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Trump team ‘pissed off’ with Kemp over candidate pick in Georgia’s Senate GOP primary battle
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President Donald Trump’s political team and top advisers to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia apparently aren’t on the same page when it comes to the key southeastern battleground state’s Republican Senate primary.
The race is crucial for Republicans aiming to expand their Senate majority, as Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for re-election in a state that Trump narrowly carried in last year’s election, is viewed by the GOP as the most vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in next year’s midterm elections.
Kemp, a popular two-term conservative governor whom Trump had heavily criticized in the past, was courted by national Republicans to take on Ossoff. But Kemp, who is term-limited, announced earlier this year that he would pass on a 2026 Senate run.
Sources in Trump’s political orbit and Republican sources in Georgia confirm to Fox News that there was an agreement between the president’s political operation and Kemp’s political team that they would work together to find a candidate that they could all unify behind to take on Ossoff in the Senate race.
FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP HOUSE ALLY TO LAUNCH SENATE BID NEXT WEEK IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is interviewed by Fox News Digital at a Republican Governors Association meeting in Washington D.C. on Feb. 20, 2025. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Those sources also confirm that Kemp and Trump – the ultimate kingmaker in GOP politics – met two weeks ago to discuss the Senate race in Georgia.
But when the governor floated the name of former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, a source close to the president’s political team said «they were told to stand down, because Trump’s team wasn’t ready to move forward on anybody.»
And when Kemp and his team did move forward with Dooley, it upset Trump’s advisers, who, according to sources, were «already pretty annoyed» that Kemp had passed earlier this year on taking on Ossoff in the Senate race.
POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR PASSES ON SENATE BID IN 2026
«We had a deal to work together,» a top political source in the Trump orbit told Fox News on Friday. «Kemp went out on his own – which has frustrated and pissed off Trump orbit.»
The source added that «the best option for the GOP in Georgia was and is Brian Kemp. Unfortunately, he has chosen the path of the weak, and – instead of leading – has decided to circumvent and self-anoint a candidate no one has heard of and the president hasn’t met.»
«The operation that delivered the win in Georgia was the Trump organization – not a faux operation – it’s hard to see it rallying behind the blind ambition of someone more interested in 2028 than in 2026,» the source said, in a not-so-veiled reference to Kemp’s potential interest in seeking the 2028 Republican presidential nomination.
Donald Trump shakes hands with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp after speaking at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Georgia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
But a source close to the governor told Fox News that it’s factually not true that they were told to stand down on Dooley.
And the source added that Kemp meant what he said that he wants to work with the president and his team and remains that way.
Kemp’s political team first floated the Dooley trial balloon about two months ago. A longtime Georgia-based Republican strategist said the reaction in the Peach State among Republicans «was very negative.»
Dooley, who is the son of former longtime University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, is close with Kemp, who is a longtime friend.
And Dooley has hired two top Kemp political advisers to help with his potential Senate campaign.
A Republican source in Georgia says a decision by Dooley on whether he’ll run could come as early as next week.
Republican Rep. Mike Collins, a Trump ally and supporter in the House, will announce his candidacy for the Senate next week, sources with knowledge told Fox News Digital on Friday.
Fox News has learned that Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia will launch a Senate campaign next week in the race against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. (Bill Clark)
Republican Rep. Buddy Carter, who for a decade has represented a district in coastal Georgia, launched a Senate campaign in the spring.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King also announced a run, but ended his bid on Thursday.
Trump and Kemp have a turbulent political history.
Trump backed the then-Georgia secretary of state in his successful 2018 campaign for governor.
But during the two years after his 2020 election defeat to former President Joe Biden, which included a razor-thin loss in Georgia, Trump attacked Kemp for failing to overturn the election results in his state.
Trump toned down the criticism in 2022 after Kemp crushed Trump-backed former Sen. David Perdue in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary, as Kemp successfully cruised to re-election to a second term as governor.
KEMP SPEAKS OUT AFTER TRUMP FLIPS AND PRAISES THE GEORGIA GOVERNOR
But last summer, amid the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump went on a 10-minute tirade against Kemp at a rally in Atlanta just blocks from the Georgia State Capitol. Trump blamed the governor not only for failing to overturn the 2020 vote count but also for not stopping a county prosecutor from indicting the former president for his attempts to reverse the results.
Trump quickly changed his tune on Kemp days later, and praised the governor in a social media post «for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country.»
Then-Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp, left, walks with President Donald Trump as Trump arrives for a rally in Macon, Georgia. (AP )
Kemp, in a Fox News Digital interview a few days later, downplayed Trump’s tirade against him, calling it a «small distraction that’s in the past.»
As Dooley moves closer to launching a campaign, Collins is just days from declaring his candidacy.
Collins, a businessman who founded a trucking company, is in his second term representing Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which includes a large swath of urban, suburban, and rural areas between Atlanta and Augusta.
The conservative lawmaker, who’s the son of the late Republican Rep. Mac Collins of Georgia, has been moving closer to launching a Senate campaign for weeks.
