Politics

“Senate Republicans met last night at a closed door meeting, which got so heated, Dana, at times that myself and other reporters could actually hear screaming coming from inside the room. “When leader Mitch McConnell emerged from the room, he told me that he had a great discussion and that the conference will keep on talking. “Now, Sen. James Lankford, …

“I think he needs to go back to doing the two million Teslas that are currently being recalled right now to be able to focus in on that. No, it’s not focused on trying to be able to get more illegals to vote. That’s absurd. It is against the law for anyone that is not a citizen of the United …

Roll Call reports: A year ago, Rep. Victoria Spartz declared she would not run for reelection to the House in 2024 because she wanted to spend more time with her two teenage daughters. On Monday, the Indiana Republican changed her mind. “Earlier last year, I decided to take some time off from running for public office to recharge and spend …

“It’s interesting that he [Johnson] said he’s already opposed to it. He needs three weeks to be able to read it, but he’s already opposed to it. So again, people have got to be able to read it and go through it themselves. Don’t just go off of Facebook post somewhere what the bill says. Unfortunate that he would step …

Axios reports: Florida is suing the Biden administration over a new policy limiting when states can remove children from public health insurance programs. The lawsuit challenges the implementation of a law requiring states to let kids remain eligible for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program for 12 straight months before reviewing their status, regardless of life changes that mean …

NBC News reports: Senators released the long-awaited text of a bipartisan agreement to impose tougher immigration and asylum laws Sunday, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer eyes votes on the package this week. The $118 billion package includes a series of provisions aimed at reducing record high crossings at the southern border and tightening an asylum system that has been …

The New York Times reports: On official biographies on Instagram and X, she calls herself a “former IDF paratrooper,” invoking one of the Israeli military’s most vaunted combat roles. But, as Ms. Pilip herself has acknowledged, she was an armorer maintaining weapons in the paratrooper’s brigade, not a paratrooper or trained parachutist. She did not face combat. Ms. Pilip’s campaign …

Politico reports: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Sunday said that states can’t secede, backtracking from remarks she made last week. “According to the Constitution, they can’t,” she told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” On Wednesday, Haley had said, “If Texas decides they want to do that, they can do that. If that whole state says …

The Texas Tribune reports: U.S. Rep. Colin Allred outraised his Democratic Senate primary opponents and Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign in the last quarter of 2023, though Cruz continues to bring in more cash through his other fundraising operations. Allred’s campaign raised over $4.8 million from October through December last year, while Cruz’s campaign raised roughly $3.4 million, according to reports …

The Daily Beast reports: For the first few minutes of this week’s Saturday Night Live, it seemed like the show was going for a pretty standard cold open. James Austin Johnson started off with his familiar Donald Trump impression; he delivered some fun bits about Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl, but for the most part seemed to be staying …

Roll Call reports: Speaker Mike Johnson told GOP lawmakers on Saturday that he’s preparing to bring a stand-alone, $17.6 billion supplemental funding package for Israel and U.S. troops in the Middle East to the House floor next week. The move comes as Republicans in that chamber seek to preempt the Senate’s push on a much broader war and border security …

ABC News reports: In the two weeks since ending his 2024 presidential campaign, Ron DeSantis has returned to Florida and to the duties of his governorship, while still focusing on some of the culture war issues that helped him build a national profile. DeSantis began 2023 as the best positioned Republican candidate to challenge Trump for the party’s presidential nomination, …

Axios reports: President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will be among the speakers at House Democrats’ annual retreat next week. Democratic lawmakers will use the event, known formally as an “issues conference,” to craft their case for retaking the House majority ahead of the 2024 election season. Harris will open the retreat on Wednesday …

The New York Daily News reports: Early voting started Saturday in the heated congressional special election to pick a successor to disgraced ex-Rep. George Santos for a Long Island swing seat that could further reduce the already razor-thin GOP majority in the House of Representatives. Democratic ex-Rep. Tom Suozzi is battling upstart Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip in an unusual mid-winter …

The New York Times reports: The New York Police Department robot sat motionless like a sad Wall-E on Friday morning, gathering dust inside an empty storefront within New York City’s busiest subway station. No longer were its cameras scanning straphangers traversing Times Square. No longer were subway riders pressing its help button, if ever they had. New York City has …

The Washington Post reports: Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) admitted she had a personal relationship with an outside prosecutor she appointed to manage the election interference case against former president Donald Trump and his allies but denied claims that the relationship had tainted the proceedings. In a 176-page court filing on Friday, Willis called the claims against …

The Associated Press reports: A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers are urging Hungary to immediately ratify Sweden’s application to join NATO, saying patience with the Central European country is “wearing thin” as it continues to delay its approval for the Nordic nation. Hungary is the only country in the 31-nation military alliance that hasn’t yet backed Sweden’s membership bid, and …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis apparently isn’t worried about votes from vegetarians, given comments in Bowling Green in which he wove a preemptive defense of meat during an attack on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). “I know the Legislature is doing a bill to try to protect our meat. You need meat, OK? And we’re going to have …

Raw Story reports: Several Democratic National Committee officials and at least one analyst point to data that says the RNC just had the worst fundraising year in three decades. “This is horrifying,” declared Tyler Bowyer, an RNC National Committeeman and official at Charlie Kirk’s right-wing Turning Point USA. “Worst fundraising year for RNC in 30 years. They’re asking for a …

Florida Politics reports: Just hours after announcing that he was sending his State Guard to Texas, along with National Guard troops and state troopers, the Governor told friendly interviewer Sean Hannity that he was ready to deploy them even farther away. “But if California actually wants to stop people coming across the border, I’m happy to send to California as …