters in the crowded primary field.
&#8220;I got into this race in April to really give voice to the forgotten people of our country: the workers who have been left behind, the businesses who have been left behind, the people who need health care or are not getting a quality education, or are saddled by tremendous debt,&#8221; Ryan said in a video announcing the end of his campaign. &#8220;I am proud of this campaign because I believe we have done that. We have given voice to the forgotten communities and the forgotten people in the United States.&#8221;
The nine-term congressman was one of the few Democratic presidential candidates who hails from the Rust Belt, the region which largely helped to elect Trump in the 2016 election — Trump ultimately won Ohio by 8 points against former Secretary of State and twice-failed presidential contender Hillary Clinton.
Ryan primarily focused his presidential campaign on the economic issues facing America&#8217;s heartland, pledging to &#8220;re-empower workers and revive the American middle class.&#8221; He further touted himself as &#8220;a progressive who knows how to talk to working class people&#8221; and tried to make the argument that &#8220;the progressive agenda is what is best for working families.&#8221;
The Ohio congressman positioned himself as an alternative to Biden, who has been vying for the more centrist lane of the Democratic primary. During his campaign, he even rolled out a list of endorsements from former Biden supporters in South Carolina.
Biden has maintained his status as the Democratic frontrunner since he first entered the race in late-April. As of publication, he sits at 26% support among Democratic primary voters nationwide, according to the <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html">Real Clear Politics</a> national polling average. He also performs better than his Democratic rivals in a hypothetical head-to-head match up against Trump.
However, Biden has been largely trailing other 2020 Democrats in early-state polling, with the exception of South Carolina. Biden&#8217;s lead in New Hampshire began fading late in the summer and his lead in Iowa dropped after the Democratic National Committee&#8217;s (DNC) August debate.

US-POLITICS-VOTE-DEMOCRATS-TOWN HALL

WATCH: Former 2020 Democrat Throws His Endorsement Behind Joe Biden, Explains Why He&#8217;s Got Best Shot

Joe Biden

Tim Ryan

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) called out Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on Tuesday for celebrating the New York congressman&#8217;s retirement announcement by making misleading statements about his record.
&#8220;Peter King is an Islamophobe who held McCarthyite hearings targeting American Muslims,&#8221; Omar tweeted after King&#8217;s resignation announcement. &#8220;[He] said &#8216;there are too many mosques in this country&#8217; and blamed Eric Garner for his own death at the hands of police. Good riddance.&#8221;
Omar, however, was seemingly referring to a congressional hearing that King held as the Chairman on the House Committee on Homeland Security in 2011. The hearing was orchestrated to try and get more information on the possible radicalization of some Muslims in the United States.
&#8220;My concern was that political correctness was getting in the way of counterterrorism and solid law enforcement,&#8221; King explained to Martha MaCcallum during an appearance on &#8220;The Story.&#8221; &#8220;When we went after the mafia we went into the Italian-American community. When we went after the Westies we went into the Irish-American community. The fact is that radical Islam extremists were in the Muslim community.&#8221;
&#8220;Maybe it&#8217;s 1%, less than 1% of the population, but we had a situation where it was considered politically incorrect to carry out ordinary surveillance and police all over the country were telling me that they were not getting the cooperation from within the Muslim community that was needed,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;People talk about this being an anti-Muslim hearing &#8212; the key witnesses there testifying for me, two of them were Muslims and the third was an African American whose son had converted to Islam and had been taken over to Somalia to fight with al-Shabaab &#8230; and when he came home he ended up killing American military.&#8221;
Omar, who is the first Somali-American in Congress as well as one of the first Muslim congresswomen, has been embroiled in allegations of being sympathetic to radical islamic terrorists.
Minneapolis&#8217; Somali community is often considered to be the terrorist recruitment capital of the United States. Minnesota&#8217;s 5th Congressional District that Omar represents is the jurisdiction with the highest rate of terrorism recruitment in the country over the past 12 years, according to FBI statistics.
Forty-five Somalis residing in America left the country to join either ISIS or the Somalia-based Muslim jihadi terrorist group al-Shabaab, reported <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/how-rep-ilhan-omars-minnesota-district-became-the-terrorist-recruitment-capital-of-the-us-officials-highly-concerned">Fox News</a> in February. That number far outpaces other areas where many Muslim refugees have been resettled within the U.S.
Omar notably wrote a letter to a judge in 2016 pleading for him to show &#8220;compassion&#8221; to nine men charged with plotting to join ISIS. In her official capacity as a Minnesota state legislator, Omar urged for lighter sentences as a &#8220;restorative approach to justice.&#8221;
She also received massive criticism after a video surfaced of the Somali-born congresswoman blaming the United States for a deadly attack in Kenya that killed nearly 70 people and wounded another 200. Only weeks after al-Shabaab stormed a shopping mall in Nairobi in 2013, Omar described the act of jihadist terrorism as a &#8220;reaction to our involvement in other people&#8217;s affairs.&#8221;
During the same interview, she mocked how Americans speak about other terrorist organizations al-Qaeda and Hezbollah and questioned why they don&#8217;t speak about &#8220;America&#8221; and &#8220;the army&#8221; in the same way.
King also shot down Omar&#8217;s claim that he previously said there are too many mosques.
&#8220;I never said that. I said there were too many mosques that were not cooperating with law enforcement,&#8221; King said. &#8220;And it was in her district that was seduced to go over to Somalia and was killed, and the good Muslims in that community were warned not to cooperate with law enforcement.&#8221;

