Republicans

The Guardian reports: Rand Paul has launched a talking filibuster in protest of the $95bn foreign aid package making its way through the Senate, $60bn of which would be sent to Ukraine and $14bn of which would be directed to Israel. In a rambling speech, Paul addressed disparate topics like Covid-19 vaccinations and immigration. On the topic of foreign aid, …

The Detroit Free Press reports: State Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, lost his staff and his spot on a legislative committee as punishment for sharing a social media post amplifying a racist conspiracy theory. House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, announced Monday his decision to reassign Schriver’s staff and remove him from the House Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation Committee. …

The Hill reports: A summit aimed at rivaling the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and featuring prominent Republican critics of former President Trump will take place in Washington later this month. The group Principles First is set to host a summit Feb. 23-25 at the Conrad hotel “focused on advancing a more principled center-right politics in the United States” and …

Sen. J.D. Vance writes for American Conservative: The Republican establishment of Washington is so obsessively committed to Ukraine that they will use every tool at their disposal to apply pressure to other Republicans to write that big Ukraine check. The problem is that every time they apply pressure, they create an opening for Democrats and the media to tank our …

The Meidas Touch reports: Rep. Clay Higgins has always been pretty bizarre. He has a penchant for making menacing speeches at witnesses appearing before Congress, often threatening them with jail or some other consequence as a result of whatever conspiracy he has cooked up in his head to involve them in. His latest obsession is what he has called “ghost …

Florida Politics reports: Tuesday’s PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee will mull Rep. Chuck Brannan’s HB 1349, which would compel schools to start teaching the “History of Communism” in grades K-12. The lessons are intended to be “age and developmentally appropriate,” and it would indeed be interesting to see how teachers of young students deal with such heady topics as the history of …

Mediaite reports: SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly got roasted over her complaints about the inclusion of the “so-called Black National Anthem” at the Super Bowl, and for other comments on the game’s halftime show featuring Usher. During the pre-game ceremonies, Kelly waded into race with her trademark sensitivity by complaining about singing star Andra Day’s rendition of “Lift Every Voice and …

ABC News reports: Republican candidate Nikki Haley on Monday released a new digital ad attack against rival and former President Donald Trump, reviving his past comments mocking military veterans. The digital spot, shared exclusively with ABC News, is part of a $4 million ad buy from Haley’s campaign and highlights comments made by the former president about the late Republican …

The Hill reports: House Republicans are eyeing a redo on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week after the conference fell short of penalizing the embattled cabinet head in a stunning — and embarrassing — fashion. The House is slated to hold another vote on impeaching Mayorkas on Tuesday, which Republicans expect to be successful as Majority Leader Steve …

Bloomberg News reports: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said it was a mistake for former President Donald Trump to say he would abandon NATO members to a Russian incursion if the allies failed to meet defense-spending commitments. “Do we want NATO to pay more? Of course we do. But the last thing we’re going to do is side with a …

“I don’t even know how to justify that. Why not play the Mexican national anthem, or the Italian national anthem, or the French national anthem? There are a lot of groups, like Tikvah, the Israeli national anthem. This country is made up of people that come from places that have other national anthems, and it’s pretty damn insulting. The people …

CNN reports: Donors no longer want to contribute to their campaigns. Primary opponents are lining up to take them out. And some of them have been ex-communicated from caucuses on Capitol Hill. The eight House Republicans who took the unprecedented step of removing Kevin McCarthy from the speakership are facing blowback, both in Washington and back home. It’s a sign …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Republican Party of Texas’ executive committee voted Saturday to pass a resolution stating that the party will not associate with antisemites — a reversal from December, when a similar measure was narrowly and controversially defeated following outcry over a major donor group’s ties to white supremacists. The antisemitism resolution, which passed unanimously with two abstentions, …

“She’s clearly susceptible to community pressure, peer pressure, so I think we should use our voices to pressure her to vote for the right candidate, for the Republican candidate, instead of just assuming she’s gonna vote for Biden and boxing her in. I think we should try to win her over to our side. “I’m a Swiftie, I’m a Republican …

Axios reports: The Texas GOP’s executive committee voted to censure House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) on Saturday for his part in the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton and appointing Democrats to chair House committees, among other issues. The censure measure is another instance of the deep infighting that has marked the Texas GOP in the past year, with an …

“I mean, they’re calling him a grumpy old man. They’re attacking Donald Trump. I remember when Melania Trump was not visible for some period of time. You have people in the media and others snickering and speculating that she was no longer with Donald Trump. “We find out later, of course, that she was caring for her ailing mother, who …

“I’ve said for over a year many times that Joe Biden would not be on the ticket and Michelle Obama would be the likely nominee. It’s clear the Democrat deep state run by Barack Obama knew they had to take him down to give them a chance in November. “They set him up in the report calling him a ‘sympathetic, …

Axios reports: Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.), the chair of the House Select Committee on China, said Saturday he will not seek reelection in November. Gallagher is the fourth Republican committee chair to announce their retirement in 2024 and the second just this week. Gallagher’s announcement comes just days after his controversial vote against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. His …

Politico reports: Nikki Haley is stepping up her attacks on Donald Trump’s age — this time at his own rally in South Carolina. The Haley campaign on Saturday will parade a mobile billboard around the Myrtle Beach area, including by Trump’s rally in Conway, where the former president will appear for the first time this year in the state ahead …

“I think people see now how far Matt Gaetz will go and the fear he has of what’s in the ethics complaint. He’s trying to protect himself, and that harms our caucus, that harms our majority. In the end, people will see why Gaetz would want to do that. And I think in the end, Gaetz would have a hard …