Republicans

The New York Times reports: A lawyer for the chief witness against Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, said on Friday that the witness was cooperating with a House Ethics Committee investigation into whether Mr. Gaetz had sex with an underage girl while he was serving in Congress. Fritz Scheller, a lawyer for Mr. Gaetz’s former friend and political ally …

Florida Politics reports: A measure purporting to stop human trafficking by banning people under the age of 21 from working in the adult entertainment sector is slated for another Senate committee stop. The Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice will consider on Tuesday morning Sen. Clay Yarborough’s bill (SB 1690). If the measure advances, it has one stop ahead …

Fox News reports: Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney is calling for the Cabinet to “explore” the use of the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove President Biden from office, following Special Counsel Robert Hur’s “alarming” report. Fox News Digital obtained a letter Tenney, R-N.Y., sent to Attorney General Garland Thursday night, sharing her “grave concerns” following the report. Tenney said Biden “needs …

Politico reports: Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is launching a Senate bid, according to a person familiar with the matter. The anti-Trump Republican is expected to file for the open Senate seat on Friday, the last day of the filing deadline. Hogan is popular in Maryland and his entrance in the race is a huge recruiting coup for Republicans, but …

The Arizona Republic reports: Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman strong-armed a bill through the Senate Government Committee that would prohibit the display of “satanic memorials, statues, altars or displays, or any other method of representing or honoring Satan” on public property in Arizona. In arguing for Senate Bill 1279, Hoffman said, “It is a desecration of our public property in …

The Associated Press reports: Kansas’ attorney general is telling public schools they’re required to tell parents their children are transgender or non-binary even if they’re not out at home, though Kansas is not among the states with a law that explicitly says to do that. Kobach maintains that failing to disclose when a child is socially transitioning or identifying as …

Florida Politics reports: Language in legislation (SB 1084) advanced by the Senate would preempt local governments from requiring a higher number of parking lot spaces to be reserved for electric vehicles. Instead, state regulations would be the only threshold imposed. But during committee discussion, Sen. Jay Collins, a Tampa Republican carrying the bill, made clear the measure would outlaw extra …

Mediaite has the transcript: STEFANIK: I would not have done what Mike Pence did. I don’t think that was the right approach. I specifically stand by what I said on the House floor. And I stand by my statement, which was– COLLINS: So, you would have rejected the votes? STEFANIK: There was unconstitutional overreach in states like Pennsylvania, and I …

Jezebel reports: On Wednesday, across party lines, Republicans rejected an amendment that would have added rape and incest exceptions to the state’s total ban. Democratic state Sen. Tracy McCreery proposed the amendment by pleading with her colleagues to “show an ounce of compassion” for victims. As it currently exists, McCreery said the ban tells victims, “We’re going to force you …

Just in via press release: It’s been the honor and privilege of my life to represent the people of Eastern Washington in Congress. They inspire me every day. They are part of the strength and soul of America — the greatest experiment in self-governance the world has ever known. After much prayer and reflection, I’ve decided the time has come …

The Daily Mail reports: Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is asking her colleagues for support on a new bill that would force members of Congress to deploy to a war zone if they advocate for military support to Ukraine in its battle with Russia. The legislation, obtained first by DailyMail.com, would “require Members of Congress who advocate for providing …

Raw Story reports: Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) did not take kindly to reports that his fellow right-wing Texas lawmaker, Rep. Chip Roy, could make a move to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) from the gavel, KSDK’s Mark Maxwell reported on Wednesday. “I love Chip Roy, but Chip Roy is a major pain in the ass for all of us …

CBS News reports: Nikki Haley’s surprising loss to “none of these candidates” in the Nevada primary, where she was the only candidate who was still competing for the Republican nomination, was the result of a coordinated effort by Trump supporters to prevent Haley from claiming victory — even though the primary allocates no GOP delegates. Trump caucus captains told CBS …

The Hill reports: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed an ethics complaint against Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis (D), accusing the Georgia prosecutor of failing to disclose “luxury vacations” she took with Nathan Wade, a top prosecutor in former President Trump’s Georgia criminal case who she acknowledged developing a “personal relationship” with. The four-page ethics complaint, dated Tuesday …

Oklahoma City’s NPR affiliate reports: A ban of LGBTQ Pride flags on state property is advancing in the Oklahoma legislature. The bill – called the “Patriotism not Pride Act” – would bar state agencies from displaying gay Pride flags on their grounds, and would also prohibit state resources from being used to endorse Pride activities through flyers or even on …

Politico reports: Matt Gaetz led the GOP push that ejected Kevin McCarthy from the speakership. Now he’s turning to his next target: Booting another fellow Republican from the House entirely. The Florida Republican is slated to headline a campaign rally next week with Darren Bailey, the GOP primary rival of Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), chair of the House Veterans’ Affairs …

“I had a popular commentator – four weeks ago – that I talked to that told me flat out – before they knew any of the contents of the bill, any of the content, nothing was out at that point – that told me flat out, ‘If you try to move a bill that solves the border crisis during this …

Denver’s Westword reports: Last week, Representative Lauren Boebert filed a temporary restraining order against her ex-husband, Jayson, following a series of headline-grabbing incidents that led to Jayson being criminally charged. The order also covers three of their four children — a punishment that Jayson says is “killing” him. “I feel what is happening is cruel and unfair,” he tells Westword. …

The Washington Post reports: The Senate voted down a sweeping national security and border reform package on Wednesday after most Senate Republicans banded together with a handful of Democrats to reject the legislation their leadership helped negotiate. The bill included more than $60 billion in aid for Ukraine as it fends off a Russian invasion and $14 billion for Israel …

The Hill reports: Florida’s Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical of the state’s arguments Wednesday that the language on a ballot initiative to protect abortion rights was misleading. Nathan Forrester, who argued on behalf of the state attorney general’s office, urged the court to disqualify the measure. He said voters won’t understand what the amendment will do because the language used …