Republicans

The Washington Post reports: Former President Donald Trump backed former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick on Saturday in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, after excoriating him two years earlier. “I am officially giving my endorsement to David McCormick tonight,” Trump told the crowd. “He wants to run a good ship. He’s a smart guy who was a very successful guy. He’s …

The Associated Press reports: Republican lawmakers in Kentucky on Friday removed the Democratic governor from any role filling future U.S. Senate vacancies — a move supporters said was unrelated to recent scrutiny about the health of the state’s senior senator, Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The GOP supermajority Legislature easily overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of the measure. The legislation calls …

The Hill reports: Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) called for retaliatory strikes against Iran after Tehran launched drone and cruise missile attacks against Israel on Saturday. “Iran has begun launching drone strikes on Israel,” Blackburn said Saturday on social media platform X. “@POTUS — we must move quickly and launch aggressive retaliatory strikes on Iran.” Blackburn’s post gives a sense …

“It’s wrong on principle to come out in support of ‘sometimes you have to make the choice to kill your baby.’ It’s actually a reprehensible, disgusting view. And also it is politically suicidal. It is not going to work. “What does Kari Lake achieve with this video? Where she is, again, condemning a state ban on abortion. You cannot hide …

The Texas Tribune reports: Months after a scandal over his ties to white supremacists, far-right political operative and former state lawmaker Jonathan Stickland has created a new group — with help from outgoing Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi. On March 5, Stickland registered “RaTmasTeR Holdings LLC” with the Texas secretary of state, and Rinaldi is listed as the new group’s …

Rolling Stone reports: A judge on Friday moved to halt an investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) into the liberal watchdog journalism organization Media Matters, issuing a preliminary injunction in the case. Calling Media Matters a “radical left-wing” and “anti-free speech organization,” Paxton claimed to be investigating “potential fraudulent activity” by the group under Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices …

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill Friday stripping citizen oversight boards of their power to investigate police misconduct. The bill, HB 601, instead allows local chiefs of police agencies to create their own “civilian oversight” boards composed of three to seven members, all appointed by the chief or sheriff. But these boards can only …

Gothamist reports: A federal judge on Friday tossed out a pre-emptive lawsuit from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who sought to stave off legal action by New York Attorney General Letitia James over his decision banning transgender women from playing sports at county-owned facilities, James’ office said. The ban still remains in effect, pending further litigation. Blakeman has been at …

The Washington Examiner reports: Former Vice President Mike Pence has found his first official job since dropping out of the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, and will be teaching at a private college in Pennsylvania. Pence, who has a reputation for bringing his Christian views on things like abortion into his politics, will be teaching about the role of Christianity in …

“Republicans are introducing a bill to require proof of citizenship to vote. It seems like common sense, I’m sure all of us would agree that we only want US citizens to vote in US election. But there’s some Democrats who don’t want to do that. “We believe that one of their designs, one of their reasons for this open border …

Axios reports: The House Rules Committee’s schedule for next week consists entirely of a half dozen bills to prohibit the Energy Department from setting energy use standards for home appliances. The Liberty in Laundry Act, the Refrigerator Freedom Act and the Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards, or SUDS, Act are among the bills. There is no sign, however, of legislation to …

Mediaite reports: Charlie Kirk claimed that Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has ruined her chances of being former President Donald Trump’s VP after her latest vote to reauthorize FISA. The Turning Point USA leader began the segment by reading out the names of each Republican who voted against Biggs’ amendment before reaching Stefanik. Kirk then pledged to “actively oppose” Stefanik within …

CNBC reports: Asked by CNBC and NBC News, Greene wouldn’t say what happened to her stock in Digital World Acquisition Corp., which, through a merger with Trump Media, recently started publicly trading as DJT. The share price is down at least 45% month to date. When asked about the status of her DWAC stock, Greene spokesman Nick Dyer said in …

Politico reports: One of George Santos’ biggest GOP critics is seeking to block expelled members like him from returning to the House floor and other Capitol hotspots open to former members. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) is slated to introduce a resolution that would amend the rules to “deny certain privileges” to former members who have been expelled from the House, …

NBC News reports: The House voted to renew a powerful surveillance program on Friday, two days after a band of 19 conservative privacy hawks revolted against Republican leadership and blocked the legislation on the floor when their demands were not met. Earlier Friday, the conservative rebels ended their blockade and allowed the bill to move forward after striking a deal …

“The people see me up close. They know I mean exactly every single word I say. And I’m not full of shit, just like Mike Johnson is. And I’m actually going to follow through with actions instead of lie to people on television and in press conferences and out on the campaign trail.” – Notoriously full of shit MAGA/QAnon extremist …

Florida Politics reports: Florida cities and counties will be barred from requiring businesses to give water breaks or other “cooling measures” to employees who work outside after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 433. The measure also removes the power of local governments to require contractors to pay higher wages, or use higher pay as an incentive in awarding bids. The …

The Hill reports: Senate Republicans vented their frustration after former President Trump helped derail a compromise House bill to extend Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) authority, sending lawmakers scrambling to find a Plan B to keep the nation’s intelligence agencies from losing their ability to spy on adversaries and terrorists. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) warned that …

News Center Maine reports: Fiery debate over a bill to protect health care workers who provide abortion and gender-affirming care from out-of-state lawsuits crossed a line in the Maine House, leading lawmakers to formally censure a pair of colleagues on Thursday. Rep. Michael Lemelin, R-Chelsea, said the mass shooting last October in Lewiston, Maine, that claimed 18 lives and recent …

The Colorado Sun reports: A Republican state representative left a loaded, semiautomatic handgun in a bathroom at the Colorado Capitol on Tuesday night, an incident that comes as Democrats are trying to ban firearm possession in the building — and the GOP is fighting them. The Colorado State Patrol, which provides security at the Capitol, said Thursday that the gun, …