Day 1101: "The nominee."

1/ Trump threatened anyone who donates to Nikki Haley “will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp.” The super political action committee backing Haley raised $50.1 million in the last six months of 2023 – about $5 million more than Trump’s super PAC. The Republican National Committee, meanwhile, is considering a move to declare Trump the “presumptive 2024 nominee” for the party’s presidential nomination, even though Haley has vowed to continue her campaign. While Trump would still need to reach the delegate requirements necessary to win the nomination, he would gain access to the RNC’s data operation, fundraising, and other committee ground operations. Trump needs to secure 1,215 delegates to officially become the party’s nominee. He currently has 32 delegates while Haley has 17. (Axios / The Dispatch / Bloomberg / CNN / NBC News / CNBC)

2/ Mitch McConnell privately told Republicans that Trump has complicated an emerging bipartisan border deal, which explicitly ties strict border policy changes to funding for Israel and Ukraine. McConnell, referring to Trump only as “the nominee,” said the politics “have changed,” and “we don’t want to do anything to undermine him.” Trump doesn’t want Congress to pass a border deal so he can use the issue in the presidential campaign. He’s encouraged Republicans to reject any border deal “unless we get EVERYTHING” the party has demanded, adding he would only accept a “PERFECT” deal. “We’re in a quandary,” McConnell said. (Punchbowl News / Washington Post / New York Times / NPR / CNN / Associated Press / Bloomberg / NBC News / Politico)

3/ Trump accused Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of trying to “foment racial bias” in an effort disqualify her from prosecuting him and his allies. In addition to Willis’ disqualification, Trump wants the 13 counts against him, including violations of Georgia’s racketeering law, to be dismissed. The motion comes more than two weeks after Trump’s co-defendant Mike Roman alleged that Willis appointed Nathan Wade to serve as lead prosecutor in the case while engaging in a romantic relationship with him. Willis said the accusations were racist because they are Black, which Trump’s lawyers called an “attempt to foment racial animus.” Th...