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Brody Levesque

@brodylevesque.bsky.social
6.2K followers 5K following 2.3K posts

Veteran Journalist * Editor * Historian * Amateur Chef * Proud Guncle & mentor to some amazing young people around the globe. Editor-in-Chief at RATEDLGBTQ.com "...and here's the latest headlines I'm following..."

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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Trump has often vowed to take revenge against his enemies, naming Milley often as one such foe. thehill.com/homenews/511...
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
FRANKFORT, Ky. - A Republican lawmaker is hoping to close what he calls a “potential loophole” in a state law governing school restrooms in Kentucky. www.ratedlgbtq.com/post/gop-law...
ratedlgbtq.com
GOP lawmaker files bill to ensure Kentucky schools restrooms are ‘gender-specific’
Lockett said preserving “gender-specific bathrooms based on biological sex ensures privacy, safety, and comfort for all users.”
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Selena Gomez posted and deleted an emotional video of herself crying over deportations of undocumented immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, which resulted in her getting conservative backlash online. variety.com/2025/tv/news...
variety.com
Selena Gomez Deletes Video of Herself Crying Over ICE Arrests Amid Backlash: ‘Apparently It’s Not OK to Show Empathy for People’
Selena Gomez deleted a video of herself crying over ICE deportations, which spurred conservative backlash.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
HOLLYWOOD - The arc of LGBTQ+ history over the past 50 years has been one of constant upheaval and evolvement. From a period when it was both illegal and insane to be gay, through the achievement of being able to serve openly in the military, to marriage equality and the ability to create families.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Trump’s plan, expressed in a memo blasted out to federal workers, bears a striking resemblance to one sent by Musk sent to Twitter employees in 2023, before laying off around 80% of the workforce. The two memos even have the same title — “Fork in the Road.” www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trump-buyo...
kenklippenstein.com
Trump Buyouts Mirror Elon Musk's Twitter Purge
Trump's sweeping orders reek of Musk's management philosophy
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
The White House will issue a memo Tuesday offering to pay federal workers who don’t want to return to the office through Sept. 30, as long as they resign by Feb. 6, an administration official tells Axios. www.axios.com/2025/01/28/t...
axios.com
Trump offering buyouts to all federal workers, source says
It's an acceleration of Trump's already unprecedented purge of the federal workforce.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Stephen Miller: “The president’s authority to fire any federal worker is plenary. There’s no lawful constraints that can be placed on the president to terminate a worker in the federal government.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Oklahoma’s top education official said he would support immigration enforcement raids in schools to assist with the White House’s promise of mass deportations. www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2...
oklahoman.com
Ryan Walters says he would support immigration raids in Oklahoma schools
Ryan Walters said he would help the Trump administration in “any way they see fit” to carry out immigration enforcement.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Newest White House website entry: PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM CHEMICAL AND SURGICAL MUTILATION, www.whitehouse.gov/presidential... A ban on gender-affirming healthcare. HRC responded: “Everyone deserves the freedom to make deeply personal health care decisions for themselves and their families
whitehouse.gov
Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation – The White House
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Policy and
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans that could total trillions of dollars. U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan blocked the action Tuesday afternoon, minutes before it was set to go into effect.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Enter highly-esteemed Pentagon reporter Griffin — who cited US Defense Officials concurring with the Calif. Water Resource mgmt. office. Griffin quoted the CA-DWR post, adding Pentagon officials told her they “did not send troops to turn on the water in California.” www.mediaite.com/politics/fox...
mediaite.com
Fox News Correspondent Reports Trump’s Own Defense Department Just Shot Down His California Wildfire Claim
The Escher drawing metaphor for the Trump admin and Fox News added a unique layer Tuesday morning over Trump's claim he had the military "turn on the water.'
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
In a scathing letter Tuesday, Caroline Kennedy warned senators about her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling him a "predator." www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/c...
goodmorningamerica.com
Caroline Kennedy slams RFK Jr. as 'predator' before confirmation hearing
In a scathing letter Tuesday, Caroline Kennedy warned senators about her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling him a "predator."
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
The White House is pausing federal grants and loans starting Tuesday as President Trump’s administration begins an across-the-board ideological review of its spending, causing confusion and panic among organizations that rely on Washington for their financial lifeline. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...
pbs.org
Trump orders temporary funding freeze that could affect trillions of dollars
The White House is pausing federal grants and loans starting Tuesday as President Donald Trump's administration begins an across-the-board ideological review of its spending, causing confusion and pan...
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
“Donald Trump’s continued efforts to stop transgender people from openly serving in the armed forces are discriminatory, and compromise the safety of all Americans." — Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Florida’s Governor spent some time before entering politics at Guantánamo Bay, as a Navy lawyer. Now, he sees the detention center as being potentially part of the federal solution for the illegal immigration crisis. floridapolitics.com/archives/718...
floridapolitics.com
Ron DeSantis says illegal aliens will be sent to Gitmo, and Florida can help
'What better state to take advantage of that?'
