After another week of headlines, it can be hard to parse through and find the most important political stories of the week. Many stories slip through the cracks as the media pulls Americans’ attention elsewhere. The following list of the week’s top stories is far from expansive, but just in case you missed them, here are some of the biggest stories The Daily Wire covered from Sunday, January 14, to Friday, January 19, 2024.
Trump Wins Iowa Caucuses
Former President Donald Trump cruised to a win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night, taking 98 of the state’s 99 counties and winning over 50% of the vote. Of the state’s 40 delegates that were up for grabs in the caucuses, Trump received 20 of them. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who took 21% of the vote, received nine delegates, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley who placed third with 19% of the vote walks away from Iowa with eight delegates. Candidates must reach 1,215 delegates to win the Republican nomination.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Voters braved below-zero temperatures on Monday night, making it the coldest Iowa Caucuses since its beginning in 1972. Around 110,000 voters went out to caucus, far lower than the record 187,000 voters that came out to vote in the 2016 caucuses. The 110,000 Iowa voters, which also included some Democrats, who voted in the Republican caucuses make up under 15% of the state’s registered Republican voters.
While Trump was the clear winner in Iowa and cemented his position as the frontrunner in the GOP primary, the night didn’t pass without some controversy. The race was called for Trump with an unusually low percentage of the vote counted, as multiple outlets — including Fox News, CNN, NBC News, and the Associated Press — made their decision on the race with just 1% of the vote counted. The quick decision was slammed by many people, including Iowa voters, reporters, and political commentators.
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Trump congratulated his GOP opponents in a speech following his win in Iowa, saying they all did “very well.”
“I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for a good time together. … I think they both actually did very well. I really do,” Trump said.
“I also want to congratulate Vivek because he did a hell of a job,” Trump added. “He came from zero … and he got probably 8%.”
U.S. Continues Strikes On Houthi Targets, Houthis Redesignated As Terrorists
U.S. forces launched another round of strikes against the Houthis earlier this week as the Iranian-backed group continues to attack merchant vessels, and even targets U.S. forces, in the Red Sea.
The U.S. military targeted 14 Houthi missiles that were being prepared to be fired from Yemen, threatening merchant and U.S. Navy ships in the region. The Houthis have ramped up attacks in the Red Sea following Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack on Israel and the group’s leaders have said its attacks on ships in the region will end as soon as “Israeli aggression” stops in Gaza, according to The Guardian.
Credit: Photo by U.S.Navy Janae Chambers/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images.
President Joe Biden removed the Houthis from the U.S. list of designated terrorist groups shortly after taking office, but his administration redesignated the Houthis as a terrorist group this week.
“The Houthis must be held accountable for their actions, but it should not be at the expense of Yemeni civilians,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “As the Department of State moves forward with this designation, we are taking significant steps to mitigate any adverse impacts this designation may have on the people of Yemen.”
DOJ Confirms Hunter Biden’s Laptop
In a court filing on Tuesday, the Department of Justice confirmed what most Americans already knew. The infamous Hunter Biden laptop is, in fact, real and did belong to the president’s son. New York Post reporter wrote in a post on X that in addition to the Bidens and the Justice Department being fully aware that the laptop was Hunter’s, they had even been able to match the contents discovered on the laptop to content stored on the cloud under his account.
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“In a new court filing today, the DOJ confirms Hunter Biden’s laptop is real, that he left it at a computer store, and that the contents matched what they obtained from a search warrant of his iCloud. Don’t hold your breath for a retraction from Joe Biden (‘It’s a Russian plant’), the #Dirty51 or myriad dishonest media operatives. They blamed Russia when the Bidens knew it was Hunter – and so did the FBI. Hunter also blamed Russia when he was caught using adultery site Ashley Madison,” Devine posted.
The New York Post’s initial story on Biden’s laptop in October 2020 was labeled as Russian disinformation by more than 50 former intelligence officials who signed onto a letter that attempted to discredit the Post’s report.
Congress Passes Short-Term Spending Bill To Conservative Members’ Chagrin
The House and Senate on Thursday passed a short-term spending bill to get the federal government through early March while avoiding a shutdown. The stop-gap bill was opposed by many conservatives in the House who wanted Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to hold out on any deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) until Democrats agreed to pass expansive border security and immigration reform.
gnature. Photographer: Julia Nikhinson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In the House, 207 Democrats joined with 107 Republicans to achieve the two-thirds majority vote necessary to pass the bill. Two Democrats and 106 Republicans, including House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), voted against the measure while 11 members did not vote. The Senate then overwhelmingly passed the spending bill.
Before the measure was passed, the House Freedom Caucus warned against it, calling the spending bill a “surrender” to the Left.
“The @HouseGOP is planning to pass a short-term spending bill continuing Pelosi levels with Biden policies, to buy time to pass longer-term spending bills at Pelosi levels with Biden policies,” the Freedom Caucus said in a post on X.
The hardline conservative opposition to the short-term deal ultimately didn’t stop Johnson from moving forward with it, setting up the House for a future showdown on a larger spending bill.
March For Life
The 51st annual March for Life took place in Washington, D.C., on Friday as tens of thousands of people braved the snowy, cold conditions to voice their support for the pro-life cause. Main speakers for this year’s March for Life included House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), former NFL tight end Benjamin Watson, and Focus on the Family President and CEO Jim Daly.
Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In his speech, the House speaker said that he was the product of an unplanned pregnancy and was grateful that his parents chose life.
“We have to build a culture that encourages and assists more and more people to make that same decision. This is a critical time to help all moms who are facing unplanned pregnancies, to work with foster children, and to help families who are adopting, to volunteer and assist our vital pregnancy resource centers and our maternity homes, and to reach a renewed hand of compassion and to speak the truth in love,” he said.
University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh, who led his team to a national championship victory earlier this month, also addressed the crowd, telling those gathered, “It’s a great example that you’re setting.”
“It’s a testimony to the sanctity of life,” he added.
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Some more of this week’s biggest political stories include:
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