Politics

LAS VEGAS (AP) — President Donald Trump heads to Las Vegas on Thursday to promote the tax cuts he signed into law last year to try to highlight what Republicans see as an economic strength ahead of this year’s elections.

Workers who earn tips and overtime are seeing bigger returns this tax season, but those savings and others resulting from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that Trump signed last year have been eaten away by higher gas pricesdriven by the Iran war.

The president’s rare trip out West comes as Trump faces growing political pressure to wrap up the war and focus on a message that helps his party as they try to defend their congressional majorities in November’s midterm elections.

On Friday, Trump will hold an event in Phoenix with conservative political group Turning Point USA. But his first stop is in Las Vegas where he will hold a roundtable with several police officers who have benefited from new tax breaks on overtime, along with a barber and a casino pit supervisor, who got to claim the new tax breaks on tips.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the average tax refund this year has been over $3,400, up about $340 from a year ago.

Trump has said he first conceived of his “no tax on tips” in Las Vegas, a city where entertainment is the financial lifeblood and many workers depend on gratuities from visitors.

But it’s also a city of commuters, including the tipped workers who drive to their jobs at glitzy casinos. Gasoline is averaging $5 a gallon in Las Vegas, up 28% from a year ago, according to AAA.

Nicholas Delaney, an airline attendant who lives in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson and said he did not vote for the president in 2024, said he thinks Trump is doing a “terrible” job when it comes to the cost of living. He thought the tax break for tips was a good policy, but is concerned about the cost of groceries and gas.

“I gotta spend over $100 for a full tank of gas, 13 gallons? Crazy,” Delaney said.

Paula Goodman, a bartender in a Henderson casino, said the cost of living is her biggest concern right now, adding that she spends more than $400 a week on groceries for her family.

But Goodman, who voted for the president, said she thought he is “doing a pretty good damn job,” and doesn’t blame him for high gas prices, which she portrayed as just a fluctuation. As a bartender, she said she personally appreciated the tax savings on tips she brings home.

“Every little penny nowadays is, like, huge,” she said. “You’ve seen diesel, right? $6.11.”

The White House said Trump is focused on tax cuts, deregulation and boosting U.S. energy production to drive down prices, and describes high gas prices as a temporary disruption from the war in Iran.

“Tens of millions of Americans are benefiting this tax season from the president’s signature provisions” in the tax law, said White House spokesman Kush Desai, saying that shows “how the administration hasn’t lost focus on delivering on our affordability agenda at home.”

Even so, the conflict has made things less affordable. The Bank of America Institute looked at its deposit and spending data and in a Tuesday analysis concluded that “the average increase in tax refunds could cover the average increase in gasoline spending for at least five months.”

Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, the insurance and financial services company, said last week in an analysis that “the steep rise in gasoline prices looks likely to completely offset the increased tax funds windfall with households,” stressing that the money back would likely prevent a sharper drop in consumer spending.

Trump’s economic message focusing on the tax breaks has also been drowned out this week by distractions from the president himself, who angered even some of his own supporters when he got into a public fight with the pope and posted a now-deleted image on social media depicting himself as Jesus.

GOP strategist Ron Bonjean said among Republicans, “the frustration and concern is growing every week about whether or not we will be able to hold onto the House this November.”

It takes a lot of repetition for a message like promoting the tax bill to break through to voters, but Trump’s tendency to drift into other subjects can dilute that, Bonjean said. Trump, who has at times dismissed affordability concerns as “a hoax,” and “con job” from Democrats, has to acknowledge the economic realities people are facing now if he wants to help his party this November, Bonjean said.

“He absolutely has to talk about his plan to bring down high gasoline costs, or else he’s lost his own message. It won’t be credible just to talk about no taxes on tips,” Bonjean said.

While the president has said he thinks the war with Iran will end soon, a deal to resolve it has not yet emerged, with the U.S. and Iran still proffering stances that are far apart.

Trump on Sunday said in a Fox News Channel interview that gas prices “could be the same or maybe a little bit higher” by the November midterms.

By Wednesday, in another Fox News interview, Trump walked back that comment. “I think they’ll be much lower” before the election, on the assumption the war will be long over.

“When that’s settled, gas prices are going to go down tremendously,” Trump said.

Hours later at the White House, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was less rosy, predicting that gas prices will fall sometime this summer, depending on how the negotiations with Iran go.

“I’m optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th, that we can have $3 gas again,” Bessent told reporters.

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Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

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Democrats are boasting of eye-popping fundraising hauls in some of this year’s top Senate contests, a potential sign of voter enthusiasm in what remains an uphill quest to win the Senate majority.

