The sins of the son.
Hunter Biden’s plea deal with federal prosecutors may keep the commander-in-chief’s second oldest boy out of prison but the culmination of a five-year criminal investigation hasn’t closed the door on further political attacks against President Joe Biden by Republicans.
Republican lawmakers referred to it as a “slap on the wrist” while former President Donald Trump, the GOP 2024 front-runner (who faces his own legal troubles), called it a “sweetheart” deal.
What remains to be seen is how this will impact President Biden’s reelection bid, and if the case could fuel a third party candidate.
Another anti-Trump Republican is vying to be the GOP presidential nominee next year.
Enter former Rep. Will Hurd, of Texas, who believes the former president’s poor electoral record is the best reason for conservatives to say enough is enough.
“If we nominate a lawless, selfish, failed politician like Donald Trump — who lost the House, the Senate, and the White House — we all know (President) Joe Biden will win again,” Hurd said in his announcement video.
But many are openly questioning if it is wise for Hurd to join the fray and potentially split the anti-Trump vote further.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy continues to have a hard time keeping the more conservative members of his caucus on message. This week he urged GOP members to reject a move by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who forced a vote that could lead to impeaching President Biden.
House Republicans did finally unite behind a common cause, however. In a party-line vote, Congress censured Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., over his claims about former President Donald Trump’s connections to Russia.
It’s been a year since the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down Roe v. Wade and the country isn’t anywhere closer to settling the debate surrounding a woman’s right to end a pregnancy.
As much as reproductive rights advocates feel the country is on their side in reaction to conservative abortion bans in many states, anti-abortion leaders remain steadfast that a national ban should be on the table in 2024.
How much will Hunter hurt the president?
Republicans feel confident that Hunter Biden’s bargain with the U.S. Department of Justice will be viewed as a double standard and have hammered that point home this past week.
“This DOJ continues to hunt Republicans while it protects Democrats,” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., a presidential hopeful, said in a Fox News interview.
Democrats are pushing back, but voters have repeatedly expressed they don’t want a Biden-Trump rematch, and the dueling legal cases—while different in severity and individual focus—could be a further turn off and reinforce voters’ desire for other options.
In a Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll, 23% of registered voters said they would vote for an unnamed third-party candidate against Biden and Trump. Just 9% of voters polled in the summer of 2019 said the same.
David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, said a person who occasionally watches any news outlet might conclude they’re both “awful choices.”
Hurd joins 2024 campaign trail with Trump can’t win message
Former Congressman Will Hurd is making a bet that conservatives know Trump can’t win in 2024, and the moderate Republican said “too many candidates in this race are afraid” of the former president.
“Republicans deserve better,” Hurd, a former CIA officer, said in his announcement video. “America deserves better. It’s common sense.”
But political analysts say a crowded field benefits Trump, who he is believed to have a solid base if more challengers split up the remaining primary.
Plus there are already a number of GOP hopefuls who criticize Trump, including his own former vice president, Mike Pence, who has been increasingly critical. Not to mention others such as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, a former Arkansas governor who twice called for Trump to drop out in light of his indictments in New York and Florida.
McCarthy is refereeing a MAGA civil war over Biden impeachment
Two of the most conservative and outspoken House members are beefing over who will impeach President Biden first, and the speaker is worried this could all backfire.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., has introduced articles of impeachment against Biden over his handling of the southern border. She brought the impeachment articles to the floor as a privileged resolution, and by a 219-208 party-line vote the resolution was sent to committees for possible consideration.
Here’s the thing:
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is also pursuing a plan to impeach Biden, along with several other administration officials. She called Boebert a “copycat.” Then Boebert responded, saying she is “not in middle school.”
The two had an exchange on the House floor, where it was reported Greene cursed at Boebert.
“What majority do we want to be,” McCarthy asked during a closed-door meeting among House Republicans, according to multiple sources. “Give it right back in two years or hold it for a decade and make real change?”
Schiff censured
House Republicans renewed their effort to censure Democrat Adam Schiff for alleging collusion between Trump and Russia during the 2016 presidential, and this time it worked.
By a 213-209 vote, along party lines, Schiff was condemned by GOP colleagues as fellows Democrats chanted “shame” in the chamber.
National abortion ban… or else?
The landmark decision overturning Roe is creating political perils for Republicans as a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll find one out of four Americans saying states imposing strict limits on abortion access have made them more supportive of abortion rights.
But social conservatives continue to push the 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls campaigning on embracing a national abortion ban.
During a town hall at Experience Church in Des Moines, a panel that included Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and faith leaders said GOP contenders must support that idea, or risk losing in the important Iowa caucuses.
“Plant the flag in Iowa,” Graham said. “If you want to be the nominee of the Republican Party, carry our banner, you’ve got to give a clear, concise, logical answer on the pro-life issue in Washington, D.C. And if you can’t do that, maybe you shouldn’t be in the race to begin with.”
Religious voters are expected to play a key role in Republican delegate contests next year on topics ranging from religious liberty rights to transgender policies.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Week in politics: Hunter’s bargain; anti-Trump hopeful joins ’24 trail
