Republicans

Politico reports: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott immediately called another special session to pass a new congressional map, after the first attempt failed due to Texas Democrats leaving the state to deny Republicans the ability to carve out additional GOP seats. When Speaker Dustin Burrows gaveled into the second special session, which began just two hours after the first one wrapped, …

The Texas Tribune reports: A new poll of Texas’ Senate GOP primary shows Sen. John Cornyn leading Attorney General Ken Paxton by 1 percentage point, breaking a spell of public polling that had found the incumbent trailing by wide margins. In a sample of nearly 500 registered Texans planning to vote in the Republican primary, Cornyn garnered 30% of the …

“And by the way, I’m not joking when I say this. I drive around in Washington, D.C. in my jeep and, yes, I do drive myself. And I don’t buckle up. And the reason why I don’t buckle up, and people can say whatever they want to, they can raise their eyebrows at me, again, is because of carjacking. I don’t …

The Associated Press reports: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused for now to block enforcement of a Mississippi law aimed at regulating the use of social media by children, an issue of growing national concern. The justices rejected an emergency appeal from a tech industry group, NetChoice, that is challenging laws passed in Mississippi and other states that require social …

The Associated Press reports: Missouri lawmakers are preparing for a special session on congressional redistricting as part of President Donald Trump’s push to draw more favorable maps for Republicans ahead of next year’s elections. A document obtained by The Associated Press shows the Senate has received a $46,000 invoice to activate six redistricting software licenses and provide training for up …

Stateline reports: Each month, nearly 42 million people receive SNAP benefits to help supplement their grocery budgets. Able-bodied SNAP recipients who are between 18 and 54 and don’t have children have always been required to work. Veterans, however, have been exempt from those rules — but that’s about to change. The giant domestic policy measure that President Donald Trump signed …

The Hill reports: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said during a Wednesday podcast episode with Joe Rogan that lawmakers have seen evidence of “interdimensional beings.” “I think that they can actually operate through the time spaces that we currently have,” Luna said during the podcast. “That’s not something that I came up with on my own. That’s based on stuff …

Politico reports: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is calling for a ban on single-stock trading by members of Congress, a push that could supercharge legislative efforts to ban the practice that have gained momentum in recent months. The Treasury secretary is far from the first big name in Washington to advocate for an end to congressional stock trading in recent months. …

“Israel is in a fight for their lives. Our friends in Israel are surrounded by people who would kill them all if they could. I am tired of the word ‘genocide’! Let me tell you about genocide. If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they could. They have the capability to do that. They choose not to. Hamas, they would commit …

Roll Call reports: Rep. Barry Moore launched his campaign for Senate in Alabama on Tuesday, joining the Republican primary for an open seat being vacated by gubernatorial hopeful Tommy Tuberville. Moore, a member of the House Freedom Caucus in his third term, has cast himself as a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, touting that as an Alabama state representative …

Spectrum News reports: An Illinois judge has ruled against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his case to force authorities to bring Texas House Democrats back to the Lone Star State. The judge ruled that Paxton had failed to present a “legal basis for the court to obtain subject matter jurisdiction over this cause of action” and that the court …

Florida Politics reports: Florida wildlife officials have signed off on a December black bear hunt — the state’s first in 10 years — despite public polling, protests and a pending legal challenge warning it’s unnecessary and inhumane. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted unanimously to approve rules for the state’s first black bear hunting season since 2015, …

NOTUS reports: For the second time in two weeks, Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin has disclosed trades showing that he violated a federal conflicts of interest and financial transparency law. A NOTUS analysis of a financial document Mullin filed Tuesday with the U.S. Senate revealed the Oklahoma lawmaker was months late disclosing nearly three dozen stock and bond transactions by himself …

The Texas Tribune reports: As Texas moves to redraw its congressional map at the behest of President Donald Trump, the White House is pushing ahead on another proposal to safeguard GOP power in Washington that could have major implications for Texas. Last week, Trump said he had ordered the Commerce Department to start working on a new census that does …

“When you come off the interstate and into Washington, D.C., I hadn’t been there probably since I was a young man, and I was just shocked at the-the filth, the people going to the bathroom on the streets, the needles, the crime. And the people that are the victims are the people that live there. I like the mayor. She’s …

Florida Politics reports: Sarasota County School Board member Tom Edwards just joined a nonprofit promoting diversity programs. Now, local Republicans say he should resign his public office. Project Pride SRQ last week announced that Edwards, a second-term School Board member, had taken over as Executive Director of the Sarasota organization. Edwards, who is openly gay, has faced criticism since his …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday asked a Tarrant County judge to jail former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, in another escalation in Republicans’ broader effort to put an end to Texas Democrats’ walkout over a new congressional map. Paxton sued O’Rourke and his political group, Powered by People, last week, arguing that the group was …

The Associated Press reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped Republican state Sen. Jay Collins to be his next lieutenant governor Tuesday. It’s a closely watched appointment by the two-term governor, who can’t run for reelection in 2026 and has been working to cement his legacy as his time leading the state winds down. If Collins, an Army combat veteran and …

The New Republic reports: Texas House Speaker Duston Burrows revealed Monday that Republicans had tasked the state Department of Public Safety to create a tip line—(866) 786-5972, incidentally the same number as the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Fusion Center—hoping that average citizens would help them hunt the wayward lawmakers. “Many have submitted tips about the whereabouts of absent members,” …

“I think we have a very good chance at this. I’ve never lost a subpoena battle, I’ve been chairman of that committee for a year and a half, this is the most challenging subpoena I’ve ever issued, but what makes this subpoena different is that the Democrats voted with Republicans. “This is a bipartisan, congressionally-approved subpoena, and I think that …