In the first three months of the year, Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s campaign said he brought in $27 million, while vulnerable incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia said he raised $14 million. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s campaign said he’ll report $13.8 million and former Sen. Sherrod Brown will report $12.5 million in his comeback bid in Ohio.

The money will help Democrats make their case to voters and counter Republican attacks, but it doesn’t change the fundamental fact that control of the Senate will be decided in territory that favors Republicans. Except for Maine, where Democrats Graham Platner and Janet Mills are still battling for the party’s nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, all of the top battleground races are in states President Donald Trump won in 2024.

While Democrats touted their totals, they offer only a snapshot of overall fundraising, as campaigns had until the end of the day Wednesday to file with the Federal Election Commission.

In races where Republicans had reported their fundraising by Tuesday evening, Democrats were far outpacing them.

In Texas, incumbent Sen. Jon Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton — who are locked in a bitter runoff for the GOP nomination — raised $2.5 million combined, less than 10% of Talarico’s revenue for the quarter. Two of the three main Republicans in Georgia — Derek Dooley and Buddy Carter — combined for about $1.1 million. The third, Mike Collins, had not yet reported his fundraising as of Wednesday evening.

Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley raised $2.1 million in North Carolina and Sen. Jon Husted raised $2.9 million in Ohio.

Collins, a top target for Democrats, raised $3.1 million in Maine. Mills, the governor who is preferred by much of the Democratic establishment, said she’ll report raising $2.6 million, while Platner, an oyster farmer backed by progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders, said he raised $4 million.

In Alaska, Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola said she’ll report raising $8.9 million, compared with $1.7 million for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Republicans said flush coffers don’t guarantee victory.

Retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina pointed out that his opponent in 2020 also celebrated successful fundraising quarters but didn’t win.

Democrats Beto O’Rourke in 2018 in Texas and Jaime Harrison in 2020 in South Carolina shattered fundraising records and still lost to their Republican rivals.

“We don’t have to outraise them,” Tillis said. “We just got to out run them.”

There’s an imbalance in Republicans’ favor at the national committee level. The Republican National Committee reported roughly $109 million cash on hand in its most recent FEC filing, compared with roughly $16 million for their Democratic counterpart, plus Democrats are carrying about $17 million in debt.

Waiting in the wings for Republicans is a super political action committee tied to Trump — MAGA Inc. — which has more than $300 million cash on hand, according to the FEC.

The rosy first-quarter contributions carry some advantages for Democrats, namely the ability to buy limited advertising slots ahead of the election to get on the air early and make an impression with voters. Candidates also get favorable rates for television ads so their money goes further than independent expenditures by outside groups, though that advantage is eroding as ad spending increasingly shifts toward digital streaming.

“Winning in Texas will require unprecedented resources,” Talarico campaign manager Seth Krasne said in a statement. “This grassroots fundraising haul puts our movement in a strong position to spread our message in some of the most expensive media markets in the country.”

Talarico will face the winner of the GOP runoff on May 26 between Cornyn and Paxton.

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Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.

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By David Thomas

April 15 (Reuters) – The California Supreme Court stripped conservative attorney John Eastman of his law license on Wednesday over his efforts to overturn U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

The court did not immediately release an opinion explaining its decision, which followed a state bar court’s determination that Eastman violated attorney ethics rules.

Eastman’s disbarment “affirms the fundamental principle that attorneys must act with honesty and uphold the rule of law, regardless of the client they represent or the context in which that representation occurs,” George Cardona, the State Bar of California’s chief trial counsel, said in a statement.

Randall Miller, Eastman’s lawyer, said in a statement they will file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.  

A former law professor at Chapman University in California, Eastman represented Trump in a long-shot lawsuit at the U.S. Supreme Court that sought to invalidate votes in four states where the Republican former president had falsely claimed evidence of widespread 2020 voter fraud.

Eastman also drafted legal memos weeks after the election suggesting then-Vice President Mike Pence could refuse to accept electoral votes from several swing states when Congress convened to certify the vote count. Pence rebuffed his arguments, saying he did not have legal authority to do so under the U.S. Constitution.

Eastman repeated many of his election claims at a rally outside the White House on January 6, 2021, after which a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and delayed congressional certification of the election.

A judge on California’s State Bar Court recommended Eastman’s disbarment in a March 2024 decision, determining that his efforts to derail Biden’s victory were “unlawful and lacked any factual or legal support.” Eastman’s law license was suspended as he appealed the finding.

