In addition to Lake, three Arizona GOP congressmen previewed the upcoming political battles.
Trump and border czar Tom Homan on immigration and US-Mexico relations
Donald Trump and incoming border czar Tom Homan discuss US relations with Mexico and the immigration plan at Turning Point’s AmericaFest.
Former U.S. Senate candidate Carrie Lake signaled on Saturday that she is withdrawing from politics for the time being, publicly backing out of the Arizona governor’s race a day before President-elect Donald Trump endorses a different Republican candidate for the job.
Lake was asked about her political future while on stage at AmericaFest, the annual convention in Phoenix organized by the conservative youth group Turning Point USA.
“I’m going to go help President Trump in Washington, D.C., and that’s what I’m going to do,” said Lake, who was recently chosen by Trump to lead Voice of America, a government-funded international news outlet, during his second term.
The America Festival, a four-day celebration of Trump and his MAGA movement, held this month in downtown Phoenix, signaled Trump’s return to the White House before his second inauguration on January 20. Republican politicians from Arizona.
Lake has become nationally known for her fierce defense of baseless claims about the US election, including the discredited notion that her 2022 election loss was “rigged.” On stage, she cited the issue as one of the reasons she is withdrawing from politics for the time being.
“We’re not where we should be in the election. That’s one of the reasons I don’t want to run again, to be honest. Why put yourself through this torture again?”
“Fortunately, President Trump’s victory was too big to be manipulated,” she said, echoing a famous phrase from the president-elect.
Lake was once a close ally of Trump, despite their relationship It is said to be cooled The former president was concerned that it might affect his electoral chances in Arizona.
The day after Lake’s statements, Trump encouraged Republican Karen Taylor Robeson to enter the 2026 race for governor of Arizona, telling her in a speech, “You will have my support.”
Robeson lost the 2022 Republican primary for governor of Arizona to Lake. Lake lost to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Trump allies review political battles
A number of other Arizona politicians took the stage at AmericaFest, praising key Trump initiatives and previewing the political battles brewing ahead of the new administration.
Rep. Andy Biggs, Republican of Arizona, said he and “some” of his colleagues are preparing legislation before Trump is sworn in on January 20.
“I want him to be able to sign a bill on the 21st that basically starts securing our border,” Biggs said.
In a recent meeting with other members of Congress, Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” was asked about deporting “poor people who have been here for a while,” Biggs said.
Biggs was met with applause as he summed up Homan’s response: “The second time they crossed our border illegally, they broke the law.”
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Crane, focused on the issue of federal spending.
He accused his more moderate GOP colleagues of “spotlighting,” recalling a meeting the caucus held with tech mogul Elon Musk and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump had tasked with government efficiency efforts.
Crane expected the moderate bloc to “tell Elon and Vivek why we can’t cut any spending, why we can’t cut any funding, just like they tell us every week.”
Instead, they told Trump allies: “I can’t wait to work with you on cutting spending.”
“It was gaslighting on a level you wouldn’t expect from politicians,” Crane said.
Rep.-elect Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., stressed his commitment to local police. He shared his time speaking with Dave Goitia, president of the Glendale Fraternal Order of Police, who scoffed at “woke extremist prosecutors focused on political pandering” and welcomed Trump’s selection of Kash Patel, who endorsed Hamadeh in this year’s election, to lead the FBI. investigation.
