ReportWire

Tag: Kari Lake

  • Federal judge blocks Voice of America mass terminations in scathing ruling against Lake

    [ad_1]

    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth has blocked a new wave of terminations at Voice of America, offering harsh words for Kari Lake and saying the Trump administration’s conduct in his case would support civil contempt proceedings, if only the plaintiffs had asked.

    In the 19-page ruling, Judge Lamberth halted the mass reduction in force at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and issued a warning that cuts would “cement” VOA’s failure to meet legal obligations to provide reliable news.

    Lamberth’s list of failures included statutory violations involving VOA shutting down mandated language services despite clear congressional directives.

    KARI LAKE CUTS 532 GOVERNMENT POSITIONS AT VOICE OF AMERICA, PARENT AGENCY

    In this composite image, Kari Lake, senior adviser to the U.S. Agency for Global Media, speaks as the Voice of America headquarters is shown at left.  (Getty Images)

    He stated that VOA acknowledged its “radio presence” had shrunk to a single 30-minute daily program in Dari and Pashto, leaving gaps in coverage for nations like North Korea and China.

    Kari Lake was called out for admitting under oath that she hadn’t “given it a lot of thought” whether Africa qualifies as a “significant region of the world” under the law and confirmed VOA produces no programming for South America.

    And Lamberth accused the Trump administration of misleading the court, going as far as to call it incredible to suggest the RIF was “uncertain” while evidence showed it was already in motion.

    The RIF notices covered both VOA and USAGM employees, and Lamberth rejected the government’s attempt to carve out non-VOA staff.

    JUDGE PUTS TEMPORARY PAUSE ON TRUMP’S MASS LAYOFFS AT GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

    He accused Lake and her team of “thumbing their noses at Congress’s commands” and showing “brazen disinterest” in statutory duties — strong language worth including.

    The contempt warning wasn’t just about tone; it was also tied to their failure to produce required documents about future RIFs, despite court orders.

    Overall, the order keeps VOA’s workforce intact through Oct. 14, when Lake will be forced to work with her team to file a plan showing how they will restore the legally required programming.

    The Voice Of America logi

    The Voice Of America (VOA) logo appears on a mobile phone with the US Agency For Global Media (USAGM) visible in the background in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on March 16, 2025. (Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    The judge warned that their “disrespect” for other rulings would have been enough to trigger a contempt trial.

    “Equity is allergic to rigidity,” Lamberth wrote, pointing out the court’s power to stop executive overreach.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Judge suspends Trump administration’s plan to eliminate hundreds of jobs at Voice of America’s parent agency

    [ad_1]

    A federal judge agreed Monday to temporarily suspend the Trump administration’s plan to eliminate hundreds of jobs at the agency that oversees Voice of America, the government-funded broadcaster founded to counter Nazi propaganda during World War II.

    U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington, D.C., ruled that the U.S. Agency for Global Media cannot implement a reduction in force eliminating 532 jobs for full-time government employees on Tuesday. Those employees represent the vast majority of its remaining staff.

    Kari Lake, the agency’s acting CEO, announced in late August that the job cuts would take effect Tuesday. But the judge’s ruling preserves the status quo at the agency until he rules on a plaintiffs’ underlying motion to block the reduction in force.

    Lamberth previously ruled that President Trump’s administration must restore VOA programming to levels commensurate with its statutory mandate to “serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news.” He also blocked Lake from removing Michael Abramowitz as VOA’s director.

    The judge had also ruled separately that the Trump administration had failed to show how it was complying with his orders to restore VOA’s operations.

    Mr. Trump signed an executive order in March effectively shutting down the taxpayer-funded broadcaster for what the White House has called “radical propaganda.” CBS News reached out to the White House on Monday for comment.

    Judge cites “concerning disrespect” toward the court

    Lamberth accused the administration of showing “concerning disrespect” toward the court in response to his earlier orders to produce information about its plans for Voice of America.

    Employees who sued to block the dismantling of VOA claimed the planned cuts would hamper the judge’s ability to enforce the injunction he issued in April. “This Court should therefore preserve the status quo while the parties litigate compliance,” their attorneys wrote.

