Republicans

Florida Politics reports: Patrick Bailey, the former Treasurer for the Hillsborough County Republican Party, has been arrested on charges of third-degree grand theft and false entry in books of business. Bailey is accused of illegally transferring funds and writing himself personal checks from the GOP’s business account. He was arrested Thursday in Brandon by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s Economic …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit accusing a New York doctor of prescribing abortion drugs to a Texas resident in violation of state law. This lawsuit is the first attempt to test what happens when state abortion laws are at odds with each other. New York has a shield law that protects providers …

CNN reports: Trump has chosen Ed Martin, a hardline, socially conservative activist and commentator, to serve as the next chief of staff at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As CNN first reported in July, Martin has publicly advocated for a national abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest and has raised imposing criminal penalties on women and …

The Huffington Post reports: A handful of South Carolina Republicans plan to reintroduce a bill that would define abortion as homicide — a crime punishable by death under state law. State Rep. Rob Harris (R) pre-filed the South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act and it will be introduced in the judiciary committee when the legislative session begins in January. The …

The Hill reports: Vice President-elect JD Vance (R-Ohio) confirmed Friday that he invited Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran recently acquitted of murder charges in New York, to be his guest at the Army-Navy football game over the weekend. The defendant had originally been charged with manslaughter in the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely, a homeless man who had been shouting …

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: Senate Republicans on Wednesday passed legislation that would enable patients to force hospitals into administering drugs for off-label use if the hospital’s own physicians refuse. The legislation comes after a COVID-19 pandemic when conservatives came to believe that drugs like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin, neither of which have been proven to benefit COVID-19 patients, would cure, …

St. Louis’s Fox affiliate reports: A Missouri representative is proposing a repeal of a state law that currently prevents citizens with a felony history from running for a local and state office. Republican Rep. Michael Davis of Belton, a suburb of Kansas City, pre-filed House Bill 318 on Dec. 3. The bill, named the “Donald J. Trump Election Qualification Act,” …

Lone Star Live report: Hillary Hickland, member-elect of the Texas House of Representatives’ District 55, is determined to “protect the children” by moving to ban the sale of “obscene devices” in stores that are not considered “sexually oriented businesses.” Hickland recently proposed legislation to be considered in the next legislative session, in 2025, that would prevent major retailers such as …

“I’m going to call it total bullshit that no one knows what these are. They can track down a guy that just killed a CEO, but they can’t identify what these nightly drones are and where they’re coming from. I think the Pentagon absolutely knows, but they’re full of crap. “Secondly, if they’re telling the truth, then this country is …

The Associated Press reports: A newly elected state lawmaker in West Virginia is facing at least one felony and is accused of making terroristic threats. Joseph de Soto, 61, was arrested by state police Thursday in Martinsburg following an investigation that found he made “several threatening/intimidating threats against government officials,” according to a statement from Lt. Leslie T. Goldie Jr. …

Florida Politics reports: The Florida Chamber of Commerce published its latest migration report this week, which analyzes the number of people moving into and out of the state. The analysis of 2023 shows there was a net total pickup of 126,000 people. Chamber officials acknowledged an increase in new residents is always a positive trend because the uptick will lead …

“I am pleased to announce that Kari Lake will serve as our next Director of the Voice of America. She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and …

NBC News reports: Federal officials Wednesday rejected claims the mysterious drones spotted in New Jersey are coming from an Iranian “mothership.” Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., said Wednesday on Fox News that the unidentified flying objects in his state’s skies are coming from an Iranian vessel off the East Coast — a claim the Defense Department flatly denied. Drew, who …

The Huffington Post reports: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reportedly said that President-elect Donald Trump’s victory puts Americans in “a very, very dangerous world,” stressing that he plans to spend his final two years in the Senate pushing back against the growing Trump-fueled isolationism within the GOP. While McConnell has worked to significantly move the country to the right — much …

The Raleigh New & Observer reports: With North Carolina Republicans set to lose their veto-proof supermajority come 2025, state lawmakers took their final vote Wednesday on a bill that takes away power from incoming Democrats in the executive branch, overturning a veto with a party-line 72-46 vote. Protesters shouted from the gallery overlooking the state House chamber after the vote. …

The Washington Post reports: The House on Wednesday passed an $895.2 billion defense policy bill, after Democrats blasted the inclusion of a provision — pushed at the 11th hour by Speaker Mike Johnson — to prohibit the military’s health-care system from providing specialized treatments to the transgender children of U.S. service members. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed 281 …

Fox News reports: Dozens of Republican state attorneys general are backing Kash Patel, whom President-elect Trump has chosen to lead the FBI in his next administration. In a letter to incoming Senate Republican leader John Thune, R-S.D., who currently serves as Senate minority whip, and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., 24 Republican attorneys general advocated for Patel to be the …

The Bulwark reports: “With politicians, if you’ve used a congressional committee and you’ve lied and tried to set people up and falsely imprisoned people, then you should be held accountable,” Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) told The Bulwark. “If they broke the law, then they should [be imprisoned],” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.). “Now we know that they’ve manipulated evidence, so—if …

The Imprint reports: A former foster youth and award-winning advocate for children was arrested at the U.S. Capitol tonight — a bizarre twist in an otherwise celebratory day of events — after South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace accused him of assault. The incident took place outside a House of Representatives office building following an event honoring the anniversary of a …

The Independent reports: An effort to pass a sweeping measure aimed at protecting press freedoms was struck down in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday night. The journalism shield law — which would limit the federal government’s ability to force disclosure of journalists’ sources — drew strong objections from Trump. Arkansas GOP Sen. Tom Cotton blocked Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden’s …