President Trump Meets With House Republicans On Capitol Hill To Discuss Tax Reform Bill

Peter King Responds To Ilhan Omar After She Attacks Him As An &#8216;Islamophobe&#8217;

Ilhan Omar

New York

Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley shot down persistent rumors on Tuesday that she is vying to replace Vice President Mike Pence on the top of the ticket in the 2020 presidential election.
&#8220;I will tell you, it is amazing how this vice president stuff still keeps coming up,&#8221; Haley told Fox News host Dana Perino when confronted with the allegations.
&#8220;The vice president and the president are a great ticket together,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;They&#8217;re solid. Solid enough that they are going to win together. There is no truth whatsoever that I would ever in any way look to get that position. I think Mike is great for that job and I think that he&#8217;s the right partner for the president.&#8221;
The former governor of South Carolina is largely seen as a leading conservative woman in the Republican Party. After Haley resigned from her United Nations ambassadorship somewhat unexpectedly, speculation began swirling that she might be considering her own challenge to President Donald Trump in 2020 for the presidency. Haley, however, swiftly denied any potential for the a presidential run.
&#8220;For all of you that are going to ask about 2020 — no, I am not running for 2020,” Haley said alongside Trump at the time of her resignation. &#8220;I can promise you what I will be doing is campaigning for this one. So, I look forward to supporting the president in the next election.&#8221;
Only months after leaving the Trump administration at the end of 2018, Haley launched Stand For America, an advocacy group that promotes &#8220;public policies that strengthen America&#8217;s economy, culture, and national security.&#8221; The move prompted speculation further that she might be positioning herself to replace Pence as Trump&#8217;s running mate on the next ticket.
&#8220;Enough of the false rumors,&#8221; Haley tweeted in August 2019. &#8220;Vice President Pence has been a dear friend of mine for years. He has been a loyal and trustworthy VP to the president. He has my complete support.&#8221;
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Enough of the false rumors. Vice President Pence has been a dear friend of mine for years. He has been a loyal and trustworthy VP to the President. He has my complete support. ❤️🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/waPyQjC8Eb">pic.twitter.com/waPyQjC8Eb</a>
&mdash; Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) <a href="https://twitter.com/NikkiHaley/status/1164267307138453504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2019</a></blockquote>
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While promoting her recently released book, &#8220;With All Due Respect: Defending America With Grit And Grace,&#8221; Haley appeared live on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Today Show&#8221; on Tuesday where she provided an unequivocal defense of the president.
&#8220;I never had any concern on whether he could handle the job, ever &#8230; In every instance that I dealt with him he was truthful, he listened, and he was great to work with,&#8221; Haley replied when questioned about his capacity for the presidency. She further noted that she believes he is a &#8220;truthful&#8221; leader.
Although Haley has at times been critical of Trump, she has also become a close ally of his over time. The relationship between the duo has evolved since she initially endorsed Trump&#8217;s primary challenger Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) during the 2016 election cycle, and later announced she was would be voting for Trump during the general election despite saying she was still &#8220;not a fan.&#8221;
The response drew the ire of Trump, who stated at the time that &#8220;the people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!&#8221;
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Haley notably replied, &#8220;Bless your heart.&#8221;
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Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley Visits &#8220;Fox &amp; Friends&#8221;

