Republicans

Politico reports: Former first lady Melania Trump is slated to be the honored guest speaker today at a naturalization ceremony for new citizens in the rotunda of the Archives’ headquarters. It is, to put it mildly, an unusual billing. How did it happen that a resident of the same Mar-a-Lago estate whose bathrooms were used to store thousands of allegedly …

The Messenger reports: Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin suggested that President Joe Biden may not qualify for impeachment in the House GOP investigation because if he did commit a crime, he isn’t holding that same office anymore or wasn’t even in office at the time. “The bar is real high. There’s not question about it,” Mullin said in an interview …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis is weighing in on destruction of a holiday installation at the Iowa State Capitol, vowing assistance to a “Christian veteran” who beheaded the Satanic Temple’s Baphomet display. The Governor was responding to reporting by “The Republic Sentinel” that credited Michael Cassidy with beheading the statue and then trashing the severed skull. “I saw this …

The Magnolia Tribune reports: During the 2022 congressional campaign, Cassidy’s residency, voting history, and campaign rhetoric all drew scrutiny. Cassidy said he has resided in Mississippi since 2016 but changed his voter registration approximately a year prior once he was off active duty from the U.S. Navy. He said he returned to Pensacola, Florida to vote during those years before …

The Messenger reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Thursday voiced his support for prosecutors in the state’ decision to seek the death penalty for a man indicted for the sexual battery of a child. He noted it’s the first case to challenge Supreme Court decisions concerning rape since DeSantis signed legislation to “make pedophiles eligible for the death penalty.” The top …

NBC News reports: Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., filed a complaint Friday alleging judicial misconduct by a federal judge who has overseen various Jan. 6-related cases. Stefanik, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump and member of House GOP leadership, formally requested an ethics investigation into U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell over what the New York Republican called a …

The Hill reports: Marc Short, once the chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, said Thursday that Pence isn’t likely to endorse President Trump for the 2024 election. “I don’t think President Trump should be holding his breath for that,” Short said of an endorsement, in an appearance on The Hill on NewsNation. “I certainly would not anticipate …

The Associated Press reports: A federal appeals court will hear arguments Friday over whether the election interference charges filed against Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows should be moved from a state court to federal court. Meadows, who is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, is accused of scheming to keep the Republican in power …

Axios reports: Former President Trump is mostly keeping his distance from key Senate races in GOP primaries. But privately, Trump’s team is working closely with the Republican Senate campaign group, which is trying to avoid fielding extreme, scandal-plagued candidates in 2024. It’s a strategy shift for Trump and the National Republican Senatorial Committee from last year, when several far-right, Trump-backed …

Mediaite reports: Rudy Giuliani’s own attorney compared him to a fanatical “flat-earther” who will never stop believing the 2020 election lie, and asked the jury to “have sympathy” when determining how much he owes the plaintiffs in his defamation suit. The civil case was brought by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers whose lives were upended after …

Click On Detroit reports: New charges approved Thursday against the 42-year-old son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer included an upgraded homicide count in a crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy. Ian Cramer initially faced a manslaughter charge related to the Dec. 6 death of Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Martin on a highway near Hazen. A judge on …

Des Moines’ CBS affiliate reports: The Satanic Temple of Iowa says a statue in its Iowa capitol display was destroyed “beyond repair.” The display made headlines this week when an Eastern Iowa state lawmaker called for the governor to remove it, calling the display “blasphemous.” Governor Kim Reynolds issued a statement saying, “In a free society, the best response to …

The Texas Tribune reports: Attorney General Ken Paxton is turning up the heat in the Republican primary for Texas’ highest criminal court, where three judges are up for reelection. Paxton has long made clear he would be going after the Republican judges over their 2021 ruling that struck down the attorney general’s ability to unilaterally prosecute voter fraud, saying that …

The Guardian reports: On Wednesday Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma’s governor, signed an executive order effectively banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at agencies and public colleges and universities across the state. The order prohibits them from using state funds, property or resources towards DEI initiatives and orders them to dismiss “non-critical personnel”. It is effective immediately, but institutions are expected …

The Messenger reports: McCarthy, in a nearly hour-long interview with a small group of reporters in his hideaway Capitol office on Thursday afternoon, took aim at Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the man who spearheaded the push to dispose him as speaker. “He’s just, you know, people study that type of crazy mind — maybe at the FBI,” McCarthy said of …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: Missouri Republican lawmakers have pre-filed more than 20 bills aimed at restricting LGBTQ rights ahead of the 2024 legislative session, which begins next month. One target for lawmakers appears to be removing the expiration date from the gender-affirming care ban and a grandfather clause that allowed minors to continue hormone therapy or puberty blockers if …

Newsweek reports: Representative Matt Gaetz has a new Republican enemy in Senator Markwayne Mullin. Gaetz criticized Mullin for profiting off stocks while serving as a member of Congress this week, renewing his long-held position against lawmakers trading stocks. Retweeting a post on X from Quiver Quantitative that found Mullin increased his net worth by $51 million between 2018 when he …

ABC News reports: Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) addressed fellow lawmakers on the House floor on his final day in Washington as a member of Congress on Thursday afternoon. “I had the privilege of being a leader for five years and I think about did I leave this place better than I received it?” McCarthy said. The former Speaker of the …

“The Democrats opened this can. They opened this can, and now the can is open. Democrats impeached Donald Trump not once, but twice. And they did it on the basis of no criminality. They did not even allege criminality in their impeachment proceedings. “They opened inquiries over a phone call that he had with Volodymyr Zelenskyy with regard, actually, specifically …

The New York Times reports: Republicans battling to hold onto the New York House seat vacated by George Santos chose on Thursday another relatively unknown candidate with a remarkable biography but a thin political résumé to run in a special election next year, according to three party officials briefed on the decision. After extensive vetting, Republican leaders selected Mazi Melesa …