Republicans

Courthouse News reports: The treasurer for former Rep. George Santos’ congressional campaign was sentenced to three years of probation Wednesday after pleading guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to defraud the US, admitting to filing false campaign finance reports, obstructing the FEC and aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert handed down the sentence to Nancy Marks about …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas Legislature has given oil and gas companies legal cover to sell wastewater to be treated and released into the state’s rivers, lakes and streams. State Rep. Drew Darby’s [photo] House Bill 49 — on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott — marks a step the oil and gas industry has said is a key barrier …

Wired reports: Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican congresswoman, often tells her staff that she’s a self-taught coder—just one aspect of how Mace presents her tech expertise, as befits her role in shaping the GOP’s policies on technology and work as chair of the House subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation. “I would say [it was] at least …

Spectrum New York reports: President Donald Trump issued a full pardon on Wednesday to former Staten Island Congressman Michael Grimm. The Republican lawmaker, who represented Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn in Congress from 2011 to 2015, pleaded guilty in December 2014 to aiding and assisting the preparation of a false tax return. He served seven months in prison, one …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas House on Tuesday gave initial approval to a bill that would restrict protesting on college campuses. Republicans who support Senate Bill 2972 say it will prevent disruption and unsafe behavior seen during the pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year. Critics say the measure contradicts previous conservative efforts to protect free speech rights on Texas campuses and …

Florida Politics reports: U.S. Sen. Rick Scott isn’t a fan of the House version of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, in part because it doesn’t go big enough when it comes to budget cuts. “I want the budget balanced over the next three years. So to get that, we need to get the spending for the ’26 budget cycle down to …

The Texas Tribune reports: In the middle of the night, the Texas Senate approved a bill strictly defining man and woman based on reproductive organs on a 20-11 party line vote. The bill has already passed the House and will go now to the governor’s desk. House Bill 229 says a woman is an individual whose biological reproductive system is …

NBC News reports: Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., faced intense questioning from people at a town hall Tuesday, at one point conceding that he did not read a provision in the House’s “Big Beautiful Bill” before he voted for it, triggering loud protests from the audience. The town hall was held in a high school in Seward, Nebraska, and livestreamed on …

The Birmingham News reports: State Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) has already expressed some openness publicly to running for the seat if Tuberville ran for governor. Marshall is unable to run for attorney general for a third term and has ruled out a gubernatorial bid, but not another office. Marshall said during an interview on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal” …

“For those asking… Even though I initially considered the prospect of petitioning the president with a pardon application I have seized that approach as I will not spend the last 61 days I have of life scrambling on how to get past a bunch of guard dogs. The so called ‘friends’ I have that said they’d help legit should have …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas Senate gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would prevent cities or counties from holding a gun buyback program. The proposal also seeks to stop local governments from sponsoring or organizing such a program. State Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, told lawmakers Monday it was a “necessary guardrail against misuse of local authority.” Much …

CBS News reports: Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican whose Senate seat is up in the 2026 election, announced Tuesday that he’s seeking the state’s governor’s mansion after one term in the Senate.  Tuberville, 70, was elected to the Senate in 2020. The former Auburn University football coach, who had never held public office before coming to the Senate, is …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: A bill that would ban all products containing THC is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk after the Senate late Sunday approved the House version of the bill advanced by the lower chamber last week. If the measure avoids Abbott’s veto pen, Texas’ $8 billion hemp industry and its estimated 50,000 jobs would be dissolved in …

Nashville’s ABC affiliate reports: Two federal committees will be conducting an investigation into Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell for allegedly “aiding and abetting” illegal immigration, Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles announced on Monday. The Congressman, along with a gaggle of Tennessee elected officials at the state level and representatives from law enforcement agencies, announced the Homeland Security and Judiciary committees will look …

The Hill reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) criticized Congress Tuesday for not moving to codify cuts implemented by President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DeSantis’s comments come ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline to avoid a government shutdown and fund the government for the 2026 fiscal year. Earlier this year, Trump voiced support for Congress approving a rescission …

The Daily Beast reports: Oops! White House adviser David Sacks admitted over the weekend that the GOP’s tax bill will include significant cuts to Medicaid, despite claims from his boss and other MAGA loyalists that it will not. Sacks, who is President Donald Trump‘s AI and crypto czar, said plainly on the All-In podcast: “This bill cuts $880 billion from …

The Independent reports: Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is calling on President Donald Trump to sanction Russia after the Kremlin launched a massive drone and missile attack against Ukraine over the weekend. A fed-up Grassley demanded on his X account Monday that Trump to take punitive action against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his continued aggression in Ukraine. “I’ve had enuf …

The Texas Tribune reports: A bill that makes it easier for parents to opt their children out of school-required vaccinations is headed for Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk after passing the Texas Senate 23-9 late Sunday. State Rep. Lacey Hull’s House Bill 1586 does nothing to change the childhood vaccine schedule. Instead, it would allow parents to download at home a …

NBC News reports: As the Senate prepares to consider the sprawling domestic package that House Republicans passed last week, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he thinks there are “enough” Republicans to “stop the process” in order to prioritize stronger reductions in spending and the national deficit. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the bill would add $2.3 trillion …

FOX HOST JASON CHAFFETZ: “I have an iPhone and my guess is that you have an iPhone, I love the product. I’m a fan of Tim Cook, but boy, Donald Trump is sending a really strong signal that he wants to see that manufacturing here in the United States.” SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN: “Yes and this is all part of making …