Republicans

Axios reports: Former President Trump’s new team at the Republican National Committee has tapped former RNC executive Sean Cairncross to help run the party’s operations and watch its spending in the run-up to the November election, two people familiar with the move tell Axios. Cairncross is a lawyer with a reputation of enforcing financial discipline — someone who can “watch …

The Virginia Mercury reports: In the first signals of how he’ll act on legislation approved by Virginia’s Democratic General Assembly, Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a largely symbolic bill protecting same-sex marriage but took a more adversarial stance to bills dealing with gun control, reproductive rights and marijuana. Youngkin had until Friday night to take action on 84 bills the legislature …

Politico reports: Ronna McDaniel, the outgoing chair of the Republican National Committee, on Friday again called on the party to adjust its messaging on abortion, cautioning that the GOP will not reach independent and swing voters if they don’t. “We cannot put our heads in the sand and ignore abortion and the Dobbs decision,” McDaniel said in her parting speech …

“The story Senator Britt told was 100 percent correct. And there are more innocent victims of that kind of disgusting, brutal trafficking by the cartels than ever before right now. The Biden administration’s policies — the policies in this country that the president falsely claims are humane — have empowered the cartels and acted as a magnet to a historic …

From Florida’s Department of Health: Today, Florida is providing an update on the measles outbreak in southeast Florida. Since January 2024, sixteen states have reported measles cases including: California, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Washington, Indiana, and Arizona. Unfortunately, the measles cases in Florida have received disproportionate attention for political reasons. The national medical health establishment and the media lost …

The Daily Kos reports: Journalist Jonathan M. Katz has created a TikTok video about his investigation of Sen. Britt’s anecdote about speaking to a sex trafficking victim, implying that she had been repeatedly raped as a 12 year old upon being recently taken to the United States. Katz found that the person in question, Karla Jacinto Romero really was abducted …

The Arizona Mirror reports: A bid to make birth control a right in Arizona that was a top policy priority for Gov. Katie Hobbs has stagnated in the Republican-controlled legislature and is likely dead. Sen. Sonny Borrelli, the No. 2 Republican in the state Senate, responded to a question about whether he would oppose future efforts to restrict access to …

“He wasn’t speaking to the nation. What he was really doing was speaking to his party. This was more about a convention. I think he was worried about Democrats removing him for the nominee. “That’s why he came out, he tried to show every Democrat, ‘You know, you gotta be tougher, you gotta be stronger.’ And all he did was …

Evansville’s CBS affiliate reports: U.S. Senator Todd Young says he will not support former President Donald Trump in his bid for the Republican Presidential nomination. Young spoke about Trump’s take on the war in Ukraine, where Trump says Putin is not a war criminal and will not take sides as the war wages on. Instead, Young says what Hoosiers decide …

NBC News reports: Iowa Republicans passed a personhood bill in the state House on Thursday night that would make it a felony to “cause the death” of an “unborn person,” putting the conservative Midwestern state directly into the national battle over protections for in vitro fertilization. The bill in its current form does not provide any protections for embryos created …

The Hill reports: A bill to avert a partial government shutdown Friday night is running into delays in the Senate. Absent unanimous consent or an agreement between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Republicans, the upper chamber might not be able to vote until final passage before Saturday — after the government shutdown deadline but before many effects of …

Axios reports: The GEORGE rule, which stands for Getting Expelled Officially Revokes Guaranteed Entry, would revoke the lifetime floor privileges afforded to former House members if they were expelled. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who introduced the proposal, told Axios: “George Santos disgraced Congress with his presence during the State of the Union.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) opposed expelling Santos …

“She was picked as a housewife, not just a senator, but somebody who sees it from a different perspective. I mean, she did what she was asked to do. I thought she did a good job. And it’s hard when you’ve never done anything like that. And if you just see what the left is doing, they’re going after families. …

The Advance reports: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has referred to former President Donald Trump as an “asshole,” once joked that he belongs in a mental institution, and campaigned like hell for Trump rival Nikki Haley. But now with Haley out of the race, he’s back on Team Trump. “I’m going to support the ticket. I’m going to support Donald …

Newsweek reports: Republican Representative Matt Rosendale announced on Friday that he is planning to leave Congress over “defamatory rumors.” In a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, Rosendale said that he will be withdrawing from the House race. Rosendale previously announced that he was backing out of the Senate race shortly after launching his campaign. “Since that announcement, I have …

“I’m going to sign legislation over the next month or so to really counteract Florida ever going in the direction of California on things like homelessness. “Cities can govern themselves and there are certain state laws, but you know, we don’t want a city to turn into a Los Angeles or San Francisco with respect to having homeless everywhere. “So …

Axios reports: The father of a U.S. Marine killed in the 2021 Kabul airport bombing was arrested for disrupting President Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday. The disruption by Steve Nikoui as an invited guest of a member of Congress was an extremely rare break in decorum that punctuated a night filled with heckling from lawmakers. Nikoui is …

Mediaite reports: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) rolled his eyes and shook his head on Thursday after President Joe Biden attacked Republicans in the audience over the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. “We will not bow down! I will not bow down!” declared Biden during his State of the Union address. “In a literal sense, history is watching. History is …

The Daily Beast reports: Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) delivered the official Republican response, a stern but bizarrely delivered rebuttal that focused heavily on immigration and the economy. The freshman senator is considered a rising star in the party. But her speech’s intense tone—with an over-the-top dramatic cadence that was delivered in a kitchen—left political operatives and observers struggling to make …

ABC News reports: Disgraced former Republican Rep. George Santos arrived in the House chamber on Thursday night about an hour before President Joe Biden’s speech was to begin and about three months after he became the first House member to be expelled in more than 20 years. He was seen seated on the GOP side near the aisle — his …