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After DC bomb scare, Rep. Mo Brooks sympathetic for ‘citizenry anger’

In this file photo dated January 6, 2021, Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ark., Speaks in Washington at a rally in support of President Donald Trump known as the “Save America Rally”.

Jacquelyn Martin | AP

Republican MP Mo Brooks responded Thursday to a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of numerous buildings on Capitol Hill by saying he understood “civil anger against dictatorial socialism”.

The statement quickly drew heavy criticism of Brooks, who voted to overturn President Joe Biden’s election and is facing a lawsuit from California Democratic MP Eric Swalwell accusing him of contributing to the deadly invasion of the Capitol on January 6 to have.

“Tell us you’re on the terrorist’s side without telling us you’re on the terrorist’s side,” Swalwell wrote on Twitter in response to Brooks’ testimony.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, described Brooks’ testimony in a Twitter post as “nasty”. Kinzinger was one of the few Republicans who voted for the impeachment of former President Donald Trump for invading the Capitol.

49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry, the alleged bomb threat, surrendered and was taken into custody by police outside the Library of Congress after an hour-long standoff where he claimed to have explosives in his truck.

In social media videos posted on Facebook, Roseberry repeatedly referred to a “revolution” and asked Biden to send someone to speak to him.

Brooks said in his statement that “although the motivations of this terrorist are not yet publicly known … in general I understand the anger of citizens directed at dictatorial socialism and its threats to liberty, liberty and the fabric of American society . “

He added that the way to stop socialism is to have “patriotic Americans” fight back in the coming election cycles.

“I strongly encourage patriotic Americans to do just that, more than ever. Frankly, America’s future is in jeopardy,” said Brooks.

Brooks, a member of the Alabama House of Representatives who has been running for the Senate since 2011, had negotiated with Trump in late 2020 about ways to overturn Biden’s election victory in the electoral college.

On January 6, when Congress was due to meet in the Capitol to confirm Biden’s victory, Brooks spoke nearby at a Trump-organized rally calling on Republicans to reject the election results.

At the “Stop the Steal” rally, Brooks urged a crowd of Trump supporters to “start by name and kick the ass”. Trump, in his own speech, urged the crowd to march to the Capitol: “If you don’t fight like hell, you will have no more land,” he said.

Shortly after Congress convened to confirm Biden’s victory, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, derailed the process and forced lawmakers to flee their chambers and go into hiding. Since then, more than 500 arrests have been made in connection with the Capitol Rebellion.

In March, Swalwell filed a civil lawsuit against Brooks and Trump, as well as Donald Trump Jr. and former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, accusing them of “being wholly responsible for the injuries and destruction caused by the mob.”

Brooks has asked a judge to dismiss him as a defendant on the lawsuit, partially saying that his speech at the January 6 rally was given as part of his membership in Congress.

Thursday’s bomb threat forced the evacuation of the Library of Congress as well as the Supreme Court, the Cannon House office building and the offices of the Republican National Committee. Congress was on hiatus so there were fewer people on the hill.

Police negotiators began communicating with Roseberry, and snipers took up positions around the truck. He finally got out of his pickup truck, which was parked on the sidewalk in front of the government building, and surrendered without resistance, police said.

US Capitol Police chief Tom Manger said Roseberry appeared to have been grappling with the recent loss of family members as well as “other issues he has faced.”

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Maya Wiley Lands Main Endorsement From Rep. Hakeem Jeffries

Ms. Wiley, one of the more left-wing candidates in the race, said she heard from Mr. Jeffries on Friday evening and added that he, along with Ms. Clarke and Ms. Velázquez, were “leaders whose voters trust them”. respect them and they move voices. “

“Letting Hakeem Jeffries stand up with me and say, ‘This is my candidate’ is of tremendous importance in an extremely important part of this city to win for anyone who wants to become mayor of New York City,” she added .