The State Bar Court’s appellate division last year found that Eastman violated California attorney ethics rules against misleading courts and making false public statements.    

Eastman pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in Arizona and Georgia for his efforts to overturn Biden’s election victory in both states. In November, a prosecutor in Georgia dropped all charges against Trump, Eastman and other defendants in the state’s case.

(Reporting by David Thomas; Editing by Nia Williams)

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By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked two resolutions that would have stopped the sale of some $450 million in bombs and bulldozers to Israel, as President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans rallied behind his support for the Jewish state.

But support for the resolutions from a large majority of the 47-member Senate Democratic caucus underscored growing frustration within that party about the effect on civilians from Israeli strikes on Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

A decades-long tradition of strong bipartisan support for Israel in the U.S. Congress means resolutions to stop weapons sales are unlikely to pass, but backers hope raising the issue will encourage Israel’s government and U.S. administrations to do more to protect civilians.

Supporters of the sales say Israel is an important ally to whom the United States should sell military equipment.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, forced votes on the resolutions, saying the sales violate criteria for foreign assistance in the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act.

The first resolution would have prohibited the $295 million sale of D9R and D9T Caterpillar bulldozers, parts and other support. The vote was 59 to 40 against advancing the measure.

Seven Democrats voted with every Republican against advancing the resolution of disapproval of the bulldozer sale. Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming did not vote.    

The second would have prohibited the $151.8 million sale of 12,000 BLU-110A/B general purpose 1,000-pound “dumb” bombs and related logistics and technical support services.

Eleven Democrats joined every Republican to block the measure by 63 to 36. Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina did not vote.

Israel uses the bombs in attacks on Gaza and Lebanon and uses the bulldozers to demolish homes in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, Sanders said.

“The United States must use the leverage we have – tens of billions in arms and military aid – to demand that Israel ends these atrocities,” he said, urging support for the resolutions.

Israel says it does not intentionally target civilians, and that its strikes are intended to neutralize militants and military infrastructure.

Wednesday’s vote showed an uptick in support for efforts to limit military sales to Israel. In July, two resolutions that would have blocked arms sales in response to civilian casualties in Gaza were blocked in the Senate.

Also introduced by Sanders, they failed by 73 to 24 and 70 to 27 in the 100-member chamber.

The Trump administration bypassed the normal congressional review of military sales early in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, saying there was an emergency that made it necessary to immediately transfer the weapons.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Nia Williams)

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By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) – A majority of the U.S. Senate backed President Donald Trump’s military campaign against Iran on Wednesday, voting to block a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop the war until hostilities are authorized by Congress.

The Senate voted 52-47 not to advance the war powers resolution, underscoring his party’s continuing support for the Republican president’s war policy more than six weeks after the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran.

Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network conducted on Tuesday and aired on Wednesday that the war was close to over. Also on Wednesday, the army chief of mediator Pakistan arrived in Tehran to try to prevent a renewal of the conflict, after weekend peace negotiations ended without an agreement.

It was the fourth time Democrats have forced Senate votes on war powers measures since the war began. All of them have failed in the face of opposition from every Senate Republican except Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The libertarian-leaning Paul, who often advocates against excessive military spending and for a strict interpretation of the Constitution, was the only Republican vote in favor of the resolution in the latest vote. The only Democratic “no” came from Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman. Republican Senator Jim Justice of West Virginia did not vote.

Although the U.S. Constitution says that Congress, not the president, can declare war, presidents from both parties have long held the restriction does not apply for short-term operations or if the country is under immediate threat.

‘NOBODY IS COMING TO HELP YOU, IRAN’

The White House, and almost all of Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress, say Trump’s actions are legal and within his rights as commander-in-chief to protect the U.S. by ordering limited ⁠military operations.

Opinion polls show the war is broadly unpopular, although views differ along partisan lines. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on March 31 found that 60% of Americans opposed U.S. military strikes on Iran, with 74% of Republicans supporting the action, compared with 7% of Democrats.

Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, accused backers of the war powers resolution of supporting Iran in a speech before the vote.

“Nobody is coming to help you, Iran, except for the 47 people over here,” he said, referring to senators who back the resolution.

Democrats said they wanted Congress to retake its constitutionally mandated power to declare war, and pull the country back from what they warned could become a long conflict.

“I urge my colleagues … to choose the path of peace before President Trump’s war becomes irreversible,” Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said in a speech urging support for the vote.

Democratic Party leaders have vowed to keep bringing war powers resolutions until the conflict ends or Congress authorizes continued fighting.

