Politics

Fox News reports: A group of Republican mega-donors say the party is “on the verge of permanent irrelevance” if it fails to come together and support a change of leadership. In a public letter addressed to the Republican National Committee, the donors threw their support behind Harmeet Dhillon, a civil rights attorney and national committeewoman for the RNC, to replace its …

Axios reports: A private document that only some House Republicans have seen and others refuse to talk about could play an outsized role in the governance of the chamber over the next two years. The document contains concessions — not included in the rules package passed on Monday night — that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made to rebellious Freedom …

The Hill reports: House Republicans on Monday adopted a rules package that will govern how the chamber operates for the next two years in a closely watched vote that came on the heels of last week’s drawn-out Speaker fight. The vote was the first legislative battle for newly-elected Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and his House Republican conference. The terms in …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn confirmed Friday he has moved to Florida. Rumblings of a potential move away from North Carolina, the state he represented in Congress, began to emerge as early as September when Hurricane Ian devastated Fort Myers, Florida. But Cawthorn never publicly confirmed his move until throwing his support for House speaker …

Reuters reports: The United States has not received any official requests from the Brazilian government regarding the status of former President Jair Bolsonaro after his supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress, the White House said on Monday. National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters it appeared that democratic institutions in Brazil were holding. He said U.S. officials are not in direct contact …

“I’m all for a balanced budget. We’ve got to get spending under control, but we are not going to do it on the backs of our troops and our military when at the same time we’re talking about China is the greatest threat. “We’re going to have a select committee on China. They’re tripling their nuclear arsenal. Iran is racing …

Bloomberg News reports: Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to a US hospital with abdominal pain a day after his supporters stormed Brasilia demanding military intervention against his loss in the October election, according to a former aide. The conservative leader, who traveled to the US on Dec. 30 to skip the inauguration of his successor Luiz Inacio Lula …

The Associated Press reports: Republican Sen. Keith Regier is proposing asking Congress to study alternatives to reservations. The measure, submitted this week and riddled with racial stereotypes, is unlikely to pass and would have no practical effect if it did. But it’s causing tensions to surface at the Republican-controlled Montana Legislature that kicked off this week. Regier said the language …

“Peaceful demonstrations, in the form of the law, are part of democracy. However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule. “Throughout my mandate, I have always been within the four lines of the Constitution, respecting and defending the laws, democracy, transparency and our …

Salon reports: Former Vice President Mike Pence’s Simon and Schuster autobiography “So Help Me God” was released Nov. 15, 2022, but on Nov. 9, Pence spent a hefty sum at an online bookstore, according to financial reports from the Federal Elections Commission. In the fourth quarter of 2022, Pence showed that he spent a whopping $91,000 at Books On Call, …

CNN reports: Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump after the attack on the US Capitol, officially resigned from the Senate Sunday, opening up his seat for appointment by Nebraska’s Republican Gov. Jim Pillen. Sasse announced last year that he would step down from his position to become the University of Florida’s next president. …

Politico reports: The lack of regulations on the cameras showing the House floor last week was “a good thing,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” leaving himself open to the possibility of continuing to allow C-SPAN to document proceedings. “Let me go look into the ins and outs of all of that,” Roy said. …

Axios reports: House Republicans plan to launch a new investigative panel this week that will demand copies of White House emails, memos and other communications with Big Tech companies, top sources tell Axios. Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans a quick spate of red-meat actions and announcements to reward hardliners. The new panel, the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal …

“Bolsonaro should be extradited to Brazil. In fact, it was reported that he was under investigation for corruption and fled Brazil to the United States. He’s a dangerous man, they should send him back to his home country, Brazil. “Bolsonaro was an authoritarian leader, and I stand with the democratically elected leadership in Brazil. He basically used the Trump playbook …

NBC News reports: Chaos struck Brazil’s capital Sunday when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro descended on government buildings, breached them, climbed on a rooftop and broke windows. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, sworn in Jan. 1, responded by authorizing federal intervention in the Federal District until the end of January. He called those who attacked Congress “fascists,” according to …

“Speaker McCarthy is our speaker and long live the Speaker. I look forward to working closely with him. But he did agree to his great credit to democratize power to the membership. “I don’t really get the critique that taking from Tuesday to Friday to work this out puts the Republican majority in peril. I mean, you know, Mike, that …

“Matt Gaetz is a fraud. Every time he voted against Kevin McCarthy last week, he sent out a fundraising email. What you saw last week was a constitutional process diminished by those kinds of political actions. “I don’t support that kind of behavior. I am very concerned as someone who represents a lot of centrists, a lot of independents, I …

The Hill reports: Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) on Sunday didn’t rule out the possibility of a motion to vacate the Speakership being put forward during this Congress after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) secured the top House leadership slot. As he worked to flip holdouts within his party and secure the votes he needed to take the Speakership, McCarthy agreed to lower …

The Associated Press reports: Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected House speaker on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot early Saturday, overcoming holdouts from his own ranks and floor tensions that boiled over after a chaotic week that tested the new GOP majority’s ability to govern. “My father always told me, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” McCarthy told …

NBC News reports: The House adjourned until 10 p.m. as McCarthy waits for two of his supporters — Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., and Rep.-elect Wesley Hunt, R-Texas — to fly back to Washington for additional votes Friday evening. A handful of hard-line conservatives, led by Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, have continued to derail McCarthy’s bid for speaker. Six consistently …