Democrats Eye Rare Opportunity in Georgia Runoff to Replace Marjorie Taylor Greene
Welcome to the live blog.
Democrat Shawn Harris will compete against Republican Clay Fuller in a runoff election after both emerged as the top candidates in a special election held Tuesday night to fill the congressional seat vacated by Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The election for Georgia’s 14th congressional district is viewed as a significant test of former President Donald Trump’s influence and may present an unusual opportunity for Democrats in a traditionally deep-red region of northwest Georgia.
Fuller, a former prosecutor endorsed by Trump, had raised over $1 million prior to Tuesday’s voting. Harris, a retired army general who previously ran against Greene two years ago, has raised more than four times that amount.
Fuller expressed confidence in uniting the Republican base. Speaking Tuesday evening, he said:
I think the Republican party is going to unite around us because they know that the Democrat is too dangerous. We can’t have a Democrat representing Georgia 14. That would be a tragedy for our community, a tragedy for Georgia 14 and a tragedy for the Maga movement.
Despite four Republican candidates withdrawing before the election, the Republican field remained divided among more than a dozen contenders, including former state senator Colton Moore, known for his confrontational stance to the right of most Republican legislators.
In contrast, Harris positioned himself against Greene’s confrontational style, urging practical-minded Republicans to support him because he intends to serve constituents rather than interests already established in Washington, D.C. He stated:
The way I’m going to go to Congress is that it’s going to be a coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans.
Fuller and Harris will face off again on April 7. The winner will serve the remainder of Greene’s term through the end of the year and may seek re-election.
US Military Actions and Iran Tensions
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Tuesday would be the "most intense" day of U.S. strikes to date, attributing civilian casualties to Iran’s forces allegedly firing missiles from schools and hospitals. Speaking alongside General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Hegseth accused Iran’s leadership of desperation and described them as "terrorist cowards." More details are available.
U.S. Central Command reported that multiple Iranian vessels, including minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz, were targeted and destroyed by U.S. forces. The military released unclassified footage of some of the vessels following former President Donald Trump’s warning to Iran against laying mines in this critical waterway.
House Speaker Mike Johnson Addresses Islamophobic Remarks
Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, declined to condemn recent Islamophobic comments made by Republican lawmakers, stating only that he had spoken with them regarding their "tone." The remarks by Representatives Andy Ogles of Tennessee and Randy Fine of Florida drew criticism from Democrats and religious tolerance advocates. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on Johnson to discipline Fine. More information is available.
Trump Announces $300 Billion Oil Refinery Project in Texas
Donald Trump announced that America First Refining plans to open a new oil refinery in Brownsville, Texas, as part of a $300 billion deal. On his Truth Social platform Tuesday, Trump said:
THE BIGGEST IN US HISTORY, A MASSIVE WIN for American Workers, Energy, and the GREAT People of South Texas! Thank you to our partners in India, and their largest privately held Energy Company, Reliance, for this tremendous Investment.
Trump Appoints Erika Kirk to US Air Force Academy Advisory Board
Trump appointed Erika Kirk, widow of murdered right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, to a key advisory board of the U.S. Air Force Academy. The 37-year-old joins other loyalists on the 16-member board of visitors, which oversees morale, discipline, curriculum, instruction, physical equipment, fiscal affairs, academic methods, and other matters at the Colorado Springs military training facility. More details are available.
Trump Criticizes GOP Lawmaker Thomas Massie Ahead of Kentucky Visit
Prior to visiting Congressman Thomas Massie’s district in northern Kentucky, Trump continued to criticize the Republican lawmaker on social media. He wrote:
I predict that ‘Representative’ Thomas Massie will go down as the WORST Republican Congressman in the long and fabled history of the United States Congress.
Trump also listed other GOP representatives who have opposed him in recent years, including Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, members of the congressional committee investigating Trump’s role in the January 6 insurrection. Trump called them "misfits and losers" and expressed hope that Massie, who faces Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein in the Kentucky primary, would "lose BIG."
