Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is a notable omission from Protect the House New York 2024, a joint fundraising committee formed to corral money for vulnerable House Republicans in the state. | Bryan Anselm for POLITICO
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) may be running for reelection but the embattled congressman, under fire for fabricating portions of his resume, isn’t likely to get much fundraising help from his party, a new fundraising vehicle indicates.
Santos’ seat is one of Democrats’ top targets in next year’s elections, but the freshman lawmaker is a notable omission from Protect the House New York 2024, a joint fundraising committee formed to corral money for vulnerable House Republicans in the state.
The committee includes both House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his leadership PAC, as well as the NRCC, the House Republicans’ campaign arm, and the New York State Republicans’ federal PAC. It will raise money for frontline New York Reps. Mike Lawler, Brandon Williams, Marc Molinaro, Anthony D’Esposito, Andrew Garbarino, Nick LaLota, according to organization paperwork filed Monday with the FEC.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Even lawmakers keeping an open mind about how the Club approaches the current cycle don’t hide their concern over the group’s past tactics.
“There’s a lot of work to be done on understanding the main goal is not to make a point on any one political issue, but to win,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), against whom the Club once tried to recruit a primary challenger.
But the Club hasn’t been content merely to cross Senate GOP leaders. The group has launched an offensive against Trump too, raising the spectre that a primary that was already destined to be brutal could end up bloody. In recent weeks, Trump has returned the volley, privately indicating that he would be far less likely to endorse down ballot candidates who are allied with the Club, according to two people close to the Trump campaign.
While it has never been known as a go-along-to-get-along institution, the Club has been increasingly embracing its position as party antagonist. And it enters the cycle with two powerful foes.
“It goes with the role, because if we weren’t willing to take some incoming and people not liking us, we couldn’t do our job,” said David McIntosh, the group’s president. Asked whether it was more important to elect candidates with the group’s political philosophy or to take back the majority, McIntosh said the former. “We have both goals,” he explained. “But the primary one is that focus on the economic conservatives.”
For many in GOP circles, the Club’s talents lie not in its ability to win elections but to generate attention. For that reason, they’re often loath to engage publicly with the group. But McIntosh insists that the organization’s motivation is fealty to principle. And if that means angering bigwigs, he’s comfortable with it.
He began the cycle by briefing reporters that Trump’s toxicity was hurting the party’s chances with swing voters and announcing that the group had not invited him to its annual donor retreat. Then, he outlined his plans to zero in on key Senate races.
In West Virginia, the Club announced it will spend at least $10 million to boost Republican Rep. Alex Mooney just as GOP recruiters are on the cusp of convincing the wealthy and popular Gov. Jim Justice to run. In Montana, the group is nudging Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale, who lost to Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in 2018, to make another go while the NRSC has been heavily recruiting Tim Sheehy, a Navy SEAL and wealthy businessperson.
And in Ohio, the Club is beseeching GOP Rep. Warren Davidson
to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in what is already an extremely crowded field.
In 2020, Trump carried all three states. In 2024, they represent Republicans’ best opportunity to retake the Senate. All three of the Club’s preferred candidates in these states are members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus with profiles that might not endear them to swing voters in a general election.
And there is fear elsewhere in the party that those candidates or a divided primary will only boost the three veteran Democratic incumbents in those races.
“That’s an old shopworn line that the moderates have used for 20 years. And the data shows they’re wrong,” McIntosh said in dismissing those concerns. “The milquetoast kind of establishment Republicans actually do worse.”
But inside the NRSC, operatives are desperately trying to lock in candidates with broad appeal. One example: They have been trying to recruit Justice, a coal-mining magnate-turned-West Virginia governor who is increasingly expected to launch a run against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC with close ties to McConnell, released a poll showing Justice was the only candidate who could beat Manchin.
Privately, strategists gripe that Mooney, a former Maryland state senator, could face carpetbagger attacks and struggle to fundraise while Justice, who is worth hundreds of millions, could write his own checks. Mooney backers counter that the congressman could easily run to the right of Justice, a Democrat-turned-Republican who supported President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill.
The Club signaled its intent to boost Mooney with that $10 million or more cash infusion and McIntosh said that “unless Governor Justice is just dying to be in the Senate” he hoped he would sit out the race and “bring the whole party together.”
