McCarthy puts political hopes above democracy with Trump pilgrimage
CNN
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy's new pilgrimage to Donald Trump shows there is no price a party that has slipped its moral moorings and given up on democracy will not pay for power.
His trip to the ex-President's New Jersey golf resort on Thursday came with Washington in shock over new revelations about Trump's crazed last days in office and his refusal to leave office peacefully after a clear election defeat. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, for instance, feared Trump might try to seize control of the military to stage a coup, according to a forthcoming book by two Washington Post reporters. The House minority leader's fresh lavishing on Trump of the loyalty that he craves also came as the former commander in chief continues to tarnish faith in American democracy with false and desperate claims of mass voter fraud and as McCarthy is considering whom to appoint to the House select committee meant to investigate the January 6 insurrection Trump incited.Venezuelan authorities are investigating opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for alleged treason after she expressed support for a US bipartisan bill that seeks to block Washington from doing business with any entity that has commercial ties with the government of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the intelligence community, was briefly placed on a Transportation Security Administration list that prompts additional security screening before flights after her overseas travel patterns and foreign connections triggered a government algorithm earlier this year, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN.