Gedeon to replace Republican Gene Ward
Green picked Gedeon out of a list of three potential replacements sent to him by a panel of Hawaii Republican Party members in Ward's district.
Gedeon will become the ninth Republican in the 51-member state House.
He will serve until Ward's seat comes up for reelection in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.
In an announcement from Green's office about Gedeon's appointment, Gedeon said, 'Gene was a family friend, a mentor and a lifelong example of integrity and public service. His legacy in Hawai 'i Kai is profound and I hope to carry forward the values he championed : community, accountability and unwavering commitment to the people he served.'
Gedeon was born and raised in Hawaii Kai, was an Eagle Scout, graduated from Henry J. Kaiser High School, Kapiolani Community College and ITT Technical Institute in San Diego.
He co-founded the marketing and advertising companies JPG Hawaii and JPG Media.
He was the youngest president of the Waikiki Rotary Club from 2016 to 2017 and serves on the board of directors of the American Advertising Federation of Hawaii and the Central YMCA.
In a statement, Green said 'I appreciate the willingness of Joe Gedeon and the other nominees to step up and work hard to fill the huge void left by such a lifelong and passionate public servant as Gene Ward. We believe one human being cannot truly replace another, but we hope as Gene's successor, Joe will bring the same caring dedication that made his predecessor so valuable to his community.'
Ward had served in the House for 27 years.
This year, health issues kept Ward away from the Capitol for much of the legislative session.
On March 21, Ward announced his resignation effective March 31. He died April 4 at the age of 82.
As East Honolulu Republicans narrowed the search for his replacement, the Republican Party said in a statement that the process to fill a seat in Hawaii's Legislature vacated by a Republican had not occurred in over 60 years.
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CBS News
37 minutes ago
- CBS News
Senate Democrats urge U.S. to stop funding GHF, resume support for U.N. food distribution in Gaza as more starve
A group of Democratic senators led by Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is urging the Trump administration to suspend American financial support for the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private food distribution organization that has been heavily criticized for the way it delivers food aid to Gazans and because so many have been killed trying to reach its distribution sites. The U.S. and Israel have advocated for the recently established GHF to replace the United Nations, which has built an extensive network of humanitarian workers inside Gaza over decades. Israel accuses the U.N. of bias and collusion with Hamas. In a letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio Sunday, the 21 senators expressed "grave" concerns about "the U.S. role in and financial support for the troubled GHF." "We urge you to immediately cease all U.S. funding for GHF and resume support for the existing UN-led aid coordination mechanisms with enhanced oversight to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches civilians in need," the letter reads. The U.N. warns that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is growing increasingly dire as more Palestinians are in danger of starvation after a months-long Israeli blockade, and recent military operations complicated humanitarian efforts to help. The IDF claims there is no starvation. Van Hollen, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as the powerful Appropriations Committee, told CBS News "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" Sunday, "American taxpayers should not be spending one penny to fund this private organization backed by mercenaries and by the IDF that has become a death trap," noting that scores of Gazans were shot and killed as starving people crowded the GHF sites to obtain food. The letter focuses on a $30 million pledge from the State Department, announced last month, and on GHF's operations, particularly its use of armed contractors who stand behind IDF soldiers at food distribution sites in four designated military zones. Starving Gazans must travel to those areas, which is difficult for those too weak to move. "Blurring the lines between delivery of aid and security operations shatters well-established norms that have governed distribution of humanitarian aid since the ratification of the Geneva Conventions in 1949," the letter says. U.S. allies have also been critical of the tactics used by the U.S. and Israeli-backed GHF. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told Margaret Brennan Sunday on "Face the Nation" that Gaza is on the "brink of food catastrophe" and that France expects "the Israeli government to stop the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that has caused [a] bloodbath in humanitarian health distribution lines in Gaza." U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said Friday that a thousand Palestinians have been killed trying to access food since May 27. "We hold video calls with our own humanitarians who are starving before our eyes," Guterres said. "We will continue to speak out at every opportunity. But words don't feed hungry children." The U.N. human rights office said 1,054 people were killed while trying to obtain food since late May, and of those, 766 were killed while trying to reach sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The others were killed when gunfire erupted around U.N. convoys or aid sites. The group of senators led by Van Hollen are seeking answers about whether necessary oversight is being bypassed to benefit the GHF. Their letter cites public reports that the Trump administration authorized the funds under a "priority directive," which meant it could avoid "a comprehensive audit that is usually required for groups receiving USAID grants for the first time." The senators want to see the GHF's "complete funding application and all supporting documentation" and demand to know whether any statutory and regulatory requirements were waived. They also asked Rubio about the procurement mechanism that resulted in the $30 million in funding, and they want to know who signed the agreement, who might be liable for compliance violations and whether officials were aware of potential concerns raised by USAID about "GHF's ability to protect Palestinians while delivering food aid." The State Department has not responded to a CBS News request for comment about the senators' letter. A department spokesperson said Friday that the funding has been allocated, but