Dems Abandon Senate Nominee and White House Accuses Smithsonian of 'Ideological Capture' - 7/8/26

Democrats abandoned their Senate nominee in Maine, and what's going on at the Smithsonian Institute? I'm Josh Mercer with your morning LOOPcast. Democrats are rapidly pulling support from Maine Senate nominee Graham Plattner after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021. Plattner denied the allegation, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin, Maine Democratic Party leaders, and several other politicians who have endorsed Plattner have urged him to drop out of the race against Republican Senator Susan Collins.

The White House released a 162-page report accusing the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History of ideological capture. The report says the taxpayer-funded museum has replaced patriotic education with woke activist narratives about race, gender, immigration, climate change, and systemic injustice. CatholicVote has joined a conservative coalition praising proposed reforms to federal grant-making rules that would curb taxpayer-funded museums. funded grants for DEI programs, gender ideology, and pro-abortion spending. Catholic Votes Tom McCluskey said the reforms would close long-standing loopholes and bring new scrutiny to groups like Planned Parenthood.

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