Mike Johnston, Mayor of Denver, Colorado, who welcomed all unvetted Venezuelan migrants, including Tren de Aragua gang members, has vowed to fight Trump administration efforts to deport illegal aliens. He thinks he’s the mayor of illegal aliens. Johnston now promises to fight any effort at mass deportations or canceling sanctuary city status. The way he […] The post Denver Mayor to Deploy Police, Tell Residents to Meet ICE at City Border appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

The hosts of ABC’s “The View” took aim at podcast giant Joe Rogan, claiming that his podcast was an unreliable source of information because Rogan “believes in dragons.” They went on to suggest that because their network, ABC News, occasionally sent them fact checks or legal notes, their program was a more legitimate news source. The topic came up after cohost Sunny Hostin was forced to read her second legal note in the space of a week after she and the others repeatedly trashed President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks — and Behar was also obviously less than thrilled: “Just call the show ‘Legal Note’ from now on.” WATCH: Joy Behar falsely claims The View gets fact-checked by ABC News, and points to the legal notes as an example.But on their podcast last year executive producer Brian Teta claimed the notes are "not a correction." LINK: https://t.co/QwzUsKn0r6 pic.twitter.com/ATcReWpifm — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 21, 2024 Sara Haines suggested people should be wary of the potential for social media, especially to spread misinformation, adding that they should “triple check” things before simply accepting them as true. “That’s why people like our show because they know we are checked by ABC News,” Behar claimed. “Checked by everybody,” Whoopi Goldberg agreed. “And if we’re wrong, we have the legal note here,” Behar said, indicating former federal prosecutor and cohost Sunny Hostin. “We went from Walter Cronkite basically to this guy Joe Rogan who believes in dragons! I checked it!” “He believes in dragons?” Hostin asked. MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+ Behar was adamant: “He believes in dragons!” “Did you triple source that?” Haines wanted to know. “Yes, I did and he also thinks that dragons — I guess like dinosaur-type animals — would roam the Earth when people did. So this is the type of really, really bad information that’s going out there,” Behar complained. What Rogan actually said was that he was “fascinated” by the things that did not exist but still appeared across cultures — like dragons. He then explained that he believed people had seen something real, like a large lizard, which inspired exaggerations and stories that led to the legends. On the notion of fire-breathing dragons that hoarded treasure, Rogan’s assessment was simple: “Bulls***.” Despite that, when video of Behar’s wild claim began circulating on X — and someone pointed out that “The View” had labeled him a “dragon believer,” Rogan announced: “That’s my new official X description.” That’s my new official X description. https://t.co/rJ4Fozzmcd — Joe Rogan (@joerogan) November 21, 2024 The hosts of “The View,” who were not fact-checked despite a number of whoppers on Thursday’s show alone, are responsible for spreading such blatant misinformation on a regular basis that Goldberg was even suspended for a time for claiming that the Holocaust was “not about race.”

Rob Reiner said he’s checking into a facility to find “peace and relaxation” after he left X for the Bluesky social media platform following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory. In a series of posts on Wednesday on Bluesky, the 77-year-old director accused what he called “MAGA scum” of coming over to the platform and ruining it after he and other Hollywood stars announced they had left Elon Musk’s X for the platform after Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris, the Wrap reported. “This platform is vile, racist and evil,” Reiner wrote. “It did not take long for MAGA scum to come spread their lies.” “I have made the decision to take the next few days to check into a facility for peace and relaxation,” he added in a second post a short time later. “No phones, social media , no trolls, just calmness to heal my pain.” After Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, some leftist celebrities are leaving the country.@RobReiner is checking into a nuthouse. pic.twitter.com/v6ZFbDNXrp — Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) November 21, 2024 Following the election, Reiner had celebrated making his new move to the platform after Trump won both the Electoral College and popular vote. “I have decided to move here for a less hateful experience,” Reiner’s post read at the time. The platform has seen a bump in users with many celebrities and members of the legacy media announcing their grand departure from X over Musk’s support of Trump in the election. MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+ MSNBC’s Joy Reid recently wrote, “Hey guys, today I did something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. And the reason for doing it, and kissing goodbye to my 1.9 million followers over there. I hadn’t been posting for a long time – I just didn’t want to contribute content once it was purchased by its present owner,” as previously reported. “But, just having it there – I was only holding onto it because, I, you know, really didn’t want someone trying to take over that name and use it for nefarious purposes,” she added. “I was a little bit worried about that.” “And also, every so often, I was just using it to look at news that was trending, what’s happening, and I just sort of used it as an aggregator,” Reid continued. “But I just realized it’s not really worth it. Because in order to do the news aggregation and just look at all, you have to wade through a lot of dreck and a lot of, just, abuse, and a lot of just, negativity. And it’s just not worth it.” Former CNN host Don Lemon and actress Jamie Lee Curtis also made the announcement about leaving X after the election. Lemon claimed it’s no longer a place for “honest” debate after Trump won and wrote that he has “loved connecting with all of you on Twitter and then on X for all of these years, but it’s time for me to leave the platform.” The Hollywood actress joined him in announcing on Instagram that she had left the X platform, without giving a specific reason why she made the decision, following Trump’s victory. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,” Curtis wrote on Instagram. “Courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference.”

