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The expected arrest of Donald Trump is putting Republican senators who want to move on from the former president in a tough spot as he calls for mass protests if Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg places him in custody. 

GOP lawmakers see the indictment of a former president by a local district attorney as crossing the line and setting a bad precedent, but they fear a repeat of the violence that broke out when Trump encouraged his supporters to protest Congress’s certification of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021.  

Adding to their discomfort is the nature of the allegations that Trump paid $130,000 in hush money to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, something his onetime fixer, Michael Cohen, testified about before Congress in 2019.  

The top members of Senate Republican leadership have stayed silent on the prospect of Trump being arrested and on Trump’s calls for mass protests, which Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tried to discourage over the weekend.  

There’s also a concern among Republicans that arresting Trump could supercharge his support among GOP voters and vault him to victory in next year’s presidential primary. 

“If you want to talk about how to unify Republicans behind Donald Trump in the primary, having an unhinged left-wing prosecution, complete with perhaps a perp walk for the cameras, that ends up being thrown out and ends in failure could be the single biggest in-kind gift to the Donald Trump campaign of this entire cycle,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on his podcast Monday.   

Cruz hasn’t yet made an endorsement in the primary. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Trump’s closest ally in the Senate, said Bragg, the Manhattan prosecutor, “has done more to help Donald Trump get elected president than any single person in America today.”  

“I think this is an effort that’s ongoing, never ending to destroy Donald Trump, everything around Donald Trump,” he said.  

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) framed Trump’s expected arrest as part of a broader effort by Democrats to weaponize law enforcement agencies against their opponents. 

“Now they want to arrest Trump, their leading political opponent. They are the banana republic party,” he tweeted over the weekend.  

But GOP strategists and aides say the complicated political dynamics put Republican lawmakers in a tough situation.  

“My view is that Trump is a despicable individual who has done fundamental damage to our party and has harmed our country but what is going on in New York seems to be a classic example of prosecutorial abuse,” said former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), a onetime adviser to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s (Ky.) leadership team. 

McConnell has been absent from the Senate for more than a week after suffering a concussion during a fall at an event away from the Capitol.

“You just don’t indict a former president on some issue involving campaign finance of seven years ago unless it’s really, really serious and an open-and-shut case,” Gregg said.  

But Gregg also criticized Trump’s call for mass protests as “inexcusable.”  

“It reflects the type of person he is and why we had Jan. 6 but hopefully people ignore it,” he said.  

McCarthy, who has been criticized for not holding Trump accountable for the violence on Jan. 6, on Sunday tried to tamp down Trump’s calls for mass protests if he is arrested.  

“I don’t think people should protest this, no,” he said.  

Vin Weber, a GOP strategist and former member of the House Republican leadership, said Republican lawmakers “should condemn the precedent of arresting and indicting a former president. Period, full stop.”  

“If we let the genie out of the bottle, we can expect that it’ll happen again to other people and all of the sudden America doesn’t look like America anymore. We look like those countries where you would use the judicial system to go after your political opponents,” he said.  

Trump’s biggest rival for the GOP presidential nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), at first stayed quiet about the former president’s possible indictment. 

He finally broke his silence on Monday by offering a half-hearted defense. 

“I’ve seen rumors swirl. I have not seen any facts yet, and so I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “But I do know this: The Manhattan district attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor and so he, like other Soros-funded prosecutors, they weaponize their office to impose a political agenda on society at the expense of the rule of law and public safety.” 

George Soros is a prominent Democratic donor who has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Color of Change PAC, which supported Bragg’s election. He’s also a frequent target of the GOP and conspiracy theories. 

DeSantis also took a veiled shot at his rival by quipping he didn’t “know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair.”  

In a sign of how statements about Trump are already playing out in real time in the emerging GOP presidential primary race, Donald Trump Jr. blasted DeSantis’s response as “pure weakness.” 

“So DeSantis thinks that Dems weaponizing the law to indict President Trump is a ‘manufactured circus’ & isn’t a ‘real issue’ Pure weakness. Now we know why he was silent all weekend. He’s totally owned by Karl Rove, Paul Ryan & his billionaire donors. 100% Controlled Opposition,” he tweeted.  

A Senate Republican aide said GOP senators who aren’t Trump fans will straddle the line like DeSantis by condemning the Manhattan district attorney for dredging up an old allegation while staying away from defending Trump. 

“DeSantis’s statement was pretty creative, it checked both boxes, acknowledging the absurdity of paying off a porn star and all that and highlighting how this is a Soros-backed district attorney. That may be the way forward for people,” the aide said. 

Weber, the GOP strategist, said Trump’s alleged conduct “has to appall” leading Republicans such as DeSantis and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney (R) but that’s why they should focus on “the precedent of indicting a former president on the face of it is a bad idea.”   Democratic senator presses tech companies about AI’s threat to teens Watch live: Yellen delivers remarks at the American Bankers Association summit

Brian Darling, a GOP strategist and former Senate aide, acknowledged that prominent Republicans don’t want to go too far in defending Trump. 

“You’re seeing that now with Ron DeSantis’s comments, a backhanded defense. You’ll see a lot of back-handed defenses going forward. I think that DeSantis probably gave cover to a lot of Republicans to give backhanded defenses,” he said. 

“But the bottom line is I think that Republicans understand that voters are going to look at this as overreach and the weaponization of the D.A.’s office,” he added.

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Ex-Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry defects to Reform

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Ex-Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry defects to Reform

Ex-Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry has defected to Reform, in the latest blow to the Conservatives.

The former MP for Rossendale and Darwen, who served as Northern Powerhouse minister under Boris Johnson and lost his seat last year, said he had defected to Nigel Farage’s party because the Tories had “lost their way”.

