US Election 2024 News Live Updates: Trump attempts to sabotage the 2024 election process once more; Washington state deploys the National Guard in the event of election violence
House Speaker Johnson said GOP may try to repeal CHIPS Act, then walked it back
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that Republicans would “likely” try to repeal the law that boosted the production of semiconductor chips in the U.S., a statement he quickly tried to walk back by saying they would instead seek to “streamline” it. Johnson made the initial remarks while campaigning for an incumbent New York GOP congressman in a district that is hoping for a big new Micron semiconductor manufacturing plant.
A reporter asked Johnson if he would try to repeal the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump denounced last week. Johnson responded, “I hope we probably will, but we haven’t developed that part of the agenda yet.” Democrats quickly reacted to the Republican speaker’s comments, warning that it showed how closely Johnson and Trump are pushing an aggressive conservative agenda that is also intent on eliminating popular government programs. The CHIPS Act has created hundreds of thousands of employment and hundreds of billions of dollars in investment, according to the White House. Throughout the campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris hailed the law as evidence that Democrats can take over the American economy.
Donald Trump gambles with last-ditch trips to Democratic New Mexico and Virginia
Donald Trump is traveling to New Mexico and Virginia in the final days of the campaign, taking a risky detour from seven battleground states to spend time in places where Republican presidential candidates haven’t won in decades. The former president was expected to travel to Salem, Virginia, on Saturday after campaigning in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday.
Trump’s team is projecting optimism based on early voting numbers and thinks he can be competitive against Democrat Kamala Harris in both states — especially New Mexico, if he wins swing states Nevada and Arizona. That optimism comes even as neither New Mexico nor Virginia have been carried by a GOP candidate for the White House since George W. Bush in 2004.
In the event of election-related violence, Washington state deploys the National Guard. Washington state’s governor said Friday he is activating some National Guard members to be on stand-by following information and concerns about potential violence related to the 2024 election.
The state, where Democrat Kamala Harris is easily expected to defeat Republican Donald Trump according to polling, was one of two states where ballot boxes were set on fire earlier in the week.
Early voting is available for Washingtonians and more than 2 million people have already cast their ballots, according to the Elections Lab at the University of Florida.
In a letter posted on his website Friday, Governor Jay Inslee stated, “Given the general and specific information and concerns regarding the possibility of violence or other illegal activity related I want to make sure we are ready to respond in full to the general election in 2024.”
Trump is using election falsehoods to challenge the results of the 2024 election if he loses
Donald Trump has spent months laying the groundwork to challenge the results of the 2024 election if he loses it — just as he did four years ago.
At each event, he exhorts his followers to win an election that is “too big to be rigged,” stating that Democrats’ cheating is the only way he can lose.
Trump proclaimed victory from the White House too soon in 2020. He launched a legal and political effort to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden that culminated with his supporters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Democrats fear he could do something similar this year before the election is called. He did not answer a question about Democratic concerns in Dearborn, Michigan, on Friday, instead focusing on attacking Vice President Kamala Harris.