Nikki Haley Doubles Down On Her Denial That She Will Be Trump’s Running Mate

Mike Pence

Nikki Haley

Former Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford announced on Tuesday that he was officially ending his bid for the Republican nomination to the presidency and dropping out of the 2020 race.
&#8220;I had planned on filing on Friday here at the state house, but I am not going to do that and let me tell you why,&#8221; Sanford told a group of reporters at a press conference outside the New Hampshire State House.
&#8220;What I have seen, and observed, and have been really mulling on this for the last two weeks or so, is that all of the oxygen is leaving the room in terms of meaningful debate — whether Republican or Democrat, but particularly on the Republican side — on what comes next in our country on a whole host of issues,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;In essence, it is pulling all of the oxygen out of the room such that in at least Republican circles you cannot have a meaningful debate on what we do about that debt, and deficit, what comes next financially in this country.&#8221;
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2020 Watch-New: <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkSanford?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarkSanford</a> -at a news conf. outside the NH Statehouse, tells reporters &quot;I had planned on filing on Friday (for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FITN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FITN</a> presidential primary) but I&#39;m not going to do that&#8230; all of the oxygen is leaving the room&quot; do to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/impeachment?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#impeachment</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nhpolitics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nhpolitics</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/scpol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#scpol</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2020Election?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#2020Election</a> <a href="https://t.co/37c5O89TH9">pic.twitter.com/37c5O89TH9</a>
&mdash; Paul Steinhauser (@steinhauserNH1) <a href="https://twitter.com/steinhauserNH1/status/1194306892392280069?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Instead it is red versus blue team and a complete debate about are you on that team or the other team,&#8221; Sanford added. &#8220;End of story.&#8221;
The former South Carolina governor and three-term congressman initially launched his long shot bid to challenge President Donald Trump in September. At the time of his presidential announcement, he conceded that he is aware that he faces an uphill battle in trying to unseat the incumbent president.
However, Sanford, who has long been a fiscal conservative, emphasized the growing national debt and economic uncertainty as the top issues his campaign will focus on. He referred to Trump as &#8220;the king of debt&#8221; and further criticized his used of tariffs, which he compared to a potential economic &#8220;storm&#8221; akin to the Great Depression.
Despite Sanford&#8217;s lengthy tenure in politics, he is perhaps most well known for his scandalous extramarital affair more than a decade ago while serving as the governor of South Carolina. He notably disappeared for a week in June 2009, telling his family, staff, and security detail that he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail. In actuality, Sanford traveled to Argentina to meet with his mistress.
The scandal ignited a media firestorm and Sanford ultimately resigned as the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He was later censured by state lawmakers over the incident. Sanford, who admitted to multiple affairs, divorced his wife in 2010.
Sanford addressed the issue with Fox News&#8217; Chris Wallace as he was preparing to kick off his presidential campaign.
&#8220;I actually went on an apology tour back home in the wake of that,&#8221; Sanford told Wallace. &#8220;And what I learned from that is &#8230; a level of humility and empathy that I didn&#8217;t have before. A level of judgment, it is a great regret, it is something I have apologized extensively for. And in contrast to the president, who says there is not a single thing that he regrets or apologizes for, I believe in the Christian Bible of repentance and renewal and a second chance.&#8221;

