Republicans

The Sarasota Herald Tribune reports: Florida arts and culture organizations, still struggling to recover after the COVID pandemic, took another unexpected financial hit when Gov. Ron DeSantis eliminated state funding for cultural programs. DeSantis vetoed nearly $1 billion from the $116.5 billion state budget before signing it in Tampa on Wednesday, including nearly $90 million the legislature earmarked for 669 …

Reuters reports: Illinois Republican party chairman Don Tracy resigned on Wednesday, less than a month before next month’s Republican National Convention in neighboring Wisconsin, citing infighting with the party. In his resignation letter, Tracy said he spent “too much time dealing with intra party power struggles and local intra party animosities,” the Chicago Tribune and local ABC affiliate reported. “In …

NBC News reports: The first named storm of the hurricane season is taking aim at Texas and Mexico, threatening the Gulf Coast with severe flooding and high winds. Tropical Storm Alberto formed over the western Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday morning and is expected to reach Mexico’s Gulf coast early Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm is …

“The Democrats seem to have two strategies. One is, be afraid. And the second strategy is, be even more afraid. “Under Joe Biden, we’re actually living under a dictatorship today, where he’s bypassing Congress on immigration policies, bypassing Congress on protecting our border ‘He’s bypassing Congress on a student loan forgiveness, and he’s defying the Supreme Court. I mean, those …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas’ top campaign finance watchdog voted Tuesday to require social media figures to disclose when they are paid for political advertisement, nearly a year after The Texas Tribune reported that influencers were being quietly paid to defend impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton. In a 7-0 vote, the Texas Ethics Commission gave final approval to the changes, …

The Hill reports: Rep. Bob Good (R) is still fighting for his political life the day after polls closed in Virginia. The bitter race between Good, the chair of the House Freedom Caucus, and his primary challenger, John McGuire — a state senator who won the coveted endorsement of former President Trump — remained too close to call as of …

The Independent reports: Louisiana’s Republican Governor Jeff Landry is looking for a legal fight after mandating the Ten Commandments in every classroom in the state. “I’m going home to sign a bill that places the Ten Commandments in public classrooms,” he said during a recent GOP fundraiser in Tennessee. “I can’t wait to be sued.” Landry signed the bill into …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blocked the Biden Administration’s Title IX rule protecting LGBTQ+ students from sex-based discrimination and harassment, Paxton’s office announced in a Tuesday release. The rule would have protected all students and employees from all sex discrimination, including restoring and strengthening full protection from sexual violence and other sex-based harassment. Paxton said in …

The Associated Press reports: Florida has more than 700,000 medical marijuana patients and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis — who is battling a proposal to allow recreational use of marijuana — wants them all to know what a great job he’s doing. The Department of Health last week sent a blast email to its medical marijuana patient list boasting that DeSantis …

The Daily Beast reports: MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene appears to have recently skipped reporting any income from the book she published late last year, stepping into an ethical gray zone. “Congresswoman Greene’s book agreement was reviewed and approved by the House Ethics Committee and in 2023 there was no financial activity that required reporting,” Greene’s office wrote. That could …

NBC News reports: A convicted Jan. 6 defendant from Georgia who served 20 days in prison for his actions during the attack on the U.S. Capitol lost a Republican primary runoff for a House seat in Georgia, The Associated Press projects. Charles Hand III, or Chuck Hand, was defeated by former Trump administration official Wayne Johnson as they vied to …

ABC News reports: In recent weeks, House Ethics Committee investigators have conducted a string of interviews behind closed doors with numerous women who were witnesses in the years-long Justice Department sex trafficking investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz, multiple sources familiar with the committee’s work tell ABC News. In the interviews, which have previously not been reported, some witnesses have been …

The Associated Press reports: Rep. Bob Good, one of America’s most conservative congressmen, was locked in a tight renomination battle against state Sen. John McGuire [photo], an opponent endorsed by former President Donald Trump, in Virginia’s primary election Tuesday. Ballots remained to be counted, and the close margin made the race too early to call. Virginia observes the Juneteenth holiday …

Axios reports: Senate Republicans blocked Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) attempt to move forward legislation to ban bump stocks, reigniting a pre-election messaging battle over gun control measures. The Supreme Court’s decision to toss a Trump-era ban on bump stocks has given Schumer an opening to put some of the chamber’s Republicans in the position of defending the gun attachment, …

Vermont news site Seven Days reports: Spy camera videos of a Republican lawmaker dumping water into a Democratic rival’s bag at the Statehouse were released on Tuesday, confirming previous reporting by Seven Days about the bizarre incident. Rep. Jim Carroll shared with Seven Days two videos he surreptitiously took in the Statehouse hallway that captured Rep. Mary Morrissey pouring a …

The Huffington Post reports: Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) on Monday slammed national Republicans for mocking the car he uses to get around Washington: a red Toyota Prius. “What a bunch of jackasses,” Tester said in response to a press release from the National Republican Senatorial Committee that called Tester’s choice of vehicle a “bombshell.” “I’ve got an ’86 Chevy. I …

The Hill reports: The House Ethics Committee on Tuesday said it is probing whether Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) sought to obstruct investigations into his conduct, is dropping other lines of investigation into him, and has issued 25 subpoenas in matters surrounding the congressman. It is continuing to investigate whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct, engaged in illicit drug use, or …

Bloomberg News reports: Few politicians know how to win over a billionaire like Tim Scott does. An event Wednesday in Washington will test whether he can leverage that clout to become Donald Trump’s running mate. The policy summit-cum-fundraiser on the Juneteenth holiday will include some of the world’s wealthiest people: Citadel’s Ken Griffin, Apollo’s Marc Rowan, Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman …

The Kansas City Star reports: Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is suing the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, alleging it deceptively marketed its COVID-19 vaccine. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Thomas County, comes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a similar lawsuit in November. Kobach said at a news conference on Monday that Kansas is one of several states …

Newsweek reports: Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz is denouncing what he says are “new frivolous investigations” launched against him by the House Ethics Committee. Since 2021, when the House was controlled by Democrats, the ethics panel has been investigating allegations that Gaetz had “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.” The probes continued after control of the chamber shifted to …