Both Justice and Mooney are hoping to claim the MAGA mantle by securing the backing of Trump himself in a state he carried by 39 points in 2020. Justice, who hunts with the former president’s sons, is actively trying to nab Trump’s endorsement, according to a person close to the governor. As is Mooney, who endorsed Trump last year. The congressman discussed the race with Trump and is also hoping for his backing, according to a person close to his campaign.
Tensions are running even higher in Montana where the Club is eagerly recruiting Rosendale, a two-term congressman, to take on Tester. Austin Knudsen, the state’s attorney general, is also weighing a run but many Republicans in D.C. and Montana are excited about a potential campaign by Sheehy, a political neophyte with no record to attack and who could self-fund a bid.
“He’s a great kid and a good business guy and smart,” Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) raved about Sheehy. “He’s going to represent the younger generation.”
Rosendale lost to Tester by more than 3 points in 2018 after being branded as a carpetbagger with a noticeable Baltimore accent. Privately, Rosendale has told friends and allies that he plans to run for Senate, according to a person familiar with his plans. Publicly, he has remained noncommittal, and he raised just $127,000 in the first quarter and spent more than that.
“Jon Tester does not represent the state of Montana,” Rosendale said in response to a question about his Senate plans. ”The voters in Montana will make a decision over the next 12 to 18 months on who they want to replace him.”
Asked why Rosendale would fare better against Tester six years later, McIntosh said the Club depleted its resources boosting him in the primary in 2018 and blamed Republican leaders for failing to come in for the general election.
“I am now very aware of that, and realize I can’t count on McConnell, because honestly, I don’t think his motive is simply to get the majority,” McIntosh said. “It is frustrating to watch the establishment not fund somebody and then say, Oh, they couldn’t win.”
Trump looms large in Montana. Rosendale has notably declined to endorse him, telling POLITICO he planned to remain neutral. Yet he traipsed to Mar-A-Lago to attend Trump’s post-indictment rally earlier this month — a move that befuddled some consultants in the former president’s orbit.
The former president’s campaign is closely tracking which members have endorsed him, according to two people close to the operation. Those people note that Republican operatives who want to dissuade Trump from backing an opposing candidate send Trump’s team news clips showing the Club’s support for that candidate.
The Club, which spent some $150 million in the past two elections, is still a major player in Republican politics and has close ties to many of the party’s top donors. Its spending is dwarfed by that of the Senate Leadership Fund but it will have the resources to cause headaches in primaries.
Some of its candidates would be well-positioned, if not favored, in a primary. But in others the path to victory is less clear. In Ohio, the group is pushing Davidson, a fourth-term member, to enter a field already crowded with wealthy businessmen.
“It’s safe to say I’m actually very actively looking at the race every day,” Davidson said in an interview. “I would clearly be the conservative.”
The group hasn’t always been on a different page from national Republicans. Both the Club and Trump aligned to support Blake Masters in 2022, with the Club spending more than $3 million to push Masters through a crowded primary. But Masters went on to lose to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).
“They didn’t do a really great job last time around,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said of the Club. “Their folks were underperformers and I just think people are tired of the anger and the vitriol and actually want to see people get along and get some things done.”
The Club did not back some of the other notable 2022 Senate losers, such as Don Bolduc in New Hampshire or Herschel Walker in Georgia. And it has had some success in boosting candidates to Congress, notably current Sen. Ted Budd, who won an open seat in North Carolina in 2022 with both Trump’s backing and the group’s support.
“I think they’ve really tried to get fiscally responsible people to win Senate races,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), another Club-backed candidate. “They were very influential in Ted Budd winning the primary and the general last time.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Hyderabad: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will organise the second in-person meeting of G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) here from April 17-19, officials said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters here, MeitY Secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma and Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman said the inaugural address will be given by Union Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan and Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A Narayanaswamy.
The side events would focus primarily on digital connectivity and would comprise of three panel discussions on the thematic areas namely ‘High Speed Mobile Broadband and its impacts on lives, society and industry’, ‘Digital Inclusion: Connecting the Unconnected’, and ‘Sustainable, Green Digital Infrastructure: Challenges and Opportunities,’ the officials said.
