Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is filing a legal complaint to try to block release of the House Ethics Committee's report into him, reported NBC News — but he's probably too late for it to matter.
This comes after reports that the committee, which has been wrestling with whether to release the full details of the report, is finally moving to do so — and after large portions of its content were already leaked, including confirmation the committee found substantial evidence for accusations that Gaetz engaged in statutory rape and illicit drug use.
Gaetz has continually denied all of these allegations, which have floated around for years, but which he claims were part of an extortion racket against himself and his family.
Gaetz's request for a restraining order "accuses the committee of an 'unconstitutional' attempt 'to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations, in violation of the Committee’s own rules,'" noted the report. His legal team further asserts that the release of the report "represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections."
The former congressman was initially Trump's pick for attorney general, but he withdrew amid the controversy over releasing the report, and indications that Senate Republicans did not have the votes to confirm him.
CHICAGO — The Aid for Women pregnancy clinic in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood might be one of the nicest offices I’ve visited for medical advice.
The clinic is located in the storefront of a newly constructed modern apartment building. Its windows are adorned with images of beautiful, diverse women, advertising free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds. With tasteful neutral tones throughout, the lobby has a cascading wall fountain with the nonprofit’s logo and a woman’s silhouette image, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
Yet, the clinic is not a medical office even though medical procedures and tests are offered there. Aid for Women is one of as many as 4,000 crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs, operating throughout the country that present as healthcare clinics but are typically nonprofits with an agenda to stop women from getting abortions.
Aid for Women pregnancy center in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood in December 2024 (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)
A new study from the University of California San Diego published on Dec. 2 analyzed the websites of 1,825 crisis pregnancy clinics, including Aid for Women, and created a database, choicewatch.org, to provide unbiased data about the services provided by these groups.
“We just want to start a policy debate around these issues,” John W. Ayers, leader of the study, told Raw Story. “With the new administration, there's a chance CPCs could be federally funded, and if those federally funded dollars are going to CPCs, under what conditions can they be given to maximize society benefits and reduce the harms?”
Ultimately, the paper’s authors are calling for greater scrutiny of these clinics, particularly around the services offered, provider qualifications and conformity with regulations and medical best practices. Generally, such pregnancy centers are exempt from the licensing, regulations and credentialing requirements of healthcare facilities.
“When it comes to crisis pregnancy centers, there's a lot of unknown unknowns,” said Ayers, who is an adjunct associate professor of medicine and epidemiologist at the University of California San Diego. “Our study is independent of your position on abortion, and so, we just want to give data and solve this problem of there being no data.”
Doctors like Kristyn Brandi, an OB-GYN in New Jersey, often find crisis pregnancy centers to be “angering” and “annoying," requiring reeducation of patients after visiting a clinic, she said.
The clinics can also be dangerous to women’s health if unsafe and unproven procedures like “abortion pill reversals” are offered (Aid for Women advertises such a procedure on its website). Ayers and Brandi both pointed out that abortion pill reversals are not recommended by medical professionals and put patients at risk for hemorrhaging and sepsis as they involve pumping the body with progesterone after a first abortion pill is taken, even though the process of ending the pregnancy is likely already underway and no longer likely to be viable.
A screen shot from the Aid for Women website about abortion pill reversals
“At crisis pregnancy centers, they are not healthcare centers, and so they aren’t under the same regulations and rules that doctors and other healthcare providers have to abide by, which is really concerning as a healthcare provider knowing that I have many patients that go there first and then come to me for healthcare,” Brandi told Raw Story. “Hearing the stories about what these patients encounter when they go to these centers is really disturbing.”
Susan Barrett, executive director of Aid for Women, did not respond to Raw Story’s requests for comment.
‘Very weird and off’
When I first visited an Aid for Women clinic, I was just shy of five weeks pregnant. Several at-home early detection pregnancy tests came up positive, but I figured it didn’t hurt to have professionals confirm for me as I waited for my regular OB-GYN appointment at 10 weeks pregnant.
