Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Sunday conceded that Democrats should regard the 2024 election as a loss and reflect on what went wrong for the party after losing both the White House and Senate and failing to flip the House of Representatives.
Schumer appeared on NBC’s "Meet the Press," where he was asked about Democratic strategist James Carville’s assertion that the reason Democrats lost was because of "the economy, stupid."
"I told my caucus, and I’ll say it here, too… certainly it was a loss, but it’s also a challenge," Schumer said of the election.
Schumer said Democrats faced "severe headwinds" to win four of seven contested Democratic Senate seats, though conceded that "we did some things wrong and we have to look in the mirror and see what we did wrong."
President-elect Trump defeated Vice President Harris to win the White House, while Republicans flipped the Senate and retained a razor-thin majority in the House.
Shumer said "there are some things we didn’t do that we should have done," such as focusing on working families in America.
Schumer said Democrats talked about the mechanics and details of the legislation, though "didn’t show the kind of empathy or concern, or enough of it, to average working families."
This failing made working families not "realize how much we have done and how much we care for them," the minority leader said.
"What we’re going to do is spend time talking to working families, showing them how much we care for them," Schumer said. "And not just talk about legislation, but talk about the conditions that have made so many working families worried about their futures."
After a surge in violence on the New York City subway in the last few weeks, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that security cameras have been installed in "every single subway car" in the city, which she said will help police fight and "solve crimes even faster."
This comes amid a wave of violent crime incidents in the New York City subway system, including a homeless woman being burned alive by an illegal immigrant and a man being pushed in front of an approaching subway.
It also follows the high-profile trial of former Marine Daniel Penny, who was charged but later cleared of homicide for his actions defending subway passengers from a mentally unstable homeless man named Jordan Neely.
Hochul, a Democrat, touted her deployment of 1,000 National Guard members to patrol the New York City subway, saying: "Public safety is my top priority." She also claimed credit for directing the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to install cameras in subway cars, which she said has now been completed.
"The recent surge in violent crimes in our public transit system cannot continue — and we need to tackle this crisis head-on," she said. "I directed the MTA to install security cameras in every single subway car, and now that the project is complete, these cameras are helping police solve crimes even faster."
Hochul went on to emphasize that "many of these horrific incidents have involved people with serious untreated mental illness," which she said is "the result of a failure to get treatment to people who are living on the streets and are disconnected from our mental health care system."
She blamed weak state laws and "nearly half a century of disinvestment in mental health care and supportive housing," which she said "directly contributed to the crisis we see on our streets and subways."
Hochul said she would introduce legislation to change New York’s laws governing the involuntary commitment of dangerous mentally unstable individuals to improve the process through which a court can order certain individuals to participate in assisted outpatient treatment.
"We can’t fully address this problem without changes to state law," she said. "Currently, hospitals are able to commit individuals whose mental illness puts themselves or others at risk of serious harm, and this legislation will expand that definition to ensure more people receive the care they need."
Despite these commitments, Hochul is being criticized for not being stronger on protecting New Yorkers traveling on the subway.
"The Governor is all talk and no action," said Curtis Sliwa, an activist and founder of the "Guardian Angels," a citizen law enforcement group known for patrolling and offering assistance to subway passengers.
Sliwa told Fox News Digital that Hochul should "lever her power" and call out individual members of the state legislature who refuse to support legislation to commit the emotionally disturbed to state psychiatric hospitals.
"She has to tell them she will not sign any of their initiatives into law until they support her signature subway initiative," said Sliwa.
He also claimed that the MTA further spurred on violent crime by allowing fare evasion to "explode to the point where 30% of subway riders don't pay their fare."
"The governor must get control back of who comes in and out of the system," he said. "Without control of who comes in then all of the other gubernatorial initiatives will result in more tax money spent with little if any results. Everything will change when you restrict who comes into the subway."
New York Council member Joe Borelli, a Republican, meanwhile, blamed Democrats for instituting soft-on-crime policies that have resulted in more violence in New York.
"Successive Democratic governors have closed mental health facilities and eroded the very same system she is now saying we need," Borelli told Fox News Digital. "What we really need to do is look at the bail reform and ‘raise the age’ laws her party put into effect in 2019 and see how the trajectory of criminal behavior increased thereafter."
