Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon reported to prison on Monday for his four-month sentence for his contempt of Congress conviction, but he gave defiant remarks before surrendering himself to authorities.
Bannon told supporters and the press before heading to federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, that his voice will be heard during his prison sentence, arguing the movement he is a part of will continue even while he is away.
“I have a First Amendment right. I have first a First Amendment right to have my voice heard. And my voice is going to be heard every day, and more importantly, their voices are going to be heard,” Bannon said.
“You don’t need my voice. We’re a populist movement. We’re a populist movement. When I say, ‘Next man up,’ it’s not just our other hosts. It’s just not congressmen [Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)] and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and all the people that support the show. It’s all these people,” he added.
Steve Bannon speaks outside Danbury Federal Correctional Institution on July 1, 2024, in Danbury, Connecticut. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
The host of the podcast War Room also stated that he is “proud” to report to prison if it means standing up to Attorney General Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
“I am proud to go to prison. And this is what it takes to stand up to tyranny. This way, it takes a stand up to the Garland corrupt criminal DOJ. This is what it takes to stand up to Nancy Pelosi. This is what it takes to stand up to Joe Biden — to Joe Biden,” Bannon said. “I’m proud to do it.”
He also vowed that the enemies of the “MAGA Movement,” referring to Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” would be unable to stop them, no matter what they may try.
Bannon had attempted to delay his prison sentence as he appeals his conviction, but he was denied by the multiple courts, including the Supreme Court.
He will be in prison until just before the November election. Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was also convicted of contempt of Congress charges after defying subpoenas from the Jan. 6 committee, but Navarro reported to prison for his four-month sentence in March.
The United Kingdom is holding elections for every seat in the House of Commons this week, with a major shift expected in British politics.
As the U.K. holds its first parliamentary election in nearly five years, here is what to know about the pivotal race that will determine the immediate future of one of the United States‘s closest allies.
When is the election?
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a member of the Conservative Party, announced on May 22 that elections would be held on July 4 — the same day in 1776 that the U.S. declared independence from the U.K.
The last parliamentary election took place on Dec. 12, 2019, and the Electoral Commission had specified that an election was required to happen by Jan. 28, 2025 — 25 working days after the fifth anniversary of the current government’s first meeting.
What is at stake?
The election is the first since the U.K. left the European Union in early 2020 and since the coronavirus pandemic. Conservatives boosted their majority in the last election, which was done as a snap election after a lack of progress on a withdrawal agreement from the EU.
Dogged by low approval ratings, Conservatives pushed this election to nearly as late as was legally allowed, in a departure from the past several elections.
The winning party in the July election could be leading the U.K. for up to the next five years. Currently, the Conservatives hold 344 seats in the 650 seat chamber, with the Labour Party having the second-largest presence with 205 seats.
Who is expected to win?
The Labour Party, which has not been in the majority since 2010, is heavily favored to win a commanding majority in the election.
A forecast from the Economist released the week before the election predicts that Labour will get 429 seats, followed by the Conservatives with 117 seats, the Liberal Democrats getting 42 seats, and the Scottish National Party winning 23 seats.
The outlet also predicts that there is a 98% chance of Labour winning a majority – 326 seats – and a 2% chance of Labour being the largest party but not a majority, with less than a 1% chance of either the Conservatives holding onto the majority or being the largest party.
A victory by the Labour Party would likely see Keir Starmer become prime minister, and mark a leftward shift in the U.K.
The next election will be sometime before August 2029, but unlike in the U.S., there is no set date for the election. The U.K. election is scheduled for July 4.
In 10 days, millions of Social Security beneficiaries will receive their July retirement payments — worth up to $4,873 per check for those who retire at 70 years old.
Citizens who receive Social Security payments and were born between the first and the 10th of a month will get their regular monthly checks from the Social Security Administration on July 10.
Regular Social Security payments issued by the SSA are based on the earnings throughout a retiree’s life and have no limits based on income, but the amount each check is worth is dependent on the age when a person retires.
Those who retired at the current retirement age, 67, receive a maximum check of $3,822, while those who retired at 62 get up to $2,710, and those who delay their retirement to age 70 get the largest payment of $4,873 per month, according to the Social Security Administration.
The monthly payment schedule has three waves, all occurring on Wednesdays — or Tuesday if Wednesday is a federal holiday.
The distribution of checks is divided by the day of the month recipients were born. The second wave of payments will be sent out on July 17, while the third wave will go out on July 24.
The monthly Social Security payments being sent out in the coming weeks are different from other checks given out by the SSA — such as disability insurance or Supplemental Security Income, which are sent out on a different schedule. SSI payments are sent to recipients by the beginning of each month.
In one day, the monthly Supplemental Security Incomecheck worth up to $943 for individual filers will be sent out to eligible recipients.
The Social Security Administration will issue SSI payments to eligible citizens on July 1, in accordance with the SSA mandate that benefits must be given to recipients by the first day of the month.
This requirement for recipients to get their checks by the first of the month means that when the first day of a month falls on a weekend or a holiday, the Social Security Administration issues SSI checks the business day prior. For the remainder of 2024, this will happen for payments scheduled for September and December.
The amount which SSI checks are worth for beneficiaries depends on their status, with individuals getting monthly $914 payments and eligible couples receiving $1,415 payments per month. Essential persons – who are people who live with someone receiving SSI and provide them with necessary care – get monthly payments of $472 from the program.
The first SSI payments were sent out to recipients by the Social Security Administration in January 1974, with payment rates being adjusted in line with cost of living since 1975, according to the agency.
