Rick Scott, gunning to replace McConnell, secures bombshell last-minute endorsement from key Republican senator



Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida secured an endorsement from political heavyweights just moments before the GOP Senate conference is set to vote for a new leader.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas joined GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee in making a last-minute endorsement for Scott. Scott has also been endorsed by Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Marco Rubio of Florida, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

"This morning, I’ll be voting for Rick Scott for GOP Leader, as I did two years ago," Cruz said in an X post ahead of the vote. "In 2022, I helped lead the charge for Rick against McConnell & I’m proud to stand with him again. For 12 yrs, I’ve been unequivocal that we need to change GOP Leadership—and now we finally will."

'Rick Scott’s approach is also the most closely aligned with and focused on helping President Trump enact his legislative agenda, which is supported by more than 75 million American voters.'

Scott is running alongside Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas in the race to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Of the three candidates, Scott has the most public endorsements.

Lee hosted a forum Tuesday night ahead of the Wednesday morning leadership vote in order to give all three candidates the opportunity to make their final pitch to the Republican conference.

"While I personally like all three leadership candidates and consider them friends—and while each offers a unique set of skills, experience, and plans that could prove useful to the Senate and the American people—Rick Scott stands out as the most aggressively reform-minded candidate," Lee said in an X post after the forum.

"Rick Scott’s approach is also the most closely aligned with and focused on helping President Trump enact his legislative agenda, which is supported by more than 75 million American voters," Lee continued.

Lee also praised Scott for standing up to McConnell in the past, contrasting with Thune and Cornyn, who better fit the leadership mold.

"Rick Scott has consistently called out abuses of the Senate GOP leader position in the past—even when it was difficult and at times politically costly to him," Lee said after the forum. "This is yet another reason to support him."

The votes are set to begin Wednesday morning and will be conducted via secret ballot.

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Political heavyweights partake in pressure campaign for GOP Senate leader



Although most U.S. senators are tight lipped ahead of the vote for Republican leader, many influential figures online are starting to put their thumb on the scale.

Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas, and Rick Scott of Florida are going head-to-head in the race to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday. As of now, only nine senators have made public endorsements.

Despite this uptick in support for Scott, President-elect Donald Trump has not yet endorsed any candidate, and it is unclear if he plans to.

Thune has secured the backing of Republican Sens. Steve Daines of Montana, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. Cornyn has so far gained one endorsement, from Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.

Scott has the largest public backing, with Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Marco Rubio from Florida, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

Unlike his competitors, big players outside of D.C. have also come to bat for Scott.

Over the weekend, Scott racked up endorsements from politicos and media personalities like Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Vivek Ramaswamay, and Charlie Kirk.

"What the hell is going on in the US Senate?" Carlson asked in a post on X. "Hours after Donald Trump wins the most conclusive mandate in 40 years, Mitch McConnell engineers a coup against his agenda by calling early leadership elections in the senate. Two of the three candidates hate Trump and what he ran on."

"One of them, John Cornyn, is an angry liberal whose politics are indistinguishable from Liz Cheney’s," Carlson continued. "The election is Wednesday, it’s by secret ballot, and it will determine whether or not the new administration succeeds. Rick Scott of Florida is the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump. Call your senator and demand a public endorsement of Rick Scott. Don’t let McConnell get away with it again."

Despite this uptick in support for Scott, President-elect Donald Trump has not yet endorsed any candidate, and it is unclear if he plans to. At the same time, Trump has put forth a standard he expects the senators to follow, should they be elected leader.

On Sunday, Trump declared that any Republican leader must support recess appointments, which would allow the president to appoint an individual to a federal office without a Senate confirmation. This would greatly reduce the glacial pace of Senate confirmations and strengthen Trump's ability to staff federal offices with candidates of his choosing.

That being said, Republicans are fairly insulated from external pressures throughout this process. For one thing, on Tuesday, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is set to hold a forum behind closed doors where the three candidates can privately make their pitches to their conference. The morning after, the Republican conference will vote for the GOP leader with secret ballots.

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House passes bill to add citizenship question to census to stop illegal aliens from distorting congressional representation



On Wednesday, House Republicans passed a bill that would add a citizenship question to the census and thereby prevent illegal aliens from impacting redistricting and Electoral College apportionment, the New York Post reported.

The Equal Representation Act passed in a 206-202 vote without any Democratic support. Introduced by Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-Ill.), the bill has more than 100 cosponsors.

States reevaluate their congressional map each decade, losing or gaining seats based on census population data.

"One of the great scandals in American history," Miller remarked.

“Including the count of non-U.S. citizens in determining how many congressional seats and electoral votes each state has is skewing the representation of Americans in their federal government,” Edwards stated.

“The mere presence of illegal immigrants in the U.S. is influencing electoral outcomes, and the Equal Representation Act that the House passed would protect our democracy by making sure that American citizens – and American citizens only – have a say in determining the direction of our country,” he added.

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) hosted a live Spaces discussion Thursday afternoon on X to discuss the bill’s passage in the House. He was joined by Stephen Miller, the founder of America First Legal and former senior advisor to President Donald Trump.

“They’re doing this for power,” Hagerty said of the Democrats who voted against the bill and have supported mass illegal immigration through the southern border. He explained that sanctuary cities “act as magnets” for illegal aliens to “dilute voters” in states like Tennessee.

“What the bill requires is a citizenship question on the census and it will prohibit counting illegal aliens for the purpose of apportioning Congressional seats and electoral votes by states,” Hagerty stated. “It really gets at the [motive] behind the crime that’s taking place at our southern border.”

“[Democrats are] doing this for power. They’re doing this to preserve power in many cases because when you think about the exodus from these blue states that are so poorly run, those citizens are leaving. They’re moving to states like mine in Tennessee. As those states lose legitimate legal population, one alternative is to backfill that with folks that are here illegally. And if you think about where the Democrats have situated their sanctuary cities, in states like California, Illinois, New York — where they’re losing population,” Hagerty explained.

Miller called the attempt to dilute political power “one of the great scandals in American history.”

He said, “Every single Senate Democrat, every single one, including people who have pretended falsely to be moderates ... voted to say, ‘I want illegal aliens in California to dilute the political power of Montana citizens. I want more congressional seats in California representing illegal aliens. I want more electoral power in the electoral college for illegal aliens in California.’”

“The Democratic Party is completely committed through the proposition that their political future rests on filling the country up with illegals,” Miller added.

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