it has not yet been disbursed to GHF. On Saturday, amid international outcry, the Israel Defense Force began airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza and said it would establish humanitarian corridors to "enable the safe movement of UN convoys delivering food and medicine to the population." The U.N. has said the airdrops are insufficient. Past airdrops have fallen on Gazans and killed them. Now the approximately 2 million people live in Gaza and have been herded into an even more limited zone that lacks extensive open space where air-dropped pallets can land. Israel's announcement came after extensive international outcry at images of starving children, and reports of death. Leaders in Europe, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Fredreich Merz, coordinated Saturday by phone. A readout of the call released by the UK said the three leaders said the situation in Gaza is "appalling" and "emphasized the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire, for Israel to lift all restrictions on aid and urgently provide those suffering in Gaza with the food they so desperately need." On Friday, two Jordanian officials said they were considering airdrops and the United Arab Emirates sent a 7,000-ton aid ship to Gaza's shores. But it has not been determined who will distribute the food once it arrives. The GHF says it has distributed more than 91 million meals to Gazans, but there have been almost daily reports of civilians being injured or killed as they try to reach one of the group's four distribution hubs, all located in southern Gaza. In an interview with BBC News this week, Anthony Aguliar, a U.S. Army veteran and former contractor for GHF, detailed what he says he saw on the ground behind IDF lines during humanitarian aid distribution, calling the operation "amateur." "I witnessed the Israeli Defense Forces shooting at the crowds of Palestinians. I witnessed the Israeli Defense Forces firing a main gun tank round from the Merkava tank into a crowd of people," Aguilar said. "In my most frank assessment, I would say that they're criminal. In my entire career, I have never witnessed the level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population, an unarmed, starving population." In a statement to CBS News, the GHF called Aguilar's claims "materially false" and said he had been terminated from his position for "misconduct." The group has also been criticized by the U.N., which said GHF's tactics are neither adequate nor safe and make it more difficult for Gazans too weak to travel to military zones to secure food. Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, which provides support for Palestinian refugees, condemned the GHF in June, calling it "an abomination" and "a death trap costing more lives than it saves." As the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorated further this week, the GHF and U.N. groups continued to blame each other. In several public statements and social media posts last week, GHF said the responsibility for the mass starvation lies with the U.N. for allowing their full aid trucks inside Gaza to sit untouched and undistributed. "The U.N. cannot deliver this humanitarian aid to the people who need it most, and I'm not sure what the reason is," said GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay in a video posted to X, which showed him standing in front of U.N. aid trucks. "Whether it's looters, safety or whether they're playing politics, it just doesn't matter. The people of Gaza deserve better." The executive chairman of GHF, Reverend Johnnie Moore, in an interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro this week accused the U.N. of "playing politics with people's lives." "They're actually basically a willful participant on the Hamas side of the negotiating table in the ceasefire negotiations, by refusing to distribute aid and spreading this narrative around the world that the people of Gaza are going to starve if Hamas doesn't, in effect, get its demands at the negotiating table," Moore said. The U.N. World Food Programme says hundreds of aid trucks are ready to move, but the approval needed from the Israeli military to transport and distribute that aid is not coming quickly enough. In a statement Friday, they said just over half of their requests to collect cargo were approved and convoys were typically delayed, sometimes up to nearly two days, awaiting permission to travel within Gaza. Meanwhile, a UNICEF spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that their supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food or RUTF — used for treating severely acutely malnourished children — is expected to run out in mid-August if more is not allowed into Gaza. "We are now facing a dire situation that we are running out of therapeutic supplies," said Salim Oweis, a spokesperson for UNICEF in Amman, Jordan. "That's really dangerous for children as they face hunger and malnutrition at the moment," he added. Oweis said UNICEF had only enough RUTF left to treat 3,000 children. In the first two weeks of July alone, UNICEF treated 5,000 children facing acute malnutrition in Gaza. The UNICEF spokesperson said the agency is unaware of whether GHF is distributing this type of specialized food and emphasized that it must be given to children after they are assessed by professional health workers to be suffering from acute malnutrition. GHF did not respond to CBS News when asked if the foundation also distributes specialized high-nutrient food for acutely malnourished children. UNICEF is the main procurer of RUTF in the world. Read the full letter sent by Senate Democrats to Secretary of State Marco Rubio here:Camilla Schick and Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
What's Trump's approval rating? Latest polls on job performance, immigration
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Trump this time is trying to help GOP avoid messy primary fights
