ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — This Week in Politics…UFOs and spy balloons are dominating the conversation on Capitol Hill. On Thursday, President Biden addressed the three additional objects taken down by U.S. military for the first time, under growing calls for transparency from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
President Biden says the objects are not likely linked to the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina. The President added the U.S. is developing “sharper rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects.
Nikki Haley, former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor kicked off her campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination with a town hall event in the early-voting state of New Hampshire.
Haley took a veiled jab at both President Biden and the top dog in her race, former President Donald Trump.
“We need to start looking forward,” said Haley. “Put term limits in Congress. Mandatory mental competency tests for any [politician] over 75 years old. We need to start focusing on new generational leadership.”
A new poll from Quinnipiac University, conducted right before Haley officially announced her bid for the nomination has her in a distant third (5%) among likely GOP candidates. The poll has former President Trump leading the race at 42% and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just behind him at 36%, though Gov. DeSantis hasn’t announced a run yet.
The same poll has Gov. DeSantis performing better than Trump in a hypothetical matchup against President Joe Biden.
Gov. DeSantis signed a series of bills passed by the GOP-led Legislature during their most recent special session. One bill puts changes who prosecutes election crimes, another expands the controversial migrant relocation program.
The legislature convenes for the regular session next month.
Suspended state attorney Andrew Warren, meanwhile, is appealing the ruling made in his case against the Governor.
The "Problem Solvers" in Congress: There is seemingly a new battle between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill every day, so you might be surprised to learn that a group of them meet often to try and pass bills, together. They are known as the House Problem Solvers Caucus; click here for the full story from 10 Tampa Bay.