U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon and Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa are among the scheduled speakers Saturday at the California Republican Party convention at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina.

A forum for candidates seeking statewide office will be held Saturday. Convention delegates will vote Sunday to endorse candidates.

A breakfast Saturday will showcase “New voices of the California Republican Party,” including Morgan Murtaugh, a political commentator for One America News Network who is challenging Democratic Rep. Susan Davis in the 53rd Congressional District.

McMahon is set to speak at a luncheon banquet. Her speech coincides with the final day of Small Business Week as proclaimed by President Donald Trump.

In an op-ed written for Fox News.com, McMahon wrote, “Through cutting taxes, rolling back overly burdensome regulations, supporting workforce development and enhancing opportunities in rural America, this administration is showing that a thriving economy creates an even stronger America.

“This is a terrific time for entrepreneurship, and the SBA is working to power the American dream by removing barriers to small businesses.”

Ernst is set to speak at a dinner banquet. On Tuesday, she was among 41 senators sending a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, urging the department restore Title X Family Planning regulations that bar grantees from co-locating with abortion clinics, or from promoting, counseling, or referring clients for abortions.

“Section 1008 of the Public Health Service Act clearly states that no federal funds appropriated for Title X for family-planning services `shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning,”‘ the senators wrote.

“However, the program’s current regulations undermine the law. We ask that you restore the regulations issued on Feb. 2, 1988, which clarified that Title X programs may not promote, counsel, or refer clients for abortion or co-locate or combine family planning services with abortion activities.”

The three-day convention concludes Sunday.

— City News Service

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