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Reform UK confirmed the defection to Sky News, which was first broken by The Sun.

Speaking to the paper, Sir Jake said Mr Farage’s party was the “last chance to pull Britain back from terminal decline”.

“Our streets are completely lawless,” he said.

“Migration is out of control. Taxes are going through the roof.

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“And day after day, I hear from people in my community and beyond who say the same thing: ‘This isn’t the Britain I grew up in’.”

Sir Jake accused his former party of “abandoning the British people” but said he was not “giving up”.

“I’m staying. And I’m fighting.

“Fighting for the Britain I want my kids, and one day, my grandkids, to grow up in.”

Mr Farage welcomed what he said was “a very brave decision” by Sir Jake.

“His admission that the Conservative government he was part of broke the country is unprecedented and principled,” he added.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Reform support increasing the benefits bill by removing the two-child cap, and nationalising British industry. By contrast the Conservatives, under new leadership, will keep making the case for sound money, lower taxes and bringing the welfare bill under control.

“We wish Jake well in his new high spend, high tax party.”

Sir Jake’s defection to Reform comes just days after former Conservative cabinet minister David Jones joined Reform UK, which continues to lead in the polls.

European Research Group (ERG) chair Mark Francois (left), and deputy chair David Jones, speak to the media outside Portcullis House, Westminster
Image:
Former Welsh secretary David Jones (R) alongside Tory MP Mark Francois. Pic: PA

Mr Jones, who was MP for Clwyd West from 2005 until standing down in 2024, said he had quit the Tories after “more than 50 years of continuous membership”.

Sir Jake was the MP Rossendale and Darwen in Lancashire between 2010 and 2024, when he was defeated by Labour’s Andy MacNae.

He held several ministerial posts including in the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Energy and Climate Change and the Cabinet Office.

Nigel Farage holds up six fingers to indicate the six votes his party's candidate won by in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Nigel Farage after winning the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.
Pic: Reuters

He was also chairman of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022, under Liz Truss.

Announcing his defection – which comes a year after the Tories suffered their worst ever election defeat – Sir Jake said “Britain was broken” and “the Conservative governments I was part of share the blame”.

“We now have a tax system that punishes hard work and ambition,” he said.

“Just this week, we saw record numbers of our brightest and best people leaving Britain because they can’t see a future here. At the same time, our benefits system is pulling in the world’s poor with no plan for integration and no control over who comes in.

“If you were deliberately trying to wreck the country, you’d be hard-pressed to do a better job than the last two decades of Labour and Tory rule.

“Millions of people, just like me, want a country they can be proud of again. The only way we get that is with Reform in government. That’s why I’ve resigned from the Conservative Party. I’m now backing Reform UK and working to make them the next party of government.”

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He added: “And with Nigel Farage leading Reform, we’ve got someone the country can actually trust. He doesn’t change his views to fit the mood of the day. And people respect that. So do I. That’s why I believe he should be our next prime minister.”

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Not content with taking advice from Liz Truss, Nigel Farage has now tempted her Tory Party chairman into his ranks.

“It’s clear Farage wants Liz Truss’s reckless economics, which crashed our economy and sent mortgages spiralling, to be Reform’s blueprint for Britain. It’s a recipe for disaster and working people would be left paying the price.”

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Starmer and Macron agree need for ‘new deterrent’ to stop small boat crossings

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Starmer and Macron agree need for 'new deterrent' to stop small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.

High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.

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The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.

The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.

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However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”

It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

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“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.

He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.

“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.

“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.

“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”

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Controversial welfare bill passes final Commons stage – but only after another concession

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Controversial welfare bill passes final Commons stage - but only after another concession

Sir Keir Starmer’s watered down welfare bill has passed its final stage in the Commons, after another concession was made to MPs.

The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments Bill passed by 336 votes to 242 on Wednesday night – a majority of 94.

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In a bid to thwart further opposition to the bill following last week’s climbdown, the government said it would not try to introduce any more reforms to personal independence payments (PIP) until a review by work and pensions minister Sir Stephen Timms on the assessment process has concluded.

Sir Stephen said he wanted to finish his review by next autumn, but that the government would not agree to complete the review in 12 months as some MPs wanted.

Marie Tidball, the Labour MP who had called for the 12-month limit, later signalled she was happy with the government’s compromise.

Ministers also agreed to her calls to have a majority of the taskforce looking at PIP to be disabled or from disability organisations, and for the outcome of the review to come before any PIP changes. It will also be voted on by MPs.

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A total of 47 Labour MPs have rebelled against the government to vote against its welfare reforms.

Mother of the House Diane Abbott, former minister Dawn Butler, Andy McDonald, Stella Creasy and Jonathan Brash were among those in the “no” lobby.

Meanwhile, MPs rejected a separate amendment by Green MP Sian Berry, which called for the basic rate of universal credit to increase by 4.8% above inflation each year until 2030.

A total of 39 Labour MPs voted for scrapping the clauses that halved Universal Credit for new claimants – the only major cut left in the bill after the government made its concessions.

The passing of the bill will come as a relief to Sir Keir Starmer, who last week was forced into a humiliating climbdown over his flagship welfare package in the face of significant opposition from his own MPs.

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Prior to the vote last Tuesday, the government offered significant concessions including exempting existing personal independence payment claimants (PIP) from stricter new criteria and only freezing and cutting the universal credit health top-up for new applications.

As the vote last week unfolded, it offered further confessions amid concerns the bill could be voted down – notably, that changes in eligibility for PIP would not take place until a review he is carrying out into the benefit is published in autumn 2026.

They ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

A total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.

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