    Government lawyers accused the plaintiffs of impermissibly trying to micromanage the agency’s operations. “Enjoining the reductions in force would be a wholly overbroad and improper remedy,” they wrote.

    Lamberth, a senior judge, was nominated to the bench by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1987.

    Can media agency continue to fulfill its “statutory mission?”

    The U.S. Agency for Global Media also houses Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Networks and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba. The networks, which together reach an estimated 427 million people, date to the Cold War and are part of a network of government-funded organizations trying to extend U.S. influence and combat authoritarianism.

    The broadcasters have for decades served to project American values around the world while sharing fact-based news in a variety of languages. With Voice of America falling silent, Republican Rep. Young Kim of California told “60 Minutes” earlier this year that she worries the U.S. is ceding the airwaves to foreign dictators.

    “When we are in an information war and we stop broadcasting into those repressive governments and into repressive societies … they are not going to hear the truth,” she said at the time.

    Congress appropriated $875 million to the agency for fiscal year 2025 and required that $260 million of the funds must be spent by VOA.

    In March, Trump signed an executive order calling for the agency to reduce its “statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law.” A day later, VOA stopped broadcasting for the first time in 83 years. The agency placed almost all of its full-time employees on administrative leave.

    In announcing the job cuts on social media last month, Lake said the agency “will continue to fulfill its statutory mission … and will likely improve its ability to function.”

    “I look forward to taking additional steps in the coming months to improve the functioning of a very broken agency and make sure America’s voice is heard abroad where it matters most,” she wrote.

    Plaintiffs’ attorney Georgina Yeomans argued Monday that the cuts would cement the agency’s programming at deficient levels that don’t comply with the judge’s orders. Yeomans said it’s unclear who at the agency is making key decisions, such as which jobs to eliminate.

    “We simply do not know,” she said.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Kari Lake’s ever-changing abortion views: A comprehensive timeline

    Kari Lake’s ever-changing abortion views: A comprehensive timeline

    [ad_1]


    Kari Lake, currently running for the Senate against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, built her fiery image around a fierce and uncompromising antiabortion stance during her failed 2022 campaign for governor. Abortion, of course, has been a hot political topic since the overturning of Roe v. Wade…

    [ad_2]

    TJ L’Heureux

    Source link

  • These prominent Republicans are backing Ruben Gallego over Kari Lake

    These prominent Republicans are backing Ruben Gallego over Kari Lake

    [ad_1]

    In his contentious race against former newscaster and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego has received an impressive number of endorsements from the other side of the aisle. Many Arizonan Republicans have been turned off by the intense MAGA rhetoric of former President Donald Trump and Lake, one of Trump’s top henchmen…

    [ad_2]

    Morgan Fischer

    Source link

  • J.D. Vance in Arizona: 5 weirdest moments from Trump’s VP pick

    J.D. Vance in Arizona: 5 weirdest moments from Trump’s VP pick

    [ad_1]

    Republican vice president nominee and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance visited Glendale Wednesday, speaking at a rally alongside other MAGA extremists at Arizona Christian University. Since convicted felon and former President Donald Trump picked the man who once called him “an idiot,” a “cynical asshole” and “America’s Hitler” to join him on the GOP ticket, things have been bumpy for the duo…

    [ad_2]

    TJ L’Heureux

    Source link

  • Arizona Congressional primary election results: Senate and U.S. House

    Arizona Congressional primary election results: Senate and U.S. House

    [ad_1]

    Setting the stage for a battle over a U.S. Senate seat and several key battleground congressional districts in November, Arizona’s initial primary election results have arrived. Only 43% of precincts were reporting as of 10:41 p.m., according to the Arizona Secretary of State, but the initial results indicated several likely winners…

    [ad_2]

    TJ L’Heureux

    Source link

  • Kari Lake is cooked, says Arizona GOP megadonor: Report

    Kari Lake is cooked, says Arizona GOP megadonor: Report

    [ad_1]


    Kari Lake is toast, at least according to a conservative Arizona megadonor. Thursday afternoon, the Washington Post published an email authored by Randy Kendrick, the wife of Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick and a board member of the Goldwater Institute…