Latest Data Shows US Inflation Steady at 2.4%
The most recent consumer price index report indicated that U.S. inflation remained at an annual rate of 2.4% in February. The data does not account for the recent rise in average gasoline prices since the start of the year. Overall, prices increased 0.3% from January.
Donald Trump will continue his affordability tour on Wednesday, beginning in Washington, then traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio for a pharmaceutical company site visit, followed by remarks in Hebron, Kentucky at a packaging facility.
Expect further commentary from Trump on his administration’s efforts to reduce prescription drug costs, as well as on the ongoing conflict and rising gas prices affecting everyday Americans.
Notably, northern Kentucky is within Thomas Massie’s congressional district, whom Trump has publicly criticized and opposed by endorsing his primary challenger, Ed Gallrein.
We will provide updates as events unfold.
Concerns Raised Over Guinea-Bissau Vaccine Trial Linked to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
New information has led experts to fear that an "unethical" vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau may serve as a "prototype" for studies under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary and longtime vaccine critic.
At the center of U.S. vaccine policy are Danish researchers whose work on vaccine health effects has been questioned. The Guinea-Bissau study planned to assess overall health effects of hepatitis B vaccines by vaccinating only half of newborns at birth, despite an 18% adult prevalence rate of the illness, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal health issues.
Stand Up for Science, a U.S. science and health nonprofit, sent an investigator to Guinea-Bissau to review public records and interview experts. The organization met with members of Congress on February 19 to share findings in an unreleased report obtained by . The report raises concerns about the Bandim Health Project’s deep involvement in Guinea-Bissau’s public health and the ethical challenges of conducting research there, with significant implications for U.S. research under Kennedy.
Colette Delawalla, founder of Stand Up for Science, stated:
We are fearful that this is a prototype for other studies. The US could fund global studies with similar ethical concerns as the Tuskegee experiment five or 10 or 100 times a year. It could be extraordinarily deadly.
Stand Up for Science organized nationwide rallies on Saturday to protest such initiatives.
Trump Nominee Withdraws from State Department Role After Backlash
Donald Trump’s nominee for a senior diplomatic position withdrew from consideration following backlash over past remarks on race and Jewish people, which led to insufficient Republican support.
The nominee, selected to serve as assistant secretary of state for international organizations—a role overseeing U.S. policy toward entities such as the United Nations—announced on Tuesday that he was stepping aside after failing to secure unanimous Republican backing on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
On X, the nominee thanked Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their support but acknowledged the lack of unanimous GOP support on the committee, writing:
With unanimous opposition from Senate to my candidacy, we also needed the unanimous support of every GOP senator on the Committee on Foreign Relations. Unfortunately, at this time this unanimous support was not forthcoming.
The committee typically votes on nominations before forwarding them to the full Senate. The nominee’s prospects weakened after one Republican committee member publicly opposed the nomination in February.
Utah Senator John Curtis, considered a moderate Republican, cited the nominee’s record of controversial statements, saying:
I find his anti-Israel views and insensitive remarks about the Jewish people unbecoming of the position for which he has been nominated.
Jeffrey Epstein’s Former Accountant to Testify Before House Oversight Committee
Richard Kahn, Jeffrey Epstein’s former accountant and executor of his estate, is scheduled to testify behind closed doors before the House Oversight Committee today.
Kahn managed Epstein’s investments and finances during his final years and oversaw renovations on Epstein’s Caribbean island. He served as one of two executors of Epstein’s estate; the other, lawyer Darren Indyke, is set to testify next week.
In February, Epstein’s estate agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the two advisers of aiding and abetting Epstein’s sex trafficking of young women and teenage girls, according to court filings.
The 2024 lawsuit, filed by Boies Schiller Flexner lawyers, alleges that Indyke and Kahn helped Epstein create a complex network of corporations and bank accounts that concealed his abuses and facilitated payments to victims and recruiters, while they received substantial compensation for their roles.
