Georgia Republicans Shelve Redistricting As Anger Grows
Center Left
The leaders of the Georgia legislature pulled the plug on gerrymandering away U.S. House seats held by Black Democrats just hours before a special session was to begin.
Senator Bill Cassidy attacks ‘worst foreign policy blunder in decades’ while others in his party skeptical over peace dealA handful of Senate Republicans have sharply criticized the agreement Donald Trump reached with Iran, accusing the administration of committing “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades”.On Wednesday, the Trump administration released the text of an interim deal between Washington and Tehran to end the 110-day conflict, framing it as a “major win” for the US – even as the 14-point accord made significant political and financial concessions to Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz and prevent a “worldwide depression”. Continue reading...
President Trump defended a memorandum of understanding (MOU) released Wednesday that ends the war with Iran, even as he suggested it may not be “permanent” during a press conference from the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Évian-les-Bains, France. The president noted other G7 members backed the end of the war, arguing it was…
Democrats celebrated a small victory in Georgia on Wednesday as GOP leaders shelved plans to redraw the state's congressional maps for the 2028 elections. But they're warning the battle is far from won.Why it matters: Republicans hit pause on their plans amid fear that a redraw before November could energize Democratic voters, but Dems are trying to manifest that energy anyways.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), in a statement to Axios, said his party "will continue to keep the pressure on until the MAGA power grab is defeated and the American people prevail.""Georgia Republicans know that MAGA extremists will face a fierce backlash at the ballot box in November and beyond for their scheme to rig congressional maps in the middle of the decade," he said.Driving the news: Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns wrote in a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday that redistricting "deserves the same responsible, fact-driven approach that guides every policy we consider as lawmakers."As such, he said, the legislature would not attempt to redraw Georgia's congressional or state legislative lines at this year's special session.Kemp, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and other prominent GOP figures had pushed to draw out as many Democratic House members as possible ahead of 2028 after the Supreme Court weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in April.Reality check: Even though Georgia Republicans are putting their redistricting efforts on pause for this year, they could still take them up at a later date."This fight is not over," state Rep. Jasmine Clark, the Democratic nominee in Georgia's 13th U.S. House district, warned in a statement on Wednesday.Still, she said, "This redistricting special session was completely unnecessary and I'm happy that Republican leaders are saying no to redrawing lines.""The massive wave of mobilization that brought this victory is just a preview of what is to come in November," said Georgia Democratic Party chair Charlie Bailey.
Lawmakers cite rushed timeline and public input despite pressure to redraw districts after supreme court opinionGeorgia Republicans declined to redraw the state’s congressional map during a special session, citing a rushed timeline and incomplete understanding of the ramifications of a recent US supreme court decision that effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act.“We believe that it’s important to do things the Georgia way, responsibly, transparently, and with ample opportunity for public input,” said Jon Burns, the Georgia house speaker. Continue reading...
State lawmakers told Gov. Brian Kemp, who called them into a special session, that they didn’t have enough time to draw new maps that would have taken effect for the 2028 elections.
In a blitz of media appearances on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance took friendly fire from the hosts at Fox & Friends and Gutfeld!, and some not-so-friendly fire from the hosts of The View. On the surface, Vance was trying to drum up interest in his new book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, […]
A Democrat-aligned lawfare outfit filed a lawsuit on behalf of a pair of anti-Trump protesters earlier this month in the hope of shutting down the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House South Lawn last Sunday.Evidently, the Public Integrity Project and activist plaintiffs were not the only ones keen to rain on President Donald Trump's parade.'The landscape has changed.'The FBI announced on Tuesday that an alleged assassination plot targeting the UFC event was uncovered on June 10 and ultimately thwarted thanks to a timely phone call from a concerned mother and the rapid action of local and federal law enforcement agencies.Five men have been charged in the alleged plot to assassinate "high value targets" at the UFC event: Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio; Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa, California; Michael Alan Thomas 32, of Pinon Hills, California; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Missouri; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska.According to the Justice Department, the suspects' plan consisted of two parts: First, they would use explosive drones in and around the event to prompt an evacuation; and second, they would deploy snipers to assassinate specific individuals within the fleeing crowd. In addition to the estimated 4,300 people present for the invite-only event on the South Lawn, there were roughly 85,000 additional people gathered nearby during the back-to-back fights.One of the suspects, Michael Thomas, allegedly discussed the four "tiers" of this anti-government plot: the first being the gunmen on the ground; the second being the drivers and drone operators; the third being logistical suppliers; and the fourth being social media suppliers.In addition to allegedly advocating for jail breaks for surviving tier 1 members in the aftermath of the planned attack, Thomas allegedly underscored the need for suspects to train for "gorilla [sic] style warfare."Another suspect, Daniel Eskridge, allegedly proposed that they form "5 teams of 3 each team consisting of 1 sniper, 1 tier one operator as support/ look out, [and] one drone operator."RELATED: James Comey-style 'threat' against Trump apparently etched into National Mall grass Screenshots of messages and maps on a suspect's phone and a photo of another suspect's equipment. Justice Department.Another suspect, Alvarez, allegedly suggested that snipers could escape to the Potomac River after taking their shots and identified an old church in Nebraska as a potential safe house.Multiple federal complaints filed in relation to the case across the country allege that Tycen C. Proper told investigators that the ball got rolling on the plan around March. While there were apparently more individuals involved in the discussions at the outset — roughly 19 — Proper allegedly claimed that the more serious plotters migrated their conversations to an encrypted chat app.The FBI alleged beyond amassing firearms, ammunition, and tactical gear at his Ohio home, Proper identified multiple targets, including multiple members of Congress and business executives.According to an affidavit submitted with Proper's complaint, the Ohio suspect proposed the following lawmakers as targets: Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Jim Justice (W.Va.), and Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), and Republican Representatives for West Virginia Carol Miller and Riley Moore.The targets were allegedly chosen in part because of their perceived coziness with the Israeli lobby.Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Elon Musk's names were also allegedly floated as targets in the suspects' conversations.The affidavit indicates that the alleged plot — the purpose of which was to "jumpstart" a revolution in the United States — was foiled thanks to the vigilance of Proper's mother, who called law enforcement on the evening of June 10, expressing concerns about her son's recent conduct, including his firearm purchases and communications online.The Knox County Sheriff's Office and Danville Police Department arrived 20 minutes later and soon learned from Proper's father that the teen, who lived at home, was allegedly planning "recons" with individuals he met online; planning to leave to meet up with those individuals on the weekend of June 13; had spent roughly $3,000 of his graduation money to purchase camping gear, firearms, ammunition, plate carriers, and food; and had quit his job recently in preparation for his big excursion.The following day, the Knox County Sheriff's Office got the FBI involved.If convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, each of the defendants faces a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. They each face an additional five years in prison apiece if convicted of conspiracy to commit violence on the White House grounds."The FBI, our law enforcement partners and our U.S.
