Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has stepped down shortly after apologizing for accepting a payment of $10,000 per month from a consultancy firm for a marijuana company. While Fagan initially resisted state Republicans' calls for her to resign, she conceded on Tuesday that the situation was distracting from her work.
“While I am confident that the ethics investigation will show that I followed the state’s legal and ethical guidelines in trying to make ends meet for my family, it is clear that my actions have become a distraction from the important and critical work of the Secretary of State’s office,” Fagan said in a statement. “Protecting our state’s democracy and ensuring faith in our elected leaders — these are the reasons I ran for this office. They are also the reasons I will be submitting my resignation today.”
Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to force a vote Tuesday on the far-right effort to oust him from his leadership position and insists he will not cut a deal with Democrats to remain in power, setting the stage for an extraordinary and unpredictable showdown on the House floor.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to three federal firearms charges filed after a plea deal imploded, putting the case on track toward a possible trial as the 2024 election looms.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy is facing an extraordinary referendum on his leadership of the House after Rep. Matt Gaetz, a longtime critic, moved to launch a vote to oust him from the helm.
The office of Montana’s Republican attorney general is appealing a landmark climate change ruling that said state agencies aren't doing enough to protect 16 young plaintiffs from harm caused by global warming.