Republican Presidential Candidate Mark Sanford Campaigns At The South Carolina Statehouse

WATCH: Mark Sanford Drops Out Of Presidential Race

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton revealed on Tuesday that even nearly three years after losing to President Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, she still constantly thinks about how things would be if she had won.
&#8220;I think about what kind of president I would have been all the time,&#8221; Clinton said during an interview with BBC Radio 4&#8217;s Mishal Husain. &#8220;I think about what I would have done. How, obviously, I would have been different. How I think I would have been a better, more successful president.&#8221;
&#8220;But look, right now we have got a campaign going on,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got people already running, and we have to figure out how we make the case and that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m really focused on.&#8221;
The twice-failed presidential candidate bemoaned that she could have been &#8220;gutsier&#8221; while running against Trump. Clinton, who was promoting her recently released book &#8220;The Book of Gutsy Women,&#8221; further noted that she may not have been especially gutsy by avoiding the topic of Russian interference during the election.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a question that I ask myself all the time because trying to live a gusty life doesn&#8217;t mean you are always successful in doing so,&#8221; Clinton said. &#8220;And I think about the presidential campaign of 2016. I thought I was as gutsy as I could be, but I probably could have been gutsier — if I figured out a way to reveal what was happening in a more effective way.&#8221;
&#8220;You know when we talked about how the Russians were behind the theft of material, a lot of people thought, &#8216;What are they talking about?&#8217; They just dismissed us in both the public and the press,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;So, could I have been gutsier in pushing that point and trying to alert people to what is going on.&#8221;
The former first lady has reportedly been considering jumping into the crowded 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary field and running for the presidency for a third time. In October, Clinton teased a possible presidential bid after Trump urged her to enter the race. However, she stated to Husain that it would be a very gusty thing to do.
&#8220;It would be very gutsy, that&#8217;s true,&#8221; Clinton said. &#8220;That&#8217;s something I think about all the time. I think a lot about what is happening in our country, around the world.&#8221;
&#8220;I try to give the best advice that I can to the candidates who are running because my goal is to help retire the current incumbent,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;I think it is imperative that our country regain its leadership and its credibility, so I&#8217;m going to do everything I can to make that happen.&#8221;
If Clinton decided to join the race, she could be jumping in as a frontrunner — a hypothetical match-up between herself and former Vice President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary showed that the two would be virtually tied. A <a href="https://harvardharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/HHP_October19_Topline_RegisteredVoters.pdf">Harvard Harris poll</a> conducted in mid-October found that 18% of Democrats would throw their support behind Clinton, trailing Biden by only one point and within the margin of error.
Clinton famously won the popular vote in 2016 by receiving more than 2.8 million more votes than Trump, but she ultimately failed to secure the presidency after she fell far short of the required absolute majority of 270 Electoral College votes needed to win.

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton promote their book in Minneapolis

Hillary Clinton: &#8216;I Think About What Kind Of President I Would Have Been All The Time&#8217;

