Republicans

The Detroit News reports: The Michigan Republican Party had about $35,000 in its bank accounts in August, according to internal records that flash new warning signs about the dire state of the GOP’s finances and raise questions about whether the organization is complying with campaign finance laws. The documents, obtained by The Detroit News, cover from February when party Chairwoman …

First, from a 2018 New York Times report: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos signaled on Thursday that she intends to take a hard look at whether the Obama administration’s campus rape policies deprived accused students of their rights, saying that “a system without due process ultimately serves no one in the end.” “We need to do this right, we need to …

CNN reports: With the clock ticking down toward a government shutdown, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz approached a Democratic lawmaker on the House floor this week with a surprising pitch. Gaetz then floated veteran Republican Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma and House GOP Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota as two alternative examples he had in mind, and then attempted to gauge …

Reuters reports: Lawmakers return to Congress on Saturday with no clear path to resolving a squabble that appears likely to close wide swaths of the federal government, from national parks to financial regulation, in less than 18 hours. Infighting among Republicans who control the House of Representatives has pushed the United States to the brink of its fourth partial shutdown …

Fox News reports: During a press conference earlier this week, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador lashed out at the 38-year-old political outsider after he was asked by a reporter about the candidate’s so-called “threat” to the country. “That candidate from the Republican Party who says he is going to invade Mexico, no American of Mexican origin should vote for …

Florida Politics reports: Progressive is declining to renew approximately 100,000 policies, according to Inside P&C, an industry publication for property and casualty insurance. The publication reports that Progressive is rebalancing its homeowner’s book and will not renew 47,000 DP-3 policies and 53,000 high-risk homeowners’ policies in Florida. DP-3 policies are typically written for vacation homes, or any property that is …

NBC News reports: Top Republican senators said Friday they won’t try to prevent Democrats from replacing the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on the Judiciary Committee after the vacancy left Democrats without a majority on the key panel. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, a senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, told NBC News that “there’s no doubt in my mind” …

The Arkansas Times reports: Arkansas state Sen. Jimmy Hickey (R-Texarkana) is asking for an audit regarding Gov. Sarah Sanders’s controversial purchase of the now infamous $19,000 lectern. While they’re at it, Hickey wants the bean counters at Legislative Audit to look at the governor’s expenses and other records retroactively pulled from public view thanks to a bill just passed in …

The New York Times reports: Hard-line conservatives on Friday tanked Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s long-shot bid to pass legislation to avert a government shutdown, in an extraordinary display of defiance that made it all but certain that Congress would miss a midnight deadline on Saturday to keep federal funding flowing. It appeared clear even before the vote that the stopgap bill …

NBC News reports: When Republicans forced a government shutdown in October 2013 in a fruitless quest to defund Obamacare, their Virginia gubernatorial candidate, Ken Cuccinelli, lost by fewer than 3 points. At the time, Cuccinelli’s top strategist lamented that “more than anything,” the shutdown “is what cost us the race.” Ten years later, a new generation of House Republicans is …

NBC News reports: The Supreme Court on Friday waded into the divisive issue of online censorship by agreeing to decide the constitutionality of laws in Florida and Texas that seek to prevent social media companies from banning users for contentious rhetoric. The laws, backed by Republicans, have been characterized by their supporters as hitting back at alleged censorship of conservative …

From a 2007 CBS News report: It might sound far-fetched that a quirky collection of teapots would draw 60,000 tourists each year to Sparta, N.C., population 18,000. But the plan is being financed by your tax dollars. The Sparta Teapot Museum is the brainchild of avid teapot collectors Sonny and Gloria Kamm and North Carolina philanthropist Philip Hanes — as …

“I’ve seen conservatives stand firm and get sequestration even as Republican leaders complained and sought to undermine it. And I’ve seen conservatives fracture in shutdowns and betray each other. I’ve seen senior members of the movement decide it was time to cash in and grift out. “I’ve seen young hucksters wrap the label of conservatism around themselves and prey on …

The Washington Post reports: “I frankly don’t understand it — I think it’s sort of nuts. There are times people vote yes one day, and then they come back and vote no the next day, and can’t explain why they switched,” said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and a McCarthy ally. Gingrich led House Republicans through two different shutdowns …

Axios reports: Even a relatively brief government shutdown could exacerbate an ongoing air traffic controller shortage, with potentially serious operational and safety implications. Air travel is skyrocketing post-pandemic — the Federal Aviation Administration predicts more than 54,200 flights next Thursday, Oct. 5, ahead of the holiday weekend, which would make it the busiest travel day of the year so far. …

The Washington Post reports: A contingent of far-right House Republicans are plotting an attempt to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker as early as next week, a move that would throw the chamber into further disarray in the middle of a potential government shutdown. Some members of the far-right faction of the party are coalescing around nominating a member of …

Courthouse News reports: Yelp and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued one another on Thursday over a disagreement on whether the company mislabels crisis pregnancy centers without abortion services. As of Sept. 28, 2023, the popular review platform posts a consumer disclaimer on the business profiles of crisis pregnancy centers when they do not provide abortion services. The notice reads: …

“For the better part of six hours, I have been following these hearings, taking an hour off to do my Fox Business show earlier today. “I don’t know what was achieved over these last six plus hours. James Comer, the Oversight Committee chairman had said that there would be presented a mountain of evidence against Mr. Biden. “But none of …

The New York Times reports: In the chaos of Wednesday night’s noisy Republican presidential debate, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina interrupted Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to pose a question on abortion that Mr. DeSantis had dodged directly answering for months. Would the Florida governor sign a “15-week limit” on abortion as president, Mr. Scott asked, talking over both …

“Governor Youngkin, let me give you some unsolicited advice. Do not do this. It will not go well for you, no matter how many donors tell you it’s going to go well for you, no matter how much money is promised to you, no matter how many consultants come to you. Do not do this. I like you. I like …