Republicans

CNN reports: Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee has signed a bill that allows people in the state to refuse to “solemnize,” or perform, a marriage if they disagree with it. Last week, Tennessee state lawmakers passed HB 878, which states “a person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage.” In Tennessee, only certain people can “solemnize” the “rite of …

“They’ve got a lot of receipts with Hunter Biden, they’ve got a bunch of receipts with Jim Biden as well, but so far there’s nothing to connect all that to the president in any kind of way that looks like it’s illegal or even potentially unethical. How much long can this probe go on before the Republicans either have to …

The New Republic reports: Senator Tommy Tuberville took aim at Joe Biden’s physical capabilities during the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday—conveniently forgetting his own recent struggles. During an onstage interview, Tuberville claimed Biden has declined so much that “he doesn’t know what day it is.” “I don’t think he’ll make it,” Tuberville said. “Just watched him yesterday walking on …

Politico reports: If Republicans didn’t realize it when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, they sure understand now: The long tail of the Dobbs ruling just keeps whipping Republicans with thorny political consequences. The GOP’s latest nightmare scenario comes from Alabama, where the state’s high court found on Friday that the destruction of embryos constituted a crime under the …

“Well, first of all, I didn’t say that I agreed with the Alabama ruling. What the question that I was asked is, do I believe an embryo is a baby? I do think that if you look in the definition, an embryo is considered an unborn baby. And so, yes, I believe from my stance that that is. “The difference …

The New Republic reports: House Republicans quietly deleted a reference to their epic fail of an FBI informant in a letter to a potential witness in the somehow-still-ongoing impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. The original letter, which was obtained by The New Republic, included a section explaining the reason for the Biden investigation, with a paragraph that described a credible, …

Florida Politics reports: The Senate continues to adjust a controversial ban on social media for Floridians under age 16. But legislation (HB 1) ready for a vote in the Senate still doesn’t allow parents final say whether kids can log into platforms. Sen. Erin Grall, a Fort Pierce Republican, said the state needs to treat access to addictive platforms the …

Mediaite has the transcript: KEN BUCK: My colleagues went out and talk to the public about how this was credible and how it was damning and how it proved President Biden’s – at the time Vice President Biden’s – complicity in receiving bribes. It appears to absolutely be false and to really undercut the nature of the charges. We’ve always …

Reuters reports: Lara Trump, who Donald Trump has endorsed to be the new co-chair of the Republican National Committee, said on Wednesday that the organization needed to raise $500 million for the 2024 general election and did not rule out using raised funds to pay her father-in-law’s mounting legal fees. “We gotta make sure that people understand when they donate …

NBC News reports: The National Association of Secretaries of State Winter Conference is usually a cordial affair. It’s one of two occasions every year in which top election officials from most states gather to commiserate and share nonpartisan advice. But at this year’s conference, West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner drew rare groans from the crowd. During the question-and-answer …

The Daily Beast reports: On Wednesday, the opening day for CPAC 2024, the Alexandria City Courthouse posted a batch of eye-popping new filings in the sexual battery and defamation lawsuit against Matt Schlapp — including a subpoena to a CPAC official alleged to have overseen document destruction days after the accusations were first publicly reported. Schlapp was on notice at …

The Daily Beast reports: Newsmax has joined the legions of conservative media outlets and figures who have trashed a pair of Florida GOP bills that ostensibly aim to curb so-called “liberal media” by loosening the definition of defamation. “Newsmax strongly opposes both bills and any proposed law that makes it easy to sue media companies,” Chris Ruddy, Newsmax’s CEO, said …

The Associated Press reports: Alabama is seeking to put a second inmate to death using nitrogen gas, a move that comes a month after the state carried out the first execution using the controversial new method. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office asked the Alabama Supreme Court on Wednesday to set an execution date for Alan Eugene Miller. The state …

NBC News reports: Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Wednesday that frozen embryos created through in-vitro fertilization are “babies,” siding with a recent Alabama Supreme Court decision that raised concerns among doctors and patients about the future of the procedure. “Embryos, to me, are babies,” Haley told NBC News in an interview, adding that she used artificial insemination to have …

“So CPAC has a new rule. If you’re a propagandist, you can buy a ticket, like everyone else, but you’re not in the media, and we’re not going to credential you by saying you’re in the media. “Now, there’s plenty of left-wing people who are in the media who actually, you know, at least 20% of the time, or 25% …

Politico reports: Speaker Mike Johnson delivered a presentation at a weekend GOP retreat that — although it was billed as a map to keeping the House majority — took on a surprisingly religious tone, according to two people in the room. Johnson’s private remarks to a small group of Republican lawmakers at Miami’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel over the weekend alarmed …

Florida Politics reports: A third and final House committee has advanced a contentious defamation bill. But one critic testified the legislation will help its sponsor bring forward lawsuits against anyone criticizing his political allies. At a House Judiciary Committee meeting, Milton gun shop owner Chris Smith discussed a lawsuit filed against his business. Santa Rosa County Commissioner Sam Parker filed …

The Des Moines Register reports: The Iowa Senate has passed a bill that Republicans say will protect religious freedom, but that Democrats have described as a “blank check to discriminate” against LGBTQ Iowans and others. The Senate voted 31-16 to pass Senate File 2095 on Tuesday. The legislation would say that state and local governments shall not “substantially burden” someone’s …

The Virginia Scope reports: Rep. Bob Good, R-VA05, was forced to leave an event in his district over the weekend where Republicans gathered to support Donald Trump. Good supporters believe the event was doubling as a campaign event for state Sen. John McGuire, who is primarying him for the Republican nomination this year. The event occurred in Farmville at a …

ABC News reports: Texas is building a new military base for National Guard members deployed to the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas — where state and federal authorities have been in a tense conflict over dealing with immigration — Gov. Greg Abbott said. At a news conference Abbott announced the construction of what he said would a new “base …