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Trump, Newsom, DeSantis? A look at who’s running, and who’s out of the 2024 presidential election

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Trump, Newsom, DeSantis? A look at who’s running, and who’s out of the 2024 presidential election

Tuesday marked the beginning of the 118th Congress, and People are actually shifting their focus to the 2024 race for the White Home.

President Biden — the oldest individual ever to carry the workplace of president — has not formally declared his candidacy within the 2024 presidential race, however previous remarks from the president and people near him counsel that he’ll search a second time period within the White Home.

In November, Biden instructed reporters that it’s his “intention” to run once more and that his choice on whether or not he would search re-election would come “early” in 2023. 

As Biden mulls whether or not to hunt re-election, his presidential predecessor, Donald Trump, together with a listing of different Republicans, are already entered into the race or are contemplating making a run for the White Home in 2024.

FOX NEWS POLL: AMERICANS SHOW LITTLE ENTHUSIASM FOR A BIDEN-TRUMP REMATCH IN 2024

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From left to proper: President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former Vice President Mike Pence.
(Kevin Dietsch, Spencer Platt, Giorgio VIERA/AFP, Scott Olson)

Who’s in?

Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump, who served within the White Home from 2017 to 2021, introduced in mid-November that he would make a run for president for a 3rd time.

Within the 2020 election, Trump fell quick to Biden, garnering 232 electoral votes in comparison with Biden’s 306 and greater than 74 million votes in comparison with Biden’s greater than 81 million.

Trump has largely blamed his loss within the 2020 presidential election on voter fraud and irregularities with the electoral course of. After quite a few authorized battles, Trump is now prepared to check the water once more with voters.

On November 15, Trump introduced his third presidential bid throughout a speech at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, house after having teased a bid since leaving workplace in 2021.

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“With a purpose to make America nice and superb once more. I’m tonight saying my candidacy for president of the USA,” Trump mentioned on the time.

“However simply as I promised in 2016, I’m your voice. I’m your voice,” he added. “The Washington institution desires to silence us, however we is not going to allow them to do this. What now we have constructed collectively over the previous six years is the best motion in historical past as a result of it’s not about politics. It is about our love for this nice nation, America, and we’re not going to let it fail.”

Former President Donald Trump, who served in the White House from 2017 to 2021, announced on Nov. 15 that he would seek the presidency for a third time.

Former President Donald Trump, who served within the White Home from 2017 to 2021, introduced on Nov. 15 that he would search the presidency for a 3rd time.
(Justin Sullivan/Getty Photographs)

Kanye West

Kanye West, now generally known as Ye, has additionally said he’ll run for president once more in 2024.

The musician, who ran as an impartial candidate within the 2020 presidential election, mentioned in a video shared in late November that he can be operating once more, saying, “We’re transferring towards the longer term.”

The video confirmed West amongst a slew of merchandise with “YE 24” printed on it. Within the 2020 election, West acquired round 60,000 votes complete in states the place his title was on the poll. Elsewhere, West requested to be entered as a write-in candidate.

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In latest months, West, together with Trump, have been marred in controversy following their Mar-a-Lago dinner with Nick Fuentes, an antisemite and Holocaust denier. The dinner with Fuentes, which was reportedly unplanned, sparked backlash from a number of Republican lawmakers.

Kanye West, now known as Ye, has stated he will run for president again in 2024.

Kanye West, now generally known as Ye, has said he’ll run for president once more in 2024.
(Edward Berthelot)

Who’s rumored to run?

Ron DeSantis

After narrowly profitable election as Florida governor in 2018, Republican Ron DeSantis received by a landslide within the Sunshine State’s 2022 gubernatorial election.

DeSantis, who at age 44 is 32 years youthful than Trump, received his first election as governor due to a significant help from the then-president. However he’s turn out to be a pressure of his personal as he’s constructed a political model that stretches from coast to coast.

Since taking workplace, DeSantis has witnessed his reputation soar amongst conservatives throughout the nation. DeSantis has remained robust on quite a few points that conservatives prioritize, together with immigration, spending, and efforts to push again in opposition to coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

Whereas DeSantis routinely discounted discuss of a 2024 White Home bid as he stayed laser centered on his gubernatorial re-election final yr, a number of distinguished Republicans have pushed him to enter the race.

