At least two elected leaders of Republican-controlled states have suggested booting President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> from ballots in their states.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis raised the possibility of banning Biden after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled former President Donald Trump ineligible to hold office. While neither Patrick nor DeSantis appeared to seriously consider removing Biden from the ballot, they both said it was possible under the reasoning used by the Colorado high court.
“Seeing what happened in Colorado tonight, Laura, makes me think – except we believe in democracy in Texas – maybe we should take Joe Biden off the ballot in Texas for allowing eight million people to cross the border since he’s been president, disrupting our state far more than anything anyone else has done in recent history,” Patrick said during an appearance on Fox News with host Laura Ingraham.
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Lt Gov Dan Patrick: We have a bill that will survive a Supreme Court challenge. <a href="https://t.co/NzrKrozfTB">pic.twitter.com/NzrKrozfTB</a>
&mdash; Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) <a href="https://twitter.com/IngrahamAngle/status/1737446348109029432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2023</a></blockquote>
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DeSantis, who is running against Trump in the GOP primary for president, ripped the state supreme court’s decision at a campaign stop.
“There was no trial on any of this. They basically just said, what, you can’t be on the ballot? I mean, how does that work? What’s the limiting principle for that? Could we just say that Biden can’t be on the ballot because he let in eight million illegals into the country and violated the Constitution?” the Florida governor said. He added that he believes the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately overturn the Colorado court’s decision.
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BREAKING: Ron DeSantis reacts to Colorado Supreme Court ruling at a campaign event this morning
&quot;There was no trial on any of this! [&#8230;] Could we just say that Biden can&#39;t be on the ballot because he let in 8 million illegals into the country, and violated the Constitution?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/JTdWPHZvNz">pic.twitter.com/JTdWPHZvNz</a>
&mdash; Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/1737481780150550556?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The state supreme court ruled that Trump is banned from Colorado’s ballot on Tuesday for “inciting the crowd that breached the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021” and violating Section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, known as the insurrection clause.
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The court has stayed its decision from taking effect until January 4, or indefinitely in case of an appeal. Trump’s campaign has promised to appeal the decision.
In a post on Truth Social after the decision came down, Trump blasted the court and the Biden administration, suggesting that the ruling was a sign of a banana republic and constituted election interference.
“A SAD DAY IN AMERICA!!!” Trump posted on social media.
The Colorado Supreme Court voted in a narrow 4-3 majority to bar Trump from the ballot in the state. The ruling is the latest in a series of legal hurdles facing the former president in his campaign to return to the White House.

