WASHINGTON — A raid by the FBI on Mar-a-Lago in Florida, the former home of President Donald Trump, has sparked outrage from a wide swathe of the GOP. Many Republican lawmakers used the incident to raise campaign funds, boost their support among Trump voters, and criticize the Biden administration and Democrats generally.
The Washington Post reports that the National Archives was aggressively reaching out to Trump’s circle to request the return of classified and unclassified documents they believed were covered under the Presidential Records Act. The Post reported late Thursday that the documents were classified papers and related to nuclear weapons.
The FBI searched for Mar-a-Lago papers and opened a safe, leaving behind dozens of boxes.
The Democratic mantra was “noone is above the law,” but the raid caused a frenzy among Republicans.
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-6 the) combined the FBI raid and the specter that an Internal Revenue Service would be established under the Inflation Reduction Act. This would modernize the agency, crack down on large-dollar tax cheats, and scare Americans about the power the federal government has.
Emmer tweeted, “Every American should be alarmed by the Biden Administration’s weaponization of Our Justice System.”
Rep. Peter Stauber (R-8 the) agreed with other Republicans that a former president shouldn’t be subject to FBI raids.
Stauber tweeted, “It’s alarming that the FBI searched a former president’s private residence.” “The American people require immediate answers as to the reason for the raid on Mar-a-Lago.”
The raid was announced for the first time Monday evening by the ex-president, who was in New York City at Trump Tower.
Trump’s allies in Congress, including Kevin McCarthy, R. CA, House Minority Leader, promised to open an investigation if they regain control of the U.S. House or U.S. Senate in November, when the balance in Washington will be determined.
Trump was not the only one who used the raid to raise funds for his campaign.
Trump sent his supporters a text on Tuesday morning: “MAR-ALAGO was RAIDED.” “The Radical Left has become corrupt. Give the power back to the people! Do you want to fight alongside me? Donate.”
JD Vance, Trump’s nominee for Senate in Ohio was emailed his supporters with a message and a link to donate. The message stated that “This is not a drill.” “Joe Biden is ATTACKING Donald Trump for STANDING FOR US, It’s high time we showed we have his back!” Get involved.
In a tweet, Trump endorses Rep. Michelle Fischbach the day following the raid.
The former president stated that Michelle Fischbach, a Congresswoman, is an extraordinary Representative for the 7 th congressional District. She is fighting for the Rule of Law and the Security of the Border, Protect Life, Strengthen Our Military, and Support our Great American Farmers.
Trump also tweeted: “Michelle Fischbach won this seat in 2020 with mine support, and she has my complete and total Endorsement to re-election.”
Fischbach defeated Collin Peterson, a 30-year-old Democratic incumbent, to win her seat at Congress.
Finstad casts his first vote in Congress
Brad Finstad (Republican Rep.-Elect) was sworn into office Friday morning as the newest U.S. House member. He will now be the official representative for the 1 st district.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi swears in right after the House reconvened in August for a one day session. The Inflation Reduction Act was up for vote by Washington, D.C. lawmakers.
Finstad’s initial vote would be a “no” vote on the massive bill. This massive bill would spend billions on climate and health initiatives. It would also impose a 15% tax on large corporations that don’t currently pay taxes. A new 1% tax will be added to stock buybacks by companies in order to raise money for the bills provisions.
However, not all House members will return to D.C. in order to vote on the Inflation Reduction Act.
Pelosi allowed House members the ability to vote by proxy to allow another lawmaker to cast their vote. This was to address the pandemic. Around 150 U.S. House Members had notified the Clerk Thursday that they would vote by proxy for the bill. This included Reps. Ilhanomar (D-5 th) and Angie Craig (D-2nd District), who went back to Washington to vote on the huge spending bill.
Finstad was presented with a voter card, keys to the Longworth House Office Building, and a budget for staff hiring. He is likely to keep many of Hagedorn’s staff who have worked in Longworth since February, when Hagedorn passed away.
Finstad cannot be guaranteed a seat in Congress after January 1, when a new Congress will be elected. Finstad must defend his seat against Ettinger, the Democrat he beat 52-48% in the special elections.
Ettinger’s campaign claims they are confident they will get a better result at the general election in a newly constructed 1 st district – the result redistricting – that is slightly more favorable to Democrats with Olmstead and Winona Counties.
Finstad won by four points and Trump won by more than ten points. This week, the Cook Political Report changed the status of the southern Minnesota district to “likely Republican” from “safe Republican.”
Finstad’s incumbent advantage cannot be overlooked, even if it is only for a few more months before November’s election.
Minnesota children are fine, kind of
There are some positive news for Minnesota’s children. Minnesota ranked No. 1 in the 2022 “Kids Count” survey on the nation’s children. 3. Minnesota was ranked No. 3 in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories when it comes “Overall Child Wellbeing.” Only New Hampshire and Massachusetts were higher.
New Mexico was ranked last in this study.
Every year, except 2020, the report has been published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This is due to the unique circumstances created by the pandemic. The 2022 report contains data from 2016 to 2020, but it doesn’t include any information about the effects COVID-19 might have had on children in the country in the past two years.
The foundation assesses how children fare in four areas: economic well-being, education, health, family and community, and health. This organization relies on government data as well as information gathered from national surveys.
The Kids Count report stated that these indicators “represent the best available data to assess the status of children’s well-being at both the national and state levels.”
According to the report, Minnesota’s high-poverty children dropped from 77,000 during a period of four years ending in 2014 to 56,000 between 2016 and 2020. The number of high school dropouts between 16 and 19 years old dropped from 11,000 in 2010, to 9,000 in 2020.
There was also some bad news. Between 2016 and 2020, the percentage of children aged 3-17 who experience anxiety or depression increased in almost every state, even Minnesota. While the Minnesota increase was 14.8%, the national average was 25.5%.
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