No fewer than 10 major Republican White House prospects stepped onto the ballroom stage this weekend for the unofficial opening of the next presidential primary season.

The Lincoln Project was launched in November 2019 as a super PAC that allowed its leaders to raise and spend unlimited sums of money. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)NEW YORK – Veteran Republican strategist Steve Schmidt, one of the faces of the so-called Never Trump movement, announced Friday that he has resigned from the board of the Lincoln Project. “I am resigning my seat on the Lincoln Project board to make room for the appointment of a female board member as the first step to reform and professionalize the Lincoln Project,” Schmidt wrote. Schmidt's statement came less than an hour after an attorney for former Lincoln Project official Jennifer Horn sent a note to the Lincoln Project counsel informing them that they should preserve documents and communications in anticipation of litigation. Ad“I am not the daily manager of the Lincoln Project, but I am the senior leader.

In this Jan. 20, 2016 file photo, John Weaver is shown on a campaign bus in Bow, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)WASHINGTON – Last June, the Lincoln Project was on a high. Of the $90 million Lincoln Project has raised, more than $50 million has gone to firms controlled by the group's leaders. Others used the money earned during their time with Lincoln Project to refinance homes, or purchase a new one. AdAt least two Lincoln Project employees were targeted last year, including an intern who was finishing law school, and a communications staffer.

WASHINGTON – When a party loses the White House, a new crop of presidential hopefuls typically begin moving quickly to lay the groundwork for a run in the next campaign. President Donald Trump's increasingly overt flirtations with running again in 2024 are freezing the potentially vast field of Republican candidates. GOP White House hopefuls are essentially left to watch what Trump does next instead of courting fundraisers, building networks and visiting early-voting states — the usual campaign planning steps — for fear of angering Trump and risking turning off his large and loyal base. That followed comments during a White House Christmas party this past week when Trump said, "We’re trying to do another four years. His supporters argue that if Trump did run, Hogan would enjoy a near-open lane unlike the one crowded with Trump defenders.

“It seems to me pretty clear that progressive views need to be expressed within a Biden administration,” Sanders told The Associated Press. “We are advocating for them to be included, but we also have backup choices," he said of Warren and Sanders. Like their party's establishment leaders, progressives understand the political challenge Democrats would face should either Sanders or Warren leave the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell holds great sway over Biden’s Cabinet nominees regardless of which party ends up in control. But Senate Democrats expect McConnell to impose a full-scale blockade on Cabinet picks he doesn't like.