Ron DeSantis

GOP Officials Float Kicking Biden Off State Ballots Over Immigration Crisis

Colorado

Courts

Dan Patrick

Donald Trump

Florida

Politics

Texas

Less than a week after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s decision to bus illegal immigrants to the nation’s capital was a “publicity stunt,” she now says the White House appreciates the governor’s action.
In a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2022/04/13/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-april-13-2022/">press briefing</a> on Wednesday, Psaki was asked if the White House still viewed Abbott’s decision to bus illegal immigrants to Washington, D.C., as a “publicity stunt.” She indicated that the administration has flipped on its view. 
“Well, these are all migrants who have been processed by CBP and are free to travel,” she replied. “So, it’s nice the state of Texas is helping them get to their final destination as they await in — their outcome of their immigration proceedings. And they’re all in immigration proceedings.”
The statement is in direct contrast to her <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/07/psaki-decries-texas-gov-abbotts-publicity-stunt-plan-to-bus-immigrants-to-dc/">claim</a> last Thursday. “I’m not aware of what authority the governor would be doing that under​.​ I think it’s pretty clear this is a publicity stunt​,” Psaki said, responding to a question from Fox News’ White House Correspondent Peter Doocy. “[Abbott’s] own office admits that a migrant would need to voluntarily be transported, and then he can​’t​compel them to because​​ again, enforcement of our country’s immigration laws lies with the federal government and not a state​.”
On Thursday, a second bus dropped off illegal immigrants in D.C. from Texas after the first bus arrived Wednesday, <a href="https://www.djournal.com/news/national/second-bus-of-illegal-immigrants-arrives-at-u-s-capitol-from-texas/article_cc9f61fa-71e6-5778-b865-2e38e61e3a4b.html">according</a> to The Center Square. 
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-gov-greg-abbott-slams-bidens-lackluster-leadership-at-the-border">reported</a> that Abbott slammed the Biden administration on Monday for its “lackluster leadership” at the southern border. “Texans demand and deserve an aggressive, comprehensive strategy to secure our border—not President Biden’s lackluster leadership,” the governor said.
His comments came as the Biden administration mulls ending Title 42, a Trump-era border policy that allowed Border Patrol to more rapidly expel illegal immigrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
On Sunday, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick also criticized the White House and swore to protect the rule of law in remarks on “Fox and Friends,” The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/as-texas-prepares-to-bus-illegal-immigrants-to-d-c-lt-gov-has-a-question-for-the-biden-admin-dont-you-like-illegal-immigrants">reported</a>. “You’re seeing the first step in a constitutional showdown between the governor and the legislature and the state of Texas and the federal government,” Patrick said of his state’s decision to bus illegal immigrants to D.C. 
He then went on to respond to Psaki’s criticism of the state’s action. “Let me tell you what our authority and power is,” Patrick said. “We have an oath to defend the constitution of Texas and the United States of America and to protect the lives and welfare of our citizens.”
Patrick also told the “Fox and Friends” hosts that he wanted someone to ask Psaki a simple question. “I wish someone would ask Jen Psaki on Monday, ‘By the way, why don’t you just welcome [illegal immigrants] to D.C.? If it’s good enough that they can go to any city in the country, what’s wrong, Jen? Why don’t you just welcome them? … Don’t you like illegal immigrants, Jen?’”
While Psaki never acknowledged the Patrick’s remarks, her change of tone from last week has given Patrick an answer to his question, as the White House seems to be welcoming the buses of illegal immigrants to their backyard.

Jen Psaki

White House Changes Tone On Abbott Busing Illegal Immigrants To D.C.: ‘It’s Nice The State Of Texas Is Helping Them’

Greg Abbott

Illegal Immigration

Washington D.C.

In a Sunday appearance on “Fox and Friends,” Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R) spoke with the hosts about his state’s decision to bus illegal immigrants to Washington, D.C., saying that “it’s time for a showdown” in the courts.
&#8220;You&#8217;re seeing the first step in a constitutional showdown between the governor and the legislature and the state of Texas and the federal government,&#8221; Patrick said. He then went on to criticize Press Secretary Jen Psaki for claiming Texas&#8217; move is simply a publicity stunt and the state has no power to enforce sending illegal immigrants to D.C.
&#8220;Let me tell you what our authority and power is,&#8221; Patrick responded. &#8220;We have an oath to defend the constitution of Texas and the United States of America and to protect the lives and welfare of our citizens,&#8221; he told &#8220;Fox and Friends.&#8221;
Patrick also slammed the Biden administration for its willingness to send illegal immigrants to cities all across the U.S. except for the nation’s capital. “I wish someone would ask Jen Psaki on Monday, ‘By the way, why don’t you just welcome [illegal immigrants] to D.C.? If it’s good enough that they can go to any city in the country, what’s wrong, Jen? Why don’t you just welcome them? … Don’t you like illegal immigrants, Jen?’” Patrick asked. 
“So what’s the problem?” he continued. “Because they’re being shipped all over this country in the middle of the night.” Patrick went on to explain a conversation he had with a mayor who called him when he found out Border Patrol would be sending 100 illegal immigrants to his town. The mayor told Patrick, “I don’t have the police force to handle, we don’t have the system to handle, we’re a small town.” Patrick told the “Fox and Friends” hosts that “this happens all the time.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="&quot;Fox &amp; Friends&quot;: send illegal immigrants to Martha&#039;s Vineyard" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WHomtWws5UM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Due to the Biden administration’s decision to end Title 42, the problem could get even worse. Last Wednesday, in response to President Joe Biden’s termination of Title 42, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-texas-to-start-busing-illegal-immigrants-to-washington-d-c-as-biden-scraps-trump-era-border-policy">announced</a> that his state will begin busing illegal immigrants caught in Texas to the nation’s capital. “With the Biden administration ending Title 42 expulsions in May, Texas will be taking its own unprecedented actions this month to do what no state in America has ever done in the history of this country to better secure our state, as well as our nation,” Abbott said.
Title 42 allowed Border Patrol to deport millions of illegal immigrants and force them to await their asylum claims outside of the U.S. due to the COVID-19 health emergency. Now, with the ending of Title 42, experts and Republican state leaders are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/migrant-tsunami-will-worsen-due-to-title-42-rollback-former-trump-and-biden-border-patrol-chief-says">warning</a> that illegal immigration could surge even more. 
“Revoking Title 42 will create an unprecedented surge at the southern border and it will overwhelm law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organizations as well,” a Republican <a href="https://mcusercontent.com/cc1fad182b6d6f8b1e352e206/files/df71a0c3-dcba-379a-6328-589a80dc4af7/Title_42_Complaint_Final.pdf">lawsuit</a> against the Biden administration’s rollback of Title 42 states. “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, (DHS), estimates getting rid of Title 42 will result in as many as 18,000 migrants per day – which could mean 540,000 migrants in a single month.”