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy said Thursday that they plan to stop federal overspending by taking aim at sums being used in ways Congress never intended — including money going to the nation’s largest abortion provider. “Skeptics question how much federal spending DOGE can tame through executive action alone,” Ramaswamy and Musk wrote in a joint Wall Street Journal op-ed. “They point to the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, which stops the president from ceasing expenditures authorized by Congress. Mr. Trump has previously suggested this statute is unconstitutional, and we believe the current Supreme Court would likely side with him on this question.” “But even without relying on that view,” they added, “DOGE will help end federal overspending by taking aim at the $500 billion plus in annual federal expenditures that are unauthorized by Congress or being used in ways that Congress never intended, from $535 million a year to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and $1.5 billion for grants to international organizations to nearly $300 million to progressive groups like Planned Parenthood.” Their joint op-ed focused on “The DOGE Plan to Reform Government,” which promises that following the guidance of the Supreme Court, Musk and Ramaswamy want to “reverse a decades long executive power grab.” Trump recently announced that the two businessmen will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in his next administration. “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said when he announced their appointment. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Planned Parenthood boasts of being the nation’s largest abortion provider, performing 392,715 abortions between 2021 and 2022, according to its 2022-2023 annual report. It is less well known for its “gender-affirming” services — 45 Planned Parenthood affiliates across the United States offered “hormone therapy” in 2022. The Daily Wire has previously reported on how Planned Parenthood helped an 18-year-old girl obtain testosterone to begin an attempted gender transition after a brief visit to a Chicago-area Planned Parenthood facility. “It’s possible they’re the largest provider of trans health in the country,” Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told The Daily Beast in 2017. “We don’t know for sure. But it’s certainly among the biggest, if not the biggest.” Planned Parenthood reported $2.3 billion in net assets in their last annual report, as well as $670.4 million in government funding — up from $633.4 million the previous year, according to a Heritage Foundation report — and $1.9 billion in total revenue. “Abortion clinics in pro-life states have stopped doing abortions or moved to abortion-friendly states,” the Heritage Foundation’s Melanie Israel noted in a June 2023 piece on the Planned Parenthood numbers. “Planned Parenthood’s national office has announced layoffs—to the tune of about 100 employees—coming this month. Planned Parenthood has also revealed its game plan going forward. It will increase funding for things like sexually transmitted disease testing, contraception, and so-called gender-affirming care.” On Wednesday, President Joe Biden honored former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, praising her for her “absolute courage” and stating that she “fearlessly leads us forward to be the America we say we are.” “Through her work to lift up the dignity of workers, defend and advance women’s reproductive rights and equality, and mobilize Americans to exercise their power to vote, she has carved an inspiring legacy,” Biden said in an X post. According to the Washington Stand, Richards increased the number of babies Planned Parenthood was aborting each year by almost 70,000. The publication credits Planned Parenthood, under her leadership, with the deaths of over four million unborn babies. Today, I had the honor of awarding Cecile Richards the Presidential Medal of Freedom. With absolute courage, she fearlessly leads us forward to be the America we say we are – a nation of freedom. Through her work to lift up the dignity of workers, defend and advance women’s… pic.twitter.com/IayCTAFK4N — President Biden (@POTUS) November 20, 2024 Planned Parenthood did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Daily Wire.

