Republicans

Houston Public Media reports: House Bill 229 strictly defines men and women based on the reproductive organs they were born with, and orders state records to reflect this binary. The bill, titled the “Women’s Bill of Rights,” lays out the “biological truth for anybody who is confused,” said author Rep. Ellen Troxclair, an Austin Republican. The bill passed on second …

Sen. Josh Hawley writes for the New York Times: Polls show Democrats down in the dumps at their lowest approval level in decades, but we Republicans are having an identity crisis of our own, and you can see it in the tug of war over President Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill.” The nub of the conflict: Will Republicans be a …

The Associated Press reports: House Republicans unveiled the cost-saving centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill ” late Sunday, at least $880 billion in cuts largely to Medicaid to help cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks. Tallying hundreds of pages, the legislation is touching off the biggest political fight over health care since Republicans tried to …

CNN reports: After months of contending with the Trump administration’s multi-pronged effort to downsize the federal workforce, government employees are now facing the possibility of another major change that could push even more of them out the door. House Republicans are looking to make several big adjustments to federal workers’ retirement benefits to help pay for the party’s sweeping tax …

NBC News reports: Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., dodged multiple questions on Sunday about whether he would support suspending habeas corpus for undocumented immigrants in the country, ultimately saying he did not think the issue would come before Congress. His comments during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” came after top White House adviser Stephen Miller told reporters on …

The Guardian reports: The former special counsel prosecutor Jay Bratt is scheduled to appear before the Republican-led House judiciary committee next week as it attempts to find instances of politicization in the federal criminal cases brought against Donald Trump, according to three people familiar with the matter. Bratt’s appearance is the first known instance of a special counsel prosecutor being …

The Daily Beast reports: Vice President JD Vance says he isn’t much fussed by new Pope Leo XIV’s criticism of him and President Donald Trump. “I try not to play the politicization of the Pope game,” the vice president told podcast host Hugh Hewitt, responding to past tweets from Pope Leo—who slammed the Trump administration’s immigration policies and said Vance …

Canada’s CTV News reports: U.S. lawmakers are proposing a bill that would allow some Canadian snowbirds to stay in the United States longer, in hopes of rebuilding cross-border tourism and supporting local economies. The Canadian Snowbird Visa Act proposes to extend the length of time eligible Canadian citizens aged 50 and over could visit the U.S. without a visa to …

Sioux Falls Live reports: Revelations about Republican former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s credit card use prompted a legislative oversight committee to question state officials Thursday in Pierre about how the state approves credit card spending for travel and other expenses. The Dakota Scout obtained and published records earlier this year showing about $750,000 billed to the Noem office’s state-issued …

NBC News reports: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said definitively on Friday that she will not enter the U.S. Senate race, as Republicans eye Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff’s seat in the battleground state of Georgia as a crucial pickup to expand their three-seat majority next year. Greene’s announcement comes a day after another Trump ally, Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., announced …

“Grateful to receive the endorsement of the Ohio Republican Party by a historic 60-3 margin. We’re laser focused on growing our Republican voter base & delivering a decisive victory in ‘26. This isn’t about left vs. right. It’s up vs. down. We’ll work hard to earn every last vote.” – Vivek Ramaswamy, posting to X.  According to MAGA outlets, Ohio …

The Guardian reports: A South Carolina firing squad botched the execution of Mikal Mahdi last month, with shooters missing the target area on the man’s heart, causing him to suffer a prolonged death, according to autopsy records and his attorneys. As shots were fired, Mahdi cried out and his arms flexed, and after roughly 45 seconds, he groaned twice, the …

“I’ll take a commutation, clemency, whatever the president is willing to give me. Seven years and three months in prison for a first-time offender over campaign matters just screams ‘over the top,’ and I would appreciate if the president would consider. I do believe this is an unfair judgment handed down to me. I think there was a lot of …

The Daily Mail reports: Republican lawmakers and right leaning media figures fell for a cropped selfie that appeared to show the head of USA Fencing flipping his middle finger before appearing before a hearing on men competing in women’s sports. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee printed out a version of his cropped Instagram image where it looked like he …

“Grand slam, home run, hat trick pick.  I am beyond pleased with President Trump’s decision to make Jeanine Pirro the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. “She is exactly the right person at the right time to take on this responsibility. She brings to the table wide and deep legal experience combined with a passion for justice and …

The Huffington Post reports: Vice President JD Vance on Thursday defended President Donald Trump’s statement that children will just have to deal with having fewer dolls as a result of his tariffs by offering parents a wild counterpoint: Those kids could go to war. “What I’d ask people is not whether they want two dolls or five dolls or 20 …

CNN reports: A federal court ruled Thursday that Alabama engaged in intentional discrimination when it refused to draw a congressional plan with a second Black majority district after courts, including the Supreme Court, repeatedly rejected maps with just one such district. With the finding, the court said it would consider whether to put Alabama under a Voting Rights Act provision …

Just in via press release: U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act today to clarify the legal definition of “obscenity” for all states, making the transmission of obscene content across state lines more easily prosecuted. U.S. Representative Mary Miller (R-IL) is the bill’s co-lead in the House of Representatives. “Obscenity isn’t protected by the First Amendment, …

“I have very little optimism about about him being as pope. But I have no concern whatsoever that he’s going to change the character of the Catholic Church. 2000 years, you know, when you’ve had some of the worst scoundrels known to man as pope and they didn’t change and they didn’t corrupt the church, he’s not going to. “Nothing …

Axios reports: The House voted Thursday to formalize President Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” It’s the first time the House has voted to codify one of the president’s executive orders into federal law, though it’s unclear if the Senate will take it up. The bill passed 211-206, with Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) …