The House of Representatives is expected to consider a similar measure later this week.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Chris Reese, Chizu Nomiyama, Rod Nickel)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Days after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was ousted by an opposition campaign with an anti-corruption message, Democrats want to try the same playbook against President Donald Trump before the midterm elections.

House Democrats launched Wednesday what they call a task force to overhaul ethics rules and protect access to the ballot. They also want to highlight the Trump family’s business dealings and the president’s transformation of the federal government.

The task force, which will include a mix of progressive and moderate members, could become a central part of Democrats’ messaging as they try to claw back control of Congress from Republicans.

Rep. Joe Morelle, top Democrat on the House Administration Committee and a longtime ally of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, will spearhead the effort. He said Jeffries “fears that we’re losing Americans’ faith and trust in government and institutions” because so often “decisions are made based on the personal interests of the members or the president and with little regard for Americans.”

Morelle floated a ban on stock trading for all members of the executive branch, Congress and federal courts as a policy. He added that a code of ethics and term limits for Supreme Court justices were other possible proposals.

Democrats have frequently accused Trump’s second term of being “the most corrupt administration in American history,” a characterization the White House denies.

“President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public,” said Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson. “President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest.”

A little over a year into the president’s second term, his family’s Trump Organization has conducted deals in eight foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Vietnam. All the deals are ostensibly in compliance with the Trump company’s self-imposed rule not to do business directly with foreign governments.

But it’s not sure that matters, given that many such authoritarian and one-party states rarely take a hands-off approach in private business deals, especially when the business belongs to a sitting president.

Promises to clean up Washington are nothing new. Trump campaigned in 2016 and 2024 on a vow to “drain the swamp.” Democrats won back control of the House in 2018, at the midpoint of Trump’s first term, with an anti-corruption message.

“I don’t know that we start with people’s trust. I certainly think that’s probably not the case,” said Morelle. “The question is, will we earn it? Can we earn it? And we’re prepared to place significant emphasis on this.”

Reps. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, respectively, are on the task force.

So are Reps. Greg Casar, D-Texas, leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Brad Schneider, D-Ill., head of the moderate New Democrats. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., one of the caucus’ most prominent members, is a member as well.

The group’s regional and ideological diversity could ensure a broad base of support for the new initiative, or it could make it harder to find a unifying message and agenda.

“The challenge is almost there’s too much to do, and they are going to need to focus on a couple of things,” said Justin Florence, co-founder of Protect Democracy, a group that says it combats authoritarianism in the U.S. and is consulting with Democrats on their strategy.

The group believes the Hungarian elections offer a successful model.

“It just shows that this messaging has to be loud, it has to be colorful, it has to be engaging,” said Ben Raderstorf, a strategist with Protect Democracy, on how Orbán’s opponents spread their anti-corruption message. “It can’t just be staid hearings, it’s about breaking through attention cycles.”

While Democrats debated after the 2024 election whether their warnings that democracy was imperiled resonated with Americans, many in the party say Trump’s actions have shifted public opinion.

Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga., one of the task force’s co-chairs, said the president is “actively meddling in our elections and attempting to impose a Jim Crow 2.0 era through intimidation and suppression.” She vowed the task force will “hold Trump accountable for his corrupt schemes, expose them to the American people, and present the alternative they deserve.”

Anti-corruption groups are hoping the messaging effort will transfer to a meaningful plan to curb corruption in Washington.

“The hope is that it’s broad, and that it’s serious policymaking and not just talking points,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a watchdog group that has been in talks with the task force.

The goal, he said, is to address “not just the Trump administration’s extreme abuses, but the systemic rigging of the political process in Washington.”

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Associated Press writer Bernard Condon contributed from New York.

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WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged the risks artificial intelligence posed to the banking system and said there should be government safeguards, but also believed the technology could make the banking system better and safer, according to an interview broadcast on Wednesday.

Asked if AI could undermine confidence in the banking system, Trump told Fox Business Network: “Yeah, probably. But it could also be the kind of technology that allows greatness in the banking system, makes it better and safer and more secure.”

On whether government should have some safeguards on AI technology – a “kill switch,” – Trump said, “There should be.” 

Trump’s interview with “Mornings with Maria” was taped on Tuesday.

The U.S. president’s comments came after cybersecurity experts warned this week that Anthropic’s new AI model, Mythos, could supercharge complex cyberattacks and ​poses significant challenges to the banking industry with its legacy technology systems.

Anthropic declined to comment on their warnings. It has said Claude Mythos Preview will not be made generally available.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alison Williams)

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By Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) – Prosecutors from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office made a surprise visit on Tuesday to the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation project, as the Trump administration continues its pressure campaign against the central bank.