    [ad_2]

    TJ L’Heureux

    Source link

  • Republican National Convention Night 2: Senate or Bust

    Republican National Convention Night 2: Senate or Bust

    [ad_1]

    MILWAUKEE – The United States Senate was on the mind of the Republican National Committee on night two of the Republican National Convention Tuesday night. Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate and current senatorial candidate Kari Lake joined a host of other Republican senatorial candidates in denouncing the job the Biden-Harris administration has done the past three and a half years. Lake and the others were looking to reinforce the need for Republican voters to help the GOP get a majority in the Senate, something that can go a long way to reaching goals like Project 2025, for example. 

    “Americans are much more united than you may believe,” said Lake during her speech, which also included pot shots at the “fake news” media. “You guys up there in the fake news have worn out your welcome,” she said.

    The speeches that were supposed to unify Americans of both parties, at least on this night, included takedowns from senatorial candidates galore. Wisconsin’s Eric Horde, who is running against Senator Tammy Baldwin, who has held her seat for over a decade, said, “Where Biden and Baldwin have failed, President Trump and I will succeed.” 

    Bernie Moreno of Ohio followed Horde on stage and commenced to denounce illegal immigrants despite his parents getting him and his siblings to the United States from their native Colombia when they were children. “Many years ago my parents brought me and my siblings to this country legally,” Moreno said with an emphasis on the word “legally.” 

    He spent the bulk of his five minutes on stage blaming the Biden-Harris administration for illegal immigrants entering this country. Moreno is running against Senator Sherrod Brown, a very popular and longtime member of the Senate. “A vote for Trump/Moreno is a vote to put America first,” Moreno said before leaving the stage and making way for Mike Rogers and David McCormick.

    Rogers, is a senatorial candidate in Michigan and McCormick, whose wife Dina Powell was the Deputy National Security Advisor during the Trump administration, is running against longtime Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey. The same talking points would be repeated by Republican senatorial candidates Jim Banks (Indiana), Sam Brown (Nevada), Tim Sheehy (Montana) and Hung Cao (Virginia).

    After making a pronoun joke, Sheehy, who is running against Jon Tester, said, “Jon Tester is the deciding vote for Biden’s America last agenda.” 

    Cao, a retired U.S. Navy veteran of 25 years, moved to the U.S. with his parents as a child and referred to the United States of America as having “saved my life.” His military experience is something he wears on his sleeve and is often mentioned during his public speaking appearances. “We will vote for love of God, love of family, and love for the greatest country on Earth,” he said. “I’m not done fighting for us.”

    Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Florida Senator Rick Scott, and Lara Trump, the Republican National Committee, also spoke on Tuesday night.

    [ad_2]

    Donnell Suggs

    Source link

  • Kari Lake’s lawyer apparently doesn’t know how appeals work

    Kari Lake’s lawyer apparently doesn’t know how appeals work

    [ad_1]

    Appellate judges listening to arguments Thursday in Kari Lake’s challenge to her 2022 election loss had to keep reminding her lawyer how appeals courts work. “I’m sure you’re aware we’re not a fact-finding court — we’re a court that decides questions of law, primarily,” Judge Peter Eckerstrom told Kurt Olsen, Lake’s attorney, shortly after he began his arguments. …

    [ad_2]

    Caitlin Sievers | Arizona Mirror

    Source link

  • Kari Lake trumpets endorsement from alleged wife-beater Sonny Borrelli

    Kari Lake trumpets endorsement from alleged wife-beater Sonny Borrelli

    [ad_1]

    U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake on Sunday announced she was endorsed by state Sen. Sonny Borrelli, a Republican with a history of domestic violence and misogyny. In addition to Borrelli’s domestic violence incidents years ago, in March the Lake Havasu City Republican also notoriously suggested that women should put aspirin between their knees as a means of birth control…

    [ad_2]

    TJ L’Heureux

    Source link

  • Trump’s brags on banning abortion could haunt him in Arizona

    Trump’s brags on banning abortion could haunt him in Arizona

    [ad_1]

