Republicans

The Huffington Post reports: Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier filed a writ of habeas corpus on Tuesday in the district court of Travis County, Texas, claiming the state legislature’s Republican majority has unlawfully detained her in the state Capitol after she refused to consent to 24-hour police surveillance. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Republican, required each Democratic legislator to …

The Freedom From Religion Foundation writes: The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling on Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to retract a recent unconstitutional threat to eject citizens from the state Senate chamber if they do not stand during official prayers. During the Senate’s Aug. 15 session, Sen. Angela Paxton delivered a Christian invocation “in the name of Jesus, who …

“I think it honestly leads to intimidation, too. You know, if you’re in Las Vegas, everyone knows ballots get mailed out. Do you think the Culinary Union is just going to let you kind of vote your conscience without trying to — no, they’re going to want to see those votes. They’re going to want to bring the votes in. …

Austin’s NPR affiliate reports: A Fort Worth lawmaker said on Monday that she can’t leave the Texas House chambers because she won’t agree to round-the-clock monitoring by state troopers, which the GOP speaker is requiring of Democrats who fled the state. GOP Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows is requiring the Democrats, who broke quorum in an effort to stop a …

The Texas Tribune reports: A Texas House committee again approved a new congressional map Monday, aiming to create five new Republican districts ahead of the 2026 election. The proposed map is substantively similar to the version advanced by the same panel earlier this month, before dozens of House Democrats left the state to stop the bill from being passed by …

The Louisiana Illuminator reports: Gov. Jeff Landry has approved sending 135 members of the Louisiana National Guard to Washington, D.C., in support of President Donald Trump’s takeover of the city’s police department. More than 1,000 National Guard soldiers from multiple states have been directed to the nation’s capital since Trump declared a “crime emergency” there, despite its violent crime rate …

“I’ve got an idea. Offer NATO membership to Russia. Of course, for this carrot, Trump would need to get everything he wants out of Putin regarding the end of hostilities, economic cooperation, and territorial disputes. NATO membership for Russia isn’t coming tomorrow, but to make peace, everyone needs to give up something and get something. Everyone needs to feel safer …

CBS News reports: A dedication ceremony for a longtime public servant in New York’s North Country was interrupted by protesters on Monday. The event to rename the Clinton County Government Center drew a large crowd rallying against a guest at the ceremony. The center is being renamed for John Zurlo, who served in various roles in Clinton County over the …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration named Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey as the FBI’s co-deputy director Monday, installing the Republican firebrand as the second-most powerful person at the federal law enforcement agency alongside the former conservative podcast host Dan Bongino. The appointment is the latest unusual personnel move at the FBI as the Trump administration aims to dramatically …

The Washington Post reports: The chairman of a key House committee said Monday that the Justice Department told him it would begin sharing records related to the investigation of deceased sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein by the end of the week. Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky) said in a statement that the department “will begin to provide Epstein-related records” that …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas House on Monday gaveled in with a quorum for the first time in two weeks as Democratic lawmakers returned to Austin, ending a walkout over a GOP mid-decade redistricting plan and paving the way for the map’s passage. “We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation and rallied Democrats nationwide to …

“I’ve approved the deployment of approximately 200 Mississippi National Guard Soldiers to Washington, D.C., to support President Trump’s effort to return law and order to our nation’s capital. Crime is out of control there, and it’s clear something must be done to combat it. Americans deserve a safe capital city that we can all be proud of. I know the …

“Gavin Newsom’s latest attempt to disenfranchise millions of California voters was written in the dark of night by the DCCC—more than 2,700 miles away from Sacramento in Washington. This is a slap in the face to Californians who overwhelmingly support the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. “Unlike other states, California must shred its own Constitution to succeed in its desperate gambit …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas school districts are coming back from summer with a rising number of parents asking for vaccine exemption forms and a new law that will make those documents even easier to obtain. Combined with funding cuts to public vaccination programs and the wearying battle by school nurses to balance parental consent and overall student body health, …

Politico reports: Republican Rep. Mike Lawler is betting big on President Donald Trump’s controversial megalaw — embracing the tax-and-spend package with a series of five ads as he runs for reelection in a pivotal swing district. The commercials represent the first time that any House Republican — no less a vulnerable one like Lawler — is touting the measure on …

Politico reports: Fresh off President Donald Trump’s Friday summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Sen. Lindsey Graham thinks the next phase of American diplomacy over the war in Ukraine needs to target Moscow’s pocketbook. “My advice to President Trump and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio] is, you’ve got to convince Putin that if this war doesn’t end justly and honorably …

The Washington Post reports: The Republican Party of Florida was pushing a new line of merchandise Friday: baseball caps, T-shirts, mugs and insulating drink sleeves with “THE DEPORT DEPOT” in blocky stencil font diagonally across a bright orange square. Two days later, after Home Depot expressed concern about the unapproved use of its branding, the items had been scrubbed from …

The New York Times reports: The National Guard’s presence in Washington will grow in the coming days after the governors of West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio announced on Saturday that they would send troops from their states’ National Guard at President Trump’s request. Gov. Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia said the state would send 300 to 400 troops to …

NBC News reports: A group of state legislators who stayed at a hotel in St. Charles, a suburb outside of Chicago, endured two bomb threats on different days. It reached point that the Texas lawmakers quietly switched hotels and made an internal pact to keep those details private. Even more concerning to them was what their families were dealing with …

The New York Times reports: PBS is cutting its current budget by more than a fifth to deal with Congress’s recent decision to eliminate roughly $500 million in federal funding from public TV and radio, according to a memo from the organization’s chief executive, Paula Kerger. The public broadcasting system — PBS, NPR, and hundreds of local public TV and …