Republicans

“I’ve got enough challenges on my plate now. I mean, I think we have 23.5 million people here. We’ve got things happening all the time. I mean, the idea that I’m going to be worrying about things down the line. That’s just not how I roll. I’ve got to get the most out of my opportunity here to lead, and …

The Washington Post reports: Today kicks off what will probably be a particularly contentious and closely watched special session of the Texas legislature. Republicans want to redraw the state’s congressional districts to create new Republican seats — five more, if President Donald Trump gets his way. Democrats at the national level say they won’t sit out this fight. The Democratic …

NewsNation reports: Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.), a moderate Republican, suggested in a Sunday interview that first lady Melania Trump deserves some credit for President Trump’s apparent pivot against Russia in its war against Ukraine. “Well, I’m glad that the president has pivoted on Ukraine,” Bacon said in an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday.” “I think we owe Melania some …

Rachel Wells reports at Substack: Last Thursday, at a town hall in Jonesborough, Tennessee, a 35-year-old woman shared her story: she was denied prenatal care by her physician because they objected to the fact that she wasn’t married, nor did she plan to be. She’d been with her partner for 15 years, and they have a 13-year-old child. While going …

The Hill reports: After President Trump was diagnosed with a chronic vein condition, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) suggested the president’s health condition could be a result of his efforts in “fighting the radicals.” “The pressure on somebody like President Trump right now, not just from outside entities … all over the world but also fighting the radicals in this country,” …

Newsweek reports: In a Truth Social post on Saturday afternoon, President Donald Trump urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, to cancel the Senate’s summer recess and its long weekend breaks to push through his nominee confirmations. Trump’s push reflects his continued strategy to reshape the federal judiciary, a defining feature of his first term, during which …

Mediaite reports: Border czar and former ICE chief Tom Homan said Democrats are “encouraging” violent attacks on federal law enforcement in a furious response to a clip of New York Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler that went viral over the weekend. Correspondent Johnny Belisario conducted the street and hallway interviews for Jesse Watters Primetime and asked Nadler whether he condemns those …

NBC News reports: The New York Times described Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson as Trump’s successor as the Republican Party’s “foremost amplifier of conspiracy theories and disinformation.” The senator has seemed a little too eager to prove his critics right, peddling bizarre and easily discredited nonsense about Covid-19. And the Jan. 6 attack. And vaccines. And climate change. And the 2020 …

NPR reports: Health insurance premiums are going way up next year for people who buy their insurance on Healthcare.gov or the state-based marketplaces, according to an analysis out Friday. The average person who buys Affordable Care Act insurance will be paying 75% more for their premium, according to the analysis from KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group. Summer is …

NBC News reports: Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of the Republican Party’s top inquisitors in Congress, is expected to be deposed Friday about allegations that he failed to protect the wrestlers he once coached at Ohio State University from a sexual predator, four plaintiffs in lawsuits against the university told NBC News. Jordan, who was the assistant wrestling coach …

CBS News reports: House Republicans approved a package after midnight Friday to claw back $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funding, sending it to President Trump’s desk. Congress beat a Friday end-of-day deadline to pass the bill, which is known as a rescissions request, after which the money would have had to be spent as originally intended. Efforts …

The Hill reports: Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), the Senate Republican deputy whip, on Thursday blocked a request by Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) to demand the Trump administration release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Gallego, a first-term senator, stood up on the Senate floor to demand that colleagues “show the American people that they deserve the truth” …

The Miami New Times reports: State contracts related to Alligator Alcatraz, the controversial detention facility in the Florida Everglades, appear to have disappeared from the state’s public contract database. On Wednesday, Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani noticed that dozens of Alligator Alcatraz contracts on the Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System (FACTS) website were suddenly gone. Just a day prior, the Orlando state …

The Denver Post reports: A consultant claiming to work for the White House called several Republican county clerks in Colorado last week, seeking “third-party” access to secure voting equipment, election officials told The Denver Post. At least 10 Republican clerks were contacted by consultant Jeff Small, officials said Wednesday. Small, who has Colorado political connections, told the clerks that he …

“I think the time has come for the administration to release all of the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s investigation and prosecution. It’s important that we protect the names of the victims. They should be excluded from any disclosure, but whether or not the facts justify charges, I think that anyone who participated or was associated with this despicable man ought …

The Washington Post reports: The Senate narrowly approved President Donald Trump’s request to claw back $9 billion in foreign aid and federal funding for public broadcasting early Thursday, handing the administration a victory in its ongoing power struggle with Congress over federal spending. The vote was 51-48. Two Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) — voted …

Florida Politics reports: Former Republican state Rep. Karoline Amesty is facing two counts of theft of government property after being accused of illegally obtaining $122,000 in pandemic relief funds meant to help small businesses through her foundation and a car dealership. The federal complaint said she used the money to pay her credit cards, buy furniture and spend on other …

Military.com reports: A retired Army officer and conservative commentator who could not be approved for a Pentagon job during the first Trump administration because of past Islamaphobic and conspiratorial statements has been confirmed by the Senate to be the Pentagon’s personnel chief in the second Trump administration. In a 52-46 party-line vote Tuesday afternoon, the Senate confirmed Anthony Tata to …

The Texas Tribune reports: State Rep. Steve Toth, a Conroe Republican aligned with the rightmost faction of the Texas Legislature, announced a primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw on Tuesday, setting up the state’s latest intra-party midterm clash. Toth, who is serving his fifth term in the Texas House, is part of a group of hardline GOP lawmakers who …

The New York Post reports: New phone, who dis? Tech mogul Elon Musk changed his cellphone number and stopped returning Mike Johnson’s texts after throwing a titanic fit about the costs included in Republicans’ massive tax-and-spending bill, the House speaker revealed on the latest episode of “Pod Force One,” out Wednesday. “I sent him a long text message, and then …