Republicans

The Hill reports: House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) said Sunday that President Trump “does not want” the “one big, beautiful bill” encompassing his agenda “to be a health care bill.” “He will not be cutting benefits for individuals, will not allow that,” he added. “He does not want this to be a health care bill. This is …

Florida Politics reports: The Senate is again declining to take up two of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Ethics Commission appointees, including Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich. Katherine Betta, a Senate spokesperson, confirmed to Florida Politics that the chamber will not hold a confirmation vote for either Descovich or Figgers Communications CEO Freddie Figgers. In both cases, this marks the second …

NBC News reports: Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is telling senators that he plans to run for governor of Alabama, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. One of the sources told NBC News, “He’s been telling anyone and everyone.” Tuberville has long been rumored to be considering a campaign for governor to succeed Gov. Kay Ivey, R-Ala., who …

The North Dakota Monitor reports: North Dakota is poised to be the first state in the nation to implement a law that provides legal protections for pesticide manufacturers — an issue that has been debated in legislatures across the country in the face of large payouts to cancer victims. Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Wednesday signed House Bill 1318 that specifies …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas lawmakers are considering following President Donald Trump’s lead and renaming the body of water that touches 367 miles of the state’s coast to the Gulf of America. If approved, the bill would require the name to be changed in every official reference made by a state agency, resolution, rule or publication. The Sunset Advisory Committee …

Politico reports: “It is a tremendous honor to be selected to lead this bipartisan delegation of United States Senators to Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis and pay our respects to his life and legacy,” Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is leading the senators’ delegation, said in a statement Friday. “It is a tremendous honor to be selected …

New York Playbook reports: Disgraced former Rep. George Santos is set to learn today just how many years he’ll spend behind bars for the web of deceit that began revealing itself before he took office in January 2023. He’s resigned to his fate, he told Playbook, but he seeks leniency. He’s remorseful, he said, but he has words for anyone …

“What I hope happens tomorrow is that the judge is fair, balanced, and even. And, unlike federal prosecutors who are trying to drop a anchor on my head. She is a lot more matter-of-fact and doesn’t take this in a personal direction.  “I take full responsibility for bad actions I’ve made, and I regret them. But I feel like seven …

The Daily Caller reports: Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is seriously considering a run for Senate in 2026, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Greene, one of President Donald Trump’s most loyal allies in Congress, is actively surveying whether to get in the race if Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp were to pass on a run. Though Kemp …

The Associated Press reports: George Santos is defending his recent social media tirade to a federal judge who will be sentencing the disgraced former New York congressman later this week on fraud charges. In a lengthy letter ahead of the Friday court date, Santos, 36, said he remains “profoundly sorry” for his crimes but protests that the seven-year prison sentence …

Florida Politics reports: As First Lady Casey DeSantis continues to draw scrutiny along with Hope Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis is urging people to differentiate that program’s “smashing success” from the finances of the Hope Florida Foundation. “I think what they’re doing with this Foundation is they’re trying to smear the program by implication and trying to smear the First Lady, …

“Respectfully, Senator Johnson should stop peddling conspiracy theories about the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history and one that forever altered the lives of so many of my fellow New Yorkers. Crap like this dishonors and disrespects the innocent lives lost, our brave first responders, and all families and survivors who still carry the pain of 9/11 each and …

The Indiana Capital Chronicle reports: A Republican senator detailed changes to a contentious sex education bill on Monday, including deletion of a proposed requirement for K-12 schools to teach about consent. The last-minute edits to Senate Bill 442 were announced during a 13-minute conference committee meeting. Public testimony was allowed but none was provided. Earlier versions of the legislation required …

The Anchorage Daily News reports: A jury concluded Tuesday that The New York Times did not libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for an error in a 2017 editorial that she says damaged her reputation. The jury deliberated a little over two hours before reaching its verdict after lawyers for Palin and the newspaper delivered closing arguments at a Manhattan …

The Miami Herald reports: The $10 million that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration diverted to a state-created charity last year consisted of Medicaid dollars owed to state and federal taxpayers, contrary to what the governor and other officials have publicly asserted. Three years ago, lawyers working with the state drew up a settlement agreement that said Florida’s largest Medicaid contractor, Centene, …

Raw Story reports: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) pleaded with Trump to “reconsider” his denial of disaster relief after tornadoes hit Arkansas. Cotton joined the Arkansas delegation in writing a letter directly to Trump to support Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ request for funds. On Friday, Sanders appealed the federal government’s denial in a letter telling Trump that her state was in …

NBC News reports: Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., defended tech billionaire Elon Musk at a town hall Monday night at which he was grilled about DOGe’ss cost-cutting measures and the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate diversity initiatives and its approach to the Israel-Hamas war. After a man in the audience shouted that Donalds ought to read a particular book, Donalds fired …

The Mississippi Free Press reports: Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has declared April 2025 as Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi, keeping alive a 32-year-old tradition that began in 1993.  A member of the Rankin Greys, a Sons of Confederate Veterans camp based in Florence, Mississippi, announced the proclamation in a post in the organization’s Facebook group on April 18. The SCV …

“Within these agencies, a lot of them are going to cover their tracks and cover things up and destroy a lot of evidence. It’s gonna be very frustrating for the American public because this is their information. They deserve the truth. It’s been hidden from them way too long. “Start with Building 7. I don’t know if you can find …

“I had concerns from the get-go because Pete Hegseth didn’t have a lot of experience. I like him on Fox. But does he have the experience to lead one of the largest organizations in the world? That’s a concern. “If it’s true that he had another [Signal] chat with his family, about the missions against the Houthis, it’s totally unacceptable. …