In the June primary, New Yorkers can rate up to five mayoral candidates, and Mr Jeffries said he may disclose other rankings of his choice for mayor, but said he has not yet made a decision on how to proceed.

In the interview, he outlined a detailed map of what he saw as Ms. Wiley’s path to victory, though with an overcrowded field of candidates there is certainly significant competition for every major political constituency in New York.

“I expect Eric Adams and Maya Wiley will perform best in the communities in central Brooklyn as well as in other traditionally African American neighborhoods in New York,” Jeffries said, noting Ms. Wiley’s potential in “both traditionally African American communities.” also in parts of the city where many white liberals live, with neighborhoods like Chelsea in Manhattan and progressive enclaves in Brooklyn being mentioned.

“It’s a pretty powerful option if the campaign can keep putting it together over the next few weeks,” he said.

Some rival Democrats have feared the prospect of a late surge in Ms. Wiley and the weeks ahead will test their ability to take advantage of that opportunity.

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Rep. Liz Cheney urges Republicans to reject Trump ‘cult of character’

Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., Speaks during a press conference following a House Republican meeting in Washington on Tuesday, April 20, 2021.

Caroline Brehman | CQ Appeal, Inc. | Getty Images

The GOP must “turn away from the dangerous and anti-democratic Trump personality cult,” argued Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in the house, on Wednesday.

“The Republican Party is at a turning point and Republicans have to choose whether to vote for truth and allegiance to the Constitution,” Cheney wrote in the Washington Post.

The Cheney clear-up call came as a flurry of House Republicans, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, saying they are done with serving as Chair of the House Republican Conference.

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But in the statement, Wyoming’s Cheney appeared to be addressing concerns about her status in the party.

“History is watching. Our children are watching. We must be brave enough to defend the fundamental principles that underpin and protect our freedom and our democratic process. I am determined to do so regardless of the short-term political consequences.” Cheney wrote.

Cheney was the only member of the Republican leadership to vote for the impeachment of former President Donald Trump following the January 6th invasion of the Capitol by a crowd of his supporters. Trump “called this mob, gathered the mob and lit the flame of this attack,” Cheney said at the time.

Trump was acquitted in the Senate for instigating a riot.

Since Trump left office, Cheney has set himself apart from many of her Republican counterparts in her willingness to continue speaking out against Trump, who continues to falsely insist on beating President Joe Biden and spreading unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about widespread electoral fraud.

On Tuesday, McCarthy reportedly said of Cheney, “I’ve had it with her. You know, I’ve lost confidence.” A Scalise spokeswoman said the whip had pledged its support to Rep. Elise Stefanik, RN.Y., who emerged as a passionate defender of Trump during his first impeachment.

Trump and other Republicans also supported Stefanik.

Cheney’s comment claimed that it was not enough to simply look away from Trump’s unsubstantiated election claims.

“Trump is trying to unravel critical elements of our constitutional structure that make democracy work – confidence in the outcome of elections and the rule of law. No other American president has ever done this,” Cheney said.

“While accepting or ignoring Trump’s statements may seem attractive to some for fundraising and political causes, this approach will cause profound damage to our party and our country in the long term,” she wrote.

She noted that after the attack on the Capitol, McCarthy said Trump “was responsible” for the attack and “should have denounced the mob as soon as he saw what was going on”.

McCarthy has now “changed his story,” said Cheney.

Cheney rejected Trump’s persistent claims about a “rigged” election that cast doubt on US institutions. “This is immensely harmful as we are now on the world stage against communist China and its claims that democracy is a failed system,” she wrote.

Republicans, Cheney said, should support the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into the Jan. 6 invasion. More than 400 people are now charged with the attack.

The GOP should also support a “parallel bipartisan review” of the invasion “by a summoning commission to seek and find facts,” she said.

After all, Republicans must “stand up for truly conservative principles and turn away from the dangerous and anti-democratic Trump personality cult,” Cheney said.