The unscheduled visit was confirmed by a spokesperson for Pirro’s office and was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

After speaking with construction workers, two of Pirro’s deputies were advised they could not access the site without prior clearance and they were given the contact information for the Fed’s legal staff, the Journal reported.

President Donald Trump has waged an aggressive campaign against top Fed officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell whose term ends in May, with the goal of lowering interest rates. The campaign has sparked political outcry and court challenges.

The Department of Justice has been investigating Powell for his oversight of the renovations to the central bank’s headquarters in the nation’s capital.

Though a federal judge has found the probe to be a thinly disguised effort to pressure Powell to lower interest rates or resign, the department has said it would appeal.

Former Fed chairs and ex-government economic policy leaders from both the Republican and Democratic parties have raised alarm about the Trump administration’s probe.

The Fed could not be immediately reached for comment. The Journal reported that an outside lawyer for the Fed, Robert Hur, objected to Tuesday’s visit in a letter to Pirro’s office.

Hur was cited as saying that the prosecutors appeared “without prior notice” at the construction site, where they asked for a tour and said they wanted to check on the progress of the renovation project.

The independence of ​central banks in setting rates to control inflation is considered a central tenet of robust economic policy, insulating monetary policymakers from short-term political considerations to focus on longer-term efforts to keep prices stable.

Former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh has been nominated by Trump to head the central bank.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward in Washington, Editing by Ross Colvin and Thomas Derpinghaus)

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By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate will vote as soon as Wednesday on the latest Democratic-led effort to rein in President Donald Trump’s war powers, and party leaders promised on Tuesday to keep bringing up such resolutions as long as the Iran war continues.

“Forty-five days into this war, Congress has been sidelined because our Republican colleagues refuse to take a strong stand against this war and duck it completely because they’re afraid of Trump,” Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a Senate speech on Tuesday.

Trump said on Tuesday talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, after the collapse of weekend negotiations prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports. Failure to reach an agreement in those talks raised doubts over the survival of a two-week ceasefire that still has a week to run.

Congressional Democrats have tried and repeatedly failed ​in recent months to pass war powers resolutions to force Trump to stop military action and obtain lawmakers’ authorization before launching military operations, in both Venezuela and Iran.

Democrats are attempting to link their efforts to rein in Trump on Iran to affordability, as disruptions in shipments of oil and natural gas have caused a run-up in U.S. gasoline prices and agricultural products such as fertilizers – on top of the long list of other high consumer prices.

Few issues resonate with U.S. voters more deeply than price increases, and the latest inflationary upswing is unsettling Republican insiders worried about their party’s prospects less than seven months before November elections that will determine control of Congress.

10 MORE RESOLUTIONS IN THE WORKS

Schumer said 10 more war powers resolutions have been filed and Democrats intended to bring them up every week while the conflict in Iran, which began on February 28, continues.

Trump’s fellow Republicans, who hold slim majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives, have blocked the resolutions that have come up to date and there has been no indication that any are shifting their position.

Republican lawmakers say they support Trump’s actions and do not expect the war to continue for much longer. “The military effort here has been extraordinarily successful,” Senate Republican leader John Thune of South Dakota told a news conference.

“I think the administration has a clear objective, a clear plan, and if they can execute on it that question (of whether Congress should authorize a prolonged conflict) won’t be a necessary one that we will be forced to answer,” Thune said.

Although the U.S. Constitution says that Congress, not the president, can declare war, that restriction does not apply for short-term operations or if the country faces an immediate threat.

The White House says Trump’s actions are legal and within his rights as commander-in-chief to protect the U.S. by ordering limited military operations.

Timing of the vote had not been announced by Tuesday evening, but Senate aides said they expected the next resolution – sponsored by Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a combat veteran – to come to the floor as soon as Wednesday.

House of Representatives aides said they expected a vote on a similar Iran war powers resolution in that chamber as soon as Thursday.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Clay Fuller of Georgia was sworn into office Tuesday after winning a special election to take the congressional seat formerly held by Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Fuller represents a deep red district in northwest Georgia and has sought to align himself with President Donald Trump as much as possible. Fuller will serve out the remaining months of Greene’s term, maintaining Republicans’ slim majority in the House.

Greene resigned her seat after a contentious public fallout with Trump that has shown no signs of letting up despite her exodus from Congress.

“You have sent a warrior to Congress and I can’t wait to fight for you each and every day,” Fuller said to his constituents as he addressed the House. “To my Democratic colleagues, I look forward to working with each and every one of you.”

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