But rather than having a doctor or nurse confirm the pregnancy for me, I conducted the test myself at Aid for Women.
Instead of leaving a urine sample behind a mini door in the bathroom for technicians to grab as I was used to at doctor’s offices, I brought my sample back to a meeting room with an advocate and was told that I would be administering my own pregnancy test since there wasn’t a nurse on site at the time to do so.
I used a dropper to apply a sample to my test and had to write down that, yes, I understood my test was positive.
Brandi said typically patients at a medical practice are “not running their own samples” due to regulations requiring that collection and testing is accurate and a “real result” is being reported.
“It's weird for going to a healthcare center and having to do the stuff you would just do at home,” she said when told about my experience.
At the appointment, I spoke with an advocate about my “pregnancy intention,” a question also asked on an intake form where clients indicate whether they’re planning on parenting, abortion, adoption or are undecided.
The advocate made it clear that the center does not offer abortions but did not explicitly express disapproval for those seeking abortions.
However, the 20-plus-page informational booklet provided to me featured several pages on the risks and drawbacks of abortions, alongside photos of depressed-looking women.
Scan of pages in Aid for Women brochure about abortion
Raw Story shared the pamphlet with Brandi, an abortion provider, who said she was “struck” by the language in the brochure and found it to be “very focused on misleading information” and “very graphic depictions” of procedures like a dilation and evacuation surgical abortion, also known as a D&E.
“It was very much leading with all the risks, which I will not say that there are no risks to abortion care, but the risks are incredibly low and much lower than things like live births and C-sections,” Brandi said. “I make sure that when I counsel patients, I do absolutely tell them the risks, but I make sure to balance that information with all the benefits if they seek abortion, what are the health benefits to them versus continuing the pregnancy … there wouldn't be a field of OB-GYN, if pregnancy was always safe.”
Brandi also took issue with other components of the Aid for Women brochure, calling some parts “just very weird and off.”
For instance, the brochure’s timeline of the pregnancy does not reflect the “medically accurate” dating method, she said, and milestones noted such as the beginning development of a baby’s brain, spinal cord and heart at four weeks is misleading, she said.
“Usually at that time we have maybe three or four cells that are cardiac cells that eventually will turn into a heart in some time,” Brandi said. “It's not inaccurate, but it's misleading to say that those things are developed yet when they're definitely not developed in a significant way.”
Scan of pages in Aid for Women brochure about fetal development
Brandi noted that as an abortion provider, she looks at fetal tissue after a procedure, which typically isn’t seen until about 10 weeks pregnant, and it’s not visible to the naked eye at that point. The brochure said “a little face, fingers and toes” appear as early as six weeks and included images.
A first ultrasound experience
After my first visit, I decided to return to the clinic for another free service offered: an ultrasound. I didn’t have to pay hundreds of dollars or use insurance, so I decided to get an early sneak peek before my regular 10-week appointment.
I brought my husband with me to the clinic when I was just shy of eight weeks pregnant, and we heard our baby’s heartbeat for the first time, which was an exciting, emotional moment. I can imagine hearing a heartbeat that early for an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy might evoke upsetting emotions instead.
A sonographer conducted the ultrasound to check for basic criteria of a viable pregnancy such as noting if a heartbeat was present and that the pregnancy was located in the uterus. She produced two ultrasound images that didn’t look like much yet — I’d say the image resembled a small shrimp-shaped blob.
At barely eight weeks, I had a long way to go until the baby had any chance at surviving outside of the uterus. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that premature births at 23 weeks have a 23 percent to 27 percent survival rate, which grows to 67 percent to 76 percent by 25 weeks of gestation and continues to go up from there.
I showed my ultrasound to one of my regular OB-GYN doctors, who accurately predicted the sonographer wanted to show me the heartbeat. Brandi reviewed the ultrasound and corresponding report, calling it “similar” to a typical report.