US-MEXICO-IMMIGRATION

As Texas Prepares To Bus Illegal Immigrants To D.C., Lt. Gov. Has A Question For The Biden Admin: ‘Don’t You Like Illegal Immigrants?’

Texas Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick blistered Disney for its opposition to the recently-passed Parents Rights in Education law in Florida, and promised to prioritize passing a similar parents rights bill in his state during the next legislative session. (Disclosure: The Daily Wire has announced plans for kids entertainment content.)
Patrick made the comments in a campaign release Monday, simply titled &#8220;<a href="https://www.danpatrick.org/i-am-done-with-disney/">I Am Done With Disney!</a>,&#8221; along with a list of recommendations for the interim session of the Texas State Senate.
&#8220;Like so many, I have been a Disney fan my entire life,&#8221; Patrick wrote. &#8220;As a child, I loved Davy Crockett with Fess Parker and watched the Wonderful World of Disney. As a parent and grandparent who has taken his family to Disney World multiple times, I am angry. At first, I was angry at their over-the-top radical resistance to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-signs-parental-notification-bill-shrugs-off-dont-say-gay-uproar">Florida law</a> that simply says schools cannot sexualize children in elementary school. I will make this law a top priority in the next session. This issue will be addressed in our interim Education Committee hearings under Parental Rights. But now private videos from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-at-all-secret-gay-agenda-disney-employees-break-down-adding-queerness-to-shows-and-degenderizing-theme-parks">Disney officials</a> have emerged where they purposely plan to indoctrinate my grandkids and your children and grandchildren on the issue of sexuality. Just this week they also <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/disney-to-remove-all-mentions-of-traditional-gender-roles-at-theme-parks/ar-AAVE0rc">announced</a> they will no longer address anyone with the greeting &#8216;boys and girls&#8217; and &#8216;ladies and gentlemen&#8217; at their parks. This crazy &#8216;woke&#8217; radical agenda is pushed by a few, but rejected by almost everyone in America, across all political spectrums.&#8221;
&#8220;Parents trusted the Disney brand, all while Disney was undermining parents who believed Disney was a quality and good company,&#8221; Patrick continued.
In response to these new revelations, Patrick urged Texans to boycott Disney.
&#8220;Until they change their corporate philosophy, stop spending money with them,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Cut off the Disney Channel. Cancel your park trip or your cruise if one is planned. If you own Disney stock, sell it&#8230;Write a letter to their company or call them with your polite, but clear disappointment and tell them they must change or you are through with them. And spread these videos to your friends. People must see what has been going on behind the Mickey curtain. I know your kids and grandchildren will be disappointed and may not understand. But, would you rather have them indoctrinated by Disney radicals?&#8221;
Patrick acknowledged that he did own some stock in Disney, but said in the release that he has sold his stock as of Monday. He also admitted to taking a trip to &#8220;Disney&#8221; in March, but said &#8220;if I had known then how they would respond to the Florida law and if I had seen those videos, they would not have gotten one penny from me.&#8221;
&#8220;Some may think parents, including me, are overreacting. We are not,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;Disney is a massive international company planning to indoctrinate children around the world with radical ideas. If we cannot fight for our children, then what can we fight for?&#8221;
Patrick also included his updated list of <a href="https://www.ltgov.texas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022-Interim-Charges.pdf">legislative charges</a> for the Texas State Senate&#8217;s interim session. In the release, Patrick charged the Senate Education Committee, under the header &#8220;Parent Empowerment,&#8221; to &#8220;[review] Texas’ existing parental rights and responsibilities in current law&#8221; and &#8220;[evaluate] current public school practices toward parental and community engagement,&#8221; especially in areas of curriculum and learning materials, governance, and accessibility to school officials. He further charged the Committee to &#8220;Make recommendations to enable parents to exert a greater influence on their child&#8217;s learning environment, including enacting meaningful change at their public school campus or district, and affirm parents as primary decision-makers over their child&#8217;s schooling options.&#8221;