Collins was an early backer of the president, supporting him as Trump first ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 cycle.
Collins at the beginning of this year reintroduced the Laken Riley Act, which mandates that undocumented immigrants charged with burglary or theft be detained. It’s named after a Georgia nursing student killed by a man who had illegally entered the U.S. The case grabbed national attention.
The bill, which quickly passed the Republican-controlled House and Senate, became the first legislation signed into law by Trump as he started his second tour of duty in the White House.
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A Republican source said that Collins has a «great relationship» with the president and his political team.
And a Georgia-based Republican consultant told Fox News that «the lane that Mike is going to run in is the America First fighter who’s been with President Trump.
Carter is also courting a Trump endorsement in the GOP primary.
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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of endangering women’s health, saying the agency approved another chemical abortion drug without the thorough safety review it had promised.
Hawley argued the move shows both regulatory failure and the influence of a company that refuses to define «woman» in its materials.
«This is shocking. FDA has just approved ANOTHER chemical abortion drug, when the evidence shows chemical abortion drugs are dangerous and even deadly for the mother. And of course 100% lethal to the child,» he wrote on X on Thursday afternoon.
«FDA had promised to do a top-to-bottom safety review of the chemical abortion drug, but instead they’ve just greenlighted new versions of it for distribution. I have lost confidence in the leadership at FDA.»
PRO-LIFE GROUP URGES SENATE TO PRESS RFK JR. ON ABORTION PILL SAFETY, DEMAND SAFEGUARDS RETURN
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused the Food and Drug Administration of endangering women’s health after it approved another chemical abortion drug without what he said was a promised full safety review. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Evita Solutions describes its mission as one to «normalize abortion» and make it «accessible to all.» On its website, the company says it «believes that all people should have access to safe, affordable, high-quality, effective, and compassionate abortion care, regardless of their race, sex, gender, age, sexuality, income, or where they live.
«We know that you can make the best choice for your body.»
According to the FDA, Evita received approval in a Sept. 30 letter obtained by Reuters.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Hawley said the FDA’s decision was even more troubling given its promised safety review has barely begun.
«I just, I can’t figure out what’s happening at the FDA. I’m totally baffled by it,» Hawley said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the FDA and Evita Solutions for comment on the matter.
FDA CHIEF HAS NO ‘PLANS’ FOR ABORTION PILL POLICY CHANGES BUT CONTINUES SAFETY REVIEW
In another post, Hawley blasted the FDA for partnering with a company that «doesn’t even believe there is such a thing as a ‘woman.’»
Evita Solutions now joins GenBioPro in producing the generic version of mifepristone, the abortion pill originally made by Danco Laboratories. Mifepristone blocks progesterone, a hormone needed to sustain pregnancy, and is followed by misoprostol to complete the process.
The approval comes as abortion drugs face mounting opposition from conservative lawmakers, religious organizations and pro-life groups.
MORE THAN 20 GOP ATTORNEYS GENERAL CALL ON RFK JR, FDA TO REINSTATE SAFEGUARDS FOR ABORTION DRUGS
Misoprostol, left, and mifepristone, the two drugs used in a medication abortion. (Robyn Bech/AFP via Getty Images)
Religious groups like Inspire Investing and Alliance Defending Freedom have campaigned against the drug, while the Restoration of America Foundation (ROAF) has pressed lawmakers for accountability.
Last month, ROAF called on the Senate Finance Committee to hold Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accountable at a hearing, demanding answers about the removal of safety protocols for the abortion pill mifepristone.
In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, ROAF warned that the rollback leaves women more vulnerable and shifts costs to taxpayers. The group said the Biden-era changes endanger women by allowing abortion pills to be prescribed via telehealth and sent through the mail.
Hawley said the FDA should restore the safeguards put in place under the Trump administration.
«What needs to happen is the FDA needs to get in line with the president’s policy and put back into place the safety regulations President Trump had. Ditch the Biden approach and go back to President Trump’s approach,» Hawley said.
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Under the Biden administration, the FDA for the first time allowed telehealth prescribing and mail-order delivery of abortion pills. Previously, the agency required mifepristone to be dispensed in person to screen for complications such as ectopic pregnancy.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Reuters contributed to this report.
reproductive health,abortion,health,health care healthy living,pregnancy,politics
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‘Come-to-Jesus meeting’: Military community reacts to Hegseth’s get fit, get in line or get out speech
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War Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a blunt message to military leaders from around the globe this week: get fit, get on board with the Trump agenda or get out.
It marked the first time generals from around the world had been summoned to convene with the secretary, and many had expected closed-door announcements on trimming the general officer corps, drawing down forces in the Middle East and Europe or cutting civilian and contractor roles.
Instead, what they got was a televised address from Hegseth and President Donald Trump. The secretary pushed a populist message of handing decision-making back to the warfighter, requiring senior leadership to perform physical training in line with lower-ranking officers and bringing uniformity back to the force.