My report was signed off for review by an OB-GYN, Robert Lawler — something Brandi said is rare to find at crisis pregnancy centers.
Lawler was featured in a 2013 article by the Chicago Catholic, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago, about a new OB-GYN practice he opened in the southwestern Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, Ill., to conform to the teachings of the church.
“I had visions of meeting the Lord at Judgment Day and him saying to me, 'OK, Robert, what part of 'intrinsically evil' did you not understand about contraception?'" Lawler said in the article.
The practice seems to have since closed as it has both an inactive phone number and web domain. A handful of negative Yelp reviews for the practice complain about lack of transparency about Lawler’s religious influence on his practice.
“He lets his personal religious beliefs undermine the health and well-being of the victims he lures into his office,” wrote one reviewer in March 2018.
Lawler appeared on an episode of the “Family Talk” show by Evangelical Christian author and psychologist James Dobson, where he discussed his opposition to a 2017 Illinois abortion bill that “forces pro-life doctors and nurses to violate their consciences and advocate for the murder of babies in the womb,” according to the video description.
As of January 2024, Lawler is now the medical director for labor and delivery at OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center, a healthcare system in Illinois founded by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis.
Lawler could not be reached at his OSF office in the southwestern Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, Ill. He did not respond to Raw Story’s request for comment through Aid for Women.
‘Lying to women in vulnerable positions? Let's cut that out.’
For comparison I also visited a Planned Parenthood clinic a mile away from Aid for Women to confirm my pregnancy there as well.
The Planned Parenthood clinic was certainly not as stylish and welcoming as the Aid for Women office. It was located in a small strip mall next to a Dollar General. The waiting room was dark, and front office staff were seated behind plexiglass.
But the experience reflected that of a typical doctor’s office visit, where I entered a room with an exam chair (I was brought to a room that resembled a personal office with a desk, chair, side tables and sink at Aid for Women).
I answered some medical questions at Planned Parenthood and got my test result through a MyChart portal. I was given some informational materials that included statistics and risks of different procedures, and I was told that if I proceeded with the pregnancy to start taking a prenatal vitamin.
Scan from "Abortion Options" brochure from Planned Parenthood
I chose not to go through the ultrasound experience at Planned Parenthood because I didn’t want to prematurely use my insurance benefits before visiting my regular doctor.
Planned Parenthood clinics are regulated as healthcare facilities and must abide by regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to protect patient privacy.
When I went to Aid for Women, I asked about HIPAA and was told my information would be protected. I was given a "care and competence" commitment agreement that promised to hold client information in "strict and absolute confidence;" however, there was no mention of HIPAA on the form, and the Aid for Women privacy policy does not mention HIPAA.
"One thing that really worries me, especially in this Dobbs moment, is privacy," Brandi said, referencing Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the 2022 landmark Supreme Court decision that overturned the right to abortion protected by Roe v. Wade. "I think many people when they go to a healthcare center, they expect that the healthcare providers are not going to like share their information and talk about them to other people because we abide by rules like HIPAA that protect patients’ privacy. Because these centers aren't health care centers — they look like health care centers — but they have no reason to protect your privacy."
Spokespeople for Planned Parenthood did not respond to Raw Story’s request for comment.
A Planned Parenthood clinic in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)
The intake form I filled out during my visits at Aid for Women had me initial that I understood all questions on the form were optional, but when I didn’t fill in some information, such as my address, I got pushback from staff to include those details.
“I think when people are pretending to be doctors and have no legal liability if something bad happens, that's really concerning and scary to think about, that patients are trusting these centers when they don't necessarily get the health care that they deserve in these moments,” Brandi told Raw Story.
I returned to the Aid for Women Clinic months later at 37 weeks pregnant to learn about what support services the center offered. When I requested my medical records, I was required to give my address and was given a two-page report from my ultrasound, nothing else from the first visit or any other paperwork.