    If ever there were a case study on shameless right-wing political hypocrisy and opportunism, abortion would be the issue and Arizona would be the setting. And women’s rights over their bodies would be all but marginal in the equation…

    [ad_2]

    Rekha Basu

    Source link

  • Arizona Republicans now regret abortion ban they refused to repeal

    Arizona Republicans now regret abortion ban they refused to repeal

    [ad_1]

    Republican officials in Arizona are denouncing a court ruling on Tuesday that an 1864 ban on abortion in nearly all cases, including cases of rape or incest, is once again state law. But Republicans’ public concern for the ruling from the state Supreme Court is inconsistent with the actions they took to ensure the ruling was possible, wiping out fundamental freedoms for millions of Arizonans…

    [ad_2]

    TJ L’Heureux

    Source link

  • In a First, Arizona Republicans Rush to Dismantle a Total Abortion Ban

    In a First, Arizona Republicans Rush to Dismantle a Total Abortion Ban

    [ad_1]

    Kari Lake is in full retreat.
    Photo: Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

    “Incrementalism” has been a standard feature of anti-abortion activism, both before and since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade. While Roe was in place, many anti-abortion advocates and their Republican allies sought to chip away at abortion rights at the margins with bans on rare late-term abortions and various efforts to make life difficult for abortion providers and their patients. Just before Roe fell in 2022, some red states put into place the kind of limited bans they were used to proposing but then moved as quickly as possible to total or near-total bans that would take effect as soon as SCOTUS green-lit them (known as “trigger laws”). A good example was Florida, where Governor Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers first enacted a 15-week ban when it was clear Roe would fall, then passed a six-week ban the following year.

    As a backlash to abortion restrictions swelled across the country, voters prevented or forced roll-backs of bans wherever they could, even in red states like in Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio. For the most part, however, Republican stayed in the trenches, tried to change the subject, or argued over abstractions like a proposed national abortion ban (impractical so long as enough Democratic senators were in office to kill or filibuster it). But now a court decision in Arizona has created a new phenomenon: Republican politicians at the state level rushing to dismantle a total abortion ban and replace it with something more “moderate.” It’s anti-abortion incrementalism in reverse.

    On Tuesday, a 4-2 majority of the Arizona Supreme Court — all appointed by Republican governors — brushed aside a 15-week abortion ban enacted just prior to the reversal of Roe and instead resurrected a statute dating back to 1864 that outlawed all abortions (other than those performed to save the life of the mother) and imposed criminal penalties on medical providers performing them. So overnight one of the most complete and atavistic abortion bans anywhere descended on this politically competitive state that will be a presidential and Senate battleground in November. Arizona Republicans are in disarray, and in many cases, full retreat.

    Perhaps unsurprisingly, Republicans in competitive congressional districts are already denouncing the court’s decision and the law it revived, as Axios reported:

    Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), who represents a seat President Biden won in 2020, called the ruling a “disaster for women and providers” in a statement posted to social media.

    Ciscomani said the 15-week ban “protected the rights of women and new life,” but the territorial law is “archaic.”

    Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), another Biden-district Republican, said the issue “should be decided by Arizonans, not legislated from the bench,” urging the state legislature to “address this issue immediately.”

    Kelly Cooper, a Republican running to challenge Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), called for the state legislature to “begin work immediately on reinstating” the 15-week ban.

    But the call for a retreat has extended into the heart of MAGA country, as illustrated by U.S. Senate candidate (and narrowly defeated 2022 gubernatorial candidate) Kari Lake, who is also backing restoration of the 15-week ban. And pressure on legislators to kill the 1864 law may soon become intense as prior abortion extremists back-track, suggests the Guardian:

    Some of the criticisms of the Tuesday ruling came from politicians who had previously supported the 1864 ban or cheered the end of Roe v Wade. Lake previously called the ban a “great law”, according to PolitiFact. David Schweikert, an Arizona congressman who is facing one of the most competitive House races in the country this November, said on Tuesday that he does not support the ruling and wants the state legislature to “address this issue immediately”, but in 2022 said the fall of Roe “pleased” him….

    “This is an earthquake that has never been seen in Arizona politics,” said Barrett Marson, a Republican consultant in Arizona, of the decision. “This will shake the ground under every Republican candidate, even those in safe legislative or congressional seats.”

