Republicans

The Texas Tribune reports:  In Katy, a growing Houston suburb, school officials recently bought $93,000 worth of new library books and promptly put them in storage so an internal committee could review them. The district then banned 14 titles (bringing its total since 2021 to 30), including popular books by Dr. Seuss and Judy Blume, as well as “No, David!” …

Nashville’s CBS affiliate reports: Members of the Franklin Board of Mayor and Alderman sternly rebuked controversial alderman and mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson Tuesday night, accusing her of sowing division in a once-peaceful city by inviting members of a hate group into the community. But Hanson quickly shot back, refusing to condemn the white supremacists who came to a candidates forum …

“I want to be very clear. If you kill the hostages — the Hamas has hostages, Americans and Israeli hostages — they start killing those hostages, if there’s an attack by Hezbollah in the north, creating two fronts for Israel, what I would do is, I would bomb Iran’s oil infrastructure. “The money financing terrorism comes from Iran. It’s time …

The Charleston Post & Courier reports: U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace wanted to make a point. So she decided to do it with a bold reference to one of the best-known female protagonists in American literature. On Oct. 10, the South Carolina Republican walked into a closed-door candidate forum for the next Speaker of the House wearing a white shirt with …

Axios reports: Multiple members emerged from the House GOP’s speaker forum on Tuesday saying they don’t see either candidate being any closer to having the votes needed to secure the gavel on the floor. “No one is close to 217,” Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) said after Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) pitched members on …

The New York Times reports: Kari Lake, a former TV news anchor who refashioned herself as an ally and protégé of Donald J. Trump, officially announced she was running for the Senate in Arizona on Tuesday night, offering a dark vision of America and pitching herself as a fighter ready to take on the media and the left. Ms. Lake, …

NBC News reports: Four of the former Ohio State University wrestlers who have accused Rep. Jim Jordan of failing to protect them from a sexual predator when he was the team’s assistant coach in the 1980s and ’90s said Tuesday he has no business being the next speaker of the House. “Do you really want a guy in that job …

The Associated Press reports: The Georgia prosecutor who has accused former President Donald Trump and others of trying to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state is seeking to call Republican Party Chair Ronna McDaniel and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones as witnesses in a trial for two of the defendants scheduled to begin later this month. Fulton County …

The Daily Beast reports: Though some moderate Republicans planned to nominate Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for House Speaker, he reportedly told colleagues in a Tuesday party meeting not to put him forward, according to Punchbowl News. It would leave two candidates: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Steve Scalise (R-LA), who will both speak at the House GOP’s candidate forum on …

From the Justice Department: A 23-count superseding indictment was filed today in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, charging George Anthony Devolder Santos, better known as “George Santos,” the United States Representative for the Third District of New York, with one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, two counts of …

The Colorado Sun reports: With her infant grandson clutched tightly in her arms, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert ended her 17-year marriage to Jayson Boebert on Tuesday morning before a magistrate in Grand Junction. The public portion of the dissolution of marriage hearing was over in minutes, but that came after nearly 40 minutes of negotiations behind closed doors when shouting …

The Messenger reports: President Joe Biden has “blood on his hands” after Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel over the weekend, Sen. Tim Scott said during a foreign policy speech in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. “While Hamas carried out these attacks, Joe Biden has blood on his hands,” Scott said. “His weakness invited the attack. His cash giveaways to …

The Hill reports: Former Trump adviser Steve Cortes has stepped down from his position at the super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R ) presidential bid Never Back Down, according to a statement from the group. “Steve launched his own show and left his role as a spokesman for Never Back Down,” said Erin Perrine, communications director for Never …

Houston’s NPR affiliate reports: Yet another special session began in Austin on Monday, this time with Governor Greg Abbott asking state lawmakers to take up school vouchers — again. Or, as Abbott calls them, education savings accounts. The vouchers would use taxpayer dollars to allow some families to send some students to private schools. In many rural districts, there are …

Bloomberg News reports: Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said he hasn’t ruled out running for president in 2024, noting that the vast majority of Americans want an alternative to President Joe Biden or GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. “However I can serve, I’m still trying to figure that out, but I’m not walking away,” Hogan said at an event at Bloomberg’s …

The Texas Tribune reports: The revelation that an influential conservative PAC leader hosted a white supremacist at his office last week unleashed extraordinary criticism and infighting among Texas Republicans on Monday, calls by the House speaker and a majority of his caucus to return political donations, and a defiant demand from the lieutenant governor that the speaker resign. Speaker Dade …

The Orange County Register reports: Former Dodgers star Steve Garvey made his foray into the crowded U.S. Senate race official Tuesday morning, launching a bid as a Republican. For Garvey, who played 14 seasons with the Dodgers before he finished with the San Diego Padres for five seasons, a move into the political arena isn’t much of a curveball. During …

The Daily Beast reports: Republican state legislators In North Carolina are establishing a new investigative body that Democratic critics have aptly compared to a “secret police force.” This new entity, formally known as the Joint Legislative Committee on Government Operations, or “Gov Ops” for short, will be chaired by Senate Leader Phil Berger (R) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R). …

Mediaite reports: Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Monday to make the argument that his Republican primary rival Ron DeSantis wears heels. Amid a slew of posts about the conflict in Israel, the Chinese Communist Party, and his legal troubles on Monday, Trump posted three screenshots from DeSantis’ September appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, with …

Politico reports: House Republicans huddled Monday for an emotional venting session over the party’s leadership crisis. But two days before a planned vote, they appear nowhere near uniting behind a new speaker. Multiple GOP lawmakers described it as a mostly civil, yet cathartic, meeting ahead of an intense week in which House Republicans are slated to crown their next GOP …