Citing the memory of former President Ronald Reagan, a Republican icon, she said he had “formed a broad coalition from across the political spectrum to bring America back to its senses, and we must do the same now”.

“But that will not happen if Republicans choose to abandon the rule of law and join Trump’s crusade to undermine the foundation of our democracy and reverse the legal outcome of the last election,” she said.

Read the full comment The Washington Post.

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GOP Rep. John Katko, who voted to question Trump, being recruited to run for NY governor

Rep. John Katko, RN.Y., speaks during a press conference following a House Republican meeting in Washington on Wednesday, April 14, 2021.

Caroline Brehman | CQ Appeal, Inc. | Getty Images

A Republican Congressman who voted for the charges against former President Donald Trump is being recruited to run for New York governor next year.

Lawmaker Rep. John Katko has not ruled out running, said these individuals, who refused to be named due to the private nature of the conversations.

The development comes when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, comes under fire over several scandals. Several women have accused him of sexual harassment, which he denies while his government is under investigation for handling Covid-19 death dates. Cuomo has turned down calls for resignation and was on track to run for a fourth term.

Katko, who has called for Cuomo’s resignation, is a prominent member of the House Republican Caucus. He is the senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and may be named chair if the GOP Republicans retake the house during the 2022 midterm elections.

But Katko could again run into stumbling blocks running for Congress: there is a potential for backlash within his own party for his impeachment decision, and he represents a swing district. Katko’s campaign raised nearly $ 340,000 in the first quarter and has more than $ 580,000 available through April, according to new records from the Bundestag Electoral Commission.

The race in his district, the 24th in New York, is slated to be a litter next year, according to analysts at Cook Political Report. The district, which includes Syracuse, is one of at least 17 House Republican races that are considered competitive. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, won Katko’s district against former President Donald Trump by almost nine points.

Republicans won last year’s House of Representatives elections and are just a handful of seats away from becoming a majority.

Media representatives for both the Katko Convention Bureau and the 2022 re-election campaign did not return repeated requests for comments.

The recruitment surge for Katko shows that members of the GOP are looking for a more moderate candidate for the highest office in a traditionally democratic state. New York GOP MP Lee Zeldin has already announced his candidacy for governor. Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, has said he could run on the Republican ticket.

Zeldin, Giuliani and others are due to speak for nationwide contenders at the New York Republican meeting in Albany on Monday, according to a person briefed on the matter. MEP Elise Stefanik, RN.Y., who has not publicly ruled out running for governor in 2022, is also on the list of speakers. Katko is not expected to attend, this person added.

Katko is the chairman of the moderate republican government group. His vote shows that he’s not necessarily a hardliner either. While Katko pushed back certain parts of the Affordable Care Act, in 2015 he didn’t vote to repeal it entirely. Katko later voted against the Affordable Health Care Act, the Republican’s replacement for the ACA, which passed the House but not received it by the Senate.

Cuomo has since said that he wanted to run for a fourth term despite the exam.

The poll is mixed for Cuomo. A March poll by Morning Consult shows that 53% of New York voters approve of Cuomo. However, a Quinnipiac poll conducted last month found that over 60% of registered registered New York voters would prefer Cuomo to stop running in 2022.

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Rep. Matt Gaetz faces Home Ethics probe amid intercourse site visitors investigation

The House Ethics Committee said Friday it had opened an investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz, the embattled Republican from Florida who was facing a federal investigation into criminal sex trafficking.

In a statement, the ethics committee said it was aware of the public allegations that Gaetz “may have committed sexual misconduct and / or illegal drug use”.

The panel also found that Gaetz allegedly “shared inappropriate pictures or videos on the floor of the house, misused government identification records, converted campaign funds for personal use and / or accepted bribes, inappropriate tips, or improper gifts that violate house rules , Laws or other standards of conduct. “

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38-year-old Gaetz has vigorously denied the wrongdoing since the Justice Department’s investigation first became known last week. He was not charged with a crime.