MSNBC staffers and stars are reportedly “in a panic” after the media giant Comcast confirmed reports that it was looking to spin off its cable news outlets. Stars of the left-leaning network like Katy Tur, Rachel Maddow, and Chris Jansing reportedly joined a tense meeting led by NBCUniversal chairman Mark Lazarus to discuss what news of the spinoff meant, with staff curious about if MSNBC would have to change its name, logo, and headquarters, the New York Post reported. Those with knowledge about the meeting said Lazarus didn’t offer much information about what it meant for them or whether there would be any changes, the outlet noted. “Everyone is in a panic because everything is up in the air,” one MSNBC source told the outlet. MSNBC staffers ‘in a panic’ as NBC-parent Comcast plans to spin off channel — and possibly change its name https://t.co/zZqHkEjmiB pic.twitter.com/VXk65kLGkY — New York Post (@nypost) November 20, 2024 “People don’t really know what’s going on,” another source said. “They had the election, holidays are coming up. People are tired and just trying to get through.” It comes following a report Wednesday by The New York Times that Comcast would spin off its cable news outlets MSNBC and CNBC along with channels like Oxygen, E!, Syfy, and the Golf Channel, for the new company. The changes will reportedly not affect the broadcast newsgroup NBC News, NBC Sports, Telemundo, or streaming service Peacock and Bravo, which will still be under the umbrella of NBC Universal, the outlet noted. MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+ Those in the meeting said Lazarus likened the new company to a “well-funded start-up” which was reportedly good news to MSNBC stars. An insider said Maddow told the NBC chairman, “It’s great to have you here on day one.” And Tur reportedly said she “liked the sound of a ‘well-funded start-up.’” While MSNBC president Rashida Jones told staff that “change is always complicated.” “I don’t think anyone knows anything,” a source with knowledge told the outlet. “I think they have a year to figure this out.” The news comes amid reports that ratings for cable news outlets like MSNBC and CNN have plummeted following the results of the 2024 election and President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, as previously reported. Related: MSNBC And CNN Ratings Plummet Following Trump’s Landslide Victory

Here’s the thing to understand about Donald J. Trump: He is like Batman. He is vengeance. That is the theme of Trump II. Trump has said this before: that he is the vengeance of the common man. That’s taken by the Left to mean he’s going to jail his political opponents and use all of the facets of government to target the people he hates. But that’s not what Trump means when he says he is your vengeance. He means that the American people have been victimized by a small group of elitists who have decided that their morality is superior to those of Americans, that they ought to be able to rule every area of American life using their pseudo-expertise. Trump is the revenge of the normies. He’s the revenge of the common man. WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show  He is vengeance. And that vengeance continues to tread across the American body politic.  Here’s a kind of frivolous example: There’s a hot fight that has now broken out in the House of Representatives over a representative who calls himself Sarah McBride. Sarah McBride is a man named Tim McBride who changed his name to Sarah and identifies as a trans person. He insists on using the ladies bathroom, even though, of course, he’s a dude. Rep. Nancy Mace, who just happens to be a female, as in biological female, has now sponsored a rule on the House floor. This rule says that if you’re a lady, you ought to use the ladies’ room; if you’re a dude, you ought to use the dudes’ room. Mace was asked if her effort entailed a response to Congresswoman McBride coming to Congress? She answered: Yes, absolutely, and then some. I’m not going to stand for a man — if someone with a penis is in the women’s locker room, that’s not okay. And I’m a victim of abuse myself. I’m a rape survivor. I have PTSD from the abuse I’ve suffered at the hands of a man. And I know how vulnerable women and girls are in private spaces. So I’m absolutely, 100%, going to stand in the way of any man who wants to be in a women’s restroom, in our locker rooms, in our changing rooms. I will be there fighting every step of the way. Nancy Mace: clear, concise and very brutally honest. This, of course, angered Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader, who stated, “As Katherine Clark indicated, the notion that this incoming small House Republican Conference majority is beginning to transition to the new Congress by bullying a member of Congress. This is what we’re doing? This is the lesson that you’ve drawn?” The lesson that you have drawn is to continue to maintain an absolute falsehood. And that falsehood has been purveyed throughout our culture, throughout our society, to the point where people are afraid to speak basic common sense such as: boys are boys, and girls are girls. We are all tired of this. We’re done. When there is a norm, when there is a center to a civilization, it’s not difficult to tolerate people on the fringe as part of the system, because if there is a center of gravity, the planets will circle that center of gravity. But when a decision is made — as the Left has decided to do over the course of my lifetime — to destroy the center of gravity, when the center no longer holds, when the norm has been destroyed in the name of the fringe, eventually a new gravity will form. Eventually there will be a new center. The new center now is that the bulk of people, particularly in America, are still normies. And the new center is going to look a lot like the old center. That is what is happening right now. That is what’s happening with Team Trump. The political effect of this is that the Left pushed too far in one direction — and the snapback is coming.