Key Speakers At Conservative Political Action Conference

Texas Lt. Governor Blisters Disney’s ‘Woke Radical Agenda,’ Promises To Prioritize A Parental Rights Law Like Florida

Disney

Parental Rights in Education

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R-TX) told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UONyL2QmYYU">Fox News</a> on Wednesday that the Texas residents who have been receiving extravagant energy bills gambled on typically inexpensive variable-rate plans and that Texas may even ban the types of variable plans that resulted in such spikes. 
 
“I saw the story about the high bills. Let me explain that,” Patrick told Fox News host Harris Faulkner. “In Texas, you can choose your energy plan, and most people have a fixed rate. If they had a fixed rate per kilowatt hour, their rates aren’t going up.”
“Their bill may be going up because they used more energy — because they had the heat up when they had the power back — but the people who are getting those big bills are people who gambled on a very very low rate,” added Patrick. The lieutenant governor emphasized that Texans who receive such extravagant bills should “not panic,” and that the government would find out what exactly happened. “But going forward, people need to read fine-print in those kind of bills and we may even end that type of variable plan, because people were surprised,” he said.
After days of severe weather in Texas last week, some Texas residents on variable power plans, such as Griddy, reported racking up extremely high energy bills. According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/20/us/texas-storm-electric-bills.html">The New York Times</a>, one Griddy customer was charged $16,752 for electricity. (Griddy itself encouraged its 29,000 customers to find a different utility provider early last week so that they would avoid getting stuck with sky-high bills due to rising wholesale prices.)
Over the weekend, Governor Greg Abbott said the state of Texas had a responsibility to protect residents from extreme spikes in their energy bills that resulted from the recent sub-freezing temperature, which tossed the Texas energy infrastructure into turmoil. “We are moving quickly to alleviate this problem and will continue to work collaboratively throughout this week on solutions to help Texas families and ensure they do not get stuck with skyrocketing energy bills,” said Abbott.
The Public Utilities Commission of Texas has prohibited utility companies from cutting off electricity for consumers due to non-payment. The commission has also encouraged utility companies to “delay invoicing” for consumers and small commercial customers.
“We had incredible weather, it was 20 degrees below in West Texas with the windchill; we’ve never had anything like that,” Patrick told Faulkner on Fox News. “But we were told by ERCOT that they were ready. They were obviously not ready. We’re going to go everywhere we need to go to get the evidence, and that includes something, Harris, that we seldom do, and that is use subpoena power. If we have witnesses we believe that need to come to the table, and they will not come and testify, then we have the opportunity to issue a subpoena.”
“I’m personally taking this on my back, as the president of the Senate, where the legislation will, as well as the House, come through,” Patrick told Faulkner. “No nonsense, no excuses, we’ve got to fix this.”

