INSIDE D.C. WITH JOHN GIZZI NEWSMAX WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT
4th Term for Abbott • After signing legislation to make illegal immigration a crime and repeatedly highlighting the plight of massive crossovers at the southern border to nationwide audiences, Gov. Greg Abbott is now expected to seek an unprecedented fourth term in 2026. “He’s OK, but we could do better,” is how one longtime conservative activist from San Antonio described Abbott, saying he could have taken strong measures at the border much earlier and that many Republicans would prefer Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as their nominee. Conservative fi rebreather
Patrick recently suggested that in retaliation for Democrats trying to remove Donald Trump from diff erent state ballots for the Jan. 6, 2021, incident, Republicans should try to get Joe Biden off the ballot for what he called “treason” — failing to protect the borders from people crossing into the U.S. illegally.
Obama Legacy • Veterans of Barack Obama’s administration privately grumble that the 44th president is not living up to the accomplishments of his predecessors after they left the White House. Contrasting the work of the Carter Center and the Clinton Foundation, Obama alumni are hoping and expecting their old
42 NEWSMAX | FEBRUARY 2024
boss will launch something similar in 2024. One cause that Obama might embrace, they say, is as mediator for African countries in civil war (Sudan) or confl ict with one another (Rwanda and the Congo). Despite a record of involvement in Africa that was modest in comparison to that of predecessor George W. Bush, Obama is still, his past associates point out, the only president who is the son of an African immigrant and would be listened to anywhere in the continent.
Ranked Choice Repeal • Conservative Republicans in Alaska are confi dent that they have more than enough signatures to put repeal of the state’s controversial ranked choice voting system on the November 2024 ballot. Organizers note that as of the end of ’23, they were actually exceeding the required number of signatures for ballot access in six election districts: In District 24, supporters needed 560 signatures and got 930; in District 25, the need was 586 and supporters turned in 811. In 2020, Alaskans barely
enacted the ranked choice system, which ends party primaries and permits the second choices of voters to be counted if no candidate wins a majority. The change in system
was key to moderate GOP
Sen. Lisa Murkowski being reelected over conservative challenger Kelly Tshibaka in 2022.
Labor Pick • Conservatives who want a Republican president to have an ample pile of resumes upon taking offi ce are keeping a special focus
on the Labor Department. Mentioned increasingly
as a potential Secretary of Labor is Kate O’Scannlain, solicitor at the Labor Department under Donald Trump and well-known for fi ghting anti-business abuses by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Ronna’s Retirement
• During the GOP primary the Republican National Committee and its longest-serving chair, Ronna Romney McDaniel, have become major targets of conservative angst. Although McDaniel was reelected to her fourth term in 2022, candidate Vivek Ramaswamy took her to task for the GOP’s low- rated primary debates, which didn’t draw Donald Trump and millions of his followers. Others noted her lackluster results for the party in 2018 (when the GOP lost Congress), in 2020 (lost the presidency and Congress), in 2022 (winning the House with the slimmest of majorities), and in 2023 (losing in key races, including the failed attempt to win back the Virginia legislature). It is no surprise fed- up donors have stopped giving to the RNC. Now RNC sources tell me Ronna will resign sometime this year, with many urging her to do so before the party’s Milwaukee convention in August. Likely GOP nominee Trump will be the key decider in who replaces McDaniel. Expect it to be a person with strong MAGA credentials.
SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100