“The office will repeat once again that these claims are obviously false and have not been confirmed by a single person willing to leave their name behind,” Gaetz’s office told CNBC in response to the new ethics inquiry.

The Democrat-led Ethics Panel announced Friday that it has opened an investigation into Rep. Tom Reed, RN.Y., citing allegations of possible sexual misconduct.

Last month, Reed apologized to a woman who accused him of rubbing her back and hanging off her bra in a Minneapolis bar in 2017. Reed said he would not seek re-election in 2022.

Reed’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment, but instead said in a statement to Politico: “We have already publicly addressed this situation and are working, in line with it, with the House Ethics Committee to bring this matter to a close. “

Ethics Committee press releases, attributed to Chairman Ted Deutch, D-Fla., And senior member Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., Stated that an investigation “does not in itself indicate a violation, or reflecting a judgment in the name. ” of the committee. “

Federal investigators are investigating whether Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her trips with him, the New York Times reported for the first time last week.

The investigation reportedly emerged from an investigation by Gaetz’s associate Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector on criminal charges including underage sex trafficking, stalking, cable fraud and identity theft.

Greenberg had previously pleaded not guilty, but his attorney and prosecutors on his case told a judge on Thursday that Greenberg is expected to make a plea deal.

NBC reported Wednesday that investigators are investigating whether women were being paid to travel to the Bahamas with Gaetz to have sex, and whether Gaetz and Greenberg were using the internet to look for women who could pay them to have sex .

“I’m sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very well today,” Greenberg’s lawyer Fritz Scheller told reporters on Thursday afternoon.

A Republican congressman, Adam Kinzinger from Illinois, has already asked Gaetz to resign.

Gaetz said this week that he had “absolutely not resigned” from the congress. As a staunch supporter of the former President Donald Trump, Gaetz has signed Marc Mukasey, a defender of the Trump organization, as a representative.

Gaetz has also hired a PR firm, the Logan Circle Group.

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Rep. Alcee Hastings dies, narrowing Democratic Home majority to only 7

Rep Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) at a House Committee meeting on Rules to Examine H. Res. 755 charges against Donald John Trump, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors on Capitol Hill.

Erin Schaff | Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., Died Tuesday after fighting pancreatic cancer for more than two years, NBC News confirmed.

Hastings, who served in the House of Representatives for nearly three decades, was 84 years old. During his career, he has held several important committee and management positions, most recently as vice chairman of the regulatory committee.

After the Congressman’s death, the Democrats have a slim advantage of 218-211 in the House of Representatives, giving the party little margin for error in passing laws. Six places are free.

Hastings, a former federal district judge, was charged in 1988 on charges of bribery and perjury. The Senate voted to remove him from the bank the next year, but did not vote to exclude him from his future office.

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Republican Rep. Ron Wright of Texas is first sitting member of Congress to die of Covid

Elected Ron Wright, R-Texas Rep. Participates in a welcome meeting for new members at the Capitol Visitor Center on November 15, 2018.

Tom Williams | CQ Appeal, Inc. | Getty Images

Texas Republican MP Ron Wright died weeks after contracting Covid-19, his office said Monday. He was 67 years old.

Wright, who took office in 2019, died on Sunday. He had undergone treatment for lung cancer after it was diagnosed in 2018.

He and his wife Susan were hospitalized in Dallas for two weeks before the Congressman died fighting the disease. The congressman, whose Arlington district was a part, announced that he tested positive for Covid-19 on Jan. 21.

“As friends, family and many of his constituents will know, Ron kept his quick wit and optimism to the end,” said Wright’s office. “Despite years of painful, sometimes debilitating cancer treatment, Ron never lacked the desire to get up and go to work, motivate those around him, or give fatherly advice.”

Wright is the first seated member of Congress to die after contracting Covid. Luke Letlow, a Louisiana Republican who was elected to the House of Representatives in November, died of complications from Covid-19 a month later before taking office.

