Republicans

The Associated Press reports: Former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer is mounting a GOP primary challenge to Sen. Lindsey Graham, arguing the incumbent isn’t conservative enough to represent the state. Bauer, a wealthy developer, is a longtime backer of President Donald Trump. His candidacy sets up a midterm grudge match with Graham, a four-term senator whose relationship with Donald …

The Daily Beast reports: Nancy Mace wants to bring “Alligator Alcatraz” to South Carolina. In an X post Tuesday, the congresswoman expressed her desire to replicate Florida’s controversial new migrant detention facility in South Carolina, touting that her state’s alligators were “ready.” “Dear DHS: We’ve got a swamp and a dream. Let’s talk,” Mace wrote alongside a selfie. “South Carolina’s …

The Hill reports: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday said inclement weather in Washington, D.C., is “part of the problem” House Republicans are grappling with as they look to fast-track their “big, beautiful bill” through the chamber this week. The House is scheduled to convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday — with a procedural vote shortly after — to kick …

BANNON: “We’re taking Medicaid away from American citizens and maybe still paying for illegal aliens. Is the House going to rubber-stamp this? Is this going to be like a 24 hour turnaround, ma’am?” GREENE: “I cannot imagine. No, no. I can’t imagine they have the votes. There’s no way that the Speaker has the votes in the House for this. We’re …

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports: Gov. Mike DeWine decided that state lawmakers went too far in the culture war against LGBTQ Ohioans and issued three key vetoes. But he allowed other measures opposed by the LGBTQ community to go into law. DeWine used his veto pen to reject blocking money for youth shelters that use the preferred pronouns of transgender kids. …

The Washington Post reports: The Senate version of President Donald Trump’s massive tax and immigration spending plan would wipe out many of the strides made by the Affordable Care Act in reducing the number of uninsured Americans, resulting in at least 17 million Americans losing their health coverage, according to nonpartisan estimates and experts. The bill, which narrowly passed the …

The Hill reports: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) labeled the process that brought her to vote for the GOP’s gargantuan tax and spending package “agonizing” and said she hopes more is done to improve the bill, including through both the Senate and House going to conference to finalize it. Murkowski told reporters after the vote that she “struggled mightily” with the …

“All we have to do is vote for Rick Scott’s amendment. He’s an expert in health care. He’s proposed [against] the most damaging part of Obamacare. That’s the, what they call Medicaid expansion. But what that is — traditional Medicaid pays one, for every dollar state puts in traditional Medicaid, federal government puts in, on average, about $1.33. For the …

Politico reports: The Senate is on track to start voting on final amendments and passage of the GOP megabill. “I believe we do” have a deal, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters. There will be several amendments debated before the final vote, according to Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.). One, he said, would be from Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, …

Politico reports: Thune’s ability to pass the “big, beautiful bill” is hinging on Sen. Lisa Murkowski. The Alaska senator has been the subject of an intense whip effort by GOP leaders over the past couple of hours as they try to offer her reassurances on Medicaid and food assistance. Thune, Finance Chair Mike Crapo and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso …

“I just got off the phone with President Trump!! I told him about my new bill I am introducing that will save America’s elections from ever being stolen again! My bill will require the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct a new census immediately upon enactment of the bill. In conducting the new census of the U.S. population, it shall require …

“As owner of Gristedes and D’Agostino’s—this city’s oldest and largest independent supermarket chains—I’ve spent my life keeping shelves stocked, workers employed and families fed. That’s what capitalism does. It works. It builds. It feeds. And it empowers. “Now comes Zohran Mamdani with a delusional notion in the name of radical socialism that would destroy everything we’ve built. His ‘public grocery’ …

The New York Times reports: A wealthy Kentucky business executive on Thursday entered the race to succeed Mitch McConnell in the United States Senate, casting himself as the only political outsider in the field and an unwaveringly loyal supporter of President Trump. The executive, Nate Morris, announced his candidacy on a podcast hosted by the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. …

ABC News reports: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up Vice President Vance and GOP committees’ bid to strike down federal limits on political parties’ spending made in coordination with campaigns. It sets the stage for a major campaign finance battle during the court’s next annual term, which begins in October. Twenty-four years ago, the Supreme Court upheld …

Politico reports: The Senate’s “big, beautiful” vote-a-rama starts in just two hours — and nobody knows how it’s going to end. Senate Majority Leader John Thune can only lose one more vote with Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) already opposed. As Senate GOP leaders scramble to strike deals to keep the bill on track, House Republicans are …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Sunday celebrated Sen. Thom Tillis’s (R-N.C.) announcement that he wouldn’t seek reelection next year. “Great News!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday evening. The North Carolina senator abruptly announced his plans earlier in the day amid a days-long spat with the president over Tillis’s opposition to the GOP’s massive tax and spending bill. …

Axios reports: Fresh off announcing he’ll retire next year, Sen. Thom Tillis gave a lengthy floor speech Sunday night attacking cuts to Medicaid in the “big, beautiful bill.” Tillis voted Saturday against starting debate on the bill, and has declared he’ll vote “no” on the final version. “I’m telling the president, you have been misinformed,” Tillis said on Sunday night. …

ProPublica reports: In 2023, while Kristi Noem was governor of South Dakota, she supplemented her income by secretly accepting a cut of the money she raised for a nonprofit that promotes her political career, tax records show. In what experts described as a highly unusual arrangement, the nonprofit routed funds to a personal company of Noem’s that had recently been …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump is expected to be at the formal opening Tuesday of a controversial immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades that state leaders have dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The Palm Beach Post reported Sunday that Federal Aviation Administration data indicated that Trump would be in South Florida for the opening. Two White House officials and a …

Politico reports: Senate Republicans are moving forward, slowly, towards final passage of their sprawling tax and domestic policy bill early next week. But the most grueling part is still ahead. The Senate, in a late-night 51-49 vote, cleared a major hurdle when it moved onto general debate on the package. Democrats are expected to use every minute of their allotted …