Here's the latest from the 2024 campaign trail:
- Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is escalating her attacks on former President Donald Trump as she seeks to prolong the Republican primary.
- Trump has gone quiet on the airwaves ahead of the next round of primaries, while Haley and her allies are airing ads in South Carolina.
- Trump, who was previously found liable for defaming E. Jean Carroll while he was president, was ordered to pay her to the tune of over $83 million in damages.
- The DNC is launching a new ad campaign aimed at boosting President Joe Biden in South Carolina and Nevada.
Colorado voters tell Supreme Court that Trump should be ineligible for office
Colorado voters who say Trump should be barred from holding office because of his role in events leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol urged the Supreme Court today to kick him off their state’s Republican primary ballot.
Trump “intentionally organized and incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol in a desperate attempt to prevent the counting of electoral votes cast against him,” lawyers for the voters said in a new brief.
“By spearheading this attack, Trump engaged in insurrection against the Constitution,” the lawyers wrote.
Why one vulnerable Democrat would likely vote to save Speaker Johnson’s job
Centrist Rep. Susan Wild, a Pennsylvania Democrat and one of the Republicans’ top targets in the 2024 election, said in an interview today that she is leaning toward voting to save Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., if conservative hardliners force a vote to oust him from power.
Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has personally warned Johnson that she will file a privileged “motion to vacate,” putting the question of Johnson’s political future before the full House, if he tries to pass any package that includes Ukraine aid. Other conservatives are furious with Johnson over the topline spending deal he cut with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and have said a motion to vacate is on the table.
“I really am not inclined to help a member of the Republican Conference who wants to oust the speaker over something like either Ukraine aid or a funding deal with the Democrats,” Wild told NBC News today.
Florida abortion amendment gets on ballot — but state Supreme Court hearing awaits
The group behind a proposed amendment to enshrine access to abortion in Florida’s constitution said today that it was notified that the measure was slated to appear on the November ballot.
Floridians Protecting Freedom announced that the Florida Division of Elections had notified the group that the measure would appear as “Amendment 4” in November, pending the highly anticipated review of the amendment by the state Supreme Court.
Organizers behind the measure nevertheless welcomed the fresh development that state officials had, for the time being, formally advanced the measure to the November ballot.
“Today, our campaign to limit government interference with abortion reached a historic milestone with the assignment of an official ballot number,” Floridians Protecting Freedom campaign director Lauren Brenzel said in a statement. “This November, Floridians should have the chance to vote for Amendment 4 to return control of our bodies and futures back to us, where these personal decisions belong.”
The proposed ballot measure seeks a state constitutional amendment to bar restrictions on abortion before fetal viability, considered to be at about the 24th week of pregnancy. It would include exceptions past that point for “the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” If voters passed the amendment, it would effectively undo the state’s current 15-week ban, as well as a more-recently passed six-week ban — both of which remain blocked by the courts.
That last step could still prove to be a major hurdle for the group.
Under Florida law, the state Supreme Court gets to review the proposed language by any proposed citizen-initiated constitutional amendment proposal that received a certain number of signatures from valid registered voters in the state.
In this case, the language faces a specific challenge initiated by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican, to the state Supreme Court urging the court to keep the question from appearing on the ballot altogether.
That means the court’s conservative majority will have the opportunity to prevent voters from deciding on the proposed measure in November, even though the group collected the required number of signatures for it to appear. Five of the seven justices on the court have been appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a fierce opponent of abortion.
Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Feb. 7.
The court has until April 1 to approve or reject the proposed language.
Trump makes endorsements in Michigan and Arizona GOP chair races
Trump is putting his support behind two new potential GOP chairs in Michigan and Arizona after both state parties threw themselves into chaos with the unceremonious departures of their party leaders this month.
The former president announced on his Truth Social platform tonight that he is backing former Ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra to become the new Michigan GOP chair. Hoekstra "has my Complete and Total Endorsement," Trump wrote.
Hoekstra has been issuing statements under the state party logo declaring himself the chairman ever since several state party committee members voted to oust Kristina Karamo, who was elected chairwoman last year. Karamo claims she still has the job and has refused to leave her post.
