Politics

CNN reports: Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell is medically cleared to continue his schedule, the US Capitol physician said Thursday, after he froze for the second time in as many months in public. The statement comes as McConnell moved behind the scenes to reassure his allies and donors he can do his job – even as questions persist over how …

Politico reports: A handful of GOP senators is weighing whether to force a fraught internal debate about their leadership’s future after Mitch McConnell’s second public freeze-up in a month. Some rank-and-file Republicans have discussed the possibility of a broader conversation once senators return to Washington next week. Party leadership is not currently involved in those discussions, and nothing has been …

Atlanta’s NBC affiliate reports: Gov. Brian Kemp is telling several far-right Georgia lawmakers to lay off the calls to impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Georgia Sen. Colton Moore has led a charge via a letter to Kemp requesting a special legislative session to impeach Willis after a grand jury handed up an indictment against former President Trump and …

The Hill reports: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has disclosed three trips he accepted from billionaire Harlan Crow last year, according to documents made public Thursday. Thomas has denied any wrongdoing in accepting the trips, two of which were to Dallas and one to Keese Mill, N.Y. His new financial disclosure form also includes supplemental information about a 2014 real …

Politico reports: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze for nearly 30 seconds during a press conference Wednesday, an episode his office attributed to him being “momentarily lightheaded.” The Senate minority leader, speaking in Kentucky, froze while answering questions from reporters. Aides stepped in to help McConnell out and repeat questions. Before McConnell froze, he was asked about whether he planned …

The Washington Post reports: The nation’s top health agency is recommending easing restrictions on marijuana in what could portend a landmark shift in federal policy on cannabis. The Department of Health and Human Services has recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that marijuana be reclassified as a lower-risk, Schedule III controlled substance. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I controlled substance, …

The Daily Beast reports: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), a vocal participant in the right-wing criticisms of Bud Light over its brief partnership with a transgender influencer, was back Wednesday with a new bone to pick regarding beer: Dr. George Koob, director of the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, suggesting that recommendations for alcohol consumption could be reduced …

“This part of Florida, you’ve got a lot of advocates and some proponents of the Second Amendment. And I’ve seen signs in different people’s yards in the past after these disasters, and I would say it’s probably here, ‘You loot, we shoot.’ You never know what’s behind that door. If you go break into somebody’s house and you’re trying to …

The New York Times reports: Vivek Ramaswamy has harnessed his populist bravado while frequently and unapologetically contorting the truth for political gain, much in the same way that former President Donald J. Trump has mastered. There are layers to Mr. Ramaswamy’s distortions: He has spread lies and exaggerations on subjects including the 2020 election results, the Jan. 6 attacks on …

First, a reminder about June’s court ruling: On June 29, 2023 an Iowa court ruled that Iowa’s English-only law does not apply to voting materials and dissolved the previous injunction that prohibited the Iowa secretary of state from providing non-English voter registration forms. As a result of this ruling, counties will now be permitted to provide voting materials— including voter …

CNBC reports: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Wednesday appeared briefly unable to respond to reporters’ questions at a press event, marking the second time in weeks that the Republican leader has abruptly stopped speaking and required help from people around him. McConnell, 81, initially seemed to struggle to hear when asked at an event in Covington, Kentucky, about …

The Texas Tribune reports: A sweeping new Texas law aimed at undermining the ability of the state’s bluer urban areas to enact progressive policies is unconstitutional, a Travis County judge ruled Wednesday. State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble halted the law — House Bill 2127, which opponents nicknamed the “Death Star” bill — just days before it was slated to …

The Huffington Post reports: The group of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ former clerks who signed on to a letter this week defending the justice from “attacks on his integrity, his character [and] his ethics” included one individual whose integrity has been drawn into serious question: John C. Eastman. Eastman is accused of undermining the core of American democracy — …

Huntsville’s CBS affiliate reports: Madison-area State Representative David Cole was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with voter fraud, according to Madison County jail records. Cole, a Republican, won 52% of the vote in the House District 10 race in November 2022. But Elijah Boyd, the Libertarian candidate who finished third in the race filed a lawsuit on Nov. 22 alleging …

The Associated Press reports: Some Republicans in Washington and Georgia began attacking Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis immediately after she announced the Aug. 14 indictment of former President Donald Trump for conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. But others, including Gov. Brian Kemp, have been conspicuous in their unwillingness to pile on. Kemp,declined to comment on the …

Politico reports: A major Republican donor and one-time financial backer of former President Donald Trump is now a leader in the Florida chapter of No Labels’ third-party presidential bid. Allan Keen, a Florida-based real estate developer and investor who gave more than $137,000 to Trump-related election entities last cycle, has joined the centrist political group in a leadership role with …

The Hill reports: Congress is racing the clock to fund the government ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline as the threat of a shutdown looms — but to some House conservatives, a shutdown isn’t much of a threat at all. A handful of hard-line Republicans are brushing off — or even embracing — the possibility of a shutdown, arguing that …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed Monday that he wanted to do more to reform Florida’s troubled property insurance market than the Legislature sought to do. But on Tuesday in Tallahassee, DeSantis deferred explaining what exactly the House and Senate wouldn’t do that he desired. “We can talk about the policy stuff,” DeSantis said. “I think, right now, we’re …

The Miami Herald reports: After laying low for a week, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said on Tuesday that he has suspended his presidential campaign. Suarez, an attorney and private equity executive, announced his decision on social media. Suarez, who was the only Hispanic candidate seeking the GOP nomination, launched his campaign on June 14 after teasing a run for months. …

Via press release from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise: After a few days of not feeling like myself this past week, I had some blood work done. The results uncovered some irregularities and after undergoing additional tests, I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a very treatable blood cancer. I have now begun treatment, which will continue for the next several …