At this visit, like all my previous visits, the advocate asked me about my housing situation and made sure I had support and wasn’t experiencing any abuse. The nonprofit runs maternity homes and offers referrals for healthcare and community support resources.
I signed up to watch videos from the clinic’s "Earn While Your Learn" program to prepare for my impending labor and delivery experience. Clients who complete various tasks such as watching lessons and doing homework, participating in the nonprofit's newsletters and reviewing the center online can earn points to enter a monthly raffle to win essential baby supplies like a stroller or a crib set. The videos were produced by a group called True to Life Productions, who did not immediately respond to Raw Story’s request for comment.
Aid for Women’s nonprofit tax filing is transparent that it’s a pro-life organization, describing itself as an operator of “pregnancy help centers, pregnancy medical clinics and residential programs to assist women in difficult and unexpected pregnancy situations so that they might choose life.” The nonprofit reported more than $2.5 million in contributions in 2023 and paid Barrett a salary of $101,519.
According to the data provided on choicewatch.org, Aid for Women is affiliated with Heartbeat International, an international pro-life group that supports the largest network of crisis pregnancy centers.
A screen shot about Aid for Women from choicewatch.org
While I visited Aid for Women knowing what type of facility it was, clients in crisis might not be aware of its pro-life mission and could be susceptible to misinformation.
“I think what our study does is it shows some of these crisis centers are bad actors, and CPCs can get behind getting rid of them," Ayers said. "Pro-life, pro-choice, lying to women in vulnerable positions? Let's cut that out."
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) tried to flex his political muscle, but instead got hit in the face, according to a former Republican staffer.
Brendan Buck, a former key adviser to ex-House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), appeared on MSNBC Sunday.Buck, who was counselor to Ryan and press secretary to former speaker John A. Boehner, has previously defended Donald Trump against allegations of parallels to Nazi leaders.
Over the weekend, Buck was asked about the ethics report looking into former GOP lawmaker Matt Gaetz, and why the ethics commission might have changed their vote and decided to release the report.
One reason, Buck said, is that they could have feared Gaetz would come back for the next congress, despite saying he will not.
Another reason, Buck suggested, is that Johnson actually ruined it for himself.
"When Mike Johnson came out and said I don't think they should release that report, I wondered if that was a mistake," Buck said. "The house ethics committee is one of the few sort of independent bipartisan panels, evenly divided. I imagine there are some members of that committee who said we can't look like we're being told what to do. We don't serve the speaker. If the speaker was trying to push them around, it was very unusual for the speaker to tell the ethics committee publicly what he thinks they could do, that may have backfired."
Donald Trump on Sunday once again reaffirmed his desire to take back the Panama Canal.
"We will demand that the Panama Canal be returned," Trump declared a day earlier. He took to his own social media site, Truth Social, to issue a threat to local Panama officials about the famous Panama Canal.
The next day, it was reported that the President of Panama said, "As president, I want to clearly state that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjoining zone is Panama’s and will remain so."
Donald Trump made a statement on Sunday that many critics interpreted as exhibiting his weakness.
President-elect Donald Trump used a speech to MAGA supporters to strongly push back on claims that billionaire Elon Musk had effectively taken over his presidency. While speaking to Turning Point USA's AmFest conference attendees on Sunday, Trump argued that "big companies" wanted him to cut regulations more than slashing taxes.
"But no, he's not going to be president that I can tell you," Trump also insisted. "And I'm safe. You know why? He can't be. He wasn’t born in this country."
This comment went viral, with Scott Dworkin, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Democratic Coalition, saying, "This confirms that Musk is the President-Elect."
Popular satire account Mrs. Betty Bowers replied with, "This is great for two reasons: (1) it shows that all this President Musk talk is getting under Donald’s notoriously thin skin; and (2) it has to be very insulting to JD Vance."
Artist Art Candee said, "President-elect Musk is running the country."
Obama appointee Eric Columbus said, "The last guy Trump claimed wasn’t born in this country was president for eight years."
