Politics
Polis backs Pelosi as House minority leader
The outgoing U.S. House speaker who lost her position as a result of the Republican wave on Election Day has already earned an endorsement to stay on as Democratic leader from one of three openly gay members of Congress.
In a statement on Friday, Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) announced that he’s backing U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her bid to become House minority leader in the 112th Congress.
āI strongly support the Speaker and her decision to run for Democratic Leader,” he said. “She has been a longstanding and ardent supporter of the LGBT community and I will do anything to help continue her leadership.Ā The Speaker has led the Democrats out of the wilderness before and I am confident she can do it again.”
Pelosi announced her intention to pursue the position of House minority leader on Friday in a statement staying she wanted to remain head of the Democratic caucus to protect the advances her party made under her leadership.
“As a result of Tuesday’s election, the role of Democrats in the 112th Congress will change,Ā but our commitment to serving the American people will not,” she said. “We have no intention of allowing our great achievements to be rolled back. It is my hope that we can work in a bipartisan way to create jobs and strengthen the middle class.”
Pelosi said she based her decision to seek the position as minority leader on conversations she’s had with Democratic colleagues as well as “the urgency” of protecting achievements such as health care reform, financial reform, Social Security and Medicare.
After the start of the lame duck session in the week of Nov. 15, the new Democratic caucus will vote on who would become leader of the party in the U.S. House. As of the time of this posting, no other Democratic member had officially announced an intention to challenge Pelosi for the role.
The Blade will have a more complete report on Pelosi’s bid to become House minority leader next week.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this posting incorrectly stated that the Democratic caucus would vote on who would become minority leader next year.
Congress
FBI, SEC launch investigations into alleged George Santos GoFundMe scam
Embattled N.Y. congressman stepped down from committees on Tuesday

Republican U.S. Rep. George Santos (N.Y.) faces yet another law enforcement probe, this time over allegations the congressman ran a GoFundMe scam in 2016 by crowdsourcing for a U.S. Navy veteran and his cancer-stricken service dog before absconding with the money.
Politico reported on Wednesday that the veteran, Richard Osthoff, furbished text messages to FBI agents who were working on behalf of the U.S. Attorneyās Office for the Eastern District of New York, which is reportedly conducting a parallel investigation into Santosā campaign finances.
The news comes a day after Santos resigned from his two committee assignments following a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) announced on Twitter Wednesday that he filed a complaint against Santos with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission āfor violating federal securities law.ā
Torres wrote that his GOP colleague āillegally operated as a broker without a license, raising funds from unsuspecting investors for Harbor City Capitol, a 17 million dollar Ponzi scheme.ā
NEW: I just asked the SEC to investigate George Santos for violating federal securities law.
ā Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) February 1, 2023
Mr. Santos illegally operated as a broker without a license, raising funds from unsuspecting investors for Harbor City Capitol, a 17 million dollar Ponzi Scheme. pic.twitter.com/2z4YpqhOvm
Last month, Torres and fellow U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) filed an FEC complaint against Santos over his alleged violations of campaign finance laws. And over the weekend, the Justice Department reportedly asked the FEC to yield to federal prosecutors ā likely a sign that the campaign finance issues are the subject of a criminal probe.
Santos reportedly faces investigations by the Nassau County District Attorneyās Office and the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James. He has been embroiled in controversy since his arrival to Washington following revelations that nearly every part of his biography and identity were complete fabrications.
Politics
Trump pledges to weaponize fed’l gov’t against trans Americans if reelected
Former president’s anti-trans proposals range from healthcare to education

Former President Donald Trump promised to weaponize the might of the federal government against transgender Americans if voters send him back to the White House next year.
He detailed the plans in a video shared on the platform Rumble, which is popular among conservative and far-right users.
Some would restore policies enacted during his administration by executive orders that were overturned by President Joe Biden, while other proposals were more extreme or would face an unclear path to implementation because they would require acts of Congress.
Trump began by inveighing against guideline-directed medical care for the treatment of gender dysphoria in minors ā practices that are approved by every major mainstream American and international scientific and medical institution with relevant clinical expertise.
āI will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age,ā Trump said, promising also to urge Congress to ban certain procedures for minors nationwide.
āI will declare that any hospital or healthcare provider that participates in the chemical or physical mutilation of minor youth will no longer meet federal health and safety standards for Medicaid and Medicare and will be terminated from the program immediately,ā the former president said, referring again to healthcare interventions whose safety and efficacy has been demonstrated in hundreds of peer reviewed studies in scientific and medical journals.
Trump also said he would create a private right of action allowing for lawsuits against doctors and healthcare providers for administering or facilitating access to treatments for trans and gender non-conforming youth.
Democrats should be studying Nicola Sturgeon and the forceful response she’s given to the UK’s efforts to hold back trans rights. Dismissing this fight as a distraction will only get you so far–take it head on, put your values up front, and don’t hesitate. https://t.co/ZC9W2uKgIT
ā Gillian Branstetter (@GBBranstetter) February 1, 2023
āThe Department of Justice will investigate big pharma and the big hospital networks to determine whether they have deliberately covered up horrific long term side effects of sex transitions in order to get rich at the expense of vulnerable patients,ā Trump said.
The former president then looked beyond healthcare, promising to erase trans people from schools and refuse to recognize them by the U.S. government.
āMy Department of Education will inform states and school districts that if any teacher or school official suggests to a child that they could be trapped in the wrong body, they will be faced with severe consequences including potential civil rights violations for sex discrimination and the elimination of federal funding,ā Trump said.
As part of credentialing for Americaās teachers, messages promoting āthe nuclear familyā and child-rearing by āmothers and fathersā would be required, Trump said, adding that he would ask Congress to āpass a bill establishing that the only genders recognized by the United States government are male and female and they are assigned at birth.ā
āThe bill will also make clear,ā Trump said, āthat Title IX prohibits men from participating in womenās sports and we will protect the rights of parents from being forced to allow their minor child to assume a gender which is new and an identity without the parentsā consent.ā
Trump concluded his message with the false assertion that gender dysphoria āwas never heard of in all of human historyā until āthe radical left invented it just a few years ago.ā
Congress
George Santos to step down from committee assignments
Embattled gay Republican under pressure to resign

Republican Rep. George Santos (N.Y.) told House GOP colleagues on Tuesday that he will step down from his two committee assignments pending the resolution of investigations and possible law enforcement activity over his alleged financial crimes and violations of campaign finance laws.
Santos, who was appointed to the House Small Business and Science, Space and Technology Committees, neither of which are considered high profile, announced his recusal during a closed-door session following his meeting on Monday with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Today’s news marks the first sign that the many scandals with which Santos has been enveloped since his arrival to Washington may have fractured his relationships with and support from House Republican leadership.
Over the weekend, the Justice Department reportedly asked the Federal Election Commission to yield to the federal prosecutors probing Santos’ campaign finance activity, a likely signal that a criminal investigation is underway.
Santos is also the subject of a complaint filed to the House Ethics Committee as well as parallel investigations conducted by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The congressman has faced calls to resign, including from members of his own party, since it was revealed last month that he had fabricated virtually every part of his identity and biography.
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