Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis picks Ashley Moody to replace Marco Rubio in Senate
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(WASHINGTON) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that he is replacing Marco Rubio in the Senate with the state’s attorney general, Ashley Moody.
“This is a time for action and a time for Washington D.C. to deliver results to the American people,” DeSantis said at a news conference near Orlando. “There are no more excuses for Republicans.”
Rubio, who has served in the Senate since 2010, has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be secretary of state. Rubio was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing, during which he was pressed on Trump’s foreign policy goals.
DeSantis’ pick will serve the remaining two years of Rubio’s term.
Moody, 49, was a federal prosecutor and circuit court judge before she was elected in 2018 to serve as Florida’s attorney general.
DeSantis praised her as someone who has “stood strong time and time again” on Republican priorities on the economy, immigration and more. He noted her actions against the Biden administration on border policy, specifically, as attorney general.
“She understands the gravity of the moment,” he said. “We may not have an opportunity like this in the near future. This is a once-in-a-decade, maybe even once-in-a-generation opportunity, and this current Congress is ultimately going to determine whether we do usher in that revival of the American experiment or is just going to be status quo, passing the buck and nothing ever changes.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is scheduled to meet with President-elect Donald Trump on Friday, a spokesperson for the mayor said, marking his latest correspondence with the incoming administration as he also faces federal bribery charges.
The two will sit down ahead of Trump’s inauguration to “discuss New Yorkers’ priorities,” the mayor’s spokesperson, Fabien Levy, said in a statement on Thursday.
“Mayor Adams has made quite clear his willingness to work with President-elect Trump and his incoming administration on behalf of New Yorkers — and that partnership with the federal government is critical to New York City’s success,” Levy said. “The mayor looks forward to having a productive conversation with the incoming president on how we can move our city and country forward.”
Last month, Adams, a Democrat, met with incoming border czar Tom Homan to discuss their plans to remove what the mayor said were violent undocumented immigrants.
While discussing the closed-door meeting at a news conference last month, Adams said the city is going to “protect the rights of immigrants who are hard-working and giving back to the city in a positive way.” The mayor repeatedly said that he and Homan agreed that they do not share the same courtesy for immigrants who he says commit violent crimes.
“We will not be a safe haven for those who commit violent acts. We don’t do it for those who are citizens and we are not going to do it for undocumented citizens,” Adams said.
The mayor was indicted on federal bribery and fraud charges in September. He has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to the five-count indictment, which alleged he accepted luxury travel in exchange for political favors.
The mayor has the backing of Trump, who has claimed Adams was unjustly charged by federal prosecutors and has said he would “take a look” at a pardon for him.
“I think that he was treated pretty unfairly,” Trump said of Adams during a press briefing last month.
The president-elect suggested the charges were retribution for the mayor speaking out against migrants flooding into the country.
“It’s very interesting when he essentially went against what was happening with the migrants coming in,” Trump said. “And, you know, he made some pretty strong statements like ‘This is not sustainable.’ I said, ‘You know what? He’ll be indicted soon.’ And I said it. That is a prediction, a little bit lightheartedly, but I said it. I said, ‘He’s going to be indicted.’ And a few months later he got indicted. So I would certainly look at it.”
Last week, federal prosecutors said in a court filing that the FBI had uncovered “additional criminal conduct” by Adams. They did not elaborate but have said in prior court hearings a superseding indictment is “likely” in the mayor’s criminal case.
Alex Spiro, the mayor’s lawyer, said in response it was “amateur hour” and that the government is “just looking for a headline instead of doing the right thing. I assume we are at the point where New Yorkers are not falling for it.”
Adams, who was elected in 2021, is the first sitting New York City mayor to ever face charges. He is scheduled to stand trial in April.
ABC News’ Ivan Pereira, Aaron Katersky, Lalee Ibssa and Selina Wang contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The House is expected to vote Thursday night on whether to force the Ethics Committee to release the report from its investigation of former Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Democratic Rep. Sean Casten‘s privileged resolution requires the Ethics Committee to release its report on Gaetz. Casten introduced an updated privileged resolution Tuesday which included several previous examples of the committee releasing reports on former members of Congress. Another from Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen requires the committee to preserve all documents related to Gaetz.
Republican leadership is expected to introduce a motion to table and effectively kill the measures, but it wasn’t clear Thursday afternoon if that effort would be successful — it would take only a handful of Republicans to cross party lines and vote with Democrats to force the committee to release the report.
The Ethics Committee was investigating allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift.
If the motion to table the effort fails, the chamber will take a vote on whether to release the Gaetz report.
The floor vote will come after the bipartisan Ethics Committee meets Thursday afternoon, when the 10-member panel will discuss the report. During the last meeting in November, Republican committee members blocked the release of the Gaetz report.
Johnson has consistently said the Gaetz ethics report should not be released to the public, citing a longstanding tradition of dropping investigations after a member leaves Congress. Gaetz resigned abruptly last month after President-elect Donald Trump announced him as his selection for attorney general. He later withdrew from consideration after it became clear he was facing an uphill climb from both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, which would vote whether to confirm his nomination.
Democrats pushed for the report’s release after Trump’s announcement, saying it was relevant to the Senate’s consideration of him for attorney general. Even though Gaetz withdrew, Democrats decided to continue their effort.
Gaetz was reelected to the 119th Congress before Trump picked him for AG, but he announced after his withdrawal that he would not serve another term. He pledged that he remains “fully committed” to assisting the president-elect.
Gaetz has since been selling private videos on Cameo, a website where users can purchase a personalized video message from from celebrities.
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(PORT SAID, Egypt) — The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman collided with a large merchant vessel Wednesday night in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea.
“The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M at approximately 11:46 p.m. local time, Feb. 12, while operating in the vicinity of Port Said, Egypt, in the Mediterranean Sea,” a statement from the U.S Navy’s Sixth Fleet said.
The collision involved a rare collision of two large vessels as the 100,000-ton aircraft carrier collided with the 53,000-ton merchant vessel Besiktas-M, a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship.
There are no reports of injuries, nor is there flooding, aboard the carrier, which carries a crew of 5,000 sailors, and the incident is under investigation.
The Truman is powered by two nuclear reactors and four propulsion systems, and the Sixth Fleet’s statement said the ship’s propulsion plants were unaffected and were said to be in “a safe and stable condition.”
The aircraft carrier and its strike group had been operating in the Red Sea since mid-December as part of the mission to thwart Houthi militant attacks launched from Yemen at commercial vessels transiting the vital waterway.
The carrier had arrived at a naval base in Crete earlier in the week, a rare break for the strike group that has been in constant operations, though the pace had ebbed as Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas took effect in mid-January.
The Houthis have claimed their attacks on shipping were being carried out in support of Hamas.
