Republicans

Phil Williams reports at Nashville’s CBS affiliate: Questions center on U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles and the stories that he tells about how he spent money from his campaign. Among our findings: tens of thousands of dollars that supposedly went to companies that do not appear to be in the business of providing the services for which Ogles claimed the money …

“I thought what the secretary of defense just said, Laura, was an outstanding statement and, listen, we don’t know how much of this is accurate or not, but it looks like even if everything The Atlantic reported is true, it’s the president’s advisers discussing among themselves options they might recommend to the president, and nobody can deny the success of …

The Bangor Daily News reports: U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said it was “extremely troubling” that senior officials under President Donald Trump texted about war plans in a group chat that inadvertently included a journalist who wrote about the episode in a shocking report Monday. The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, wrote the story that went up Monday afternoon, starting …

“The administration, as I understand, I just was with the president in the Oval Office, just now, the administration is addressing what happened. Apparently an inadvertent phone number made it onto that thread. They’re gonna track that down and make sure that doesn’t happen again. What you did see what top-level officials doing their job, doing it well, and executing …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis likes DOGE so much he ripped it off for his own policy proposals this year, starting a DOGE Task Force of his own. But he’s voicing some criticisms of how the federal effort is operating. During a talk in Idaho, DeSantis cited what he called a “dustup about the National Weather Service,” referring to …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Republicans in the Legislature filed more than 80 bills that would affect LGBTQ Texans, including many focused on public schools that would impact students, teachers and staff. Republican lawmakers filed a range of bills to ban teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity, limit the ability of teachers and students to discuss sex and gender …

Arizona Capitol Media reports: A Republican from Surprise has abandoned his bid to enact a measure that would have made it illegal to display any but a select list of flags from government buildings. Rep. Nick Kupper had managed to usher his HB 2113 through the House. And he was attempting to receive approval from the Senate Government Committee when …

Fox News reports: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., declared that U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for COVID-19 vaccines should be yanked, asserting that the jabs “are causing permanent harm and deaths.” “FDA approval for COVID-19 vaccines needs to be pulled and they need taken off the childhood vaccine schedule ASAP,” she said in a post on X. “I’ve been …

ABC News reports: Former U.S. Rep. Mia Love of Utah, a daughter of Haitian immigrants who became the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, died Sunday. She was 49. She had undergone recent treatment for brain cancer and received immunotherapy as part of a clinical trial at Duke University’s brain tumor center. Her daughter said earlier this month that …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: Ken Paxton has announced the end of a foster care rule intended to protect children who identify as LGBTQ. On Friday, Texas Attorney General Paxton’s office announced that his office had defeated a rule requiring agencies to ensure foster care families support their child’s identity. “This is a tremendous victory for Texas families, parental rights, and …

Florida Politics reports: The Florida Governor tried on his wrestling promoter hat Friday as he suggested the Sunshine State could host an unlikely faceoff between former Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz and Tennessee politico Glen Jacobs, who worked as a wrestler in Smoky Mountain Wrestling and the WWE as characters that include the Unabombe and Kane (for which he is …

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports: Jonah Bevin, adopted son of former Gov. Matt Bevin, said he was seeking a protective order against his dad because of a pattern of “manipulative” and “intimidating” behavior, which included threatening to euthanize Jonah’s dog. Jonah, 18, appeared alongside Bevin and former Kentucky first lady Glenna Bevin in a Jefferson Family Court in downtown Louisville Friday …

Newsweek reports: Republican lawmakers in Arkansas have introduced a bill that would allow lawsuits against anyone who facilitates a minor’s social transition — including hairdressers and barbers who give gender-nonconforming haircuts, teachers who use a student’s chosen name that is different from their birth name and nonprofit organizations that offer support. House Bill 1668, known as the “Vulnerable Youth Protection …

The Dallas Observer reports: A freshly filed bill brings the topic of furries in Texas schools to the House. The bill, Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education Act, pet-named the F.U.R.R.I.E.S Act, would ban students from observing “non-human behaviors,” which include, but are not limited to, meowing, barking and hissing; wearing a tail, collar, or ears; and licking oneself …

The New York Times reports: When a Republican employee of the New York City Board of Elections told a woman that if she paid $150, she could have a job working at the polls during local elections, the woman hesitated but eventually agreed. Unable to afford the fee on her own, she said she went to her husband, who gave …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued leaders of the Coppell Independent School District for allegedly flouting state restrictions on teaching “critical race theory” in public schools, based on an undercover video published by a conservative activist group. The school district has about 13,000 students, according to state data, most of whom are Asian and Hispanic. …

The Hill reports: Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) on Thursday slammed a New York Social Security office closure plan. “The decision to close the only Social Security Hearing Office in the Hudson Valley is a slap in the face to thousands of my constituents who rely on these services,” Lawler said. Social Security Administration offices around the U.S. are expected to …

The Washington Examiner reports: Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) has opted not to mount a primary challenge against Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) next year in what is already a crowded Republican field to take down an incumbent who once voted to convict President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial. “Current engagement in the House being incredibly significant, it may be ultimately …

Mediaite reports: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) accused Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) of “organizing political violence and terrorism” in an X post alerting Attorney General Pam Bondi. Crockett set off a number of MAGA figures after video was shared of her saying her only birthday wish was for Elon Musk to be “taken down.” The congresswoman made clear, however, that …

Courthouse News reports: A bill requiring the Ten Commandments be placed in every public school classroom passed the Texas Senate Wednesday by a 20-11 vote, setting the stage for debates in the state House and the courts over the use of Christian teachings and symbols in public education. With the highly motivated Christian elements of the Republican Party ascendant across …