    Hanging over Arizona Republicans and anti-abortion advocates isn’t just the political backlash to the restoration of a total ban, but the high likelihood that the November general election ballot will include a citizen-initiated state constitutional amendment restoring abortion rights as they existed under Roe. If Republicans don’t quickly dial back abortion restrictions, voters may well go further than allowing abortions up to 15 weeks and pregnancy and take down some GOP candidates while they are at it.

    This is a whole new world for the anti-abortion movement and the GOP. It’s not just a matter of being decisively on the wrong side of public opinion nationally and in most states, wherein a majority of voters reject the abolition of abortion rights. It’s that after decades of tactical advances in the fight to put the law of the land behind forced birth policies, they’re now having to engage in tactical retreats. And in November and beyond, voters will have an opportunity to give them a swift kick to continue in that direction indefinitely.

    [ad_2]

    By Ed Kilgore

    Source link

  • Every endorsement in Ruben Gallego, Kari Lake Senate race

    Every endorsement in Ruben Gallego, Kari Lake Senate race

    [ad_1]

    Now that U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has decided not to run for reelection, the race to fill her seat is between two presumptive frontrunners: U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Phoenix Democrat and U.S. Marines veteran, and Kari Lake, a Republican former newscaster who lost the 2022 race for governor. With Sinema out, more organizations have been throwing endorsements over to Gallego, so we decided it was a good time to start tracking endorsements of both candidates…

    [ad_2]

    TJ L’Heureux

    Source link

  • ‘Connect the dots’: Abortion at heart of 2024 elections in Arizona

    ‘Connect the dots’: Abortion at heart of 2024 elections in Arizona

    [ad_1]

    It may come as a surprise to many Arizonans that conservative Republicans played a role in creating one of the state’s first birth control clinics, which later merged with Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of reproductive health care and abortions in the U.S. Mother’s Health Clinic, the first birth control clinic in Phoenix, was opened in 1937 thanks to the work of a group of activist women that included Peggy Goldwater. Over time, a network of clinics developed and became Planned Parenthood of Arizona, providing contraception and abortion services to all women after doing so became legal in 1973…

    [ad_2]

    TJ L’Heureux

    Source link

  • Kari Lake keeps changing her tune on abortion

    Kari Lake keeps changing her tune on abortion

    [ad_1]

    When it comes to messaging on abortion and reproductive rights, U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake appears to be holding fast to an infamous alt-right adage: “Flood the zone with shit.”

    Lake, the fiery loser of the 2022 Arizona governor’s race, is running for the Senate against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego. They both aim to replace Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent who announced on March 5 she won’t run for reelection. Though Lake faces Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb in the July 30 primary, she is considered the frontrunner for the nomination.

    Lake is known for modeling her political brand after former President Donald Trump, who endorsed her and whose Mar-a-Lago residence she tends to haunt. Just like Trump, her political brand seems to demand frequent shifts in messaging, making it difficult for voters and reporters to know her position.

    NBC News, for one, seems to be falling for Lake’s strategy, writing on March 2 that Lake “is seeking to moderate her position” on abortion after she told the news outlet that she doesn’t support a national ban.

    While true on its face, the statement lacks context.

    This isn’t the first time, after all, that Lake has sought to “moderate her position.”

    Before Roe v. Wade’s demise, Lake called the 1864 Arizona law that banned abortion in almost all cases, including rape and incest, a “great law.”

    In January 2022, she tweeted, “ALL Baby Lives Matter — every single heartbeat is a gift from God & we will never stop fighting to protect life. We must make Arizona a Sanctuary State for the unborn.”

    A few months later, she called abortion “the ultimate sin.”

    Her message began oscillating after the landmark Roe v. Wade decision was overturned in June 2022, resulting in a national backlash against strong antiabortion stances. Lake commented in an interview on KTAR’s Mike Broomhead Show that abortion should be “rare and legal,” but soon afterward, Lake spokesperson Ross Trumble had to walk back that statement. Within weeks of a judge ruling that prosecutors could enforce the 1864 near-total ban on abortion, Trumble clarified that Lake did not want any changes to abortion law.

