Republicans

“Terrorist attack in NOLA similar to the one in the German Christmas market. What did we expect would happen with wide open borders and millions of gotaways? The problem is no one trust the FBI under the current leadership, so everyone is questioning every detail they can find in their own. What an absolute disaster America is in.” – Rep. …

Axios reports: House Republicans on Wednesday released their proposed rules package for the 119th Congress, which includes several notable changes to the rules that governed the lower chamber for the last two years. The most crucial alteration raises the threshold to introduce a motion to vacate — a measure to force a vote on ousting the House speaker. Instead of …

“I think we truly had some very disturbing things happen with the FBI and their involvement. They created many entrapment scenarios on American citizens who were simply patriotic and wanted to express their First Amendment rights. Instead they were enticed and encouraged to do things that they didn’t even know might be illegal.” – GOP Rep. Eric Burlison, speaking on …

“BREAKING: I just announced a statewide tour next week. I’ll be visiting individual state representative districts with incumbents who continue to obstruct a Speaker elected by a majority of Republicans. Texans expect a Republican-led majority to elect a Speaker by a majority of Republican state representatives. “Take this as a warning. If you’re making deals with Democrats to block a …

Florida Politics reports: People in Florida today, regardless of their immigration status, have a right to seek civil action under the 14th Amendment’s “due process” clause. That could change under a new proposal from outgoing state Rep. Joel Rudman. Rudman, a Navarre Republican who is leaving office to run for Congress, just filed legislation (HB 71) to ban any “unauthorized …

CNN reports: Congress has never before tried to certify a presidential election without a House speaker in place, and Republicans across Washington are privately trying to game out what might happen if that scenario were to arise. So far, GOP lawmakers and senior advisers say they have found no clear options to certify Trump’s win without a speaker, according to …

The Hill reports: Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said Tuesday that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) does not have the votes to keep the gavel and that he remains undecided on whether he can support the Louisiana Republican in the Friday floor vote, despite President-elect Trump endorsing Johnson. “I remain undecided, as do a number of my colleagues, because we saw so …

Colorado Politics reports: Thanking the Almighty for the death of a 100-year-old man best known for building houses and farming peanuts is a step beyond even most of the uncharitable eulogies we’ve seen from anyone in the barely a day since former President Carter’s death. Rep. Matt Soper has a reputation as one of the more intellectual members of the …

“I think that the die has been cast pretty much. But as I stated I will make up my mind on Friday and I will talk to Mike, maybe President Trump even and to discuss some ideas and issues that I have. “But Mike’s been a good friend to me and there is nobody more honest that I have dealt …

The Associated Press reports: The adult son of North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer [photo] was sentenced to serve 28 years in prison Monday in connection with a wild chase in which he fled from a hospital and drove into a deputy’s vehicle, killing the deputy. Ian Cramer, 43, pleaded guilty in September to all of the charges against him, including …

Roll Call reports: When newly elected senators are sworn in Jan. 3 at the Capitol, one member won’t be there: Republican Jim Justice says he’ll serve out his term as West Virginia governor and postpone joining the Senate until his gubernatorial successor is inaugurated on Jan. 13. Justice said he wanted to avoid a scenario under which the state would …

The Parkersburg News-Sentinel reports: The West Virginia Water Development Authority approved giving $5 million to an Ohio-based Catholic-affiliated career and vocational college to expand into the state and to create a conservative think tank without a required recommendation from one of three state officials. The Water Development Authority (WDA) unanimously approved providing $5 million in Economic Enhancement Grant Fund (EEGF) …

“Unfortunately, we will not be able to deliver on President Trump’s agenda as happened in 2016 because it has to be done legislatively. If we don’t have a Speaker with the courage, vision and the plan – and if Speaker Johnson wants to be speaker – then he needs to lay out the plan and commit to that plan, not …

The Hill reports: President-elect Trump offered his complete and total endorsement of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday, days before a House vote on Friday to elect a new Speaker. “Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!” …

Austin’s ABC affiliate reports: Gov. Abbott’s office released a full statement on Sunday shortly after news of Jimmy Carter’s passing. In the statement, Abbott said Americans owe Carter gratitude for his service as the 39th president of the United States and extended prayers and condolences to the entire Carter family. But Abbott mistakenly extended condolences to Jimmy Carter’s late wife, …

“Here’s a reality that we have to deal with. By the end of the century, we’re projected to have a population decline. Our birth rate in the last 15 years has dropped from two children per woman to 1.66 per woman. So, the reality is we have a long-term population decline. We have a workforce shortage of doctors, nurses, engineers, …

Axios reports: If measured by the number of bills signed into law, the 118th Congress was by far the most unproductive since at least the 1980s, according to data from public affairs firm Quorum. That is not the only metric of success, but the stunning stat is a marker of how difficult the chaos of the last two years made …

The Washington Post reports: Azerbaijan demanded Sunday that Russia admit responsibility for the incident that led to the crash of a passenger plane on Christmas Day, killing 38 people, and pay compensation to the government and affected families. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in televised remarks that the national carrier’s plane, which was supposed to land in Grozny, the capital …

“The guy’s worth $450 billion as of today. So I don’t think he’s doing it for the money. He’s doing it for the bigger project and the bigger vision of America. He doesn’t need the dollars. He really doesn’t. So it’s not about, ‘If I get involved in this, I’ll get another little contract here or there.’ That’s nothing to …

“We know the movement that we have in Arizona, and I will never take that for granted. But there is a corrupt machine here that is hellbent on making sure I never hold office. So, I won’t put my family (and myself) through the torture of running again. I will go to Washington, D.C., return VOA News to its glory …