Leo the Lion, a MAGA America First voter, has started a new group to purge the Republican Party of sellout RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) in office. The RINO Removal Project (RRP), subtitled “RINOs Become the Politically Hunted,” is targeting some of the most detested sellouts in Congress.
Leo told me, “With Republicans now controlling the Presidency, the House, and Congress, this new movement has emerged as the driving force behind an explosive attempt to finally rid the government of one of America’s greatest threats: RINOs.” He said the goal of the movement is to eliminate Republican politicians from government who deviate from America First values and align themselves with the Democrats.
I explained in an article a couple of years ago why RINOs are RINOs — it mostly comes down to “follow the money,” not principles as they claim. Nonprofits and think tanks, media, and even Republican Party operations are often funded by quirky billionaires with their own agendas, usually tied to protecting their money. Instead of being honest and admitting they have a financial or personal interest affecting their viewpoint, they destroy the reputations and careers of others. Since I wrote that article, I’ve discovered another significant reason is sexual affairs — the left is increasingly blackmailing Republicans with revealing evidence of their illicit affairs. This has become especially prevalent with judges in recent years.
During a December X space about the project, Leo said, “If the party doesn’t unify behind Trump, we’re going to continue to have divisions. It's a situation that doesn't need to exist, but the RINOs have existed too long. They’ve become too strong, too fat. They're dug in, and it's going to be helping that we need to be able to pull them out of this self-feeling of they're going to be here, they're going to switch to and [deflect] whatever it is we throw at them.”
“It's a project that has to stop the establishment and Republicans who are fake,” Leo went on. He said the focus will be on finding primary challengers and educating voters. “A lot of it's going to be a grassroots voter education initiative.”
RRP is beginning by targeting RINO senators in seven states. The first is Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who has a 39% score from The Heritage Foundation during the 118th Congress. The second is Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who has a 46% score and was one of the seven Republicans who voted to impeach Trump. The third is Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has a 54% score. The fourth is Joni Ernst of Iowa, who has a score of 42%. The fifth is Susan Collins of Maine, who has the lowest score at 17%. The sixth is Tom Tillis of North Carolina, who has a score of 39%. Finally, the seventh target is John Cornyn of Texas, who has a score of 35%. All scores are from the 118th Congress.
Leo said Graham is opposing the confirmation of Robert Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services. He said Ernst is trying to salvage her reputation by becoming active in Elon Musk’s DOGE.
Four of those senators are at high risk of losing reelection, Leo said, because they have primary challengers that the RRP will be assisting. Thomas Murphy is challenging Graham and Alexander Duncan is challenging Cornyn (there’s a chance that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton runs also). Derrick Evans is running against Capito, and Dr. John Fleming is running against Cassidy.
Leo pointed out that the X platform will be effective for RRP, noting how useful it was for exposing Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas. His Heritage score is 62%.
However, Leo acknowledged how difficult it is to vote out an incumbent Senator, noting that some of them won reelection by 20 to 30 points over their opponents. This past year, 88% of incumbent senators won their reelections. In 2022, 100% of them won their reelections. The House of Representatives is similar, with 96.6% of incumbents winning their reelections in 2024.
Key people are already involved in the project, Leo revealed, including many great MAGA America First patriots who have joined the organization to finally impact real change in the Republican party. We have four years with President Trump and many treacherous RINOS to remove.
Trump learned a hard lesson from appointing establishment Republicans to high-level positions during his first administration, who frequently betrayed him, some even writing books afterwards slamming him. His picks this time around show much more savviness, choosing MAGA loyalists.
RINOs like the late Senator John McCain established a strong precedent for electing Republicans to office who cave and vote with Democrats due to influence from deep-pocketed special interests. No one wanted to cross him, due to his status as a former POW in Vietnam, so he was able to make this type of activity appear acceptable. But after passing away in 2018, his lingering influence in this area is waning, and instead the term “grifter” has become popularized to describe Republicans who are paid to make money off of the conservative movement from special interests with no regard for the harm it does.
Although Republicans control the White House and both branches of Congress now for at least two years, due to the RINOs still in office much of their legislation may be thwarted. RRP seeks to capitalize on conservatives’ strong showing now and keep that momentum going. In this era of vast social media scrutiny, the RINOs can no longer hide behind platitudes and fancy speeches.
Leo told me, “RINOs have had no greater fear than the growing RINO Removal Project, and true America First candidates have never found a better ally.” They’re setting up state chapter leads in the seven targeted states. Follow the X account and join the X community, which has over 1,600 members. RRP will be at CPAC next month. The next RRP virtual town hall series on X spaces is scheduled for Wednesday and features a challenger to Crenshaw, KrisiAnn Ava-Zolari.
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