Republicans

The Associated Press reports: Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida says he’ll be voting in November against a ballot amendment to legalize recreational marijuana in his state, a deeply personal decision based on his brother’s long history of addiction. The senator and former Florida governor said he watched his brother Roger Scott begin smoking marijuana as a teenager and then …

The Arizona Republic reports: Two top aides to Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Friday morning to charges stemming from a plan to keep him in the White House by falsely certifying he won the state in 2020. Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, and Michael “Mike” Roman, a member of Trump’s campaign team, were arraigned in a Maricopa County …

The Washington Post reports: A battle-tested D.C. bureaucrat and self-described Christian nationalist is drawing up detailed plans for a sweeping expansion of presidential power in a second Trump administration. Russ Vought, who served as the former president’s budget chief, calls his political strategy for razing long-standing guardrails “radical constitutionalism.” He has helped craft proposals for Donald Trump to deploy the …

The Guardian reports: The Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake addressed supporters with a Confederate flag displayed behind her during a campaign event at a Trump merchandise store in Arizona last week, where she repeated false claims about election fraud. Reached for comment about the video, a spokesperson for Kari Lake told the Guardian: “The Kari Lake campaign does not respond …

Axios reports: House Republican leaders are whipping votes on a bill aimed at showing allegiance to former President Trump after his historic conviction — but it’s unclear if they can secure the needed support, Axios has learned. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is under pressure from GOP hardliners to schedule a vote on the measure as part of a full-court press …

The Daily Mail reports: Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz’s former staffers have made explosive claims she was ‘manic’ and ‘abusive’ and would throw furniture at aides. The hot-tempered Ukrainian-born Indiana lawmaker has been named the ‘worst boss’ on Capitol Hill and her conduct is now at the center of an ethics complaint. Her office has been a revolving door of staffers …

Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate reports: Governor Stitt signed legislation Wednesday on a framework for public school students to get credits by attending religious instruction during school hours. “What HB 1425 does is that it gives the schools a framework,” said Representative Clay Staires (R-Skiatook), who authored the bill. Starting in November of this year students from all grade levels would …

NBC News reports: The Republican National Committee has hired a prominent supporter of the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” movement, who has since fueled conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, to help craft its 2024 party platform. Ed Martin, a former chair of the Missouri Republican Party, was a major proponent of former President Donald Trump’s …

Denver’s Fox affiliate reports: A group of neighbors in one Front Range community are wondering who took their pride flags and why. Neighbors in Arvada said they woke up to bare flag posts and are now wondering if recent political messages played a role. The neighbors FOX31 spoke to say they fly pride flags every June. This year, the flags …

CNBC reports: Milwaukee based department store giant Kohl’s says it will not sponsor any events related to the Republican National Convention in that city this summer, where Donald Trump will be crowned the party’s nominee for president. “Kohl’s is not a political organization nor donor and is not sponsoring nor engaging in any specific RNC events,” a spokeswoman for the …

The Washington Post reports: Two former law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol from rioters during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection were jeered by state GOP lawmakers as they visited Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday, according to several Democratic lawmakers present. Former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and former sergeant Aquilino Gonell were introduced on the floor …

The Washington Post reports: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday appointed Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.), two Trump loyalists who denied the results of the 2020 election, to the House Intelligence Committee, granting them oversight of the U.S. intelligence community and sensitive government material. eats on the committee are highly sought after in Congress and closely …

Mediaite reports: Rapper and actor 50 Cent insisted on Wednesday that he was Chlamydia-free after meeting with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and complimenting the congresswoman’s appearance. During a trip to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, 50 Cent met with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and …

The Associated Press reports: Senate Republicans have blocked legislation designed to protect women’s access to contraception, arguing that the bill was just a political stunt as Democrats mount an election-year effort to put GOP senators on the record on reproductive rights issues, The test vote won a 51-39 majority, but that was well short of the 60 votes to move …

“This is a pattern of embracing racist ideologies that we see time and again within the MAGA Republican Party. Rep. Donalds is playing his role as the mouthpiece who will say the quiet parts out loud that many will not say themselves. His comments were shameful and beneath the dignity of a member of the House of Representatives. He should …

Denver’s CBS affiliate reports: The Colorado Republican Party marked the start of Pride Month with a mass email attacking “godless groomers” and a social media post calling for the burning of all Pride flags. The state GOP’s move to the far right after a series of electoral blowout losses continued with some of its harshest anti-gay rhetoric in recent years. …

“Well, it’s obvious, number one, that the Biden administration have zero diplomacy skills. There should have been a summit with Vladimir Putin, you know, right after this thing started. “They had a done deal, we all know that, but we talked to them, ‘Hey, we’ll give you whatever it takes we’re gonna give you, you’re gonna be able to fight …

Spy Talk reports: After weathering criticism over its reliance on a gusher of Saudi cash, Jared Kushner’s investment fund made its first big splash last month when it announced it had signed a $500 million deal with the Serbian government to develop a high end real estate project in downtown Belgrade on the site of a bombed down army building …

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: Donalds said he is starting to see the “reinvigoration of Black family,” which he described as younger people forming nuclear family units and “helping to breathe the revival of a Black middle class in America.” He went on to say that those family values had previously been eroded by Democratic policies that Black voters embraced after …

The Hill reports: Integrating Texas’ self-contained electrical grid with the broader national grid could prevent mass power outages like those suffered in the Lone Star state during a 2021 cold snap, according to research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the study, from MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, the researchers modeled the effects of a bill …