A group of current and former Republicans who oppose Trump, The Lincoln Project, said, "No previous president-elect in history has ever had to say this."
President-elect Donald Trump complained about possibly having to walk down steps to reach the stage at a conservative conference on Sunday.
As he walked out to the podium at AmFest in Arizona, Trump began by wishing the audience a Merry Christmas.
"Nice to win the election and very nice to win," the president-elect said. "And I want to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas. They don't say that too much anymore."
"And when I had all that smoke backstage, I said, Hey, are there any steps in front of me?" he continued. "I don't want to go. I go down. That would not be good."
According to a deep dive into how House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) managed to get most of his caucus and Donald Trump to agree on a budget package that kept the government working until March, the Washington Post is reporting that Johnson "blindsided" the president-elect by also negotiating with Democrats.
That, in turn, led Trump to prompt billionaire adviser Elon Musk to launch a war on the House leadership in a flurry of attacks on X that derailed the proposed deal at the time.
According to the report, while attending the Army-Navy game the previous weekend, an insider claims Trump believed he made it clear what his expectations were, which forced Johnson to make concessions to Democrats — which in turn angered his caucus.
According to the Post, "Lawmakers were irate when Johnson laid out details about his bicameral and bipartisan proposal in a Tuesday morning meeting. When Johnson described it as a collaborative process, Ways and Means Chairman Jason T. Smith (R-Missouri) exclaimed 'not true,' according to people in the room," adding that the House Speaker also ended up getting grief from Trump.
"Several people close to Johnson say the speaker talked frequently with the president-elect and kept him abreast of ongoing negotiations," the Post is reporting. "But another Trump adviser described him as blindsided by the bill’s contents and furious. The first adviser said the president-elect was with Musk at the time, and Trump told NBC he encouraged Musk to post messages condemning the bill."
“I told him that if he agrees with me, that he could put out a statement,” reportedly Trump said.
The report notes that is when Musk flooded his X account with over a hundred posts that had Republicans scrambling to put together the final budget that only passed with the help of Democrats, but still left far-right members of his caucus fuming and refusing to support it.
Will a political prosecution of former former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) be successful? "No dice," says one former prosecutor who warns that the threat still shouldn't be ignored.
Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig swiftly poured cold water on House Republicans’ claims that former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) broke the law for her work on the Jan. 6 committee – and suggested that a recently released GOP report “crosses the line.”
Now, another former federal prosecutor, MSNBC's Joyce Vance, is sounding the alarm about the report.
"This is how revenge prosecutions start. A Trump-led Justice Department investigates following a referral from the subcommittee. That sounds normal enough and can be presented to the Trump supporters and even non-lawyers in the general public as though it is," the analyst wrote. "But it isn’t. It’s not even close to normal."
Vance goes on to suggest that Cheney "has speech and debate clause immunity for all of this work."
"What she is accused of doing clearly and literally falls within the well-understood contours of that doctrine," the expert said.
"In other words, there can’t be a successful prosecution. Just as Trump argued with presidential immunity, conduct involving his official acts could not form the basis for a prosecution," Vance added. "The only difference is that the Constitution sets forth speech and debate immunity for Senators and Representatives, while Trump’s special privilege was crafted for him by the Supreme Court."
Vance goes on to call the criminal referral "unusual," and "the kind of thing DOJ typically passes on."
"Prosecutors can only indict a case if they believe they can obtain an conviction and sustain it on appeal and where it’s barred by immunity from the outset, no dice. But this referral from the House comes in the context of Trump’s call for revenge prosecutions, which means we don’t have to think very hard to understand what’s going on. House Republicans have bent the knee, and hard," she wrote. "This is not normal and it must not be ignored."
Republican lawmakers have set themselves up for failure in the next year, according to a former Republican staffer.