President Trump is using his influence to help Republicans avoid messy primary fights as the party prepares for the midterms. Trump recently waded into both Michigan's Senate race and the New York gubernatorial contest in an effort to convince notable candidates — Rep. Bill Huizenga (R) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R), respectively — to opt out of the contests. In both cases, the candidates bowed to pressure. The president's moves underscore how Republicans are already seeking to coalesce around candidates in some of next year's most high-profile races, as they look to buck historical trends that suggest the president's party will lose congressional seats and other contests. 'He's clearly far more involved in this round than he was in 2017 and 2018 but at the same time it's a totally different situation,' one national Republican operative said of Trump. The different situation is the narrow House GOP majority. It leaves Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dealing with very tight margins on crucial votes. The president's political operation is effectively being led by Chris LaCivita, a Republican operative who served as co-campaign manager on Trump's 2024 presidential bid. One source close to the White House said Trump and his team would like to avoid messy, drawn-out GOP primaries in state-wide races that could damage candidates for the general election or divide the resources and attention of Republicans. The source pointed to the contentious Pennsylvania Senate primary in 2022 between now-Sen. Dave McCormick and Mehmet Oz, who prevailed in the primary but lost in the general election. Trump spoke directly with Huizenga earlier this month and urged him not to launch a Senate bid, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed to The Hill. NOTUS first reported that Trump had directly asked Huizenga to stay out of the race, effectively clearing the field for former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), whom Trump endorsed Thursday. In North Carolina, Trump is backing Michael Whatley, who is expected in the coming days to announce his campaign to replace retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). The source said Whatley would not have entered the race without Trump's blessing to leave his position at the Republican National Committee. 'They're also at the same time trying to do a balancing act where they want to be supportive of people who have been loyal to the president and drive who and what they think is in their best interest,' the national Republican strategist said. The strategist said those two criteria are 'not a perfect match,' pointing to Trump's backing of Whatley. The strategist argued that a candidate like Whatley is a riskier bet in the swing state. 'He essentially sacrificed Tillis who was a much safer bet than Lara Trump would have been or Whatley today,' the strategist said. 'If I were drawing a map, I would shade North Carolina in light blue.' Other Republicans push back on the notion, pointing to Whatley's deep ties to the state's grassroots from his history as chair of the North Carolina GOP. 'No polling has indicated that Thom Tillis was going to be a better candidate than a pro-Trump Republican,' said a second national Republican operative, noting that Trump has won North Carolina three times in the past. Republicans are also seeking to put a bow on Georgia's GOP Senate primary as the party looks to oust Sen. Jon Ossoff, arguably the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent up for reelection in the upper chamber. One other race to watch for Trump's influence is the Kentucky Senate campaign to replace outgoing Sen. Mitch McConnell (R). Trump has so far not weighed in as multiple Republicans have announced their candidacies. In Georgia, Fox News reported Friday that Trump's political operation and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's (R) had butted heads over their preferred candidates, with Kemp pushing former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley. Businessman Nate Morris has been building his pro-Trump resume. He announced his candidacy on Donald Trump Jr.'s podcast and has already scored endorsements from Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), both staunch Trump allies. Morris is also close with Vice President Vance. Trump also has not waded into the Texas Republican Senate primary, where state Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking on incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Both Republicans are considered Trump allies, with Paxton being popular with the president's base and Cornyn a key GOP voice in the Senate. Most polls show Paxton with a considerable lead over Cornyn, but hypothetical general election polling shows Cornyn performing better than Paxton against Democratic candidates. Last week Cornyn said Trump has relayed to him that he is not ready to endorse in the race. Democrats argue that their chances at flipping Texas at the Senate level are boosted with a Paxton nomination. 'Paxton can't win a general but Cornyn probably can't win a primary,' the GOP strategist said. 'There's very complicating factors, but I think they're trying to balance their MAGA loyalties with the practicalities of making sure they keep the Senate comfortably and try to find a map that gives them a House majority that includes redistricting.' Redistricting has become a major topic of conversation in national political circles as Texas Republicans pursue redistricting ahead of the midterms. Trump spoke earlier this month with Texas Republicans, where he urged leaders in the state to redraw congressional maps to boost the GOP. The president has also made clear he would support other red states doing the same. 'Just a very simple redrawing, we pick up five seats,' Trump said of Texas. 'But we have a couple of other states where we'll pick up seats also.' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) floated 'middecade' redistricting to reporters Thursday, noting that he has spoken to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about the matter. 'They said they were going to redo the count in time for 2026,' the governor said, referring to the census. 'They would have to do that relatively soon because you need time to draw maps and you need time to get that done.' Population shifts in states like Florida could benefit House Republicans, particularly in south Florida, where Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jared Moskowitz and Lois Frankel could be negatively impacted. 'Any advantage you can get the better,' the GOP strategist noted. 'That gives you a lot of breathing room even if you lose some tough races.' Trump's poll numbers have wavered in recent surveys, a result largely attributable to independents souring on his handling of key issues like the economy and immigration. But Trump allies argued the president's endorsement is still a make-or-break factor in primaries because of his enduring popularity within the party. 'His numbers are stronger than ever before with the Republican base,' one Trump ally said. 'Republican voters are happier with him now than ever before.' The second national Republican operative called Trump's popularity 'a huge asset' in the midterms. 'If you are trying to run a campaign that wants to win you need to replicate the pro Trump coalition,' the operative said, referring to the president's general election win last year.
