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By ABC News December 23, 2011 ABC News' Shushannah Walshe and Michael Falcone report: DAVENPORT, Iowa - An Iowa Christian conservative leader who bestowed his highly sought-after endorsement on presidential candidate Rick Santorum this week is now at the center of a controversy over whether he asked for cash in exchange for his public support. Less than 48-hours after receiving the backing of Bob Vander Plaats, the head of the prominent evangelical group The Family Leader, Santorum disclosed that the prominent Iowan told him he needed money to make the most out of the endorsement. And sources familiar with talks...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is notorious for running a top-down operation, consulting on key matters with only a small, select group, including his wife. But as he tries to launch a presidential campaign amid weeks of bad headlines, flagging poll numbers and donors’ threatening to jump ship, his campaign-in-waiting is acknowledging that the closed-off practice isn’t working so well. Behind the scenes, aides are reassuring supporters that DeSantis’ circle of advisers is expanding to add more operatives with presidential campaign experience — and that DeSantis is listening to them, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. “Before,...

Former Sen. Rick Santorum will endorse Dave McCormick for the Republican nomination in the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania. Details: "I know Pennsylvania and I know conservatives. Dave McCormick will be the next senator from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He has my full endorsement," Santorum said in a statement provided by the McCormick campaign.

Former CNN senior political commentator Rick Santorum has been hired by conservative news network Newsmax, six months after he and CNN parted ways following offensive comments the former lawmaker made about Native Americans during a speech earlier this year. Santorum will join Newsmax as its Senior Political Analyst and make his debut for the company with special election coverage on Tuesday night, Newsmax said in a statement. “Rick Santorum is one of the most articulate and candid political analysts in media today, and we are honored to have him leading Newsmax’s team of commentators Tuesday and beyond,” Newsmax CEO Chris...

Monday, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) addressed his departure from CNN, where he served as a political contributor, during an appearance on FNC’s “Hannity.” Santorum was reportedly dismissed from the left-of-center cable news channel for dubious allegations of making disparaging remarks about Native American culture.

CNN ended its contract with Rick Santorum after the former Republican senator and two-time presidential candidate made “inaccurate” and “racist” remarks about Native Americans, according to a report. A senior CNN executive told the Huffington Post Saturday that the network parted ways with Santorum, a political commentator, earlier this week, even as the former Pennsylvania senator tried to explain his comments that “there was nothing” in the US before the arrival of European colonizers on one of the network’s shows earlier this month.

CNN contributor and former US senator Rick Santorum is under fire for “racist” comments that critics said debased Native American culture, prompting calls for his immediate termination. Santorum, 62, told the conservative Young America’s Foundation on Friday that “there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture,” claiming the United States has been largely unchanged since the country was born out of “Judeo-Christian” values.

Speaking to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, Santorum said that while Trump is celebrating this week’s Republican victories in North Carolina, there was a more ominous long-term trend appearing in the polls. Trump has low favorability ratings and is trailing most of his potential 2020 Democratic rivals, meaning he has quite a hill to climb if he hopes to win reelection next year. “The president’s numbers are not good numbers,” Santorum said. “The races in 2018 were not good races for the president and he’s gotta be concerned.” Santorum added that in the end, Trump’s own mouth could be what...

Former GOP Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) on Sunday said he believes the Democratic Party could win in 2020 if they pick someone "unexpected" as their party's presidential nominee. Santorum, asked if there were any potential Democratic candidates he was afraid of, pointed to previous presidential contests, saying all of the Democratic candidates who won were "not the favorite" at the time. "When the Democrats win, they pick someone unexpected or someone who’s not the favorite," Santorum, a CNN analyst, said on CNN's "State of the Union." "[Former Presidents] Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter," he listed. "When they pick [failed...

CNN analyst and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) says that President Trump has a point when claiming that the accusations around Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh show it is a “scary time for young men” in the United States. Santorum on Tuesday said on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" that while Trump "overstated the case," he believes "there is concern among some people that their sons or brothers may be accused of something." "I actually see it as a very good teachable moment. I’ve certainly used it for boys and said, ‘Look, obviously this is behavior we’ve told you not...

