Top Political Stories Of The Week: Texas Faces Off With Biden, Ohio Bans Trans Procedures On Children, And DeSantis Suspends Presidential Campaign

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 21, to Friday, January 26, 2024.

Texas Stands Strong On Border Defense After SCOTUS Rules Feds Can Cut Through Razor Wire

John Moore/Getty Images

Following a ruling from the Supreme Court earlier this week that authorized Border Patrol agents to cut through razor wire set up by Texas, the state has doubled down on defending the southern border amid a record surge of illegal immigrant crossings. 

Earlier this month, the Texas National Guard took control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, after Customs and Border Patrol agents were filmed cutting through razor wire to make it easier for illegal immigrants to enter the United States.

On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that federal officials may cut through razor wire that Texas authorities installed to repel migrants from crossing the border illegally. Shortly after the ruling, Texas leaders, including Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton hit back, saying the fight was not over.

Abbott issued a statement on Wednesday, slamming President Joe Biden for “violat[ing] his oath to execute immigration laws enacted by Congress faithfully.” Abbott also swore to secure the southern border and uphold “Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself.”

Twenty-five Republican governors backed Abbott and Texas on Thursday as the state seeks to secure the southern border. 

“We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border,” said the statement signed by the 25 governors. “We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally.”

DeSantis Suspends Campaign Following 2nd-Place Finish In Iowa

Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who jumped into the Republican primary last May, suspended his campaign on Sunday and endorsed GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. The announcement came less than a week after DeSantis finished second in the Iowa caucuses with 21% of the vote behind Trump, who took 51%. 

The DeSantis campaign spent millions on Iowa and moved much of its staff to the state in hopes of pulling off an early upset and proving that the Florida governor could compete with Trump. DeSantis’ strategy, however, didn’t pay off as Trump steamed ahead to a dominating win. 

“If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it,” DeSantis said. “But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory. Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign. I’m proud to have delivered on 100% of my promises, and I will not stop now.”

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

– Winston Churchill pic.twitter.com/ECoR8YeiMm

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 21, 2024

Trump Wins First-In-The-Nation Primary, Solidifies Lead In GOP Primary

Two days after DeSantis suspended his campaign, Trump cruised to another victory, this one in New Hampshire, where he took 54% of the vote beating former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley who received 43%. Trump’s early victories in Iowa and New Hampshire put him at 32 delegates, 15 ahead of Haley who has 17 delegates. Candidates must reach 1,215 delegates to become the Republican nominee. 

Mel Musto/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Haley has remained undeterred following her third-place finish in Iowa and second-place finish in New Hampshire, saying she’s in the race for the long haul. Haley’s vow to stay in the race seemingly annoyed Trump, who sent a message to her donors, saying they will never be welcome back in the “MAGA camp” if they contribute to her campaign from this point forward. 

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel also weighed in on the race, saying Haley has no “path going forward.” 

“I think there’s some history that was made tonight, we have never had a nominee in our party that has won without winning either Iowa or New Hampshire. Donald Trump is the first ever to win both,” McDaniel said. “I’m looking at the math and the path going forward. And I don’t see it for Nikki Haley. I think she’s run a great campaign. But I do think there is a message that’s coming out from the voters, which is very clear, we need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump and we need to make sure we beat Joe Biden.”

Ohio Legislature Overrides Republican Governor’s Veto, Ban Gender Surgeries On Minors, Boys In Girls’ Sports

Credit: Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.

On Wednesday Republicans in the Ohio state Senate voted to override Republican Governor Mike DeWine’s veto of a bill banning transgender hormone treatments and surgeries from being performed on children, and barring boys and men from competing against girls and women in athletic competitions.

DeWine’s veto was officially overridden after the state Senate voted 24-8, following state House Republicans’ January 10 vote to do the same, with that vote ending up 65-28. 

The bill vetoed by DeWine, House Bill 68, is made up of two acts: the “Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act” and the “Save Women’s Sports Act.” It bans transgender procedures on minors, such as double mastectomies on girls who identify as boys, and other genital procedures for children with gender dysphoria. It also prohibits males from competing in female sports across the state, grades K-12, and the collegiate level.

When DeWine initially vetoed the bill, he argued that signing it would hinder parental rights.

“Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government, knows better what is medically best for a child than the two people who love that child the most, the parents,” he said.

He also made the claim that he was acting to preserve “life.”

“Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life,” DeWine said. “Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived, would be dead today, if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio’s children’s hospitals. I’ve also been told by those who are now grown adults that but for this care, they would have taken their life when they were teenagers.”

The new law banning gender surgeries on children in Ohio is expected to go into effect in around three months. 

ADL Targets Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh, Other Alleged ‘Amplifiers Of LGBTQ+ Hate’

Emails obtained by the Daily Signal and published earlier this week showed that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) urged a counterterrorism agency to open investigations into Daily Wire host Matt Walsh and other conservative commentators, alleging that the commentators are “escalating harassment of LGBTQ+ individuals.”

The Daily Wire

The ADL stated in an email to a Washington State unified counterterrorism unit that “growing online anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry puts LGBTQ+ individuals at greater risk of physical violence and harassment.” The ADL goes on to list not only Walsh, but also the Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo and Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik, among others, as “perpetrators of online hate,” and urges law enforcement to take action.

The counterterrorism unit, the Washington State Fusion Center, told The Daily Signal that no action was taken against Walsh or any of the other individuals.

Walsh said he views the attempt to mobilize law enforcement against him as “a very serious threat,” and called it “an explicit attempt to use state force to shut down opposing speech at gunpoint.”

“I’m not surprised that the enemies of free speech and common sense are using this tactic but I do find it deeply concerning,” he told The Daily Signal.

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Some more of this week’s biggest political stories include:

Two U.S. Navy SEALs Killed While Boarding Boat Illegally Carrying Iranian Weapons

Judge’s Ruling In Divorce Case Could Spell Bad News For Anti-Trump DA Fani Willis

The FBI Said There Were ‘Pipe Bombs’ On January 6. Evidence Points To A Coverup, Congressman Says