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
BOISE, Idaho - The Idaho House of Representatives on Monday called for the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the 2015 ruling that extended the fundamental right of marriage to same-sex couples. www.ratedlgbtq.com/post/idaho-h...
ratedlgbtq.com
Idaho House calls on U.S. Supreme Court to reverse same-sex marriage
Memorial calls on court to ‘restore the natural definition of marriage, a union of one man and one woman’
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
First reported by Chris Geidner at Lawdork, eight service members are suing the Trump administration over the anti-trans executive order that defines being trans as inherently dishonorable and worthy of dismissal from the military. Full filing here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
A Florida fringe political leader praised lynching and called violence “acceptable” to stop LGBTQ+ Pride events during a Naples City Council meeting earlier this month, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. www.advocate.com/news/extremi...
advocate.com
Fringe political leader defends lynching, calling violence against LGBTQ+ Pride ‘acceptable’
Cody Davis, chair of Florida’s Jeffersonian Party, praised lynching during a Naples City Council meeting.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Four groups representing non-profits, public health professionals and small businesses filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging U.S. President Donald Trump administration’s sweeping directive to temporarily freeze federal loans, grants and other financial assistance. www.reuters.com/legal/non-pr...
reuters.com
Non-profits, health groups sue over Trump's freeze on grants, loans
Four groups representing non-profits, public health professionals and small businesses filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging U.S. President Donald Trump administration's sweeping directive to temporarily freeze federal loans, grants and other financial assistance.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Attorneys general in 19 states are warning Costco “to end all unlawful discrimination imposed by the company through diversity, equity, and inclusion” policies to reflect President Donald Trump’s recent executive order booting DEI out of federal agencies and warning private sectors to do the same.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Utah Sen. Mike Lee renewed his call to abolish the Transportation Security Administration, suggesting that instead airlines should conduct their own security screenings, eliminating the need for the federal government to get involved. www.deseret.com/politics/202...
deseret.com
Mike Lee renews call to eliminate TSA, says airlines should conduct own security screening
The TSA was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Gov. Ron DeSantis is fueling the civil war between his executive office and the legislative branch, and he may be benefiting from friendly air cover as he makes less-than-friendly points about Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez. floridapolitics.com/archives/717...
floridapolitics.com
'Takes power away from me': Ron DeSantis rips legislative leadership on national TV, radio
DeSantis claims Trump wants the strongest possible proposals, yet POTUS hasn't weighed in on the fight between Florida Republicans.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Asked if linking voter ID to California disaster aid was a “red line,” Johnson signaled he was open to it: “We have been lamenting the lack of voter security there for some time. We were deeply concerned in this last election cycle and we saw 3 of our seats frankly slip away from us in California.”
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
The Trump administration has instructed organizations in other countries to stop disbursing H.I.V. medications purchased with U.S. aid, even if the drugs have already been obtained and are sitting in local clinics. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/h...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Halts H.I.V. Drug Distribution in Poor Countries
PEPFAR’s computer systems also are being taken offline, a sign that the program may not return, as Republican critics had hoped.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” said a memo from the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
There is something very unsettling about seeing a Cabinet level official wearing raid gear. www.nbcnewyork.com/new-york-cit...
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
“There is no justification for any reasonable Pole to continue purchasing Teslas. A serious and strong response is necessary, including a consumer boycott,” Nitras told Polish media. www.politico.eu/article/pola...
politico.eu
Poland urges Tesla boycott after Musk’s call to ‘move past’ Nazi guilt
“There is no justification for any reasonable Pole to continue purchasing Teslas,” says minister Sławomir Nitras.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson claimed the Biden administration tried to have Russian President Vladimir Putin assassinated without offering any evidence to support his incendiary allegation. www.yahoo.com/news/tucker-...
yahoo.com
Tucker Carlson Makes Wild Claim Biden Tried to Assassinate Vladimir Putin
Right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson claimed the Biden administration tried to have Russian President Vladimir Putin assassinated without offering any evidence to support his incendiary allegation. “...
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Gary Peters, Michigan’s senior senator and a former congressman, said he won’t seek reelection next year and will retire from the U.S. Senate when his second term ends in January 2027. www.detroitnews.com/story/news/p...
detroitnews.com
Michigan’s Gary Peters won’t seek reelection to U.S. Senate. Here's why
The retirement of U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, will likely ignite an intense scramble on both sides of the aisle for his seat.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
President Donald Trump fired the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel and one of its Democratic board members late Monday, setting up a likely legal battle over presidential power. www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
huffpost.com
Trump Again Tests The Bounds Of Presidential Power In Firing Of Latest Official
Democrat Gwynne Wilcox, whose term was supposed to run through August 2028, said her unprecedented firing violates Supreme Court precedent.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
We know this because the senders of the memos failed to scrub the metadata from those documents, making it easy for anyone to reveal the listed authors of the memos. www.404media.co/opm-memos-to...
