Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL): "Positive Step" McCabe Stepping Down
Congressman Darren Soto, who represents Florida’s 9th district, applauded news Monday that FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is stepping down from his post, calling him a “distraction” to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
“We just need to make sure we keep this investigation with integrity and with accuracy, because we want to have the right results,” Soto told Cheddar in an interview. “I think that it’s a positive step that he’s no longer going to be involved and no longer will be an excuse.”
The news follows an Axios report last week that FBI Director Christopher Wray was pressured by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Trump to fire his second in command. Trump and other Republicans claimed that McCabe, whose wife ran for office in Virginia as a Democrat and received donations from Hillary Clinton, had a conflict of interests in the Russian investigation.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that the White House had no involvement in McCabe’s decision. But the New York Times reported that Wray had suggested the move after months of pressure from the administration.
McCabe’s resignation is effective immediately, but he will remain on the payroll until March, when he was already expected to retire with full benefits.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-darren-soto-shares-his-expectations-for-president-trumps-first-state-of-the-union-address).
The Pentagon has sent “prepare to deploy” orders to about 2,000 U.S. troops to be ready to respond to the Israel-Hamas war, two U.S. officials said on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that has not been announced yet.
The head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service has taken responsibility for not warning of the bloody Oct. 7 Hamas rampage that killed over 1,400 Israelis.
Republicans rejected Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on a first ballot Tuesday, as an unexpectedly numerous 20 holdouts denied the hard-charging ally of Donald Trump the GOP majority needed to seize the gavel.
The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump in Washington imposed a narrow gag order on him on Monday, barring the Republican former president from making statements targeting prosecutors, possible witnesses and the judge's staff.
A 71-year-old Illinois man accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old boy and seriously wounding a 32-year-old woman was charged with a hate crime Sunday.
Republicans chose Rep. Jim Jordan as their new nominee for House speaker on Friday during internal voting, putting the gavel within reach of the staunch ally of GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump.
American citizens in Israel can start leaving the country on charter flights starting Friday after the State Department said flights will take Americans and immediate family members to either Athens, Greece or Frankfurt, Germany.
The Israeli military has ordered the 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate to the south within 24 hours as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel.