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Ad spending tracked by FWIW, which was launched late final month following the vacation season, confirmed DeSantis spent almost $90,000 – greater than some other Republican rumored to enter the race – on advertisements nationwide or that have been focused in the direction of early voting states.

As DeSantis witnesses his ballot numbers in 2024 Republican presidential polls begin to rival Trump, and his fundraising prowess match that of the previous president, Trump in latest months has focused the Florida governor. And Trump has turned up the amount on his assaults on DeSantis within the days simply earlier than and after the midterms, and debuted a brand new nickname for the governor: “Ron DeSanctimonius.”

DeSantis has refused to take the bait, electing to not have interaction with Trump’s taunts.

A supply within the governor’s wider political orbit instructed Fox Information in Novemeber that an announcement from the governor wouldn’t occur till after Florida’s legislative session ends in Might.

Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis after taking the oath of office waves to those in attendance at his second term inauguration in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. January 3, 2023.

Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis after taking the oath of workplace waves to these in attendance at his second time period inauguration in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. January 3, 2023.
(REUTERS/Octavio Jones)

DESANTIS LEADING HYPOTHETICAL 2024 PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY RACE IN A DEEP-RED STATE TRUMP WON TWICE

Tim Scott

Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, a rising star within the GOP, one of many social gathering’s high fundraisers, and the one Black Republican within the Senate, simply cruised to re-election in November to what he has mentioned will likely be his remaining six-year time period within the Senate.

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Whereas Scott has expressed reluctance when requested a few 2024 presidential run, he raised eyebrows in November at his re-election victory celebration by telling the story of how he took his grandfather to the polls in 2012, and that his grandfather proudly voted for him in addition to for Democratic President Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president.

“I want he had lived lengthy sufficient to see maybe one other man of shade elected President of the USA,” Scott mentioned, including “however this time let it’s a Republican.”

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., during a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 19, 2021.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., throughout a Senate Finance Committee listening to in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 19, 2021.
(Rod Lamkey/Pool by way of REUTERS)

Mike Pence

Former Vice President Mike Pence has been mulling whether or not to toss his hat into the ring of contenders within the 2024 presidential race, however has not made an official choice.

In his not too long ago launched e-book, “So Assist Me God,” Pence showcases successes of the Trump-Pence administration, but in addition spotlighted new criticisms of Trump.

The previous vp, as a part of his efforts to marketing campaign for Republicans searching for positions within the 2022 midterm elections, made quite a few stops in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada – the primary 4 states to vote within the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

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Pence, a former congressman and Indiana governor, has been making the strikes, akin to constructing relationships within the early voting presidential major and caucus states, that usually precede the launch of an precise White Home marketing campaign.

“The truth that folks are actually attending to know me and my household, our religion, our conservative convictions higher, has been an amazing supply of encouragement as we take into consideration the best way ahead and what our calling is perhaps sooner or later,” Pence instructed Fox Information Digital in December.

Former Vice President Mike Pence delivers a speech at The Heritage Foundation titled The Freedom Agenda and America's Future on  October 19, 2022.

Former Vice President Mike Pence delivers a speech at The Heritage Basis titled The Freedom Agenda and America’s Future on  October 19, 2022.
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Name, Inc by way of Getty Photographs)

Mike Pompeo

Very like Pence, former Trump-era Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has not introduced his 2024 intention, has been a frequent customer to the early voting states the previous yr and a half.

“Whether or not we’ll determine to get within the race and run for president, I can’t reply,” Pompeo, an Military officer stationed in Germany through the Chilly Conflict who was later elected to Congress from Kansas earlier than serving as CIA director and America’s high diplomat through the Trump administration, instructed Fox Information throughout a cease in New Hampshire in September.

Pompeo has additionally said that Trump’s choice to enter the race is not going to have an effect on his choice, telling Fox Information Digital in late November, “Who else decides to get within the race will not affect our choice.”

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“In the event you put your self ahead to be a candidate for President of the USA, you rattling nicely higher consider that you simply acquired the backbone of metal the mental functionality and the temerity to be the commander in chief for a very powerful nation within the historical past of civilization. And in case you consider that it should not matter who the heck will get within the race, in case you’re the one one or if there’s 15 of you,” Pompeo mentioned on the time.