2016

Hillary Clinton

Former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tom Homan suggested on Monday that if he decides to run for political office in New York state, he would ultimately want to take on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
&#8220;Let me just say this,&#8221; Homan told host Larry O&#8217;Connor during an episode of his &#8220;Examining Politics&#8221; podcast. &#8220;When I do return to New York and if Senator Gillibrand is still around, she won&#8217;t be around because I will take her on.&#8221;
Homan&#8217;s remarks were in response to O&#8217;Connor&#8217;s inquiry as to whether Homan would be interested in replacing Rep. Pete King (R-NY), who announce that after 14 terms in Congress he would not be seeking reelection when his current term expires.
Homan, who was born in New York, noted that he was not currently a resident of the Empire state, but will likely be when he retires, similar to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who previously held the United States Senate seat.
Gillibrand has been an outspoken opponent of the ICE and one of the first Democratic lawmakers to call for abolishing the immigration enforcement agency.
&#8220;I believe we need to protect families who need help, and ICE isn&#8217;t doing that,&#8221; the New York senator <a href="https://twitter.com/SenGillibrand/status/1012525052343017472?s=20">said in June 2018</a>. &#8220;It has become a deportation force. We need to separate immigration issues from criminal justice. We need to abolish ICE, start over and build something that actually works.&#8221;
Gillibrand received widespread backlash after she continued to promote ICE&#8217;s abolishment. She subsequently walked back some of her comments that she claimed were misconstrued. Gillibrand said that despite demanding that &#8220;we need to abolish ICE,&#8221; she stated in September 2018 that she believes America still needs an agency that will fulfill the goals that ICE was created to achieve.
Claiming that the agency has strayed from its intended duties, Gillibrand argued that ICE in its current form should be eliminated, but that a new agency should replace it that will execute the same mission of enforcing U.S. immigration laws and investigating criminal activity of foreign nationals residing within the country.
Homan has been a frequent witness in Congressional hearings where he has been known to get into fiery exchanges with House Democrats. After O&#8217;Connor asked whether he would be providing testimony at Capitol Hill anytime soon, Homan responded that he was scheduled to appear next week.
&#8220;The Democrats don&#8217;t want me up there but when they have these hearings and they want to attack the administration, they have to give the minority, the Republicans in the House, one witness,&#8221; Homan told O&#8217;Connor. &#8220;They&#8217;re quick to call me because I&#8217;ve done it for 34 years, I know the game, I&#8217;ve played it &#8230; if you say something that&#8217;s not right I&#8217;m going to speak up.&#8221;
Homan got into <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-former-ice-director-slams-progressive-lawmaker-for-pathetic-and-sad-dishonesty-in-fiery-exchange">a heated exchange</a> with some Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee in September after he slammed Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and her Democratic colleagues for holding President Donald Trump and his administration to a different standard than they had for former President Barack Obama.
&#8220;ICE are the good guys. ICE wants to protect the community. ICE wants to take the bad guy off the street,&#8221; Homan told O&#8217;Connor.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Joins Washington Post Live For Candidate Series

LISTEN: Former Acting ICE Director Mulls Over Running To Unseat Anti-ICE Democratic Senator

Kirsten Gillibrand

Former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro stated on Sunday that both Iowa and New Hampshire should give up their famed status as the first states in the nation to hold a caucus and a primary due to their lack of diverse constituents.
&#8220;I actually do believe that we need to change the order of the states because I don&#8217;t believe that we&#8217;re the same country we were in 1972 — that is when Iowa first held its caucus first,&#8221; Castro said while speaking to NBC News. &#8220;And by the time we have the next presidential election in 2024, it will have been more than 50 years since 1972. Our country has changed a lot in those 50 years. The Democratic Party has changed a lot.&#8221;
&#8220;What I really appreciate about Iowans and the folks in New Hampshire is that they take this process very seriously. They vet the candidates, they show up at town halls, they give people a good hearing,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;At the same time, demographically, it&#8217;s not reflective of the United States as a whole, certainly not reflective of the Democratic Party, and I believe that other states should have their chance.&#8221;
&#8220;So, yes, of course we need to find other states,&#8221; Castro added. &#8220;That doesn&#8217;t mean that Iowa and New Hampshire still can&#8217;t play an important role, but I don&#8217;t believe that forever we should be married to Iowa and New Hampshire going first, and that&#8217;s just the truth of the way that I see it.&#8221;
Castro&#8217;s remarks come after his Democratic presidential challenger Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was asked the same question only days earlier while attending an Environmental Justice forum in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Warren notably dodged the question, rather contending that she is just &#8220;a player in the game.&#8221;
While the former Obama official has been polling below 1% on average among Democratic primary voters in both <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/ia/iowa_democratic_presidential_caucus-6731.html">Iowa</a> and <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/nh/new_hampshire_democratic_presidential_primary-6276.html">New Hampshire</a>, Warren is leading the crowded primary field in both states. As of publication, the Massachusetts lawmaker sits at more than 21% support and 19% support on average in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively.
Last week Castro&#8217;s campaign revealed that it had fired its entire staff in both New Hampshire and South Carolina as it seeks to focus on opportunities in Iowa and Nevada. The news came after the campaign gave supporters an ultimatum to raise $0.8 million in donations by the end of October or else risk the end of his White House bid.
Castro ultimately surpassed the goal and generated nearly $1 million by the deadline. The campaign said the fundraising haul will provide the presidential hopeful with the necessary resources to &#8220;sustain the campaign and make a push for the November and December Democratic debates.&#8221;
Thus far, only ten candidates in the presidential primary field have qualified for the Democratic National Committee&#8217;s (DNC) next debate — Castro has not yet met the required threshold.
&#8220;I can imagine he&#8217;s frustrated,&#8221; said New Hampshire Democratic Chair Ray Buckley. &#8220;But blaming his campaign&#8217;s challenges on the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire is a bit much.&#8221;

