More Republican lawmakers are showing their support for President-elect Joe Biden. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) both called for the Biden transition to begin. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) congratulated Biden, saying in a statement, "President Trump has exhausted all plausible legal options to challenge the result of the presidential race in Pennsylvania."
Lincoln Project co-founder Jennifer Horn told Cheddar on Monday that these decisions, while important, should have happened two weeks ago. "Make no mistake there are no heroes in the Republican Party today."
"The Republican Party has unfortunately abandoned any sense of character or integrity when it comes to this election," Horn said.
The Lincoln Project is a PAC formed by current and former Republican heavyweights against President Donald Trump and the current direction of the GOP.
The group is now turning its attention to Georgia where two crucial Senate races are in runoffs that could tip the scale for the Senate majority. While Republican candidates may worry about doing anything to alienate Trump's supporters before those elections, Horn said, "We also have to remember that Georgia is a very high bar for Democrats to win. It's going to be an extremely difficult race. [That] does not mean at all that it's impossible."
Looking beyond Georgia or even the day Trump leaves office, Horn and the Lincoln Project's work will be far from over. Trump has fundamentally altered the Republican Party, she said, giving it a rock-solid foundation, despite the controversial platform that earned it. Under Trump, Horn noted that the GOP has become "a party that is as close to authoritarianism as we have ever seen in the history of our country." She expects a day of reckoning for the party and says eventually the party will have to make a choice.
"At some point, if the Republican Party wants to be a serious, influential, leading voice in American politics, they're going to have to eventually choose between Trumpism and democracy, Trumpism and America, Trumpism and the Constitution."
Horn is familiar with the inner workings of the GOP, having worked as the chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party in 2013 before she left and helped launch the Lincoln Project. She has repeatedly called for Republicans to stand up against the president but acknowledges that many are afraid to anger his powerful supporters.
"There is no path that I can see for the Republican Party going forward unless they are willing to fully denounce both the damage that Donald Trump has caused in this country and the role that they have played in allowing that to happen," Horn added. "I don't see them doing that anytime soon."
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
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