Trump also announced he was backing Gina Swoboda to become chairwoman of the Arizona GOP, calling her "an outstanding person with incredible passion for our Party."
The former chairman, Jeff DeWit, resigned Wednesday following the release of an audiotape on which he could be heard offering Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake lucrative job opportunities if she agreed to take a break from politics.
J Street rescinds endorsement of Jamaal Bowman
J Street, a prominent liberal pro-Israel group, is no longer endorsing Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., in his heated primary battle in New York's 16th District due to growing disagreements over the conflict in the Middle East.
"J Street looks forward to continued dialogue with Congressman Bowman outside of the context of endorsement, and J Street has committed to make no endorsements in the primary race in 2024," J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement published today.
Bowman's name no longer appears on a list of members of Congress the group endorsed ahead of the 2024 elections. His name was on the list as recently as last week.
The organization backed Bowman in 2022, saying Bowman's victory in a contested primary marked "a major win for J Street and a significant strengthening of pro-Israel, pro-peace representation in the next Congress." J Street also announced it invested $200,000 to support Bowman and Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., via the group's independent expenditure arm, the J Street Action Fund.
“Reps. Nadler and Bowman have shown strong and principled pro-Israel, pro-peace leadership, so it’s great news they’ll both be returning to Congress,” said Kevin Rachlin, J Street's vice president of public affairs, after it was announced that Bowman won his primary and Nadler had defeated former Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., in a heated primary race.
This year, Bowman faces a formidable primary challenge from Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who is endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Haley responds to E. Jean Carroll verdict: 'America can do better'
Haley responded to today's verdict that Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages, arguing that "America can do better."
"Donald Trump wants to be the presumptive Republican nominee and we’re talking about $83 million in damages," Haley said in a post to X. "We’re not talking about fixing the border. We’re not talking about tackling inflation. America can do better than Donald Trump and Joe Biden."
Haley has previously aligned herself more closely with Trump's attacks on the investigations, telling CNN's Dana Bash earlier this month, "Some of the cases have been political," while noting of the Carroll case specifically: "This one I haven’t looked at." Haley has also said she would pardon Trump if he’s convicted on any of the criminal charges against him.
Georgia Senate approves resolution to establish panel to investigate Fani Willis
The Republican-led Georgia Senate on Friday approved a resolution to establish a committee to investigate the prosecutor who brought an election interference case against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants last year.
In a 30-19 vote that passed along party lines, the state Senate approved legislation that will permit a special committee to investigate Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis amid misconduct allegations.
Trump will fly straight to Las Vegas following Carroll verdict
Trump is flying straight to Las Vegas tonight from New York ahead of his campaign rally tomorrow afternoon, campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told NBC News.
Trump will deliver remarks tomorrow at a "Commit to Caucus" rally at Big League Dreams, a baseball and softball park in Las Vegas.
While Haley is set to win Nevada's primary on Feb. 6, Trump is instead participating in the state's caucuses on Feb. 8. The caucuses' results are the only ones that count for awarding delegates at the Republican National Convention this summer, but state law mandates that Nevada holds a primary, prompting the state to hold both types of elections this year.
How voters might respond to the Carroll verdict based on recent polling
It’s unclear exactly how Trump’s legal troubles will affect his general election campaign, and the Carroll case was a civil trial, with Trump’s criminal trials coming later this year.
But Tuesday's NBC News exit poll did ask Republican voters in New Hampshire whether they would consider Trump “fit to be president” if he was convicted of a crime.
Forty-two percent of New Hampshire GOP primary voters said they would not see Trump as fit to hold office if convicted. And while most of those respondents (83%) said they supported Nikki Haley in the primary, 13% of that group said they voted for Trump on Tuesday.
Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll over $83 million in defamation damages, jury rules
Former President Donald Trump must pay writer E. Jean Carroll over $83 million in damages for repeatedly defaming her, a jury found Friday.
The nine-person jury began deliberations in federal court in New York at 1:40 p.m. ET and reached a verdict in just under three hours.