Abbott announces the reopening of more Texas businesses

Texas Lt. Gov Suggests Residents ‘Gambled’ With Variable-Rate Energy Plans

Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said on Wednesday that he will be paying the $7,000 fine that Dallas authorities gave to salon owner Shelley Luther for violating a stay-at-home order, and also volunteered to serve her 7-day jail sentence so that she could go back to work.
Patrick made the remarks after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blasted Dallas County Judge Eric V. Moyé, who is a <a href="https://heavy.com/news/2020/05/eric-moye-judge/">Democrat political activist</a>, in a statement for abusing his power by jailing Luther for opening her business so she could feed her family.
&#8220;I find it outrageous and out of touch that during this national pandemic, a judge, in a county that actually released hardened criminals for fear of contracting COVID-19, would jail a mother for operating her hair salon in an attempt to put food on her family&#8217;s table,&#8221; Paxton said in a statement. &#8220;The trial judge did not need to lock up Shelley Luther. His order is a shameful abuse of judicial discretion, which seems like another political stunt in Dallas. He should release Ms. Luther immediately.&#8221;
During her hearing, Luther <a href="https://www.wfsb.com/salon-owner-gets-7-days-in-jail-for-reopening-during-coronavirus-lockdown-in-texas/article_f5ca9e5d-d67f-5fdb-a5dc-e28e81c686b2.html">told</a> Moyé, &#8220;I couldn’t feed my family, and my stylists couldn’t feed their families.&#8221;
&#8220;Feeding my kids is not selfish,&#8221; Luther continued. &#8220;If you think the law is more important than kids getting fed, then please go ahead with your decision, but I am not going to shut the salon.&#8221;
Patrick later responded by writing on Twitter, “7 days in jail, no bail and a $7K fine is outrageous. No surprise Texans are responding. I’m covering the $7K fine she had to pay and I volunteer to be placed under House Arrest so she can go to work and feed her kids. #txlege #TexansHelpingTexans&#8221;
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7 days in jail, no bail and a $7K fine is outrageous. No surprise Texans are responding. I’m covering the $7K fine she had to pay and I volunteer to be placed under House Arrest so she can go to work and feed her kids. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/txlege?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#txlege</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TexansHelpingTexans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TexansHelpingTexans</a> <a href="https://t.co/gdtMLAHFV5">https://t.co/gdtMLAHFV5</a>
&mdash; Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanPatrick/status/1258140452253061123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-texas-governor-abbott-calls-for-immediate-release-from-jail-of-salon-owner-who-opened-shop">released</a> a statement on Wednesday slamming the judge&#8217;s ruling:
<blockquote>I join the Attorney General in disagreeing with the excessive action by the Dallas Judge, putting Shelley Luther in jail for seven days. As I have made clear through prior pronouncements, jailing Texans for non-compliance with executive orders should always be the last available option. Compliance with executive orders during this pandemic is important to ensure public safety; however, surely there are less restrictive means to achieving that goal than jailing a Texas mother.</blockquote>
Luther&#8217;s lawyer, Warren Norred, <a href="https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/coronavirus/ag-paxton-gov-abbott-call-for-release-of-dallas-salon-owner/2364608/">told</a> a local news station that Luther was jailed because she &#8220;refused to bend the knee in court.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m concerned that the judicial system in Dallas is more concerned for one perspective on the rule of law than it is the plight of working people trying to make a living,&#8221; Norred said. &#8220;Though the rule of law is cited by the court, there exists no exception for cities to the general rule that an injunction must be supported by a bond. Without an enforceable injunction, no contempt can be found. Our position is that Ms. Luther has been unlawfully arrested and jailed. I hope to obtain a writ of habeas corpus very soon. &#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Texas prepares Rick Perry to Greg Abbott transition

TX Lt Gov Dan Patrick To Pay $7K Fine Of Arrested Salon Owner, Offers To Serve Her Jail Sentence So She Can Work

COVID