404media.co
Memos to Federal Employees Were Written By People With Ties to Project 2025, Metadata Shows
James Sherk and Noah Peters appear as the authors of memos sent by the Office of Personnel Management.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is “taking a serious look” at running for the Michigan senate seat left open by the surprise retirement of Sen. Gary Peters, Axios has learned. www.axios.com/2025/01/28/p...
axios.com
Scoop: Pete Buttigieg taking "serious look" at Michigan Senate race in 2026
The former transportation secretary is exploring his options.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
A frenzy over an artificial intelligence chatbot made by Chinese tech startup DeepSeek was upending stock markets Monday and fueling debates over competition between the U.S. and China in developing AI technology. apnews.com/article/deep...
apnews.com
What is DeepSeek, the Chinese AI company upending the stock market?
A frenzy over an artificial intelligence chatbot made by Chinese tech startup DeepSeek was upending stock markets Monday and fueling debates over the economic and geopolitical competition between the ...
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Deb Haaland, who championed conservation and clean energy during her tenure as Interior secretary, is running for the Democratic nomination for governor in New Mexico, the nation’s No. 2 oil production state. apnews.com/article/deb-...
apnews.com
Deb Haaland made history as Interior secretary. Now she’s running for governor of New Mexico
Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is running for the Democratic nomination for governor in New Mexico after championing conservation and clean energy during her tenure as Interior secretary under ...
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Washington – Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign today announced their intent to sue the Trump administration to block implementation of yet another discriminatory and dangerous attempt to bar patriotic transgender military service members from serving openly in the U.S. armed services.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Late Monday evening, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that effectively lays the groundwork for a sweeping ban on the 15,000 transgender troops currently serving in the United States military. www.erininthemorning.com/p/trump-mili...
erininthemorning.com
Trump Military Ban Says Being Trans Conflicts With "Honorable, Truthful, Disciplined Lifestyle"
The ban leaves much of the details to defense secretary Hegseth for implementation.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Here: www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
whitehouse.gov
Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness – The White House
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
JUST IN: President Trump has reportedly signed an executive order targeting trans servicemembers. Everyone who meets our military’s rigorous standards should be able to serve, and thousands of current trans servicemembers have already more than proven themselves. We’ll update you as we learn more.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
What happens when the most important parts of your life come into conflict? We were leaders in the evangelical church when our child came out. The church proceeded to give us an impossible choice: our LGBTQ+ child or our non-affirming church. www.ratedlgbtq.com/post/what-ha...
ratedlgbtq.com
What happens when your church gives you an impossible choice?
What happens when the most important parts of your life come into conflict?
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
A collection of Quaker groups sued the Trump administration Monday over a policy allowing federal officials to arrest undocumented immigrants in "sensitive" spaces, like houses of worship. www.axios.com/2025/01/27/q...
axios.com
Quakers challenge Trump order allowing immigration raids at religious sites
The Quakers said the policy violates their religious freedom, which requires them to welcome everyone.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
“You are a piece of work, Julia!” Simon Cowell blurted during her landmark America’s Got Talent debut. Julia Scotti had just completed her audition for the show that ended not only with a standing ovation, but with the revelation that she had once upon a time been a stand-up comedian named Rick.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote that Patel, while serving on the National Security Council during the first Trump term, "broke protocol regarding hostage rescues ...
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Buckley Carlson, a former Capitol Hill aide and the son of conservative media personality Tucker Carlson, is set to join Vice President JD Vance’s press office, sources tell ABC News. The younger Carlson is set to serve as Vance’s deputy press secretary, sources said. abcnews.go.com/US/tucker-ca...
abcnews.go.com
Tucker Carlson's son Buckley is joining JD Vance's staff
Buckley Carlson, the son of conservative media personality Tucker Carlson, is set to join Vice President JD Vance’s press office, sources tell ABC News.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Stewart Rhodes, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy for orchestrating a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol to keep President Donald Trump in power after losing the 2020 election, was on stage at Trump’s rally in Las Vegas this weekend.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed President Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, openly gay hedge fund manager Scott Bessent. Overcoming opposition from some economically progressive Senate Democrats like Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.), the nominee was confirmed by vote of 68-29.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
The Justice Department is firing more than a dozen officials who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s cases against President Donald Trump on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat and mishandling of classified documents. www.yahoo.com/news/trump-a...
yahoo.com
Trump fires officials who worked for prosecutor Jack Smith, Fox News reports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Justice Department is firing more than a dozen officials who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith's cases against President Donald Trump on charges of trying to overturn his ...
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately. Experts said the sudden stoppage would set back work on investigating & trying to stop outbreaks of Marburg virus & mpox in Africa, as well as brewing threats from around the world.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
An employment judge has ruled that a nurse is allowed to misgender a transgender doctor throughout legal proceedings over her objection to trans women using female changing rooms. www.thepinknews.com/2025/01/27/s...
thepinknews.com
Nurse allowed to misgender trans doctor during legal proceedings, judge rules
A nurse will be allowed to misgender a transgender doctor throughout legal proceedings over her objection to trans women using women’s changing rooms.
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Brody Levesque @brodylevesque.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
It’s a staggering turn of events for a governor used to getting his own way — and a test of his national staying power as he stares down the end of his term in two years. www.politico.com/news/2025/01...
politico.com
DeSantis, fellow Republicans in standoff over Trump agenda: ‘Mommy and daddy are fighting’
It’s a staggering turn of events for a governor used to getting his own way — and a test of his national staying power as he stares down the end of his term in two years.
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