Republicans

Newsweek reports: A Florida Republican group has been condemned for inviting Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, to speak with them while the pair await trial for human trafficking offenses. The Tampa Bay Young Republicans shared the invitation on social media Thursday as the two brothers arrived in Florida after Romanian prosecutors lifted a two-year travel ban. Andrew and Tristan …

NBC News reports: A federal appeals court struck down provisions in two Arizona voting laws that sought to increase proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration, saying that parts of the law amounted to “voter suppression.” The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, upholds the findings of a lower court that blocked the 2022 Arizona …

Rolling Stone reports: Donald Trump’s Department of Education has launched a new portal for Americans to rat out the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at their local public schools. The portal, called EndDEI.ed.gov, debuted with a press release that featured no government authorities, but rather a quote from a co-founder of the reactionary group Moms for Liberty, which is infamous …

The Des Moines Register reports: Over the protests of hundreds of Iowans chanting “no hate in our state,” Iowa’s Republican-dominated Legislature voted Thursday to pass a bill removing gender identity as a protected class in the state’s civil rights act. Democrats warned history wouldn’t look kindly upon lawmakers for inviting oppression of transgender Iowans. The bill, which Gov. Kim Reynolds was …

Altoona’s CBS affiliate reports: A Representative announced plans to introduce a bill that would charge someone with a third-degree felony if they take a minor to a drag show. The bill, authored by Rep. Robert Leadbeter (R – Columbia), looks to change how Pennsylvania law defines the phrase “tends to corrupt.” Leadbeter noted in his legislation that, “to avoid any …

Politico reports: Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Thursday that he’s trying to schedule a meeting of House Republicans with Elon Musk soon to discuss the work of DOGE. Johnson, who met with Musk at the White House late Tuesday, said Musk would “meet with either small groups of members, appropriators or maybe all the House Republicans,” likely next week or …

The Hill reports: Republican senators vented their concerns about tech billionaire Elon Musk’s aggressive approach to freezing federal spending and cutting government jobs during a private meeting with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Wednesday. Gathered in the historic Mansfield Room outside the Senate chamber, some GOP senators complained about what they view as a lack of transparency …

“Clearly, the federal government has jurisdiction. Whether they want to rebuff his entry into the United States, and I have confidence that — whether it’s Pam Bondi or Kristi Noem — that they will be looking at that. “I do know our attorney general, James Uthmeier, is looking at what state and jurisdiction we may have to be able to …

Reuters reports: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed concerns that Washington is ending foreign aid, saying waivers had been provided to life-saving aid. Only weeks later, the administration decided to terminate more than 90% of the programs globally, according to a February 25 court document, including many that were initially covered by waivers such as work tackling HIV …

KAITLIN COLLINS: And we’ve seen the blowback that some Republicans in your caucus are getting when they go back home to their districts, worried about these cuts or worried about what DOGE is doing. Do you have concerns that that’s anything that Democrats will be able to use to run against those Republicans? JOHNSON: No, no, I don’t because the …

The Associated Press reports: Thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development workers who have been fired or placed on leave as part of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the agency are being given a brief window Thursday and Friday to clear out their workspaces. Many USAID workers saw the administration’s terms for retrieving their belongings as insulting. In the notice, …

The Hill reports: Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) says he is preparing legislation to feature President Trump on a new $250 bill. “Grateful to announce that I am drafting legislation to direct the Bureau of Graving and Printing to design a $250 bill featuring Donald J. Trump,” Wilson wrote in a Tuesday post on X with a mock-up of the proposed …

Raw Story reports: Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) has a warning for veterans: you’ll have to “contribute” to society if you need food assistance. Speaking to Fox Business on Wednesday, Fallon, a Trump loyalist who has been accused of illegally failing to disclose millions in stock trades, laid down his case for the new restrictions on SNAP. “We have a message for …

The Texas Tribune reports: A top Texas senator filed legislation Monday that would extend the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to K-12 public schools. Sen. Brandon Creighton, the Conroe Republican who chairs the Senate Committee on Education K-16, introduced both Senate Bill 12 and Senate Bill 1565 after Gov. Greg Abbott expressed support in his State of …

The Detroit Free Press reports: In a brief news conference after the House session, state Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, said the high court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, “defaced the definition of marriage, undermined our God-given rights, increased persecution of Christians and confused the American family structure.” He also said that children raised by same-sex couples face more challenges in …

The Daily Beast reports: Rep. Dan Crenshaw’s apparent threat to Tucker Carlson drew backlash from the right on Monday, especially after the Texas Republican was caught out denying it ever happened. In a hot mic moment after an interview with British journalist and GB News correspondent Steven Edginton, Crenshaw was asked if he had ever met the former Fox News host. …

NBC News reports: House Republicans are becoming weary and wary of in-person town hall meetings after a number of lawmakers have faced hometown crowds angry about the Trump administration’s push to slash government programs and staffing. Party leaders suggest that if lawmakers feel the need to hold such events, they do tele-town halls or at least vet attendees to avoid …

The Oklahoma Voice reports: A bill that would ban schools from using corporal punishment on students with disabilities passed the Senate on Tuesday despite concerns it removes local control and could go against parental wishes. The state Department of Education has already prohibited the practice, but Senate Bill 364 seeks to codify into state law a ban against deliberately causing …

Florida Politics reports: U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds officially announced that he will run for Florida Governor. “I’m here to announce my candidacy to be the next Governor of the great state of Florida,” Donalds said in a prime-time interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “I think now is the time to now take the mantle and lead our state into …

Politico reports: GOP leaders successfully flipped Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), who had been a holdout on their budget plan. Republicans pulled their first vote after three Republicans, including Spartz, indicated they would vote against the budget resolution. They called for a second vote after flipping Spartz. Earlier in the day Trump had placed a call to one of the GOP …