Social media erupted in anger Saturday morning with news that President Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and left-wing billionaire George Soros.
The award, the nation’s highest civilian honor, is given to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values or security of the United States, world peace or other significant societal, public or private endeavors, the White House said in a statement.
Tesla founder Elon Musk led the furious outcry, labeling the decision to award Soros the honor as "a travesty."
Musk shared a video clip of himself on Joe Rogan's podcast, where he said he believed that Soros "fundamentally hates humanity."
"He's doing things that erode the fabric of civilization. You know, getting DAs elected who refuse to prosecute crime," he says in the clip.
Online commentator Blake Habyan wrote, "What a joke — these people have done the exact opposite of what the award is intended for," while Natalie F. Danelishen wrote that the news could be a Babylon Bee story given how unbelievable it is.
"Seriously, two of the worst people on earth," she wrote.
Clinton, the White House said, made "history many times over decades in public service" and the first female senator from New York and the first First Lady to hold elected office.
After serving as Secretary of State, she became the first woman nominated for president by a major United States political party. As the Democrat nominee, she lost her bid to be the country’s first female president when she lost to President-elect Trump in the 2016 election.
However, her tenure as Secretary of State came in for much criticism over her handling of the war in Libya and the attack on United States government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012. Four Americans died in the attack, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
She also used a private email server for government business. Although FBI Director James Comey said publicly that Clinton had mishandled classified information, he declined to recommend prosecution, and the Department of Justice refused to move forward with the case.
Soros, a mega-Democrat donor, runs a web of non-profits that bankroll various candidates around the world who align with his progressive agenda, including his Open Society Foundations. Soros has given over $32 billion to Open Society Foundations since 1984, according to its website.
The White House said that Soros’ philanthropy across the world has strengthened democracy, human rights, education and social justice.
However, commentators on the right have slammed him for funding progressive district attorneys who have been light on crime, which they say has led to crime waves in Blue cities.
Saturday's ceremony comes just days after Biden awarded former Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Mississippi Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson with the Presidential Citizens Medal after the pair oversaw the controversial Jan. 6 House Select Committee. The Presidential Citizens Medal is the second-highest civilian medal.
Clinton and Soros are among 17 other prominent figures to be granted the award, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Those being presented with the honor represent prominent figures in politics, fashion, sport entertainment and activism.
Robert Francis Kennedy, the former Attorney General, will be posthumously awarded the gong, while other notable recipients include actors Denzel Washington and Michael J. Fox, U2 frontman Bono, former basketballer Earvin "Magic" Johnson and soccer star Lionel Messi.
"President Biden believes great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot, and put decency above all else," a White House statement reads. "These nineteen Americans are great leaders who have made America a better place. They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world."
Kennedy, the father of former Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is being recognized for combatting racial segregation and as a United States Senator, "sought to address poverty and inequality in the country."
His legacy continues to inspire those committed to justice, equality and public service, the White House said.
José Andrés, celebrity chef and founder of the World Central Kitchen charity group.
Bono, frontman for rock band U2 and an activist against AIDS and poverty.
Ashton Baldwin Carter (posthumous), 25th Secretary of Defense.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, former First Lady and former Secretary of State.
Michael J. Fox, Emmy, Golden Globe and Grammy Award-winning actor and advocate for Parkinson’s disease research and development.
Tim Gill, entrepreneur, LGBTQ rights advocate.
Dr. Jane Goodall, world-renowned ethologist and conservationist.
Fannie Lou Hamer (posthumous), civil rights advocate and founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Earvin "Magic" Johnson, legendary retired basketball player and philanthropist who supports underserved communities through his Magic Johnson Foundation.
Robert Francis Kennedy (posthumous), former U.S. Attorney General and Senator.
Ralph Lauren, world-renowned fashion designer and cancer research advocate
Lionel Messi, soccer’s most decorated player, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador who supports healthcare and education programs for children
William Sanford Nye, often referred to as "Bill Nye the Science Guy," a science educator who advocates for space exploration and environmental stewardship.