Pompeo’s political motion committee has gone up with advertisements within the early voting states, one other signal he’s severely mulling a White Home bid. Pompeo, like DeSantis, has additionally been spending cash to focus on voters nationwide or in early voting states. In response to FWIW, Pompeo spent greater than $21,000 to focus on particular voters over the Christmas vacation.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses an audience at an "Politics and Eggs" gathering on Sept. 20, 2022, in Manchester, N.H.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses an viewers at an “Politics and Eggs” gathering on Sept. 20, 2022, in Manchester, N.H.
(AP Newsroom)

Larry Hogan

Time period-limited Maryland GOP Gov. Larry Hogan, who will relinquish management of the state to incoming Democrat Gov. Wes Moore later this month, has been a frequent customer to New Hampshire this yr and has made stops in Iowa.

Final yr, Hogan, a vocal Republican critic of Trump who touts that he’s a “commonsense conservative,” instructed Fox Information that he believes “there are 10 individuals who need to be the following Donald Trump and I believe there could also be a special lane” for somebody like him.

Hogan gathered with household, pals, supporters and donors from throughout the nation in November, suggesting that he could also be contemplating a 2024 White Home run.

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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Nov. 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan speaks at an annual management assembly of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Nov. 18, 2022, in Las Vegas.
(AP )

Nikki Haley

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who served in her function to the United Nations through the first half of the Trump presidency, is one other Trump administration alum who was very busy through the 2022 campaigning on behalf of fellow Republicans and making quite a few stops within the early major and caucus states.

Haley has demurred when requested if she’ll launch a presidential marketing campaign, however reiterated final yr that she is going to “determine it out.”

“However you understand what I’ve mentioned — I’ve by no means misplaced a race,” she added on the time. “I’m not going to begin now. If there’s place for me, we’ll put a 100% in, and we’ll end it.”

Haley mentioned she would consider a doable 2024 Republican presidential run over the vacations, however has not made an official choice.

Nikki Haley speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022.

Nikki Haley speaks at an annual management assembly of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022.
(Ronda Churchill/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs)

Glenn Youngkin

Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin was a politician on demand on the marketing campaign path final yr, serving to fellow Republicans operating within the midterms.

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Youngkin energized Republicans nationwide when he was elected in 2021 because the first-time candidate who hailed from the social gathering’s enterprise wing. Youngkin edged out former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe to turn out to be the primary GOP candidate in a dozen years to win a gubernatorial election within the one-time swing state that had trended in the direction of the Democrats over the previous decade.

Chatting with Fox Information anchor Martha MacCallum in December, Youngkin repeatedly harassed that main the Previous Dominion is his high precedence in the meanwhile.

“Proper now the opportunity of me specializing in Virginia and delivering as a governor is 100%:,” he mentioned. “That is the place my consideration is. And I believe that is what Virginians count on from me. They elected me to guide change. They elected me to guide Virginia ahead. And that is what we’re doing.”

Although he insisted his focus is on Virginia, Youngkin added he’s very humbled by listening to his title in presidential discussions.

“Two years in the past, I used to be a non-public citizen who had simply left my dream job,” he mentioned. “40 years in the past, I used to be washing dishes and taking out trash as a child who wanted a job. And to even have my title surfaced is so humbling.”

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Glenn Youngkin, governor of Virginia, speaks prior to signing executive actions in the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 15, 2022.

Glenn Youngkin, governor of Virginia, speaks previous to signing govt actions within the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, on Jan. 15, 2022.
(Al Drago/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs)

Chris Sununu

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, who cruised to re-election in his Nov. 8 election by double digits, emphasised in November {that a} Trump 2024 announcement “doesn’t clear the sector.”

Final month, Sununu mentioned he believes that Trump cannot win election to the White Home in 2024, even when he’s the nominee. “I don’t consider, and I believe most individuals would agree, he is simply going to — not going to have the ability to shut the deal in November of ’24,” Sununu instructed CBS Information chief election and marketing campaign correspondent Robert Costa.

Sununu, who hasn’t totally dominated out a White Home run of his personal, argued that “anybody who desires to run continues to be going to run.”

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Nov. 19, 2022, in Las Vegas.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu speaks at an annual management assembly of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Nov. 19, 2022, in Las Vegas.
(AP )

Who’s out?