Global experts will share their experience in emerging and telecom technologies and on technology led inclusive development.
On the second and third day of the meetings, G20 members, invited guests from countries and international organisations would discuss extensively on the actionable deliverables in priority areas namely ‘Digital Public Infrastructure’, ‘Cybersecurity’ and ‘Digital Skilling’.
The delegates would visit Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad, to gain first-hand knowledge of India’s expertise in the emerging digital and telecom technologies namely 5G-i, 6G, Internet of Things (IoT) and various cases pertaining to welfare of citizens, the officials said.
A workshop titled ‘Multi-stakeholder Consultation for Mutual Recognition of Digital Skills’ would also be held on April 18.
The ‘Stay Safe Online (SSO)’ campaign and ‘G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (DIA)’ have been launched under Indian Presidency to engage with common people especially youths and entrepreneurs in G20 Member States, the officials said.
As part of India’s G20 presidency, MeitY had organised the first Digital Economy Working Group meeting in Lucknow in February.
New Delhi: At their first joint working group meeting on the Chabahar port, India and the central Asian nations reaffirmed that connectivity initiatives should comply with global norms, transparency, local priorities, financial sustainability and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.
The comments, mentioned in a joint statement released on Friday following the meeting hosted by India in Mumbai on April 12 and 13, came amid growing global criticism of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The statement said the participants at the meeting noted that further development of regional connectivity is essential for enhancing trade and commerce between India and the central Asian countries in the context of their land-locked nature and lack of overland connectivity with India.
The mention of “lack of overland connectivity with India” is being seen as an indirect reference to Pakistan’s reluctance to grant New Delhi transit access to Afghanistan and beyond.
India has been pushing for the Chabahar port project to boost regional trade, especially for its connectivity to Afghanistan.
At the meeting, the country representative for the UN World Food Programme (UNWFP) made a presentation on the ongoing cooperation between India and the UNWFP in Afghanistan for the delivery of wheat assistance.
The statement said the consul general of Afghanistan emphasised the significance of the Chabahar port for the delivery of humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people and providing economic opportunities for Afghan businessmen and traders.
Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran’s southern coast, the Chabahar port is being developed by India and Iran to boost connectivity and trade ties.
The first meeting of the India-Central Asia Joint Working Group (JWG) on the Chabahar port was chaired by Dammu Ravi, the Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, and attended by deputy ministers and senior officials from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The special invitees to the event were the country representative of the UNWFP, the deputy foreign minister of Iran and the consul general of Afghanistan, according to the statement.
It said the participants “reaffirmed that the connectivity initiatives should conform with international norms, the rule of law, respect for international commitments, and are based on mutually-agreed principles of sustainable connectivity, transparency, broad participation, local priorities, financial sustainability and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries”.
China has been facing criticism of creating debt traps for a number of countries while pushing projects under the BRI. Several African countries are finding it difficult to repay the loans provided by China for BRI projects.
The statement said the participants at the joint working group meeting also emphasised that connectivity projects deserve priority attention and could be a force multiplier for trade and economic cooperation and contacts between countries and people.
The statement said the participants agreed that connectivity requires the private sector’s active participation.
“In order to facilitate large-scale private investments in sustainable connectivity, the sides expressed their commitment to implement relevant international standards, to ensure a level-playing field for companies and to ensure reciprocal access to markets,” it said.
During the meeting, the managing director of India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) gave a comprehensive presentation on the facilities and current operations at the Shahid Behesti terminal at the Chabahar port. IPGL is currently operating the terminal.
“The Country Representative for UNWFP made a presentation on the ongoing cooperation between India and UNWFP in Afghanistan for the delivery of wheat assistance. The Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan emphasised the significance of Chabahar Port for the delivery of humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people and providing economic opportunities for the Afghan businessmen and traders,” the joint statement said.
At the meeting, the deputy foreign minister of Iran proposed to hold the next round of the India-Central Asia Joint Working Group (JWG) deliberations in his country, along with the participation of the private sector. The participants welcomed the proposal.
Hyderabad: Global infrastructure company, GMR Group recently expanded its innovation business vertical GMR Innovex, with the launch of the Robotics Centre of Excellence (CoE).