Brendan Buck, a former key adviser to ex-House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), appeared on MSNBC Saturday.Buck, who was counselor to Ryan and press secretary to former speaker John A. Boehner, has previously defended the president elect against allegations of parallels to Nazi leaders.
On MSNBC, Buck was asked about Trump, House Republicans, and their relationship to Elon Musk.
Buck first spoke about how Republicans "have made a lot of promises over the last several days." Those vows, he says, will be "difficult" to live up to.
"We are talking about $2.5 trillion in spending cuts they want to do. I am curious what they're looking at, where they will find that," he said. "They already ruled out budgeting most of the big spending programs. I think they have set themselves up for failure next year. It is too bad. It could really get into the way of the things they want to do."
Buck went on to predict that Trump will soon cut ties with Musk.
Donald Trump on Saturday announced the appointment of reality TV producer Mark Burnett to a position in the upcoming administration, resulting in barbs from observers and critics.
"It is my great honor to appoint Mark Burnett as the Special Envoy to the United Kingdom. With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role," Trump wrote over the weekend. "Mark is known for creating and producing some of the biggest shows in Television History, including 'Survivor,' 'Shark Tank,' 'The Voice' and, most notably, 'The Apprentice.' He is the former Chairman of MGM, and has won 13 Emmy Awards!"
Trump added, "Mark will work to enhance diplomatic relations, focusing on areas of mutual interest, including trade, investment opportunities, and cultural exchanges."
Katrina vandenHeuvel, The Nation's Editorial Director and Publisher, said, "Reality has overtaken satire."
Former campaign field organizer Connie Cassidy said, "This is Burnett’s reward for keeping his mouth shut."
A former colleague of Burnett, who chose to comment anonymously out of fear of potential retribution, told Raw Story that Burnett "is the most two-faced person." The individual added that, in their opinion, Burnett "has very questionable ethics, and morals."
Economist and author Sam Freedman further noted that Burnett "fought in the Falklands War."
David Bloomberg, a writer who focuses on Reality TV and Survivor, said "Mark Burnett, you're disgusting."
"Are you worried about political retribution for your role on the committee?" the host asked.
"I would be stupid to say if I wasn't worried about it or have some concern... I say bring it. I don't want a pardon. I don't want anything like that. I would rather be in the fight. I would love to have that opportunity to sit in front of individuals at the House, wearing my congressional pin, and talking about what I saw the day of January 6. It would be a lot of fun for the entire American public," Riggleman said. "I think there are some people who have a right to be concerned about the type of retribution you see here, especially if you have Kash Patel leading the FBI. This is an individual who is seriously underqualified and also is pretty much a January 6 QAnon guy."
He added, "That is the issue we have right now. There are people who I think might get a conditional pardon but as for people like me, the senior technical advisor and the person who looked at all the data, it might get to me but there are other people who should be more worried."
WASHINGTON — As Congress careened toward a Saturday midnight deadline to pass a government funding bill, legislators exclusively told Raw Story Friday that party leaders were negotiating through the “chaos” created by President-elect Donald Trump and his allies who sunk a deal that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) spent weeks brokering — making his future as House leader unknown.
A last-ditch effort funding bill indeed passed Friday night with a 366-34 vote in the House and 85-11 vote in the Senate, providing $100 billion in disaster aid, $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers and averting a government shutdown.
House Republicans tried to pass an 11th-hour spending bill on Thursday, which included a Trump demand to raise the debt ceiling, but it failed to pass Thursday night as 38 Republicans joined with Democrats to thwart the bill.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) told Raw Story Friday that Republicans "clearly" needed Democrats on board to get a bill passed before funding expired at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, which wouldn't happen with the debt ceiling language. Democrats got what they wanted in the bill, as the deal did not include raising the debt ceiling.
“Communications have been opened, number one,” Nadler said. “Number two, we will not discuss raising the debt ceiling until next year … because their motive for it is transparent. If we raise the debt ceiling now, they can lower taxes next year on the rich, as they did last time.”
