Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is reconsidering a bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, after earlier taking himself out of the race as polls made former President Trump look increasingly formidable, top Republican sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: Youngkin, 56 — who beat former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) for the Old Dominion governor’s mansion in 2021 — is a leading potential future face of the Republican Party. He’s Christian and conservative — but not as Trumpy as many of the GOP’s current stars.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) enters the GOP presidential race as a little-known long shot, but his rally in Charleston today made clear how he aims to distinguish himself: as an optimistic, baggage-free alternative to Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
Why it matters: Scott, the only Black Republican in the U.S. Senate, is positioning his new campaign in a lane that could be wide open in the MAGA- and grievance-dominated world of GOP politics.
Writer E. Jean Carroll sought to amend a defamation lawsuit against former President Trump on Monday to include further damages over remarks he made about her during a CNN town hall event earlier this month.
Why it matters: The suit, which names Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen as the defendant, alleges that the ban of the Chinese-owned app over security concerns would violate the First Amendment and other laws.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Monday that the U.S. government is "highly likely" to run out of money as early as June 1.
Why it matters: The date leaves President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy less than 10 days to find an agreement — and the votes — for a compromise to cut spending and raise the debt ceiling.
Pride organizers in a number of Florida towns have canceled events slated for next month days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed several anti-LGBTQ bills into law.
Why it matters: The laws — dubbed a "slate of hate" by activists — target aspects of daily life for LGBTQ+ community members and were signed just ahead of Pride Month.
Top Senate Democrats are mounting a concerted effort to get Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) to run for retiring Sen. Tom Carper’s (D-Del.) Senate seat in 2024.
Why it matters: The state’s lone House member since 2016, Blunt Rochester would be the first woman and first African American to represent the state in the Senate.
Why it matters: The agreement may temporarily keep the waterway and its reservoirs from further depleting and imperiling water supplies for millions of people and crucial agricultural regions across the Southwest.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) officially launched his 2024 presidential bid Monday, pitching himself as a candidate focused on "freedom and hope and opportunity."
Why it matters: The South Carolina lawmaker and one of the most prominent Black Republicans in the U.S.delivered an optimistic speech, reflecting on faith and criticizing President Biden.
Ahead of their debt ceiling meeting Monday afternoon, neither President Biden nor House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) know whether the other side is willing to compromise at the 11th hour.
Why it matters: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen repeated her warnings Sunday — which she had made in public and in private – that June 1 is a “hard deadline” to raise the debt ceiling.
President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will meet Monday to continue debt ceiling negotiations.
Driving the news: Biden said late Sunday that a phone call he'd had with McCarthy about the matter while flying back from the G7 summit in Japan "went well," per a pool report on his return to the White House. McCarthy earlier in the evening described the call as "productive."
An Arizona activist group agreed Sunday to settle a lawsuit accusing its activists of voter intimidation at ballot drop boxes in the state.
Driving the news: TheLeague of Women Voters of Arizona filed the suit against a group that formerly called itself Clean Elections USA, whose activists gathered at drop boxes last year in efforts they claimed were to prevent ballot fraud, after reports of voter intimidation in the state.