    Whether or not the 1864 law has supremacy over a 2022 law that bans abortion after 15 weeks is being weighed by the Arizona Supreme Court, with a decision expected any day.

    Lake lost the governor’s race to Katie Hobbs in November 2022 by more than 17,000 votes but never conceded, claiming she was the real winner. Lake’s sometimes-extreme stances on abortion likely played a role in her loss.

    click to enlarge

    Supporters of an abortion access ballot measure gathered signatures at the Bigger Than Roe National Women’s March in Phoenix on Jan. 20. Abortion is likely to be a key issue in November elections, including the U.S. Senate race in Arizona.

    Mary Berkstresser

    ‘I haven’t changed, actually’

    While launching her U.S. Senate run on Oct. 10, 2023, Lake seemed to strike a softer tone on abortion. She suggested providing more government assistance to pregnant women so they didn’t feel financial pressure to have an abortion.

    “We gotta get our priorities straight. If we’re gonna be for saving babies’ lives, we gotta be for helping women,” Lake said.

    But weeks later, she couldn’t stick to her new story.

    On Nov. 1, she was asked to explain the evolution of her stance on abortion by an ABC 15 reporter.

    “I haven’t changed, actually,” Lake said.

    More confusion followed.

    In a Feb. 19 interview on KTAR, Lake stated that “I support what the people of Arizona support” concerning the two laws being considered by the Arizona Supreme Court and the ballot initiative that would guarantee a right to abortion if approved in November by voters. She also said she would not vote for a national ban on abortion.

    And who knows what she told wealthy QAnon conspiracy theory backers at a private fundraiser in February, where tickets ranged from $50 to $13,200 per person.

    So, has she changed or hasn’t she?

    With the November election quickly approaching and abortion rights a key issue for Arizona voters, especially with the large pool of independents in the state, it’s no surprise that Lake had to adapt her formerly extreme stance.

    But why draw attention to that change when she may risk losing the loyal, extreme base she has preached to for years?

    If Lake were to win in November’s election, which version of her would show up on the floor of the Senate?

    Gallego, her opponent, has pounced on Lake’s inconsistent rhetoric during stops on the campaign trail, arguing that voters shouldn’t have faith in Lake’s word because of her ever-shifting stance on abortion.

    “How can you trust someone who only months ago was saying it’s OK to arrest providers of abortion care?” Gallego asked at a Feb. 21 event.

    [ad_2]

    TJ L’Heureux

    Source link

  • Kari Lake hugs it out with white nationalist during campaign event

    Kari Lake hugs it out with white nationalist during campaign event

    [ad_1]

    Kari Lake grinned widely and flashed a thumbs up as she posed for a photo March 3 with a far-right political operative who is reportedly a fervent follower and close associate of white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

    A few days before the event for campaign volunteers, Wade Searle, who worked as the digital director for U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar until shortly after he was unmasked as one the “strongest soldiers” for white nationalist leader Nick Fuentes, was standing almost directly behind Lake at a press conference where Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso endorsed her.

    It’s unclear if Searle is working for Lake or what ties he has to her campaign for U.S. Senate.

    Searle was outed by Talking Points Memo in May 2023 as a prominent member of the “groyper” movement, the name for a collection of young white nationalists who use online trolling tactics and aim to normalize extreme and racist views by aligning them with Christianity and so-called “traditional” values. 

    Fuentes, a Holocaust denier and Hitler-loving racist, is largely seen as the leader of the groyper movement, which has a strong presence in Arizona. When Searle was working with Gosar, the congressman often posted memes steeped in white nationalist and neo-Nazi subculture. Searle was also not the only staffer in Gosar’s office with similar views. 

    The Lake campaign did not respond to requests for comment on what role, if any, Searle has within the Lake campaign. Attempts to contact Searle, who has recently been marketing himself as a consultant for conservative political campaigns, were unsuccessful. 