Garrett Smith, an active-duty Marine Corps reservist and CEO of defense tech firm Reveal, said the spectacle was unusual but not without precedent.
TRUMP DECLARES ‘REAWAKENING’ OF ‘WARRIOR SPIRIT,’ UNWAVERING SUPPORT FOR MILITARY: ‘I HAVE YOUR BACKS’
War Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to military leaders during a meeting at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
«At a first level, at any big multinational corporation or big organization, when there’s a new boss, it’s totally reasonable to call in all your regional managers and VPs for a setting of tone, to reconfirm the agenda, to ensure alignment. So all of that makes sense,» Smith said. «But obviously, these are not normal times. This is the Trump administration. So it’s going to come with a bunch of enhanced drama and mystique and weirdness about it… the policy and the action might have been totally great, but much of the country is going to be left wondering, what was that really about?»
Even so, Smith argued, the underlying message was unmistakable: «A return to warfighting and preparation for winning wars as the priority mission of the department. There was a perception we’d strayed from that, that it had become just one mission among many. Reconfirming that this is the mission is really important — investing in a warfighting ethos.»
At a moment when the Trump administration is on alert for internal resistance to its agenda, the speech served as a reminder to commanders stationed far from Washington that their authority ultimately flows from the president.
«This is a historic come-to-Jesus meeting,» said Chad Robicheaux, a former reconnaissance Marine who deployed to Afghanistan eight times. «The message is clear: the days of divisiveness, resistance, and undermining leadership are over.»
«It was crystal clear — generals and admirals are on notice: comply and enforce these new policies and culture or be fired. No more woke leaders,» said Amber Smith, a combat veteran and advisor with the Coalition for Military Excellence.
«The topic today is about the nature of ourselves, because no plan, no program, no reform, no formation will ultimately succeed unless we have the right people and the right culture at the Department of War,» Hegseth told the group.
He emphasized that combat fitness tests would be gender-neutral and that high-level officers would need to meet standards.
«It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country and the world. It’s a bad look. It’s not who we are,» he said. «Whether you’re an airborne Ranger or a chairborne Ranger, a brand new private or a four-star general, you need to meet the height and weight standards and pass your PT test.»
Hegseth announced that all personnel must pass physical training tests and meet weight requirements twice a year, and would be required to work out daily. «We’re not talking, like, hot yoga and stretching,» he said. «Real hard PT.»
That represented a departure from previous years, when fitness standards often fell away once officers reached higher ranks and desk-bound commands.
HEGSETH INSTATES ‘HIGHEST MALE STANDARD ONLY’ FOR COMBAT, OTHER CHANGES, DECLARING DEPT. OF DEFENSE ‘IS OVER’
Hundreds of generals were called to Quantico on a week’s notice for Hegseth’s address. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Smith, who comes from the infantry, said the focus on standards for physical readiness was part of that shift. «If we want to present a deterring force to the world so we don’t have to go to war, we have to be ready to win the next war. That is the deterrent force we project,» he said.
At the same time, Smith acknowledged the cultural edge of Hegseth’s message. «There was an obvious and very clear anti-woke, anti-social-justice threat in there. That is unique to this administration, and it has to be a part of their message every time. That’s not a surprise given the last four or five years.»
From Trump, generals saw a preview of what is expected in the forthcoming national defense strategy: a renewed focus on homeland defense and U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere. Trump suggested crime-ridden U.S. cities could even serve as «training grounds» for troops.
«I told Pete we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military — National Guard, but military — because we’re going into Chicago very soon,» Trump said.
HEGSETH TELLS TROOPS TO RESIGN IF THEY OPPOSE HIS PLAN TO SCRAP ‘WOKE’ POLICIES AND RESTORE WARRIOR ETHOS
Hegseth’s message carried a personal edge rooted in his own military experience. A former Army National Guard officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hegseth left the service at the rank of major — well short of the general officer tier he now oversees.
That trajectory has long colored his outsider posture toward the Pentagon brass, giving him credibility with rank-and-file troops but also fueling what some see as a chip-on-the-shoulder tone toward those who climbed higher in the hierarchy.
His insistence that generals shed weight, train daily and live by the same standards as junior officers reflects both his populist instincts and his lived sense of being closer to the warfighter than the war planner.
«I can’t really imagine a scenario where a general needs to be able to run across a battlefield,» one veteran mused.
«It felt a bit theatery,» one junior officer said of the speech. «But he’s right that generals should have to meet the same standards they expect of the people they lead.»
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«The future of the military and ‘war’ department finally is starting to look better, and I’m happy all that bulls— that happened in the past was addressed, and I don’t have to deal with it,» said another.
Hegseth also said he would lift guardrails aimed at preventing bullying and hazing and «empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second-guessing.»
«No more walking on eggshells.»
He told military officers in the room that if they didn’t like his message, «then you should do the honorable thing and resign.»
pete hegseth,defense,military,politics,pentagon defense
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