An illegal alien from Venezuela was charged with raping a 14-year-old girl in Denver, Colorado, after the city’s Democrat mayor pledged that he would resist President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to enforce immigration law and deport illegal aliens. The 20-year-old Venezuelan national, Jesus Alberto Pereira Castillo, was arrested this week after allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl, the daughter of his boss, whose home he was temporarily living in. “Castillo forced himself on the 14-year-old daughter of the homeowner, sexually assaulting her. He left the residence before deputies arrived,” the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office explained in a post on X. JCSO Arrests Suspect for Sex Assault on a 14-year-old Jefferson County, CO. – On November 19, 2024, the JCSO arrested Jesus Alberto Pereira Castillo – (DOB 040504) for the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. On August 29, 2024, at about 11:00 p.m., deputies responded to a… pic.twitter.com/Yx3D2E6QMU — Jeffco Sheriff (@jeffcosheriffco) November 20, 2024 “After many weeks of relentless investigative work, JCSO investigators were able to locate Castillo in Denver, CO., and placed him in custody without incident,” the office went on to say. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reportedly filed a detainer request for Castillo and are requesting that the sheriff’s office deliver him to federal custody. Castillo is believed to have illegally entered the United States by way of El Paso, Texas, under the Biden-Harris administration in September 2023. MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+ Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, a Democrat, recently said that he would resist attempts by the federal government to enforce immigration law, even indicating that he could use police in an attempt to keep federal law enforcement out of the city. “More than us having DPD stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there,” Johnston threatened. “It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them.” Johnston’s statements, and the arrest of the illegal alien, come after a similar series of events unfolded in Massachusetts. The state’s Democrat governor, Maura Healey, pledged that state police will “absolutely not” cooperate with federal law enforcement agents as they attempt to carry out the mass deportation agenda. The Democrat’s statements came just before ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations agents in the state arrested three illegal aliens who each allegedly raped children, including one who was freed by a local police department after it allegedly flouted an immigration detainer request from ICE.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) fumed over House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) pushing to ban men identifying as transgender from being able to use the women’s bathroom. “It’s disgusting. And everybody, no matter how you feel on this issue, should reject it completely,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “They’re doing this so that Nancy Mace can make a buck and send a text and fundraise off an email. They’re not doing this to protect people.” “They’re endangering women,” she added. “They’re endangering girls of all kinds. And everybody should reject it. It’s gross.” WATCH: NEW: Rep. AOC fumes after Speaker Johnson restricted trans people from using Capitol bathrooms, says the decision is “endangering girls of all kinds.” “It’s disgusting. And everybody, no matter how you feel on this issue, should reject it completely.” “They’re doing this so… pic.twitter.com/UOyuAPruk8 — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 21, 2024 Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks come after Johnson signaled support for Mace’s measure that would allow people to only use bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms that correspond with their biological sex. “All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings – such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” Johnson said in a statement. MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+ “It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol,” he added. “Women deserve women’s only spaces.” Mace provided her bill, dubbed the “Protecting Women’s Private Spaces Act,” exclusively to The Daily Wire this week. The bill prohibits “individuals from accessing or using single-sex facilities on federal property other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” Mace told Daily Wire host Michael Knowles that her legislation should not be controversial, arguing that independent voters and even Democrats are “with us” when it comes to “forcing this crazy gender ideology down the throats of our children and other Americans across the country.” “I’m going to do everything I can to protect women and girls here on the hill, but also across the nation,” she said on “The Michael Knowles Show,” where she first unveiled the bill. “This is a question that needs to be answered. Do women have rights or not? Are we going to allow these men to bully us into submission? And I say, no, no more. I’m done with this.” “There’s no amount of bullying and threats on my life that they’ve made this week that’s going to stop me from this,” she added, promising to “fight like hell” for the protection of women and girls. EXCLUSIVE: @RepNancyMace announces a new bill to protect women on ALL federal property from men who seek to invade female spaces. pic.twitter.com/ZLkWTVfO2m — Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) November 20, 2024