Supplemental Security Income checks are different from other payments sent out by the Social Security Administration. Regular Social Security payments are issued on a different schedule each month from SSI payments and are dependent on the recipient’s day of birth. Those checks are sent in three waves each month.
In the Sunshine State, abortion will be on the ballot when voters decide on the presidential and Senate races — but unlike those two races, the abortion ballot measure must seek a higher threshold that could be its undoing.
Democrats have tied their hopes for making up ground in Florida — a state becoming increasingly Republican — to the abortion ballot measure, while Republicans have stated their opposition to the measure, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has reportedly launched a fund to support the opposition.
Currently, in Florida, abortion is banned after six weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest, human trafficking, or the health of the mother. Ballot Measure 4 would block the state from creating laws that would “prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”
Proponents of the initiative argue it would enshrine abortion rights through viability, while opponents of the measure have argued the exceptions are too vague and could open the door for abortion without limits.
While abortion ballot measures have typically gone in favor of Democrats, the 60% threshold required for a measure to pass in Florida means neither side has the upper hand, even if the measure is popular.
“I don’t think people appreciate how high a threshold 60% is. It’s a significant threshold. It’s going to be hard to get there,” Dr. Kevin Wagner, professor and associate dean at Florida Atlantic University, told the Washington Examiner.
“The initial sort of look at the public opinion data suggest there’s more support for ballot measure four than say the marijuana measure, it could theoretically still pass to if both can carry 60% but it’s gonna, it’s gonna depend a lot on who turns out in November,” he added.
Recent polling has shown the measure being over the 60% threshold, with a June Fox News poll showing 69% of Florida voters supporting the measure, but with months to go in the campaign where the two major political parties have picked opposing sides, it appears too early to predict who will have the edge.
Democrats have tied themselves to the measure, pitching for voters to support amendment four and vote for President Joe Biden, and looking to capitalize on the matter.
“We know we got into this moment because Donald Trump stacked the court, and they overturned Roe v. Wade, and from there, Ron DeSantis passed a 15-week abortion ban and then a six-week abortion ban,” Florida Democratic Party chairwoman Nikki Fried told reporters in April.
FILE – Abortion rights advocates hold a rally in support of the “Yes On 4” campaign in downtown Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, April 13, 2024, ahead of the November ballot initiative, when Florida voters will decide on whether to allow the right to an abortion in Florida. At least four states will have abortion-related ballot questions in November’s election and there’s a push to get them before voters in several others.
(Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)
Republicans in the Sunshine State have stated their opposition to both ballot measures three — which would legalize recreational marijuana — and four, accusing supporters of the measure of trying to confuse voters.
“Floridians are confident that their legislature has been passing laws that reflect the priorities of our state. Amendments 3 and 4 are unnecessary attempts by an increasingly shrinking minority who know the only way to win support for their radical agenda is to confuse and mislead the electorate,” Florida Republican Party chairman Evan Power said in a statement.
“The Florida Democrats are a dead carcass on the side of the road, but outside dark money groups are looking to promote their far-left ideology by attempting to confuse Florida voters. The Florida GOP stands ready to correct the record and defeat the radical left while enshrining in our Constitution more rights for our citizens,” he added.
Democrats have hoped abortion on the ballot will boost turnout and potentially boost Biden and Democratic Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell — who is challenging Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) — to upset victories in November. The Biden campaign has insisted the state is “in play,” with abortion being center to their rationale.
“Florida is in play for President Biden and Democrats up and down the ballot. Trump and his out of touch loyalists are taking the state for granted, while their extreme agenda continues to increase costs and rip away Floridians’ freedoms,” Dan Kanninen, Biden-Harris Battleground States Director said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “The President has a strong story to tell on the issues that matter most to Floridians, which is why our campaign continues to scale up our presence and investments into the state.”
Wagner predicts that while the ballot measure will likely boost Democratic turnout more than Republican turnout, the growing strength of the Florida GOP may be too much for Democrats to overcome in terms of taking a victory in the presidential and Senate races.
“My expectation is it should help Democratic turnout more than it’ll help Republican turnout, just by looking at the patterns that have occurred in other states across the country on these measures,” Wagner said. “With that said, the strength of the Republican Party in Florida has been significantly greater than the Democratic Party over the last several election cycles, so it’s hard to see that being enough to overcome the advantages that Republicans have in Florida.”
“Not impossible, but it would be highly unexpected,” he added.
In November 2020, Democrats held a 106,986 lead in registered voters in the state over the GOP, but as of May 31, 2024, Republicans now hold a 930,671 registered voter lead over Democrats in Florida. The last major elections in the state, in 2022, were a disaster for Democrats, with all statewide GOP candidates winning by double digits.
In Ohio, a former key swing state that has also shifted Republican in recent years, voters approved a ballot measure similar to the one in Florida by a margin of 56.8%-43.2% in November 2023. Florida could also see ticket splitters who still vote Republican but also support ballot measure four – adding a hurdle to Democrats looking to capitalize on the topic.
“I think the data from some of the other states, like Ohio, that did this show that you can get significant support for Republicans on one of these ‘return to Roe’ style amendments, and then you know, the Republicans will return to voting for Republican candidates in other races. We’ve certainly seen that pattern in other states,” Wagner said
“So for Democrats, it’s not just getting people to turn on the amendment, it’s getting them to choose Democratic candidates as well. That’s certainly no sure thing,” he added.
Voters in Florida will decide on the fate of ballot measure four on Nov. 5.
