Republicans

Mediaite reports: In a memo titled, “PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE,” acting deputy administrator for management and resources Pete Marocco advised USAID employees they were “being placed on excused absence (also known as administrative leave) with pay effective immediately.” “During the period that you are on administrative leave you are not to enter USAID premises, access USAID systems, or attempt to …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration said late Tuesday that it is pulling almost all U.S. Agency for International Development workers off the job and out of the field worldwide, moving to all but end a six-decade mission to shore up American security by fighting starvation, funding education and working to end epidemics. The administration notified USAID workers in …

The HIPAA Journal reports: Arizona Congressman Rep. Andy Biggs has reintroduced a bill that seeks to abolish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Biggs views OSHA as part of “the bloated federal government” and believes safety and health issues are better handled by states and private employers. OSHA is a federal agency part of the Department of Labor and …

The Hill reports: Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) has called for the deportation Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a U.S. citizen, to her birth country of Somalia. “America would be a better place if @IlhanMN were deported back to Somalia,” Gill wrote Tuesday on the social platform X. Gill, a first-term lawmaker representing Texas’s 26th Congressional District, was responding to a clip …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports: Former congressional candidate Sean Parnell has been chosen to serve as the spokesperson for the Pentagon and the assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Mr. Parnell, a Western Pennsylvania native and veteran, often appeared alongside Trump when he campaigned in the region last fall, including when Trump was shot at during a rally …

“There’s groups that you know believe in violence now as a way to get the change they want and you know you just have to condemn it and hold these people accountable for bad acts. If you look at what’s happened on television – I mean, he’s not been convicted yet – but it sure looks like [the murder] was …

Politico reports: The Trump administration is making moves to place nearly all of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Washington-based staff on leave, according to two people familiar with the steps being taken. A person familiar with the situation said some 1,400 people will be notified Tuesday, on top of about 600 who were placed on leave starting Sunday night. …

Via press release from GOP Rep. Michael Cloud: Congressman Michael Cloud (TX-27) and Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) have introduced the Dismantle DEI Act, a bill to codify into law President Trump’s agenda dismantling so-called Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs across the federal government. This legislation ensures that Trump’s actions are permanently enshrined in law, preventing future administrations from reviving …

The Daily Beast reports: A MAGA senator said he liked “omelets better than sex” when coming to Elon Musk’s defense for shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Louisiana Senator John Kennedy had a bizarre rant on Fox News when he compared the breakfast food to Musk putting USAID on the chopping block. “I like omelets better than …

CBS News reports: The Senate Finance Committee is considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination on Tuesday, with a key vote on whether to advance his confirmation to lead the Department of Health and Human Services after a pair of fiery hearings last week. Kennedy appeared Wednesday before the finance committee for a confirmation hearing, before testifying to the Senate Committee …

NOTUS reports: Tech billionaire Elon Musk is working to shut down government agencies and cancel congressionally approved funding — and many Republican lawmakers are just fine with it. “He’s doing exactly what he should be doing,” Sen. Rick Scott said Monday night. “He’s going through every agency and looking at how to make sure the money’s spent right.” Wait, isn’t …

Florida Politics reports: Eight months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 2018 ban on bump stocks that enable semiautomatic rifles to fire at machine gun-like speeds, Florida should do the same, says state Rep. Toby Overdorf. Overdorf, a Palm City Republican, has filed legislation (HB 6013) to repeal a ban on the controversial gun accessories, which have been …

“Promises made, promises kept. Donald Trump told you he was gonna do everything to secure this nation and that’s what he’s done. No talking points, no silly blue-ribbon panels that go nowhere, no meetings that do absolutely nothing. Decisive action with results, that’s what Donald Trump has brought here. “Listen, nobody wants to be in an out-and-out trade war, there’s …

“What’s funny to me as an economist, Sandra, is if you go back to 2018, 2019, when the president, President Trump imposed historic tariffs on China: steel and aluminum, solar, dishwashers, other products. Those very same people, whether they’re on the Hill, or whether they’re in think tanks, or whether they’re in the ivory tower, or whether they’re on the …

The Washington Post reports: Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled plans to restructure and potentially abolish the U.S. Agency for International Development on Monday, moving swiftly against an agency that has emerged as a chief target in President Donald Trump’s drive to reshape the federal government and refocus spending at home. n a letter to senior lawmakers from both parties, …

“After extensive consideration of her nomination, I will support Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence. As one of the principal authors of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that established this coordinating position, I understand the critical role the DNI plays in the Intelligence Community. “The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, however, …

Mediaite reports: Trump’s State Department is hiring first-term Trump speechwriter Darren Beattie to a top job just 15 weeks after he submitted that “competent white men must be in charge” in one of many controversial, resurfaced tweets. Semafor broke the news on Sunday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will appoint Beattie as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy at …

“It’s gonna hurt Americans, American companies, American exporters. It will hurt American consumers long term. Sometimes you can use trade to try to get your trading partners to do something they ordinarily wouldn’t do or sometimes to raise revenue. “But in general, tariffs are a tax. When you have something, you get less of it. So you probably get fewer …

The Grand Forks Herald reports: “Wonder if the CIA would help Trump overthrow and kick this Jew out of power in Mexico?” state Rep. Nico Rios, a Republican from Williston, wrote in a post on X on Sunday, Feb. 2. Rios writes many stupid things on social media. He recently argued that an economy where women with children work outside …

“So here’s the thing I think a lot of folks don’t appreciate about Greenland: it’s really important to our national security. There are sea lanes there that the Chinese use, that the Russians use that, frankly, Denmark – which controls Greenland – it’s not doing its job and being a good ally. “So you have to ask yourself, how are …