According to GovTrack, at least 71 officials and senators have been diagnosed with Covid. Nationwide, more than 27 million people have contracted the disease and killed more than 463,000 Americans.

Texas will eventually hold a special election to elect Wright’s successor in the Texas 6th Ward, which is in Tarrant County outside of Dallas.

Wright’s death means Democrats now have an 11-seat advantage in the house. There are four vacancies in the 435-person home, including Letlow’s 5th Ward in Louisiana.

Wright’s final vote was against the charges against former President Donald Trump for provoking the January 6 uprising in the U.S. Capitol, the House employee said. He also voted to object to the election count in Pennsylvania and Arizona last month.

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Home votes to drop Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee roles

The House voted Thursday to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., From her committee duties as punishment for a laundry list of extreme views and conspiracy theories she advocated prior to taking office.

The vote was held by a margin of 230-199, with 11 Republican members on the side of the Democratic majority. No Democrats voted against the resolution.

The eleven Republicans who voted to remove Greene include: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Rep. Chris Jacobs (NY), Rep. Carlos A. Giménez (FL), Rep. John Katko (NY), Rep. Young Kim (CA.), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL), Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (NY), Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (FL), Rep. Fred Upton (MI), Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart and Rep. Chris Smith (NJ) .

It was only hours after Greene stepped on the chamber floor to express regret over some of the marginal views she had spread, including the pro-Trump-QAnon conspiracy. She didn’t offer an apology.

Kevin McCarthy, Chairman of the Minority House, R-Calif., Had hoped to avoid the vote, which forced Republicans to give an opinion on the resolution aimed at condemning Greene’s behavior.

While few, if any, GOP members had openly defended Greene’s most controversial remarks – such as alleged support for the execution of top Democrats – some Republicans had argued against the trial, warning that the Democrats’ efforts to get Greene up would set a dangerous precedent. Other Republicans chose to attack Democrats for refusing to reprimand their own members for making fire testimonies in the past.

However, the Democrats claimed that Greene would be placed in a separate category because of her behavior and that she should be removed from the Budgets Committee and the Education and Labor Committee.

“If a person is encouraged to talk about shooting a member in the head, they should lose the right to serve on a committee,” said executive chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., On Wednesday before his committee approved the resolution to dismiss Greene from the committees.

“If this isn’t the bottom line, I don’t know where the hell the bottom line is,” said McGovern.

Greene had promoted a litany of other radical conspiracies and extreme statements prior to his election. She was reportedly skeptical of the conspiracy theory that a plane failed to hit the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. She reportedly suggested that some school shootings had occurred and mocked a survivor of the school massacre in Parkland, Florida. Media also reported that Greene suspected in 2018 that forest fires in California might have been caused by laser beams.

McCarthy spoke to Greene in a closed meeting Tuesday night. He then suggested to the Democrats that the GOP Greene would withdraw its duties as the education committee if it could remain on the budget committee, NBC News reported. Democrats turned down this offer.

“To do nothing would be a renunciation of our moral responsibility to our colleagues, the house, our values, the truth and our country,” said the majority leader of the house, Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Before the final vote on Thursday evening.

“Yesterday the Republican Conference decided not to do anything. So today the House has to do something,” said Hoyer.

Greene claims she recently spoke to Trump and has his support. Trump, who lost his race to President Joe Biden but never officially admitted it, retains overwhelming Republican support even after his supporters’ uprising in the U.S. Capitol, in which five people died.

But other prominent Republicans have been less supportive of Greene. Earlier this week, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Blew Greene’s “crazy lies and conspiracy theories” and called them “cancer for the Republican Party and our country.”

McCarthy said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that he “unequivocally” condemned Greene’s many controversial remarks on “school shootings, political violence and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories”.

He criticized the Democrats for sanctioning Greene and accused the majority party of a party political seizure of power.

McCarthy said he told Greene during a meeting Tuesday night that “as members of Congress, we have a responsibility to adhere to a higher standard”.