George W. Romney (posthumous), businessman and former Governor of Michigan
David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group, philanthropist who supports the restoration of historic landmarks and cultural institutions.
George Soros, philanthropist and Open Society Foundations founder.
George Stevens, Jr., author and playright.
Denzel Washington, actor, director, and producer who has won two Academy Awards. Served as National Spokesman for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for over 25 years.
Anna Wintour, fashion icon and the editor-in-chief of Vogue.
Democratic House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., claimed that there are "no election deniers" in the Democratic Party, despite previously claiming on social media that the 2016 presidential election was "illegitimate."
After Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was re-elected to the top House post for the 119th Congress on Friday, Jeffries addressed lawmakers.
"There are no election deniers on our side of the aisle," Jeffries said while speaking on the House floor on Friday, prompting applause from the Democratic members in the chamber.
Despite claiming that members of his party don't deny election results, Jeffries himself claimed on X, previously known as Twitter, that President-elect Trump's 2016 election victory wasn't legitimate.
"The more we learn about 2016 election the more ILLEGITIMATE it becomes," Jeffries wrote in February 2018. "America deserves to know whether we have a FAKE President in the Oval Office."
Jeffries again made a similar claim several years later.
"Keep pouting. History will never accept you as a legitimate president," Jeffries wrote to Trump in a 2020 post. A screenshot of the post was shared by Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska following the speaker's vote on Friday.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who ran against Trump as the Democratic nominee in 2016, also said that Trump was an "illegitimate president" after his election win that year.
"He knows he’s an illegitimate president," Clinton said of Trump during a CBS News interview. "I believe he understands that the many varying tactics they used, from voter suppression and voter purging to hacking to the false stories — he knows that — there were just a bunch of different reasons why the election turned out like it did."
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., did not attend Trump's 2017 inauguration due to claims that his presidency was not legit.
"He was legally elected, but the Russian weighing-in on the election, the Russian attempt to hack the election and, frankly, the FBI’s weighing-in on the election, I think, makes his election illegitimate, puts an asterisk next to his name," Nadler told CNN in 2017.
Additionally, several Democratic representatives challenged the results of the 2016 election in their states following Trump's win.
Democratic lawmakers had mixed reactions to Republican Rep. Mike Johnson being re-elected as speaker of the House for the 119th Congress.
Lawmakers gathered on Capitol Hill Friday to vote for a speaker before the new Congress commenced. Johnson won the speaker race during the first round of voting, but not all GOP lawmakers were originally in support of his candidacy.
During the first round, three Republicans voted for candidates other than Johnson. However, after a short meeting in the GOP cloakroom with Johnson, Republican holdouts Ralph Norman and Keith Self changed their vote for the first round, securing the speakership for Johnson.
While it remained uncertain whether the Republican holdouts would change their votes, Democrats began reacting on social media.
"The GOP Civil War is in full swing. And it’s only Day 1," House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a post on X shortly before two of the GOP holdouts changed their votes.
"Welp, it only took a few minutes for the GOP to run this train right off its tracks — not voting for their own Speaker of the House," Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., said in a post on social media. "Was hoping we could leave the dysfunction in 2024 and work for the American people! But we’re headed to a round two of Speaker votes."
But the sentiment changed after Johnson won the gavel in just one round. One Democrat credited Johnson for securing the speakership in a single vote after it took Republican lawmakers four days to elect a speaker in January 2023.
"To his credit Mike Johnson learned from the 15 round debacle of 2 years ago. Instead of trying to jam his conference with a quick second round he held the vote open while some backroom arm twisting & hand wringing took place. The result: 2 changed vote, enough to win the gavel," Rep. Hank Johnson, R-Ga., said.
"This fight is over, but keep your popcorn close."
"Hell has frozen over (literally - it’s snowing in DC)! With just one vote, we have a Speaker - for now!" Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas., said on X.
Democratic Rep. Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky said, "now that we have a Speaker, let’s get to work."
After Johnson won the speakership vote, other Democrats congratulated him.