The GMR’s COE will serve as a hub for innovation, research and development and collaboration in the field of robotics.
It will identify and incubate startups working in the field of robotics and co-develop innovative robotic products for the airport and aviation eco-system.
According to a press release, the new robotic COE will drive innovation and provide necessary infrastructure, a specially designed robotic lab for the robotic startups, drive thought leadership and collaboration with industry partners, leverage expertise and invest in potential startups.
Telangana principal secretary, Jayesh Ranjan who participated in the launch said, “The state government has taken several initiatives towards developing the thriving robotics technology by providing a platform for the startups, industry players and other potential entities working in the robotics and automation space.”
GMR Group executive director-South Airports, SGK Kishore said, “As the airport and aviation eco-system continues to grow, our Robotics COE will transform the industry with its cutting edge technology and solutions that would enhance efficiency, safety and sustainability.”
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has attached 25 immovable properties at Rudrapur in Uttarakhand and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, worth Rs 40.39 crore belonging to the Supertech Group of Companies and their directors in connection with a money laundering case.
Investigation under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), against Supertech Group of Companies and others, was initiated on the basis of various FIRs registered by the Delhi Police, Haryana Police and Uttar Pradesh Police.
It was alleged in all the FIRs that the company and its directors indulged in a criminal conspiracy to cheat people by collecting funds from prospective buyers in advance against booked flats in their real estate projects and failed to adhere to its agreed obligations to provide the possession of the flats on time, and thus, as per FIRs, the company defrauded the public.
Investigation conducted by the ED under provisions of the PMLA revealed that the funds were collected by Supertech Ltd and group companies from homebuyers and also took project specific term loans from banks for the purpose of construction of flats.
However, these funds were misappropriated and diverted for the purchase of land in the name of other group companies that were again pledged as collaterals to borrow funds from banks.
“Investigation further revealed that the Supertech Group also defaulted on its payments to the banks/ financial institutions and currently around Rs 1,500 crore of such loans have become NPA,” the ED said.
London: A British Pakistani diaspora group has written an open letter to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, urging him to clarify the remarks of his Home Secretary Suella Braverman which, they say, stigmatised their community in relation to grooming gangs behind child sexual exploitation.
The British Pakistani Foundation (BPF), which claims to represent 18,000 Pakistani diaspora members, called on Sunak to ask his Cabinet minister to withdraw her “irresponsible words” as it would be perceived as normalising bigotry against the community.
Similar letters have also been issued by other Pakistani diaspora groups, all calling for the Indian-origin Cabinet minister’s comments to be withdrawn.
In a series of television interviews earlier this month ahead of the launch of a new Grooming Gangs Taskforce, Braverman said that the perpetrators of such crimes are “groups of men, almost all British Pakistani”.
“We are writing to you to share our deep concern and disappointment at the Home Secretary’s recent comments and for you not speaking out against them,” reads the open letter issued on Tuesday.
These comments singled out only the involvement of British Pakistani males in so-called grooming gangs’ and holding cultural values totally at odds with British values’, it said.
“Words have consequences by stigmatising an entire community, and making it the face’ of child sexual exploitation, the Home Secretary’s remarks will detract attention from perpetrators who don’t meet her stereotypes, harming the very victims the Home Secretary ostensibly set out to protect but also further perpetrating violence against minorities,” it reads.
The letter references a report commissioned by the UK Home Office in 2020, entitled The characteristics of group-based child sexual exploitation in the community’, which had concluded that despite some high-profile cases, links between ethnicity and this form of offending cannot be proven.
It also references the most recent conviction of 21 men and women of “white British ethnicity”, who were last week found guilty of sexually abusing young children in Walsall in the West Midlands region of England over a decade.
“The divisive and dangerous way in which the Home Secretary is seeking to portray all British Pakistani males and insinuating that the community is complicit in their actions is reprehensible,” the BPF open letter notes.
“We, therefore, ask you to immediately clarify the Home Secretary’s claims and ask her to withdraw her remarks. We also ask for your prompt engagement with the British Pakistani community, and others, on this issue to ensure that the Home Secretary’s irresponsible words, and a government led by you, are not seen as encouraging and normalising bigotry targeted at British Pakistanis,” it concludes.
