Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made a stop at a Dairy Queen in Iowa, taking a subtle jab at former President Donald Trump who had visited the week prior. DeSantis was accompanied by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, and the two ordered an Oreo Blizzard. During the visit, DeSantis praised Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and joked about the messiness of cones. It appears the governor has a knack for using food to make a point.
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Six Republican presidential candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence, attended the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Friday. Moderated by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the event was attended by nearly 2,000 Christian conservative voters and featured discussions on a variety of topics. The candidates received a warm reception from the crowd, and the event was a key step in the road to the Iowa Republican caucuses.
Governor Kim Reynolds (R) signed a six-week abortion ban into law in Iowa on Friday, setting off a legal battle over reproductive rights. The signing ceremony was held at the Family Leadership Summit, a prominent political gathering hosted by an evangelical Christian group, and was attended by Republican state legislators and anti-abortion leaders. Opponents of the ban have vowed to challenge it in court, arguing that it is unconstitutional and violates the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision.
Hunter Biden's lawyer Abbe Lowell has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Donald Trump's legal team, accusing the former president of repeatedly defaming Hunter Biden and citing several examples from recent months. The letter demands that Trump stop making public statements about Hunter Biden that could lead to injury, and cites Trump's posts in July alone that mentioned Hunter Biden more than 20 times. Trump's legal team has yet to respond to the letter.
Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) proposed an amendment to the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, which was adopted in a 214-210 vote. The amendment aims to prohibit the Defense Department from considering race, gender, religion, political affiliations or “any other” when making decisions. During the floor debate, Crane referred to Black people as “colored people”, sparking a debate over the use of language when discussing race and ethnicity. Crane has since apologized for his remarks and the bill is expected to pass the House this week.
Donald Trump Skips Major Iowa GOP Event, Drawing Criticism from Iowa Residents and Political Leaders
Donald Trump Skips Major Iowa GOP Event, Drawing Criticism from Iowa Residents and Political Leaders
Donald Trump will not be attending the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Friday, a major gathering of Republican presidential hopefuls and Iowa GOP voters. His absence has been met with criticism from Iowa residents and Bob Vander Plaats, the president and CEO of the Family Leader. The summit is an important event for Republican presidential hopefuls, as it is hosted by a prominent evangelical Christian group in a state where those voters make up the majority of likely GOP caucusgoers. It is unclear why Trump has chosen to skip the event, but it is likely to have an impact on the outcome of the Iowa primaries.
The House of Representatives is set to vote Friday on the annual defense policy bill, which has been a bipartisan effort for more than six decades. However, the bill is now facing an uncertain future due to Republican amendments that would cut funding for abortion- and gender transition-related services, causing sharp opposition from congressional Democrats. The Pentagon had previously announced that it would provide travel allowances for troops to access “non-covered reproductive health care”, but the NDAA amendments would reverse this decision. It remains to be seen if the bill will pass with the amendments intact, or if the two parties can come to an agreement on a compromise.
Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) sparked controversy on the House floor when he referred to non-white Americans serving in the U.S. military as “colored people” while proposing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) argued that Crane's language was "offensive and unacceptable" and that it was "unfortunate that we have to debate an amendment that seeks to limit the progress of people of color and women." Crane argued that his amendment was meant to ensure that recruitment and promotion decisions were based on merit, rather than on any other ideological concepts. The amendment was ultimately voted down, highlighting the ongoing struggle to ensure that recruitment and promotion decisions in the military are based on merit.