Republicans

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton escalated a brewing conflict between Texas and New York’s abortion laws. On Monday, Paxton announced he filed legal action against New York Acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck for refusing to enforce a $100,000 penalty against Dr. Margaret Carpenter. In February, a Texas district court ruled in favor of the state …

The Hill reports: A House Republican’s bill would strip former President Kennedy’s name from the Washington institution created in the 35th commander in chief’s honor and instead have it known as the “Trump Center for the Performing Arts.” Dubbing the bill the Make Entertainment Great Again (MEGA) Act, Rep. Bob Onder said, “I cannot think of a more ubiquitous symbol …

NBC News reports: Paul Dans, the architect of Project 2025, is launching a Senate bid in South Carolina to oust Lindsey Graham. Dans is set to announce his Republican primary bid with a formal launch Wednesday in Charleston. Graham is a close Trump ally but has for years faced skepticism from his MAGA allies. He is already facing a challenge …

NOTUS reports: Multiple Democratic lawmakers and staffers described to NOTUS a struggle to reserve rooms on Capitol Hill for committee or caucus meetings, shadow hearings and constituent gatherings. “From gutting resolutions of inquiry seeking answers on Trump’s unlawful actions in office to making it harder for Democrats to reserve rooms to hold spotlight hearings,” a Democratic committee aide told NOTUS, …

The Associated Press reports: Georgia Republican Mike Collins on Monday joined the field challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in the state the GOP has named as their top target to add a Senate seat in 2026. A second-term member of Congress from a district east of Atlanta, Collins became the newest top Republican to get into the primary race. …

KRISTEN WELKER: “Now, Senator, as you are well aware, this actually contradicts a bipartisan Senate intelligence report led by Marco Rubio — which found that Russia did in fact interfere in the election. Do you actually believe that former President Obama committed treason?” LINDSEY GRAHAM: “Well, I think somebody needs to look at what we found. The intel committee looked …

The Hill reports: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Sunday called an effort from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “reckless” as controversy over the disgraced financier roils Washington. “House Republicans insist upon the release of all credible evidence and information related to Epstein in any way,” Johnson told …

MULLIN: “Remember, there was a sweetheart plea deal that was struck in 2009, way before I was in office, way before Trump was even considering to be in office, way before Pam Bondi was in office, way before Kash Patel was FBI director. In 2009 there was a sweetheart plea deal that was made underneath the Obama administration with Epstein …

“Even though Anthony Fauci has been pardoned, there is some question whether it’s a legitimate pardon. His pardon wasn’t signed by President Biden. It’s unclear whether President Biden is mentally cognizant enough of the situation to know who he pardoned. Hundreds and hundreds of people were pardoned in a day by a mechanical signature from a machine. “We do know …

The Oklahoman reports: A top Oklahoma lawmaker is calling for state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters to cooperate with an investigation after two State Board of Education members said they saw images of nude women on a TV in Walters’ office during a meeting. Republican House Speaker Kyle Hilbert of Bristow said Walters should “unlock and turn over all relevant devices” …

The Washington Post reports: National parks employees have raised the idea of removing books on slavery, Native Americans and George Washington from their gift shops as part of Trump officials’ efforts to scrub these popular sites of “corrosive ideology” that disparages Americans, according to internal records reviewed by The Washington Post. Agency employees were required to report items for review …

Semafor reports: Rep. Ronny Jackson met with White House officials in recent days about Texas politics — including the state’s 2026 Senate race — according to two people familiar with the meeting. The Republican congressman, a potential candidate for Texas’s already-ugly Senate GOP primary, discussed what he’s hearing about that race as well as the broader congressional map with White …

The Denver Westword reports: According to records obtained from the Windsor Police Department and confirmed by the Weld County District Attorney’s office, Tyler Boebert, 22, the eldest of controversial Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s four sons, was cited on Friday, July 11, and faces a misdemeanor charge of child abuse. Details about the circumstances that led to the criminal citation were …

Colorado Newsline reports: “Without my family, I’m nothing,” read the subject line of an email sent by then-state Rep. Gabe Evans to supporters on Sept. 10, 2023. The email announced Evans’ candidacy for Colorado’s toss-up 8th Congressional District, and it began with a story the Fort Lupton Republican has told countless times throughout his political career — the story of …

The New York Post reports: Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is taking aim at socialist Big Apple mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani – with aerial ads urging fed-up New Yorkers to flee to Florida. “Hate Socialism? Us too! Move 2 FL,” read the banners the Sunshine State senator will fly over New York beaches this weekend. In a Florida flex, the ad …

The San Antonio Current reports: A month after unveiling his reelection campaign, Texas House Republican and state DOGE Committee Chairman Giovanni Capriglione shocked the Texas capitol Tuesday by announcing he no longer plans to run. The about-face came just before a bombshell interview surfaced Friday with an exotic dancer who maintains she had a 17-year affair with the conservative Dallas-Fort …

The Oklahoma Voice reports: Oklahoma’s top Senate leader said an inquiry is underway following “a bizarre and troubling situation” where two board members reported that they saw naked women on State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ office television. Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said the inquiry is being led by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and “leadership at the …

West Palm Beach’s ABC affiliate reports: Bond was set at $360,000 for Fort Pierce Commissioner James Taylor during his first appearance at the St. Lucie County Courthouse on Friday. Taylor is facing 24 felony counts related to a multistate investigation of child exploitation. In court, the judge read out charges that range from solicitation of child pornography to harmful communication …

CNN reports: Disgraced former Rep. George Santos reported to a federal prison in New Jersey on Friday to begin serving a seven-year sentence for the fraud charges that got him ousted from Congress. The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that the New York Republican was in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, in southern New Jersey. The ever-online …

“The French government’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state is curious and disturbing on multiple levels. I am certain this will embolden Hamas and make a ceasefire more difficult. In addition, here are some questions that come to mind. Who’s in charge? What are the borders and boundaries? What is the governance structure? Does Hamas stay involved politically or militarily? …