Gavin Newsom

California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, first elected to signify the Golden State in 2018, was as soon as rumored to be contemplating a run for the White Home in 2024, posing an election problem to Biden.

Newsom put these rumors to relaxation in November, reportedly telling POTUS himself that he’s “all in” on Biden’s re-election.

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In an interview with Politico, Newsom sought to tamp down hypothesis that he could run for the Democratic nomination after what the outlet mentioned was “appreciable” irritation from the White Home at rumors he was plotting a run to oust Biden.

“I’ve instructed everybody within the White Home, from the chief of employees to the primary girl,” he mentioned, saying his message is “I’m all in, rely me in” on Biden’s re-election bid.

The 2024 presidential election is slated to be held on November 5, 2024.

Fox Information’ Paul Steinhauser and Charles Creitz contributed to this text.

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London mayor urges foreign leaders to condemn Trump as racist, sexist, homophobic

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London mayor urges foreign leaders to condemn Trump as racist, sexist, homophobic

London Mayor Sadiq Khan branded former President Trump a racist, a sexist and a homophobe as he urged his own Labour Party to do more to “call him out.”

Ahead of the presidential election in November, the U.K.’s Labour Party appears to be working to strengthen its relationship with Republicans should Trump take back the White House. However, Khan, a fierce Trump critic, insists the party “shouldn’t be literally rolling out a red carpet for a state visit.”

Khan’s remarks on the former president came after foreign affairs chief David Lammy appeared to extend an olive branch earlier this month while insisting Trump is “often misunderstood” when it comes to policy and “wants Europeans to do more to ensure a better defended Europe.”

LONDON MAYOR UNDER FIRE FOR REPORTEDLY SNUBBING QUEEN STATUE IN FAVOR OF ART CELEBRATING TRANS PROSTITUTES

Former President Trump, left, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan (Getty Images)

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Rejecting Lammy’s position, Khan told Politico, “I’m quite clear, I understand, on Trump. He’s a racist. He’s a sexist. He’s a homophobe. And it’s very important, particularly when you’ve got a special relationship, that you treat them as a best mate.

“If my best mate was a racist, or a sexist or a homophobe, I’d call him out, and I’d explain to him why those views are wrong,” the London mayor added.

MAYOR SADIQ KHAN RIDICULED FOR BLAMING CELL PHONES WHEN CHALLENGED ON KNIFE CRIMES IN LONDON

Khan, who was recently re-elected to a third term leading Great Britain’s most populous city, told the outlet he worries “about a Donald Trump presidency.”

“You know, I’ve been speaking to governors from America. I’ve been speaking to mayors from America. Of course, we’ll have a relationship, whoever the president is. But we shouldn’t be literally rolling out a red carpet for a state visit,” he said. 

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“It’s really important that we, of course, have good relations with Democrats and Republicans. But I lost count of the amount of Republicans I’ve spoken to who are also worried about a Trump presidency.”

Khan and Trump have a history of feuding and not seeing eye to eye on a number of topics, including immigration.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan

London Mayor Sadiq Khan leaves Millbank Studios after conducting media interviews Aug. 29, 2023, in London. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

In 2019, prior to his arrival in London for a state visit, Trump referred to Khan as a “stone cold loser” who is “very dumb.”

Responding to those comments in his interview with Politico, Khan said: “I’ve got more latitude as a mayor to just to say what I feel about Trump, and I make this point. He called me a ‘stone cold loser.’ I’ve won three. How many has he won?”

Khan’s remarks come as the Labour Party is expected to return to power after 14 years in a U.K. general election that will take place in the coming months.

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Lammy, who has criticized Trump in the past as a “neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath,” recently traveled to Washington, D.C., where he met with a number of Democrats and several Trump allies, including Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance and South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham.

“Were his words in office shocking? Yes, they were,” Lammy told Politico of the former president. “Would we have used them? No. But U.S. spending on European defense actually grew under President Trump, as did the defense spending of the wider alliance during his tenure.”

Lammy also argued Trump helped matters by pushing European nations to increase their own defense spending.