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) introduced a bill Thursday afternoon that would expressly prohibit disaster aid from being denied to anyone based on politics. Lankford introduced the “Stopping Political Discrimination in Disaster Assistance Act,” which would “prohibit discrimination based on political affiliation in granting disaster assistance.” The bill comes after The Daily Wire reported earlier this month that a FEMA supervisor in Florida ordered relief workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump.” “Discrimination based on political affiliation has no place in federal disaster relief,” Lankford told The Daily Wire. “The Stafford Act already requires that disaster assistance be provided impartially, without discrimination based on race, religion, or other factors. Adding political affiliation to this list ensures that relief is given fairly, regardless of a person’s beliefs.” The Stafford Act is the measure that guides the federal government’s response to natural disasters. Lankford’s proposal would amend the act to clarify that people cannot be discriminated against based on “political affiliation.” Lankford’s measure already has bipartisan support including co-sponsors Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ted Budd (R-NC), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Gary Peters (D-MI). “No one would have contemplated a need for a bill like this until President Biden’s FEMA intentionally withheld assistance from disaster victims that were Trump supporters. This bill will stop political discrimination forever,” Lankford added. Lankford was referring to now-fired FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington instructing relief workers in Lake Placid to skip homes with Trump flags or yard signs. Whistleblowers told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes were skipped because of the directive. MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+ FEMA supervisor Deanne Criswell testified this week before Congress on the guidance, saying she believed it to be an isolated incident and not indicative of any larger problem. Criswell announced that Washington was fired one day after The Daily Wire first reported on the incident. Lawmakers are still probing the situation and have demanded that the Inspector General conduct an independent investigation. Nineteen Republican senators, including Lankford, sent a letter to Criswell earlier this week asking her to provide the total number of houses FEMA has skipped across all declared disaster zones and the listed reason for bypassing the homes. “The idea that citizens, whose tax dollars fund FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) and pay FEMA officials’ salaries, may be purposely excluded from vitally needed aid is chilling and further erodes many people’s already tenuous trust in this administration,” they wrote.

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday evening that he has already selected a replacement for his nominee for U.S. Attorney General after former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) withdrew his name from consideration earlier in the day. “I am proud to announce former Attorney General of the Great State of Florida, Pam Bondi, as our next Attorney General of the United States,” Trump said in a statement. “Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families.” Trump highlighted Bondi’s record as the first female Attorney General of Florida, noting that she worked to stop drug traffickers and tackle the fentanyl problem plaguing America’s streets. “She did such an incredible job, that I asked her to serve on our Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during my first Term — We saved many lives!” he said. “For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore,” Trump said. “Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again.” ? President Donald J. Trump announces the nomination of @PamBondi as Attorney General pic.twitter.com/A9PHbBsW5b — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 21, 2024 Bondi recently appeared on Fox News, where she discussed The Daily Wire’s story on FEMA corruption. “I think they need to find out if it’s systemic, and it sounds like it is,” Bondi said of the FEMA worker who instructed employees to skip over certain homes sporting pro-Trump signage. “These are Americans who are having their civil rights violated because they chose to have a Donald Trump sign in their front yard,” she later added. MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+ Gaetz said that his decision to withdraw from the race came after meeting with senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. He said that it was “clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.” Gaetz’s withdrawal comes as multiple senators expressed concern over his confirmation and the House Ethics Committee weighed releasing a report on alleged sexual misconduct. “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1,” Gaetz wrote. “I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.” Trump released a statement on Gaetz’s decision, writing, “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!” Gaetz’s withdrawal from the AG position comes after he resigned from Congress when Trump nominated him to serve in the administration. Gaetz, a congressman since 2017, wrote in his resignation letter on November 14, “I do not intend to take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress.” The Florida congressman is the subject of an Ethics Committee investigation into alleged sexual misconduct. The committee met behind closed doors on Wednesday to discuss the report, but did not come to an agreement on releasing what it had found on Gaetz. CNN reported on Thursday that the Ethics Committee was told of a second alleged sexual encounter between Gaetz and a 17-year-old in 2017. According to CNN, Gaetz announced that he was withdrawing his name 45 minutes after reporters had asked for comment from him on the second allegation. Vice President-elect JD Vance took Gaetz around Capitol Hill to meet with key senators, and multiple Republicans urged their colleagues to wait for the confirmation hearing before rushing to judgment on any of the allegations against Gaetz. The Department of Justice also investigated Gaetz over alleged sex trafficking, but did not bring any charges against him. Zach Jewell continued to this report.