"Congratulations to Mike Johnson on earning re-election as Speaker of the House," Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., posted on social media. "There are several vetted, bipartisan bills in the docket that he could immediately bring to the floor to help Americans: afford housing, pay for Rx drugs, secure the border."
Democratic lawmakers voted unanimously for Representative-elect Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
"215 @HouseDemocrats stand united behind our Leader @RepJeffries. First round. Every round," Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., said in a post on X after the vote.
President Biden awarded the leaders of the former Jan. 6 House Select Committee, former Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Mississippi Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson, the second-highest civilian medal for their "exemplary deeds of service for their country," according to the White House.
"The Presidential Citizens Medal is awarded to citizens of the United States of America who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens. President Biden believes these Americans are bonded by their common decency and commitment to serving others. The country is better because of their dedication and sacrifice," the White House detailed in a statement Thursday.
The White House announced 20 people across the nation would receive the Presidential Citizens Medal on Thursday, including Cheney and Thompson, who Biden lauded as "intrepid" and holding a "steadfast commitment to truth."
"Throughout two decades in public service, including as a Congresswoman for Wyoming and Vice Chair of the Committee on the January 6 attack, Liz Cheney has raised her voice—and reached across the aisle—to defend our Nation and the ideals we stand for: Freedom. Dignity. And decency. Her integrity and intrepidness remind us all what is possible if we work together," the White House said in its statement of Cheney.
"Born and raised in a segregated Mississippi, as a college student inspired by the Civil Rights movement, Bennie Thompson volunteered on campaigns and registered southern Black voters. That call to serve eventually led him to Congress, where he chaired the House January 6th Committee—at the forefront of defending the rule of law with unwavering integrity and a steadfast commitment to truth," the statement on Thompson read.
Thompson served as the chair of the Jan. 6 select committee, with Cheney serving as the vice chair. The Jan. 6 committee was founded in July 2021 to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol earlier that year by supporters of Trump ahead of President Biden officially taking office on Jan. 20. The Jan. 6 committee’s investigation was carried out when Democrats held control of the House.
The committee concluded its 18-month investigation in 2023, after Republicans regained control of the House, and sent referrals to the Justice Department recommending that Trump be criminally prosecuted for his involvement in the lead-up to his supporters breaching the Capitol.
Incoming Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., reacted to Biden's decision to award Cheney with the medal in a comment to Fox Digital on Thursday, slamming her as a former elected official who "represents partisanship and divisiveness."
"President Biden was either going to pardon Liz Cheney or give her an award. She doesn’t deserve either. She represents partisanship and divisiveness, not Wyoming," he said.
Republican elected officials and President-elect Donald Trump have railed against the committee and its leaders for years, with a recent Republican House report calling on the FBI to investigate Cheney for "potential criminal witness tampering" related to her role on the former select committee.
"Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former Vice Chair of the January 6 Select Committee, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation," stated a report released last month by House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Chair Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga. "Evidence uncovered by the Subcommittee revealed that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney tampered with at least one witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, by secretly communicating with Hutchinson without Hutchinson’s attorney’s knowledge."
Cheney and Thompson both slammed the report in comments to Fox Digital last month.
"The January 6th Committee’s hearings and report featured scores of Republican witnesses, including many of the most senior officials from Trump’s own White House, campaign and Administration," Cheney said. "All of this testimony was painstakingly set out in thousands of pages of transcripts, made public along with a highly detailed and meticulously sourced 800 page report. Now, Chairman Loudermilk’s 'Interim Report' intentionally disregards the truth and the Select Committee’s tremendous weight of evidence, and instead fabricates lies and defamatory allegations in an attempt to cover up what Donald Trump did. Their allegations do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth. No reputable lawyer, legislator or judge would take this seriously."
Cheney had served as the third-highest ranking Republican in the House but was ousted from her role as GOP conference chair by her colleagues in 2021. Cheney lost her 2022 primary run for re-election to Trump-backed Rep. Harriet Hageman.
The report followed speculation that Biden could grant Cheney a presidential pardon ahead of leaving the Oval Office. Late last year, Trump renewed his longstanding criticisms of Cheney and the Jan. 6 committee, suggesting she and Thompson could face jail time.
"Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps," he said in an interview with NBC. "They deleted and destroyed all evidence."
"And Cheney was behind it. And so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee," he continued. "For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail."
The Presidential Citizens Medal is the second-highest honor a civilian can receive from the president, after the Presidential Medal of Freedom, according to the Associated Press.
Six states, including one with a Democratic governor, have either banned or prohibited the use of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in public colleges and universities this year.
The practice of DEI in higher educational institutions has been controversial for several years, most frequently opposed by Republicans and described by critics, such as civil rights attorney Devon Westhill, as an "industry that pushes a left-wing, far-left ideological orthodoxy in essentially every area of American life."
In 2024 alone, Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas and Utah either banned or limited the use of such teaching or use in the application process in their state's education system.
In January, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, signed legislation to prohibit institutions from engaging in "discriminatory practices" such as "that an individual, by virtue of the individual’s personal identity characteristics, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other individuals with the same personal identity characteristics."
The anti-DEI law also banned schools from having any policy, procedure, practice, program, office, initiative, or required training that is referred to or called "diversity, equity and inclusion."
In March, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama signed SB 129 into law. It prohibits certain DEI offices, as well as the "promotion, endorsement, and affirmation of certain divisive concepts in certain public settings."
The bill bans "divisive concepts," such as "that any individual should accept, acknowledge, affirm, or assent to a sense of guilt, complicity, or a need to apologize on the basis of his or her race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin" and "that meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist."
The legislation also required that restrooms be used on the basis of biological sex rather than gender identity, and that public institutions of higher education "authorize certain penalties for violation."
Also in March, Indiana adopted legislation to amend the duties of state educational institutions' diversity committees and increase "intellectual diversity." Additionally, the Indiana House introduced legislation to further prohibit DEI teachings in schools by mandating that educators "shall not promote in any course certain concepts related to race or sex."
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, allowed legislation prohibiting postsecondary educational institutions from engaging in certain DEI-related actions to become law without her signature. The bill, passed in April, imposes a $10,000 fine on any public institution that employs DEI practices in faculty hiring or student enrollment processes.
"While I have concerns about this legislation, I don’t believe that the conduct targeted in this legislation occurs in our universities," Kelly wrote in her passage of the bill.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, another Republican, signed an education-funding bill in May that contained provisions to limit DEI in schools, just months after the state's board of education began to scale back on such practices in higher education.
The bill prohibits "any effort to promote, as the official position of the public institution of higher education, a particular, widely contested opinion referencing unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender ideology, microaggressions, group marginalization, antiracism, systemic oppression, social justice, intersectionality, nee-pronouns, heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender theory, racial privilege, sexual privilege, or any related formulation of these concepts."
Idaho became the latest state to determine that institutions may not "require specific structures or activities related to DEI."
In December, the Idaho Board of Education unanimously agreed on a resolution requiring that institutions "ensure that no central offices, policies, procedures, or initiatives are dedicated to DEI ideology" and "ensure that no employee or student is required to declare gender identity or preferred pronouns."
Other states, such as Florida, Texas and Tennessee, have all previously banned the practice of DEI in higher education.
After the passing of 100-year-old former President Jimmy Carter, many are recalling the "killer rabbit" incident in which Carter had to fight off a berserk swamp creature while fishing in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
The bizarre incident occurred in April 1979 but was not known to the public until months later when, according to an account by then White House Press Secretary Jody Powell, the press official shared the story with reporter Brooks Jackson. After the story broke, it captured the American imagination and came to be seen as emblematic of the Carter presidency, which many perceived as ineffective and flailing.
Sensationalized headlines ran across the country such as the Washington Post’s "Bunny Goes Bugs. Rabbit Attacks President" and the New York Times’s "A Tale of Carter and the ‘Killer Rabbit.’"
The story, which is backed by a photograph taken by a White House staffer, goes that Carter, while fishing near Plains, suddenly noticed a large swamp rabbit swimming quickly toward him. Powell said that "this large, wet animal, making strange hissing noises and gnashing its teeth, was intent upon climbing into the Presidential boat." Carter used a paddle to splash water at the creature, causing it to change course and swim away.