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) took issue with Thursday's removal of language agreed upon by Republicans and Democrats to reign in pharmacy benefit managers after incoming Department of Government Efficiency leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy voiced opposition.
“The Trump people, they're causing the chaos right now, today, in the House, and as a result, some bad guys, middlemen, are getting in a position to rip off taxpayers and seniors,” Wyden said.
Wyden said he couldn’t believe that Trump was allowing “rip-off artists” to cheat on taxpayers and seniors after Trump called to “knock out the middlemen” at a press conference on Monday.
When asked by Raw Story if Johnson was doing a good job as a leader while trying to negotiate a deal that would prevent a government shutdown, Nadler said, “I don’t know.”
“I'm not a psychologist, but I can see with my own eyes what's going on,” Wyden said when asked if Johnson could be trusted.
After former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted last year, Johnson took over the role in October 2023 after a three-week leader-less period brought the House to a halt. Now, his future as Speaker of the House is in question as he struggled to broker a deal to avoid a shutdown.
“I think he’s done,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) told Raw Story.
Republicans expressed mixed feelings about Johnson's future after exiting an hours-long Friday meeting with Johnson held in the basement of the Capitol.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the only Republican to say he plans to oppose Johnson's reelection to the leadership role.
"I don't plan to enter it as a negotiation. I plan to just not vote for him. I have no asks. There's nothing I want in exchange for my vote," Massie told Raw Story.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said he was unsure about voting for Johnson as it would be "more of the same" and "more can-kicking."
"I don't know. It's too early yet," Burchett told Raw Story. "Trump's gonna make a big play on that. He'll probably be the one to decide who the speaker will be."
When asked if Johnson's speakership is secure, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) said he supports him as of now, as Johnson worked on handling a new deal.
"Look, an hour is a lifetime in politics. We'll see," Norman told Raw Story. "Different day. Different time."
Other Republicans said they felt that Johnson's speakership was safe.
"I feel very comfortable," said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL).
Darrell Issa told Raw Story Johnson has his "full support."
"If you say someone's on a tightrope wire, has it been a difficult job? The answer is 'yes,' but everyone else would be on that same wire," Issa said.
A California official abruptly resigned Friday fearing for her safety.
Nora Vargas serves as chairwoman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, where she has represented District 1 since 2021. Vargas made history that year when she became the first Latina, first immigrant and first woman of color in the board's history.
Her district has more than 630,000 residents and includes cities including Coronado, Imperial, Beach, Chula Vista, National City and some communities in San Diego, including parts of its downtown area.
But on Friday, Vargas said in a statement to her Instagram page she will forgo a second term despite winning re-election last month with more than 62 percent of the vote.
Politico reported that Vargas was the recipient of intense criticism online after she supported plans that would prevent county resources from being used to support federal immigration enforcement. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions beginning on his first day in office, and his "border czar" has threatened so-called "sanctuary cities" that won't help his effort.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office told Politico it knows of no active threats toward Vargas or any other county supervisor. Even so, a spokesperson for the office said they have seen "an increase in contentious public meetings and less civility in general."
"Some of these interactions rise to the level of threatening behavior and criminal conduct. We investigate these incidents thoroughly and take appropriate action," spokesperson Kimberly King said.
In November 2021, a speaker during the public comment period referred to a county public health official as "Aunt Jemima" and told another supervisor he'd like to see her "hang from a tree."
The man's comments came during a discussion about the county's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At one point, he told Vargas he "couldn't wait for her arteries to clog" and that Supervisor Nathan Fletcher should "kill himself."
Aid for Women pregnancy center in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood in December 2024 (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)
A screen shot from the Aid for Women website about abortion pill reversals
Scan of pages in Aid for Women brochure about abortion
Scan of pages in Aid for Women brochure about fetal development
Scan from "Abortion Options" brochure from Planned Parenthood
A Planned Parenthood clinic in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)
A screen shot about Aid for Women from choicewatch.org