Politics

NBC News reports: A Wyoming judge ruled Monday that two laws restricting and banning abortion in the state violate its constitution, making the procedure legal up until fetal viability for the time being. Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens imposed an injunction on the pair of state laws in a ruling that said they ran afoul of the state constitution, …

NBC News reports: The race for Democratic Party chair has officially launched with former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a onetime presidential candidate, announcing a bid to take the reins. O’Malley, who has faded from the national scene of late, made a brief bid in 2016 to lead the Democratic National Committee, only to withdraw his name days later. O’Malley, who …

The Staten Island Advance reports: Over 5,200 people have donated to a GoFundMe dedicated to former GOP Rep. Michael Grimm who was paralyzed after a horse-riding accident. “As we approach the holiday season, we are appealing to anyone and everyone for help to ensure Mike has the resources he needs to be able to walk again. Staten Islanders and all …

Politico reports: House Ethics Chair Michael Guest said Monday that his panel will make its own decision about releasing the report into Matt Gaetz, regardless of Speaker Mike Johnson’s opinion that it should be kept under wraps. Guest (R-Miss.) told POLITICO in a brief interview that he and Johnson had spoken over the weekend. He added that all Ethics Committee …

The Washington Post reports: President-elect Donald Trump’s economic advisers and congressional Republicans have begun preliminary discussions about making significant changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other federal safety net programs. One GOP tax adviser said lawmakers were looking at broadening work requirements for SNAP eligibility, something the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 playbook recommends. The last time Republicans controlled both …

Florida Politics reports: Rep. Matt Gaetz earlier this year brought John Frankman to Washington to highlight ramifications of a military vaccine mandate. Now, the former Green Beret has announced a campaign to succeed Gaetz in Congress. The Republican, according to his campaign website, served in the Army for eight years as a captain with the 7th Special Forces. But when …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff’s jubilee year. It’s the first time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. In September, …

NBC News reports: Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin called on the House of Representatives on Sunday to share an unreleased ethics report into alleged sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl by Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general. Mullin told NBC’s Meet the Press that the Senate, which holds the authority to confirm or deny Trump’s nominations to high-level …

The Daily Beast reports: For their first “Weekend Update” segment after the recent string of controversial cabinet announcements from Donald Trump, co-anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che did not hold back. “This week, Donald Trump continued to announce everyone he’s going to fire in six months,” Jost said, adding, “On Wednesday, Trump nominated Matt Gaetz for attorney general. And Gaetz …

Reuters reports: U.S. Muslim leaders who supported Republican Donald Trump to protest against the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza and attacks on Lebanon have been deeply disappointed by his cabinet picks, they tell Reuters. “Trump won because of us and we’re not happy with his secretary of state pick and others,” said Rabiul Chowdhury, a Philadelphia investor …

The New York Times reports: Representative Jared Golden, a three-term Democrat from Maine, has defeated his Republican challenger, Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver and northern Maine native, The Associated Press declared on Friday. Mr. Golden’s narrow victory in his largely white, rural and working-class district — one of five Democratic-held districts that Donald J. Trump won in 2020 — …

Politico reports: Mike Pence is urging Senate Republicans to not confirm Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary, calling his nomination by President-elect Donald Trump “deeply concerning.” “I believe the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to …

“I’m excited by the news that the President-Elect will appoint @RobertKennedyJr to @HHSGov. He helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and FDA. “I hope he leans into personal choice on vaccines rather than bans (which I think are terrible, just like mandates) but what I’m most …

The Washington Examiner reports: Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) plans to run for a sixth term in the Senate, buoying Republicans’ hopes of retaining her seat in 2026. Collins would be one of the most vulnerable incumbents heading into a less favorable Senate map for Republicans next cycle. She could also face political headwinds with President-elect Donald Trump returning to the …

The Associated Press reports: Democrat Janelle Bynum has flipped Oregon’s 5th Congressional District and will become the state’s first Black member of Congress. Bynum, a state representative who was backed and funded by national Democrats, ousted freshman GOP U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Republicans lost a seat that they flipped red for the first time in roughly 25 years during the …

Florida Politics reports: Florida’s Governor hasn’t always rushed to set up Special Elections, but on Thursday, he is saying two Congressional seats will be filled with all possible speed. The seats in question in Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts were held by Matt Gaetz, who will need Senate confirmation to become Attorney General, and Mike Waltz, who will advise …

CNN reports: The incredibly tight Pennsylvania race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick will head to a recount, Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced Wednesday. While provisional and mail ballots are still being counted, unofficial results show the race to be within the one-half of 1% margin to automatically trigger a recount under state …

Semafor reports: House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul was detained by police at Dulles International Airport earlier this month in an incident that he described as “the result of a poor decision” to mix Ambien and alcohol. A McCaul spokesperson confirmed the recent incident, describing the congressman as “a nervous flyer” who took the popular sleep aid Ambien and …

The Hill reports: Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has been elected Senate majority leader, setting the stage for him to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has held the top Senate GOP leadership job for the past 18 years. Thune has served as Senate Republican whip, the No. 2-ranking position in the Senate GOP leadership, since 2019, and largely managed …

The Wrap reports: On election night, MSNBC scored 6 million viewers compared to CNN’s 5.1 million. But in the days after the election, the network’s total day ratings fell to 808,000 with a 90,000 in the coveted 25-to-54 year old demo, according to Nielsen. That marks a 54% decrease in the network’s viewership average in the month of October (1.765 …