David Lammy

Foreign affairs chief David Lammy said earlier this month Trump is “often misunderstood” when it comes to policy. (Anthony Devlin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“When he began his campaign, only four countries were spending their 2% of GDP. The number was 10 by the time he left office. And it is 18 today.” Lammy added.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Opinion: The Supreme Court's conservatives onstage, unplugged, unrepentant

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Opinion: The Supreme Court's conservatives onstage, unplugged, unrepentant

It’s that time of year when the life-tenured denizens of America’s imperial court, otherwise known as the Supreme Court, come down from their bench to mix with the masses.

Just kidding. The justices limit their appearances to friendly audiences, to elite folks too well-mannered to ask them about matters like gifts from billionaires with business before the court or misleading confirmation testimony to the Senate.

With oral arguments for this term’s cases ended in late April, the justices are now writing the decisions that will trickle out through June, including on whether to withhold gun rights from domestic abusers; limit access to mifepristone, the pill used for two-thirds of abortions; gut federal agencies’ regulatory power; and immunize Donald Trump from criminal prosecution. Amid their opinion-writing, they accept a few invitations to speak, cracking a window into their thinking as well as their gripes.

Opinion Columnist

Jackie Calmes

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Jackie Calmes brings a critical eye to the national political scene. She has decades of experience covering the White House and Congress.

Four of the court’s six-member conservative supermajority were on the stump in recent days. Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett M. Kavanaugh spoke to groups of lawyers and judges in the congenial South. Samuel A. Alito Jr., one of the court’s six Catholics, was commencement speaker at “passionately Catholic” Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Ohio. And Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. gave a purposely anodyne address to a Washington-based judicial group.

The other three were more interesting. Kavanaugh defensively suggested that the unpopular court’s unpopular decisions — ending a half-century of abortion rights, for example — would be seen more favorably with time. Thomas whined to a sympathetic crowd about “the nastiness and lies” in the news media about himself and his would-be insurrectionist wife, Ginni; much of that coverage recently won a Pulitzer Prize for ProPublica. And Alito enjoyed a standing ovation when he was introduced as the author of the 2022 Dobbs antiabortion ruling, despite overwhelming opposition to it nationwide.

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Kavanaugh spoke Friday in Austin, Texas. The city is a progressive oasis in the red state, but Kavanaugh appeared before judges, attorneys and court officials connected with the most conservative of the federal appeals courts, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, covering Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. At a time when the Supreme Court is polling at record lows on job approval and public trust, Kavanaugh was appropriately asked during a question-and-answer session how to boost confidence in the judiciary.

He didn’t seem to see the problem. Instead Kavanaugh blithely compared the current Roberts court — which has greatly expanded rights for gun owners, police and corporations, limited those for voters, consumers and women, and eroded the wall between church and state — to the court of the 1950s and 1960s led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, whose landmark rulings desegregated public schools, expanded voting and other civil rights, ended mandatory Christian prayer in schools and established new rights for criminal defendants.

The Warren court’s decisions were “unpopular basically from start to finish,” Kavanaugh said. And yet “a lot of them are landmarks now that we accept as parts of the fabric of America.”

He’s right about the Warren court legacy. But Kavanaugh is kidding himself if he thinks that Dobbs and other decisions that he has backed will eventually gain widespread favor. The Warren court is remembered for expanding individuals’ constitutional rights; the Roberts court, in overturning Roe, is the first to take one away. (Kavanaugh’s support for Dobbs provoked Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the decisive vote for his confirmation, to complain that he’d “misled” her during the Senate’s consideration of his nomination.)

Thomas spoke the same day at a conference of the conservative U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, covering Georgia, Florida and Alabama. His most noteworthy remarks reflected the Roberts court’s other legacy: ethical indifference. The event was held at a luxury resort on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, appropriate given Thomas’ affinity for such places, which has been well documented by ProPublica and other media. Republican donor and billionaire Harlan Crow provided Thomas with yacht trips, real estate deals and other benefits.

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Also appropriately, Thomas was with his wife, Ginni, who not only shared the largesse but also is central to Thomas’ other ethical transgression. She worked behind the scenes to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election, yet Thomas has refused to recuse himself from three cases before the court dealing with Jan. 6 and Trump’s role in conniving to stay in power.

To hear Thomas tell it, the problem isn’t his conflicts of interest but the critics and we journalists who report on him. “Especially in Washington, people pride themselves in being awful,” he said.

