Trump endorses House Speaker Mike Johnson amid Republican infighting
Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump on Monday threw his support behind Speaker Mike Johnson amid a fight over the House gavel that will culminate in a vote at the end of the week.
“Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man,” Trump wrote at the end of a lengthy social media post. “He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement.”
In the same post, Trump boasted about his successful 2024 White House run, praising Republicans for running a “legendary” campaign while railing against President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
He urged Republicans to “not blow” an opportunity for a “relief” from the outgoing administration — calling for Republicans to support Johnson.
Johnson, who faced pushback from members of his own party over his leadership during the recent government shutdown fight, thanked Trump for his endorsement.
“I’m honored and humbled by your support, as always,” Johnson wrote on X. “Together, we will quickly deliver on your America First agenda and usher in the new golden age of America. The American people demand and deserve that we waste no time. Let’s get to work.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Merrick Garland informed Congress in a letter Wednesday that special counsel Jack Smith has concluded his investigations into President-elect Donald Trump.
Garland informed members of Congress — as required by internal department regulations — that at no time did he interfere in to overrule Smith during the process of his investigation, according to the letter released by the Department of Justice.
Garland also acknowledged in the letter that at this time he is currently barred by district Judge Aileen Cannon from releasing the report outside of the Justice Department, but intends to make Volume One of the report regarding Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election available to the public once he is “permitted to do so” by the courts.
Garland further confirmed he plans to make available the volume of the report pertaining to Trump’s classified documents case available to leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees for closed-door review as soon as the 11th Circuit permits him to do so.
Volume Two will not be released as of yet due to ongoing court proceedings against Trump’s co-defendants.
“Consistent with local court rules and Department policy, and to avoid any risk of prejudice to defendants Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, whose criminal cases remain pending, I have determined, at the recommendation of the Special Counsel, that Volume Two should not be made public so long as those defendants’ criminal proceedings are ongoing,” Garland wrote.
He continued, “I have determined that once those criminal proceedings have concluded, releasing Volume Two of the Report to you and to the public would also be in the public interest, consistent with law and Department policy.”
The letter was addressed to Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Jamie Raskin, D-Md.
Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, President of Mexico, speaks during the National Agreement for the Human Right to Water and Sustainability, held at the Ecological Park of Xochimilco. on November 25, 2024 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo credit should read Carlos Santiago/ Pixelnews/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday. The call took place two days after he announced that he planned to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico on his first day in the White House.
Trump called the conversation “wonderful” and “very productive” in a post on Truth Social, saying the two leaders talked about the border control and how to combat the flow of illegal drugs — but these topical conversation points may be the only things on which the two could entirely agree.
Earlier in the day, Sheinbaum confirmed that she had spoken with Trump, and that they did discuss the shared border, writing on X: “I had an excellent conversation with President Donald Trump. We discussed Mexico’s strategy on the migration phenomenon and I shared that caravans are not arriving at the northern border because they are being taken care of in Mexico.”
But Trump went further, proclaiming that the Mexican president “agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border.”
In a follow-up post, he added, “Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately. THIS WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE USA.”
Sheinbaum then appeared to directly contradict the president-elect’s account of the conversation, posting on X: “In our conversation with President Trump, I explained to him the comprehensive strategy that Mexico has followed to address the migration phenomenon, respecting human rights. Thanks to this, migrants and caravans are assisted before they reach the border. We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples.”
Trump and Sheinbaum both also concur that they spoke about stemming the flow of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, into the U.S.
Sheinbaum wrote on X that they “discussed strengthening collaboration on security issues within the framework of our sovereignty and the campaign we are carrying out in the country to prevent the consumption of fentanyl.”
And following their call, Trump announced on Truth Social that part of his plan to address the fentanyl epidemic in the U.S. will be a large advertising campaign.
“I will be working on a large scale United States Advertising Campaign, explaining how bad Fentanyl is for people to use – Millions of lives being so needlessly destroyed,” Trump wrote. “By the time the Campaign is over, everyone will know how really bad the horror of this Drug is.”
The call was arranged after Trump this week announced plans to slap tariffs on Mexico, as well as Canada and China, in an effort to stem illegal border crossings and stop the flow of drugs entering the U.S.
On Tuesday, Sheinbaum fired back, warning him not to start a trade war that she said would hurt the U.S.
“President Trump, it is not with threats nor with tariffs that migration and drug consumption in the U.S. will be dealt with,” Sheinbaum said at a press conference, reading from a letter she’d written to Trump. “These great challenges require cooperation and mutual understanding.”
She also disputed Trump’s claims about migration and drugs, and she blamed the U.S. for Mexico’s drug war — pointing to U.S. consumption and American guns.
“We don’t make guns, we don’t consume synthetic drugs. Those killed by crime to meet the demand for drugs in your country are unfortunately our responsibility,” she said.
The swift rebuke was a departure from Sheinbaum’s mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had a chummy relationship with Trump during his first term.
When Trump similarly threatened tariffs on Mexico and to shut the border in 2018, the two men negotiated a deal to beef up Mexican immigration enforcement with U.S. support, reducing the numbers at the border — and Trump dropped his threats.
(WASHINGTON) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday to lead the Department of Health and Human Services saw senators question the environmental lawyer about his views on vaccines, abortion, pesticides and even Lyme disease.
Senators asked Kennedy about views he has frequently promoted on vaccines that are at odds with the consensus of public health researchers and the mainstream scientific community, despite saying he is “supportive of vaccines” on Wednesday.
The nominee was also questioned about his past comments, including claiming that pesticides cause children to become transgender.
Additionally, senators asked Kennedy about comments he made in support of abortion rights when he was a registered Democrat and a 2024 presidential candidate in contrast with recent comments, supporting President Donald Trump’s views and believing that laws regulating the procedure should be left up to the states.
Here are a few medical claims made by Kennedy that are missing context or include falsehoods:
Claim: CDC approved COVID-19 vaccines “without any scientific basis.”
Context: COVID vaccines are among the most studied accines in history, with large clinical studies showing the health benefits far exceed any potential risks.
Claim: Kennedy says he had nothing to do with the measles outbreak in American Samoa
Context: The 2019 measles outbreak led to more than 5,700 cases and 83 deaths. The Ministry of Health cited Kennedy’s visit and rhetoric as exacerbating vaccine hesitancy at a crucial moment
Claim: Kennedy: ‘I probably did say, Lyme disease is “highly likely a militarily engineered bioweapon”‘
Context: Lyme disease is caused by a type of bacteria and spreads through the bite of blacklegged ticks
Claim: Kennedy says he has never claimed pesticides lead children to become transgender
Context: Kennedy has repeatedly suggested environmental toxins, including those in drinking water, are linked to gender identify in children. These claims are unfounded.
Claim Sen. James Lankford: The FDA has discouraged people from submitting safety reports about abortion medication mifepristone unless the person died.
Context: Anyone is welcome to submit a safety report on any medication using a publicly available database.