Oh, Rick Santorum, you left us too soon. The former Pennsylvania senator and obdurate social conservative may be absent from public life, but he's on track to receive a bigger honor: going down as a biblical prophet, not unlike Micah. During his ill fated presidential campaign, Santorum was asked by a university student to clarify past comments likening homosexuality to bestiality and incest.  Flustered, he replied, "If the Supreme Court gives the right to consensual sexual activity, then you have the right to incest, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to all sorts of – you...

Several influential House conservatives are privately plotting ways to use the legislative calendar this fall to push their hard-line agenda — including quiet discussions about possibly mounting a leadership challenge to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan. The group has gone so far as to float the idea of recruiting former House speaker Newt Gingrich or former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum as potential replacements for Ryan (R-Wis.) should there be a rebellion. The Constitution does not require that an elected member of the House serve as speaker. While the chances that a non-House member could mount a credible threat to Ryan...

Just days after former White House chief advisor met with key Freedom Caucus members, they are now unleashing a fury of anger and criticism at House Speaker Paul Ryan for his failure and advancing the Republican legislative agenda. Steve Bannon reportedly met with House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C. on Sunday where they discussed their fall agenda and battle strategy. Their main goal is SHUTTING DOWN the RINOs in Congress who refuse to support Trump’s conservative agenda, including Paul Ryan. The three caucus members who met with Ryan, Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and Scott Perry...

Three Freedom Caucus leaders brought warning to House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday as former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has been speaking with GOP lawmakers, according to a new report from the Washington Post. Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Scott Perry met with Ryan on Wednesday according to two sources that spoke with the Post. The report noted Meadows’ longtime close relationship with Bannon. The lawmakers voiced the importance of seeing leadership set conservative policies in place and warned that their continued support may depend on it. The Post added that Bannon has...

Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist, and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., have begun to examine potential replacements for House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. in the event conservatives attempt to oust him from his leadership role, according to a report Wednesday. Meadows was a leading figure in the push to remove former Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, back in 2015. Shortly after this effort, Boehner stepped down.

Several influential House conservatives are privately plotting ways to use the legislative calendar this fall to push their hard-line agenda — including quiet discussions about possibly mounting a leadership challenge to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan. The group has gone so far as to float the idea of recruiting former House speaker Newt Gingrich or former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum as potential replacements for Ryan (R-Wis.) should there be a rebellion. The Constitution does not require that an elected member of the House serve as speaker. While the chances that a non-House member could mount a credible threat to Ryan...

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on Monday that he is working with a broad coalition of Republicans in both the House and Senate, along with several governors, to develop a new effort to repeal Obamacare. The effort, which comes after serious tumult with prior legislation in both the House and the Senate, would devolve power over healthcare away from the federal government and back to the states. It would allow each of the 50 states to individually craft their own plans, and would mirror the effort led by Santorum in the mid-1990s which...

As White House lawyers begin researching impeachment procedures, former senator and Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Friday night the GOP is nowhere near supporting such a move, but warned President Donald Trump that "this can't continue for a whole lot longer." A person briefed on the matter told CNN that lawyers in the White House counsel's office have consulted experts in impeachment during the past week and have begun collecting information on how such proceedings would work. People briefed on the legal discussions also revealed that White House officials believe the President has the backing of Republican allies in...

Former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum announced Tuesday that he is joining CNN as senior political commentator. The former GOP presidential candidate revealed the news on Twitter after alerting his followers to a “big announcement” coming soon.

President-elect Donald Trump will meet with two former GOP Primary rivals, Carly Fiorina and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, on Monday in New York City at Trump Tower, according to his transition team. Fiorina, who briefly ran as Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) running mate during the Primary, has been a Trump critic, suggesting weeks before the election that he should “step aside” and allow his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, to head the Republican ticket after the Washington Post published audio of Trump making lewd remarks about women with Billy Bush. “Donald Trump does not represent me or my...