    “It’s troubling but not surprising to see Wade Searle associated with election denier Kari Lake,” Lindsay Schubiner, director of programs with the Western States Center, an extremism watchdog group, said in a statement to the Arizona Mirror. “This is a dangerous strategy intended to normalize and build power for white nationalism. Searle’s latest moves should be yet another reminder to our leaders of the importance of clearly and repeatedly rejecting bigotry and authoritarianism in our politics wherever it appears.” 

    Searle has been posting recently about meeting with other movers and shakers within the conservative movement, such as conservative pundit and promoter of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory Jack Posobiec, who also has white nationalist ties. 

    The former Gosar staffer has tagged groups like Students for Kari in social media posts and prominently displays a hashtag for the group Students for Trump. Questions sent to Students for Trump about Searle’s possible involvement with the organization were unreturned. 

    Searle’s anonymous online persona was found by Talking Points Memo to have given money to Fuentes, made disparaging remarks about Blacks and Jews, and endorsed a conspiracy theory that has inspired multiple mass shooters. 

    At the press conference in which Searle was present, Lake invoked the recent killing of a University of Georgia woman, whose death has become a GOP talking point about immigration policy. Lake called the influx of legal and illegal immigration part of “Biden’s invasion” at the press conference. 

    Lake has also faced criticism for her use of the term “invasion” and other similar rhetoric to describe immigration into the U.S. Lake’s “War Room” account retweeted photos posted by Searle on X, formerly known as Twitter.

    Lake is running in the primary against Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, but is widely viewed as the frontrunner for the nomination. She is expected to face Phoenix Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego in November for the Senate seat now that U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema won’t run for reelection.

    This story was first published by Arizona Mirror, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Follow Arizona Mirror on Facebook and Twitter.

    [ad_2]

    Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror

    Source link

  • Doomed Border-Security Deal Was a Bad Bet for Kyrsten Sinema

    Doomed Border-Security Deal Was a Bad Bet for Kyrsten Sinema

    [ad_1]

    Deal or no deal, Sinema is in trouble.
    Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    Kyrsten Sinema’s claim to fame is that she’s one of those “bipartisan deal-makers” that the Senate periodically produces, particularly in times of divided partisan control of Congress. Some of her Democratic constituents in Arizona tend to believe her wheeling and dealing is a betrayal of the progressive principles she once embraced with wealthy interests the beneficiaries more often than not. It’s no accident that she faced a strong 2024 primary challenge from Congressman Ruben Gallego before changing her partisan self-identification to “independent.”

    Sinema is now approaching various legal and practical deadlines for a 2024 reelection run as an independent. But true to her “brand,” she’s been focused less on Arizona politics than on tense and lengthy Senate negotiations on a border-security deal that has become the condition precedent to passage of a foreign-aid package containing emergency assistance for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. It’s unclear whether she hoped the deal would be a valedictory accomplishment before she retires from the Senate or a trophy that would prove her worth on an issue important to her border state and justify her reelection. If the latter is the case, she may be overestimating voter consciousness of murky inside-the-Beltway machinations, as the Washington Post explains:

    A Republican consultant familiar with the recent internal deliberations within Sinema’s tight-knit circle said that the team’s debate involves one central question: In today’s hyperpartisan environment, do voters value elected officials who bring both sides together to deliver legislation?

    “If she is able to get a border security deal across, do you know she will have accomplished something that hasn’t been done in 30 years as a first-term senator,” the Republican asked. “But do voters even care?”

    Maybe not so much, as limited polling of a projected three-way race showing Sinema trailing Gallego and Republican Kari Lake suggests. Perhaps announcement of a border-security deal could burnish her reputation and remind Arizonans of her rather unique standing in the Senate (with Joe Manchin retiring this year, Sinema really does stand alone in a position between the two parties; she’s always eager to use her leverage no matter how many former allies and current constituents she offends). But the really bad news for this deal-maker is that the deal itself is looking stillborn, as Politico reports:

    As senators returned for a critical two-week sprint in D.C. before a lengthy recess, Republicans are starting to doubt whether the agreement — which would be tied to billions in foreign aid — can pass their chamber. GOP leaders first set out to find a compromise that could win a majority of Republican senators over, but that’s only grown more challenging as conservatives, Speaker Mike Johnson and former President Donald Trump hammer the deal.