Castro Argues Iowa And New Hampshire Aren&#8217;t Diverse Enough To Be Early Primary States

Iowa

Julian Castro

New Hampshire

Attorneys for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) penned a letter to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday demanding that she retract her previous remarks suggesting that the Democratic presidential candidate is a &#8220;Russian asset&#8221; who is being &#8220;groom[ed]&#8221; to run as a third-party candidate.
&#8220;Your statement is defamatory, and we demand that you retract it immediately,&#8221; Gabbard&#8217;s <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gabbard-campaign-accuses-clinton-of-defamation-over-fabricated-russian-asset-claim-demands-retraction">lawyer wrote</a>, calling for Clinton to both verbally retract the comments and post her retraction to social media.
&#8220;In making the statement, you knew it was false. Congresswoman Gabbard is not a Russian asset and is not being groomed by Russia,” the letter continued. &#8220;Besides your statement, no law enforcement or intelligence agencies have claimed, much less presented any evidence, that Congresswoman Gabbard is a Russian asset. This fabricated story is so facially improbable that it is actionable as defamation.&#8221;
The letter comes less than a month after the twice-failed Democratic presidential candidate sat down with President Barack Obama&#8217;s former campaign manager, David Plouffe, during an appearance on his podcast &#8220;Campaign HQ.&#8221;
&#8220;I think they have got their eye on someone who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate. She is the favorite of the Russians,&#8221; Clinton said at the time. &#8220;They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far.&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not because she&#8217;s also a Russian asset. Yeah, she&#8217;s a Russian asset — I mean, totally,&#8221; Clinton added. &#8220;They know they can&#8217;t win without a third-party candidate. So I don&#8217;t know who it&#8217;s going to be, but I will guarantee you they will have a vigorous third-party challenge in the key states that they most needed.&#8221;
While the former first lady refrained from naming the &#8220;Democratic primary&#8221; candidate to whom she was initially referring, Clinton&#8217;s spokesman Nick Merrill later confirmed that it was, in fact, Gabbard.
&#8220;If the nesting doll fits,&#8221; Merrill replied when asked directly about the congresswoman.
Clinton received widespread blowback for promulgating a conspiracy theory without any evidence to back up her contention. Gabbard subsequently fired back, calling Clinton &#8220;the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long.&#8221;
Gabbard, who is the first female combat veteran in America to launch a bid for the presidency, has been outspoken about the importance of the time that she has spent serving the United States as both a soldier and as a public servant.
In August, the Hawaii congresswoman took a two-week leave of absence from her presidential campaign in order to report for active duty with the Hawaiian Army National Guard and participate in a joint training exercise mission in Indonesia.
&#8220;[Gabbard is] a patriotic loyal American, a sitting four-term United States Congresswoman and a Major in the United States Army National Guard,&#8221; the letter continued, adding that &#8220;she is a loyal American who has taken an oath declaring her allegiance to the United States of America both as a soldier and as a member of Congress.&#8221;

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Molly Prince

Articles by Molly Prince

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