The New York Times reported in August 1979 that the rabbit had "penetrated Secret Service security and attacked President Carter," forcing him to "beat back the animal with a canoe paddle." The outlet reported one White House staffer saying, "the President was swinging for his life."
The picture, which was not released by the White House until after Carter lost his re-election effort to Ronald Reagan in 1980, shows the now-deceased president splashing water as a large rabbit, its ears poking out of the water, swims away.
Carter’s account of the incident is somewhat less dramatic. The deceased president said: "A rabbit was being chased by hounds and he jumped in the water and swam toward my boat. When he got almost there, I splashed some water with a paddle and the rabbit turned and went on and crawled out on the other side."
However, that did not stop national and local media outlets from running the story about the "killer rabbit" far and wide.
In 1979, Carter was in the middle of his one-term presidency. He was facing several difficulties both at home and abroad, including an energy crisis and economic issues and the Iran hostage crisis. Amid these troubles, Carter’s approval ratings took a dramatic dip, and he reached some of the highest disapproval numbers of his entire presidency.
While newspaper accounts of the "banzai bunny" and cartoons of giant, bucktoothed rabbits were clearly fanciful, many came to see the whole story as a sort of metaphor for Carter’s struggling presidency.
Powell, who originally thought of the incident as an innocent, comical story, later said he had come to regret his decision to share it with the press because of the way it was used to portray the president as so weak and inept that he was even afraid of a bunny.
Powell described the events as a "nightmare" in his 1985 memoir "The Other Side of the Story."
"It still makes my flesh crawl to think I could have been so foolish, I thought it was funny," he wrote. "Had I been doing my job, I would have stopped the President at that moment, pointed out the dangers to him and his administration if such a story ever got out. . . . Sadly, I did nothing of the kind."
Carter, a Democrat, served as the nation’s 39th president from 1977 to 1981. He was the longest-living president in U.S. history, passing away at the age of 100 in his home in Plains on Dec. 29 at 3:45 p.m. An outspoken Christian, Carter was known for his significant humanitarian efforts after his presidency and was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
President-elect Donald Trump congratulated and thanked Florida state Rep. Hillary Cassel after the Sunshine State lawmaker announced her decision to dump her Democratic Party affiliation and join the GOP.
"Today, I am announcing my decision to change my party affiliation from Democrat to Republican," Cassel said in a statement. "I will be joining the Republican Conference of the Florida House of Representatives because I believe in their vision for a better, more prosperous Florida."
In a statement hailing the move, Trump urged more Democrats to defect.
"Congratulations to Hillary Cassel for becoming the second State Representative from the Great State of Florida to switch her Party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, once more expanding the GOP Supermajority in the State House! I would further like to invite other Disillusioned Democrats to switch Parties, and join us on this noble quest to Save our Country and, Make America Great Again - GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. THANK YOU HILLARY!" Trump exclaimed in a Truth Social post.
Cassel's announcement came after fellow Florida state Rep. Susan Valdés announced earlier this month that she was switching her registration from Democrat to Republican.
While seeking office in 2022, Cassel described herself as a "proud Democrat," "pro-choice champion," and "faithful ally of the LGBTQ+ community."
She also pledged that she would "stand up to #ClimateChange deniers" and "stand up to the NRA and fight for a ban on military style assault rifles and the high capacity ammunition that make them so lethal."
But now Cassel says the Democratic Party does not reflect her values.
"As a mother, I want to help build a world where our children are judged on their character and their actions not on their labels," she noted in her statement. "As a proud Jewish woman, I have been increasingly troubled by the Democratic Party's failure to unequivocally support Israel and its willingness to tolerate extreme progressive voices that justify or condone acts of terrorism. I'm constantly troubled by the inability of the current Democratic Party to relate to everyday Floridians. I can no longer remain in a party that doesn't represent my values.
"I know I won't always agree on every detail with every Republican, but I do know that I will always have input, collaboration, and respect. The House Republican Conference empowers members to find common sense solutions to real issues facing all Floridians. They welcome different ideas and collaboration, which is the cornerstone of effective government. Those are my values," Cassel noted.