    Asked if the agreement appears to be on a path toward passing the Senate, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) replied: “It certainly doesn’t seem like it.”

    “There are a number of our members who say, ‘Well, I’ll join a majority of the Republicans but if it doesn’t enjoy that sort of support, then count me out,’” Cornyn said in an interview. “The whole idea of passing something that the House won’t even take up is another challenge.”

    So Sinema’s investment of precious time in a border-security deal is not going to produce pay dirt, it appears. Theoretically, she could run for reelection not as a regularly successful deal-maker but as a proponent of the spirit of compromise that ought to prevail in Congress but sometimes doesn’t because there just aren’t enough Kyrsten Sinemas in Washington. She has enough cash stored in her campaign account (nearly $11 million) to promote that message, though her fundraising has fallen into a hole and she has made few visible preparations for a tough campaign. Given her past Democratic affiliation and its own strong preference for incumbents, it’s possible Sinema could still get financial and logistical support from the Senate’s Democratic campaign committee, but if (as appears to be the case right now) Gallego looks like a better bet to keep Kari Lake out of the Senate, her former friends in that chamber will drop her decisively.

    No one pretends to know Sinema’s plans for the rest of this year, but Arizona is going to be a red-hot battleground for both parties in the presidential and Senate contests, and her eccentric style of politics could clash with fierce partisan polarization. It’s a bad sign for her that she is dithering about running for reelection and can’t get visible results in the Senate. The odds are good that she will follow Manchin into retirement.


    See All



    [ad_2]

    Ed Kilgore

    Source link

  • Arizona Republicans Relentlessly Boo Kari Lake On Home Turf Following Scandal

    Arizona Republicans Relentlessly Boo Kari Lake On Home Turf Following Scandal

    [ad_1]

    Arizona Republicans let Kari Lake have it this weekend as they hurled boos and jeers her way at a state GOP meeting following a scandal involving her and the now-former head of the state’s party.

    The brutal reaction arrived following the resignation of Arizona GOP chairman Jeff DeWit after leaked audio appeared to show him pressing Lake, a Trump-endorsed election denier running for a U.S. Senate seat, to stay out of office.

    DeWit claimed that the conversation was “selectively edited” and denied that he asked her to not run for office after she lost in the state’s gubernatorial race back in 2022.

    Lake, who has been rumored as a vice presidential pick for former President Donald Trump, spoke at the Arizona Republican Party meeting where she nominated the Trump-backed Gina Swoboda to replace DeWit before she got hit with a sea of boos on Saturday.

    “We don’t agree on everything but one thing we do agree on is the elections in Arizona are a corrupt mess. Can we agree that our elections are a mess in Arizona?” Lake told the crowd.

    “You did it,” one audience member yelled in response.

    You can watch more of the clip, shared by the Washington Post’s Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, below.

    Related…

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Kari Lake Gets Booed At Arizona Republican Convention

    Kari Lake Gets Booed At Arizona Republican Convention

    [ad_1]






    Failed gubernatorial candidate/Senate candidate Kari Lake was booed at the Arizona Republican convention when she claimed Arizona elections are corrupt.

    Lake said, “We don’t agree on everything. But one thing we can agree on is the elections in Arizona are a corrupt mess. Can we agree that the elections in Arizona are a corrupt mess? ”

    (Crowd boos)

    Lake continues, “No? I know that more than anybody, and President Trump knows that more than everybody, this election is about making sure that our elections in 2024 are run fairly.

    Video:

    There are a lot of Republicans, especially in swing states, who realize that the stolen election nonsense that is being pushed by Trump and Lake is costing the GOP elections.

    It is very possible that Kari Lake will finish third in the likely three way Senate race in Arizona. Lake can’t even make it through the Arizona Republican convention without getting booed. It is difficult to see how she is going to be able to get enough support to be the next senator from Arizona. The polling in both Iowa and New Hampshire suggests that there a sizable number of Republicans who are tired of the Trump show and want to move on.

    Kari Lake getting booed is just another sign that Trump and his crew are reaching the end of the line.

    A Special Message From PoliticusUSA

    If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here. 

    We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value.










    [ad_2]

    Jason Easley

    Source link