Politics

Congress Minutes reports: Sen. Ron Wyden is asking Harlan Crow to provide a complete account of gifts and payments that were given to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — marking one of the first information requests made to the GOP billionaire himself. The Senate Finance chair sent a letter to Crow on Monday, requesting a detailed list of gifts and …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Nikki Haley received stock options worth close to $300,000 roughly six weeks after jumping into the 2024 presidential race as part of a real-estate company merger that could deliver even more lucrative payouts in the years ahead, Securities and Exchange Commission filings show. The 26,703 shares of United Homes Group Inc. stock awarded on March …

The Washington Post reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida here on Monday and praised Japan’s efforts to bolster its defense spending, in the first leg of the likely GOP presidential contender’s trip this week to four of the biggest U.S. allies. The tour is officially billed as an “international trade mission” with Enterprise Florida, …

The Texas Tribune reports: Countywide polling locations on Election Day would be banned in Texas under a bill approved by the Texas Senate on Thursday. Senate Bill 990, authored by Republican Sen. Bob Hall [photo] of Edgewood, passed 17-12 along party lines. The bill — if approved by the state House — would eliminate countywide voting centers on Election Day …

“I’m grateful that the court recognized that there are specific constitutional protections unique to the vice president, when you’re serving in your role as president of the Senate. I thought it was important to make that challenge. For the first time in history, a federal court acknowledged that that provision of the Constitution applies to the vice president. “We’ll obey …

The Hill reports: Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) blasted Republicans for their abortion policies, saying on Sunday the GOP is “going to lose huge” if it continues to embrace increasingly restrictive stances on the procedure. “As Republicans, we need to read the room on this issue because the vast majority of folks are not in the extremes,” Mace said on ABC’s …

“I don’t believe whether you’re on the left or the right of the political spectrum that we, the government should not be telling business what they can and cannot do in terms of speech. “And however you describe it, it appears to me that the governor did not like what Disney was doing in terms of what they were saying …

Mother Jones reports: After a recent poll put him 13 points behind Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, Ron DeSantis decided to lick his wounds and head to Utah, a state where he might actually be more popular than the former president. On Saturday, the Florida governor spoke at the state’s GOP convention, where, amongst his trademark attacks on …

Raw Story reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) lost his temper with CNN “State of the Union” host Dana Bash on Sunday morning after she corrected him over a claim he made about late-term abortions. After the CNN host patiently explained “just for the record, Roe went up to viability,” the previously placid Republican senator snapped. “No, no, no! Quit covering …

The Guardian reports: Mike Pence has not decided whether to enter the Republican presidential primary but if he does he will enter “well before late June”. The former congressman, Indiana governor and vice-president to Donald Trump has been moving towards a run for months, releasing a memoir, visiting early voting states and establishing a political staff. He made his less-than-bold …

Bloomberg News reports: Hungary’s president rejected a bill that would enable citizens to report anonymously same-sex families to authorities, a rare rebuke from an otherwise loyal ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The draft law approved by parliament earlier this month would allow people to report those who contest the “constitutionally recognized role of marriage and the family” and those …

The Hill reports: A new poll found that 70 percent of Americans, including 44 percent of Republicans, do not want former President Trump to make a White House run in 2024. The poll, released from The Associated Press and the University of Chicago’s research center NORC, also found that 93 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independents do not …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas House passed a bill Thursday that aims to ban sexually explicit materials from school libraries. But legal experts, librarians and some parents are concerned that the bill’s language is vague and broad enough to ensnare books that are not inappropriate. Under House Bill 900 — a priority for House Speaker Dade Phelan [photo] — …

The New York Post reports: “What is your opinion about a policy that would end the sale of all tobacco products in New York within 10 years?” were among the questions asked last week in the “New York Local Opinion Leaders Survey,” examined by the Post. Another asks: “What is your opinion about a policy that would ban the sale …

Politico reports: Gov. Jim Justice is planning to launch a long-awaited campaign against Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) next week, handing Republicans a well-funded and popular recruit in their best opportunity to flip a Senate seat. He will make his announcement on Thursday evening at The Greenbrier, his luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., according to an invitation to the …

The Hill reports: New York officials and government offices faced a slew of fake accounts impersonating its official City of New York account, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D). One of the parody accounts impersonating Hochul claimed that she is running as a Republican for the governor’s race, while numerous accounts impersonating …

The Guardian reports: An attempt to repeal a Michigan law that punishes unmarried couples who live together is being thwarted by Republicans in the state legislature. The law, which dates to 1931, targets “any man or woman, not being married to each other, who lewdly and lasciviously associates and cohabits together”. It is rarely enforced but violations carry a penalty …

Forbes reports: Former President Donald Trump keeps racking up endorsements from Republicans in Congress as he wages his third run for the White House, including a majority now from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ home state—what some politicos are calling a sign of weakness in DeSantis’ political acumen and a nod to Trump’s aggressive courtship style. Seven GOP Florida Congress members …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Donald Trump has gained command of the GOP presidential-nomination race over Ron DeSantis, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds, with the former president building support across most parts of the primary electorate as the Florida governor has struggled on the national stage. Mr. DeSantis’s 14-point advantage in December has fallen to a 13-point deficit, …

Florida Politics reports: A controversial defamation bill is dead in the Legislature. Sources in both the House and Senate confirm they have ceased negotiations on the measure. The legislation, which drew criticism from media voices across the political spectrum, would have lowered the threshold to sue media outlets and others. The bill would have lowered the thresholds for suing journalists …