“Marjorie recognized that in our conversation. I keep her word,” said McCarthy in his statement.

Democrats, meanwhile, seem eager to showcase Greene as the GOP’s figurehead.

McCarthy has decided to make the House Republicans the “party of conspiracy theories and QAnon,” Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday, “and Rep. Greene is in the driver’s seat.”

“I remain deeply concerned about the acceptance of extreme conspiracy theorists by the Republican government,” Pelosi said at a press conference Thursday.

“Particularly troubling is their willingness to reward a QAnon supporter, a 9/11 Truther, a molester of school shootout survivors, for giving them valued committee positions, including – who could imagine them?” Person would join the education committee? “”

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Michigan Rep. Mitchell quits GOP for refusal to just accept Trump loss to Biden

Michigan MP Paul Mitchell resigned from the Republican Party on Monday because the GOP refused to admit that President Donald Trump lost the election to President-elect Joe Biden.

Mitchell wrote in a damning letter to GOP leaders that Trump’s unsubstantiated claims alleging widespread electoral fraud and the Republican Party’s tolerance of these claims threatened “long-term damage to our democracy.”

“It is unacceptable for political candidates to treat our electoral system as if we were a Third World nation and create suspicion of something as fundamental as the sanctity of our voting,” Mitchell wrote to Ronna McDaniel, Chair of the Republican National Committee Minority Chairperson Kevin McCarthy of California.

“Also, it is unacceptable for the President to attack the United States Supreme Court because its Liberal and Conservative justices failed with his side or because ‘the Court has failed him,'” wrote Mitchell, whose letter was first reported from CNN.

Mitchell will retire from Congress when the current session ends early next year.

Trump has claimed he lost Michigan and several other battlefield states whose votes gave Biden his margin on the electoral college for illegally suppressing votes for him and artificially inflating Biden’s ballot.

The electoral college will meet on Monday, and California’s votes have pushed Biden over the 270-vote threshold required to win the White House by 5:30 p.m. ET.

Mitchell wrote, “If Republican leaders sit back together and tolerate unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and” stop “the rallies without advocating our electoral process, which the Department of Homeland Security has called” the safest in American history, “our nation will be do corrupt. “

“I have spoken out clearly and firmly against these messages,” he wrote.

“However, since the leadership of the Republican Party and our Republican Conference in the House of Representatives actively participate in at least some of these efforts, I fear long-term damage to our democracy.”

Mitchell, who represents Michigan’s 10th Ward, said last year he would not seek a third term in Congress and complained that the “rhetoric and vitriol” he saw in Washington overwhelmed the real work of policy making.

Mitchell said that with more than 155 million eligible voters, “both administrative errors and even fraudulent votes are likely to have occurred”.

But he also said Trump “didn’t lose Michigan to Wayne County,” a Democratic stronghold that the president claims has counted fraudulent ballots.

“Rather, it lost to dwindling support in areas like Kent and Oakland Counties, both of which were former Republican strongholds,” the congressman wrote.

Mitchell said in his letter that he voted for Trump “for about four more years under his leadership despite some reservations.”

But he also wrote: “The stability and strength of our democracy is a constant concern of mine.”

“I expressed great concern about the president’s reaction to Charlottesville, the rhetoric against immigrants they are sending back, and even the racist comments made by my own colleagues in the House.”

Even after Mitchell left the GOP, the president and his deputies continued to struggle to undermine public confidence in Biden’s victory, arguing that on January 6, Congress would have the final say in the selection of the next president.

This is the day that Congress is due to confirm the electoral college vote.

Trump, his campaign and his allies have lost or withdrawn any suit that questioned the validity of Biden’s ballot papers. On Friday, the US Supreme Court denied a motion from Texas to file a lawsuit against the voting processes in Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Before the Supreme Court responded to the request, Trump had described the Texas case as “the big one” that would undo Biden’s victory.