Republicans

Reuters reports: Republican mega-donor Bernie Marcus said on Tuesday he would likely still give money to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid if the former president was convicted of a crime – but the billionaire does not plan to be one of his biggest financial backers. Marcus, a co-founder of home improvement retailer the Home Depot announced earlier this month that …

Miami’s CBS affiliate reports: Taxpayers will not be on the hook for a multi-million judgment against Commissioner Joe Carollo. Last June, a jury found him liable for violating the First Amendment rights of businessmen William Fuller and Martin Pinilla, the operators of a string of businesses along the Little Havana business corridor that includes the iconic Ball & Chain nightclub. …

Axios reports: House Republicans are pinning their hopes on a last minute resignation from Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) to avoid what one top Republican said would be “tough votes” on expelling him. Emerging from a meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other top Republicans on Tuesday evening, Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) described multiple phone calls between …

Gainesville’s NPR affiliate reports: Family members of a Republican congressional nominee in South Florida are mourning the death of a man they described as a loving father who wrestled with addiction. Newly released police and autopsy records show he died of a fentanyl and cocaine overdose after relapsing into using drugs. Jason Mariner won the two-person GOP primary in November …

The Hill reports: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa and Lambda Legal on Tuesday sued to block a sweeping Iowa education law that restricts talk of LGBTQ identities in state schools, arguing in a federal lawsuit that the measure violates the constitutional rights of LGBTQ students. The law, which took effect July 1, requires books with descriptions or …

“All these members are pushing this. They want me to resign because they don’t want to take this tough vote that sets the precedent to their own demise in the future. They’re not immune from all the nonsense that goes on in Washington, where you all [reporters] follow them around with cameras and microphones in their faces. They don’t like …

The Huffington Post reports: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) acknowledged Tuesday that it probably wasn’t a federal agent disguised as a Donald Trump supporter in a picture he posted last week. The Utah Republican had said he wanted to ask FBI Director Christopher Wray about a claim on social media that new footage from inside the U.S. Capitol as it was …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott is starting to make good on his threat to politically target fellow Republicans who oppose school vouchers, issuing his first endorsement of a primary challenger to a House member who has helped thwart his top legislative priority of the year. Abbott on Tuesday backed Hillary Hickland, an activist mother who is running against …

Florida Politics reports: Sen. Blaise Ingoglia wants to end the debate in Florida over whether reparations should be paid to descendants of slaves — by banning it in the state constitution. On Monday, he filed a resolution (SJR 582) that would place a question on the 2024 ballot asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment prohibiting any government in Florida …

“It’s no longer breaking news when I tell the American people that there is something wrong with Joe Biden. Everyone can see that now. It’s not in question anymore. It’s what are the Democrats going to do about it? The natural course of any of these illnesses, I don’t know if it’s Alzheimer’s, dementia, or multi-infarct dementia. I’m not making …

CBS News reports: The House will try again this week to expel embattled GOP Rep. George Santos after Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia moved Tuesday to force a vote on ousting him this week. The California lawmaker introduced a “privileged” resolution to expel the New York Republican after a damning report from the House Ethics Committee earlier this month said there …

The Guardian reports: George Santos, 35, faces federal charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements, falsification of records, aggravated identity theft and credit card fraud, in a 23-count indictment in his home state. If convicted, he is likely to spend years in prison. “This story is a tragedy,” says Mark Chiusano, author of The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, …

Mediaite reports: Viewers of Mornings With Maria watched Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo receive discouraging political news in real time Tuesday morning when Republican Congresswoman Lisa McClain admitted that there is no evidence of President Joe Biden changing any policies as a “result of getting money from China.” At issue is an investigation into President Joe Biden and his family …

The New York Times reports: The political network founded by the Koch brothers is endorsing Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary race, giving her organizational muscle and financial heft as she battles Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida for second place in Iowa. The group announced its plans in a memo on Tuesday. The commitment by the network, Americans for …

“$114 million on diversity training, you gotta be kidding me. We’ve got the weakest military that we’ve had in probably a year in my lifetime. Infiltrating our military is all this wokeness and it’s coming from the top, coming from Joe Biden, coming from Secretary of Defense Austin. “We’ve had hundreds and hundreds of terrorists cross our border. It’s a …

The Hill reports: No government funding bills are scheduled to hit the House floor this week, an ominous sign for Republicans returning to Washington for the first time since their Thanksgiving recess. Lawmakers face a mid-January deadline to fund the government or enter a partial government shutdown, and the window for completing its work is fast closing. New Speaker Mike …

ABC News reports: Speaking with special counsel Jack Smith’s team earlier this year, former Vice President Mike Pence offered harrowing details about how, in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, then-President Donald Trump surrounded himself with “crank” attorneys, espoused “un-American” legal theories, and almost pushed the country toward a “constitutional crisis,” according to sources familiar with what Pence told …

The Messenger reports: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., delivered remarks on the Senate floor on Monday in which he called for lawmakers to support an aid package that would provide funding for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and the southern border. “The bottom line is simple: We don’t have the luxury of addressing glaring threats to our national security one at …

Tampa’s NBC affiliate reports: Speaker Mike Johnson visited the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport Monday morning along with other members of the Florida Delegation. A release from Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida, said the officials were there to get a tour of the airport’s expansion project. In total, the project will cost $100 million to add a five-gate terminal, a four-lane security …

“Everybody who thinks that the election was stolen or talks about the election being stolen is lying to America and that’s everyone that is making that argument. Everyone who makes the argument that January 6 was an unguided tour of the Capitol is lying to America. “Everyone who says that the prisoners who are being prosecuted right now for their …