Months after suspending her presidential campaign and declining to endorse the presumptive GOP nominee, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley came out yesterday in support of former President Donald Trump.
![Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley announces that she would vote for former President Donald Trump during an event at the Hudson Institute in Washington on May 22, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F05%2F22%2Fid5655489-Nikki-Haley-GettyImages-2154198864-1200x800.jpeg&w=1200&q=75)
While she criticized both Trump and President Joe Biden on policy, such as adding to the national debt, she said that the current Oval Office occupant “has been a catastrophe” and therefore she “will be voting for Trump.”
Nonetheless, Haley reiterated a key point she made in her March speech announcing the end of her campaign.
“Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me and not assume that they’re just going to be with him,” she said. “And I genuinely hope he does that.”
The remarks were made at a speech at the Hudson Institute think tank. It was her Haley’s first public appearance since dropping out of the 2024 race.
During her campaign, Haley said Trump was “not qualified” to be back in the Oval Office.
Trump has said that Haley is not under consideration to be his running mate, but he wishes “her well.”
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who was the first member of Congress and one of the few lawmakers to endorse Haley, celebrated the news of Haley coming out in support of Trump.
“Great news. I’m excited about what she’s doing,” he told The Epoch Times.
Norman said he has been telling Trump to pick Haley as his running mate because, despite suspending her campaign, Haley has continued to amass a sizable plurality of votes in the GOP primary, especially in key states such as Michigan.
Last week, Ms. Haley notched 20 percent of the vote in the Maryland Republican primary and 18 percent in Nebraska. Earlier this month, she won 22 percent in the Indiana GOP primary.
Trump has dismissed the continued support for Haley, saying those voters will ultimately cast their votes for him in November.
Reacting to Haley’s announcement, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a staunch Trump supporter, said, “Just because she endorsed him doesn’t mean that we will ever endorse her thinking.”
—Jackson Richman
![WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 25: Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. Senate Republicans held the news conference to discuss the ongoing negotiations between the House, Senate and White House over the national debt ceiling. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F12%2F26%2Fid5553640-GettyImages-1459434438-1200x800.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
SCOTT ANNOUNCES LEADER BID
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) confirmed Wednesday that he would be pursuing his party’s blessing to be Senate Republicans’ leader during the upcoming 119th Congress.
“I am running to be the next Senate Republican leader,” Scott announced in a post on X.
“I believe that our voters want us to use this leadership election to make a choice to upend the status quo in Washington,” Scott said in a letter to colleagues. “If you also believe this to be true and want a leader dedicated to that principle, I would be honored to have the opportunity to earn your support.”
Scott throws his hat into the ring with two other Republicans vying to replace outgoing Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) are also seeking the job. Sen. John Barasso (R-Wyo.) also planned on running, but ultimately decided to pursue the No. 2 job as Republican whip instead.
Thune and Cornyn are seen as representing a more establishment, moderate wing of the Senate GOP caucus, while Scott trends toward the right of the conference.
McConnell, who’s led the conference as both a minority and majority leader since 2007, announced earlier this year that he would be stepping down.
The announcement came after two significant health scares during which the longtime GOP leader, who is 82 years old, froze for several seconds while speaking. McConnell nevertheless plans to finish out his term as a senator, which ends in January 2027.
His departure from leadership sets the stage for a showdown among Senate Republicans such as they haven’t seen since President George W. Bush occupied the Oval Office.
Traditionally, these elections are held in November and are done among the conference by secret ballot, including the votes of new and incoming freshmen senators.
During the most recent election, which was held in November 2022, Scott challenged McConnell for the top spot.
Scott received only 10 votes to McConnell’s 37 votes, with one senator voting present.
That could be a bad sign for Scott.
Thune, who currently serves in the No. 2 spot as whip, is favored by some to win the post, as he has close ties to the outgoing Republican leader and could be seen by the caucus as providing continuity in leadership during the next Congress.
Even if he received an endorsement from Trump, who holds less sway in the upper chamber than in the lower, it’s unclear if Scott could dramatically increase his vote share over what he received in 2022.
—Joseph Lord
CRYPTO, BORDER BILLS
Congress is at work this week on two major pieces of legislation related to cryptocurrency and border security.
The first of these, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT 21) Act, would represent the federal government’s first serious foray into regulating cryptocurrency.
The bill passed the House yesterday in a bipartisan 279–136 vote, with most opposition coming from Democrats.
The bill, if passed as is, would grant the Commodity Futures Trading Commission primary jurisdiction over the crypto sector, effectively sidelining the Securities and Exchange Commission.
However, it’s unclear if that’ll happen, as the White House has expressed opposition to the legislation.
That said, officials said in a statement ahead of the vote that they are “eager to work with Congress to ensure a comprehensive and balanced regulatory framework for digital assets.”
In a letter urging their colleagues to pass the bill, a contingent of eight Democrats urged their colleagues to move forward with the bill “to prevent the next FTX by giving regulators increased power over digital asset firms.”
“It’s past time for Congress to act,” the letter states. “The U.S. is falling behind other jurisdictions.”
Any regulation into cryptocurrency will face pushback from cryptocurrency users, as the system was originally designed as an unregulated alternative to central bank-controlled traditional currency.
Meanwhile, the Senate is prepping for a second vote today on a proposed border security package that was rejected by the Senate in a 49-50 vote in February that included bipartisan opposition.
Now, the bill seems poised to fail by even larger margins as more lawmakers abandon ship.
During its initial vote in February, four Republicans—Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)—supported advancing it past a procedural vote.
Now, Lankford, who negotiated the bill, says he’s gonna oppose it.
Romney suggested the same.
“At this stage, it’s a little political game that leader Schumer is playing and I presume I’ll vote no, but I haven’t really, given that a lot of thought,” Romney told The Epoch Times.
Collins has indicated to reporters that her support for advancing the measure would require that Republicans have the chance to offer amendments.
But despite Democrats’ efforts to blame Republicans for the earlier collapse of the border bill, four Democrats also opposed it.
Last time, Democrat Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats—opposed the measure.
Now, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has added his name to that list, citing the bill’s tightening of conditions to receive asylum and lack of legislative protections for Dreamers.
Thus, the bill is seen as all but guaranteed to fail again due to widespread GOP opposition.
The vote comes amid a PR war between Republicans and Democrats over whose credentials on border security are stronger: both parties are accusing the other of politicizing the highly-politicized issue.
—Joseph Lord
BOOKMARKS
Biden has announced that he is canceling another $7.7 billion in student loan debt. The majority of those eligible for the latest round of loan forgiveness, around $5.2 billion of the total, will be government and NGO workers.
Republican lawmakers are alleging that Hunter Biden lied under oath to Congress multiple times. The accusations stem from his testimony regarding influence peddling that may have occurred while Joe Biden was Vice President.
The Senate has voted to repeal a Biden administration rule that would have eliminated many gas stoves by 2032. The rule would have required many households to upgrade to more efficient gas stoves and furnaces, or switch to electric.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for an early election on July 4. The move comes as a surprise to some, since Sunak’s conservative party is thought to be polling behind the opposition by double digits..
Body cam footage was released showing five Israeli female soldiers being captured by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack. The footage was released by the hostages’ families in an effort to raise awareness of Hamas’ brutality.