Earlier this month, Sunak had condemned the political correctness which prevented action against “vile” criminals as he unveiled his new taskforce to go after grooming gangs.
“The safety of women and girls is paramount. For too long, political correctness has stopped us from weeding out vile criminals who prey on children and young women. We will stop at nothing to stamp out these dangerous gangs,” he said at the time.
Led by the police and supported by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), Downing Street says that data analysts will work alongside the new Grooming Gangs Taskforce using cutting edge data and intelligence to identify the types of criminals who carry out these offences, including police recorded ethnicity data.
SRINAGAR: Group Captain Suman Roy Chowdhury, then Chief Operations Officer of Srinagar Air Force Station, has been dismissed by a General Court Martial (GCM) in Delhi for a missile attack on a friendly Mi-17 helicopter on February 27, 2019. The attack resulted in the death of six Air Force personnel and a civilian. The incident took place a day after the Indian Air Force carried out an airstrike in Balakot, Pakistan, reported The Tribune.
As per The Tribune, The GCM held Group Captain Chowdhury guilty on five of the nine charges. He was held guilty of not obeying the general order issued by Air Headquarters, dated July 14, 2017, which required all aircraft operating north of latitude 3200 N to operate with Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) on. He permitted Mi-17 to get airborne from Srinagar without the IFF on. He was held guilty of assigning an inbound flying object to the missile unit at 10:10 am on February 27, 2019, at 23 km from the Srinagar base for engagement by the Mission Commander, Command and Control Unit of 2258 Squadron. As a consequence, the assigned flying target, which actually was friendly copter Mi-17, was shot down by a Spyder missile at 10:14 am. The mishap caused a loss of Rs 133.31 crore to the state.
The court-martial found Wing Commander Shyam Naithani, who was the Senior Air Traffic Control Officer at the time of the incident, not guilty on four charges and gave him a severe reprimand for one charge.
The findings of the GCM and the sentence were subject to confirmation by the IAF Chief, according to Air Force officials. The High Court had allowed the GCM to pronounce the findings against Group Captain Chowdhury but ordered that these must not be given effect till the disposal of the case before it. The High Court is yet to dispose of the case, The Tribune reported.
The missile attack on the friendly Mi-17 helicopter resulted in the death of Squadron Leaders S Vashisht and Ninand M, Sergeant VK Pandey, Sergeant Vikrant Sahrawat, Corporal Pankaj Kumar, Corporal D Pandey, and Kifayat Hussain Ganie, a civilian on the ground and resident of Budgam district.
Group Captain Chowdhury had urged the GCM not to proceed with the pronouncement of the sentence till the case was in the High Court. His counsel Captain Sandeep Bansal (retd) said they would challenge the decision before the High Court.
Amritsar: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on Sunday sent a ‘jatha’ (group) of Sikh pilgrims to participate in a religious congregation to be organised on Khalsa Sajna Diwas (Baisakhi) at Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib in Pakistan.
Besides the SGPC, Sikh devotees sponsored by Haryana Gurdwara Management and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee also crossed over to Pakistan on Sunday through the Joint Check post of Attari border (JCP), officials said.
The total strength of Sikh pilgrims who crossed over to Pakistan was 2,500.
SGPC secretary Partap Singh said this ‘jatha’ has departed to participate in the main congregation of Khalsa Sajna Diwas (Baisakhi) to be organised at Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib.
He said the ‘jatha’ will reach Gurdwara Sri Nankana Sahib on April 9, and after paying obeisance at Gurdwara Sacha Sauda Sahib, Mandi Chuharkana, on April 10, it will return to Nankana Sahib.
The jatha will reach Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib on April 12, and participate in the main congregation on April 14, he said.
On April 15, the ‘jatha’ of Sikh pilgrims will reach Gurdwara Dehra Sahib, Lahore, and visit Gurdwara Rori Sahib, Eminabad, as well as Gurdwara Sri Kartapur Sahib on April 16. After staying at Gurdwara Dehra Sahib, Lahore, on April 17, the ‘jatha’ will return to India on April 18, he said.