And that’s why he and Ginni like RV-ing across the country to see “regular people.” Thomas didn’t mention that an investigation by the New York Times found that his luxury 40-foot motor home was underwritten by another rich pal.

Alito, another billionaire’s beneficiary, received an honorary degree in Christian ethics on Saturday at Franciscan University. Like Thomas, he groused about his critics; fittingly, he quoted Rodney “I don’t get no respect” Dangerfield. Alito has become known for fussing that Christian conservatives get no respect, even as he and other conservative Catholics dominate the court. Free exercise of religion is “a disfavored right,” he’s carped in the past, and “you can’t say that marriage is a union between one man and one woman.”

In that spirit, Alito warned the Franciscan grads, “When you venture out into the world, you may find yourself in a job or a community or a social setting when you will be pressured to endorse ideas you don’t believe or to abandon core beliefs. It will be up to you to stand firm.”

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God knows he does. And so do Thomas and Kavanaugh. The rest of us, the masses, are worse off for their supreme myopia.

@jackiekcalmes

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Youngkin vetoes slew of Virginia bills, including contraception access measure

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Youngkin vetoes slew of Virginia bills, including contraception access measure

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed several bills late Friday from the final batch of the year’s regular legislative session, including legislation that focuses on protecting access to contraceptives, as well as a measure that would have allowed small businesses to host skill games, which are similar to slot machines.

The vetoes came after Youngkin, a Republican, first proposed amendments that the legislature rejected. In a nighttime statement, he said he was willing to keep working with the Democratic-controlled General Assembly on the issues but was vetoing measures that were “not ready to become law.”

In total, Youngkin signed seven bills into law and vetoed 48, including the Right to Contraception Act, which was approved by the Democrat-controlled Virginia Senate and House of Delegates. 

“I support access to contraception. However, we cannot trample on the religious freedoms of Virginians,” Younkin said in a statement, adding that access to contraception is already protected under the Constitution. 

PROTECTION OF CONTRACEPTION ACCESS ADVANCES IN VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed several bills late Friday from the final batch of the year’s regular legislative session, including legislation that focuses on protecting access to contraceptives, as well as a measure that would have allowed small businesses to host skill games, which are similar to slot machines. (AP Photo/Steve HelbeR)

The bill defined contraception, prevented any restrictions and established enforcement by civil penalty, according to WRC-TV. Instead of signing the bill. Youngkin already sent back a substitute measure that was not a new law but a policy statement that Virginians have a right to access contraception under current Supreme Court precedents. But his motion expired, and the original bill was sent back to the governor, which he then vetoed.

“Quality health care for women is essential and contraception remains a crucial component of reducing abortions and fostering a culture of life, making Virginia the best place to raise a family.  As the issue continues to be deliberated by the Legislature, and recognizing the diverse religious, ethical, and moral beliefs of Virginians, any contraception-related changes must be coupled with robust conscience clause protections for providers and also must uphold the fundamental right of parents to make decisions concerning their children’s upbringing and care.”

woman taking birth control pill

Close-up of a woman’s hand holding birth control pills. (iStock)

He said that the measure created an “overly broad cause of action against political subdivisions and parents, as well as medical professionals acting in their expert judgment and within their scope of practice.”

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Younkin also said the bill fails to include adequate conscience clause protections for providers and also undermines the fundamental right of parents to make decisions concerning their children’s upbringing and care.

Democrats criticized the veto, with state party chair Susan Swecker saying in a statement, “Youngkin just proved to Virginians that once again, he does not care about their health or rights.”

Youngkin-Budget

In total, Youngkin signed seven bills into law and vetoed 48.

Youngkin’s veto of the skill games measure, one of the year’s most contentious issues, was widely expected. The governor sought to overhaul the bill that was sent to him, but the Legislature overwhelmingly rejected his changes. Youngkin wanted a higher tax rate and far stricter limits on where the machines could be located, carving out a 35-mile radius around any casino, racetrack or gambling “satellite facility” where they would have been banned.

The governor also vetoed a measure that would have eliminated both a recordation and a property tax exemption for the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Richmond-based women’s group that helped erect many of the country’s Confederate monuments. Proponents have argued that the group’s priorities were out of line with 21st century values.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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