Republicans

The Associated Press reports: Two public school districts and several parents have sued the state in a bid to undo anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people in Pennsylvania, saying that the two-year-old regulation is illegal because it goes beyond what lawmakers intended or allowed. The lawsuit, filed in the statewide Commonwealth Court late Thursday, comes amid a debate in …

“This week, I met with some Alaskan USAID employees. They not only informed me of the confusing and callous handling of personnel matters by OPM and DOGE, but they also painted an incredibly troubling picture of what the world looks like without humanitarian assistance from the United States. “Although I support measures to find inefficiencies within the agency, USAID’s mission …

Axios reports: Secretary of State Marco Rubio is launching an AI-fueled “Catch and Revoke” effort to cancel the visas of foreign nationals who appear to support Hamas or other designated terror groups, senior State Department officials tell Axios. The effort — which includes AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders’ social media accounts — marks a dramatic …

“Voters are thinking about everything else Democrats have said over the past decade or so. They’re wondering what other scams the party has been running. And that might explain why according to a recent poll from The Economist and YouGov, only 48% of Americans right now support the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage. 38% oppose it and the rest are …

The Hill reports: In letters exclusively provided to The Hill, AARP’s senior vice president of government affairs Bill Sweeney addressed leaders of the House Energy & Commerce Committee and Senate Finance panel. “More than half of all the funds for long-term care in America come from Medicaid. As our country gets older, and as millions of Baby Boomers continue to …

The Guardian reports: The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, and, later, Elon Musk showed support on Wednesday for the firing of a state employee who refused to remove his pronouns from his work email signature. Frank Zamora, 31, was let go from his job as a program manager at the Texas real estate commission (TREC) last month because he refused to …

The Oklahoman reports: The Senate Education Appropriations subcommittee presented its budget recommendation for the Oklahoma State Department of Education Wednesday, which nixed a $3 million request by the agency to place Bibles in classrooms. In January, Walters presented his agency’s proposed budget to the subcommittee, which included $3 million to place Bibles in classrooms. The request was not considered by …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Less than half of young LGBTQ Floridians feel accepted in their communities, according to a new report released by The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that provides crisis support for LGBTQ young people, surveyed almost 1,000 young LGBTQ Floridians about their mental health, and 48% felt the community they live in was accepting of …

Johnson City’s ABC affiliate reports: A bill to make public school systems require students seeking to enroll to show documentation of U.S. citizenship or legal status passed Tennessee’s Senate Education Committee 5-4 Wednesday. The bill, which is co-sponsored by Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) in the Senate, would allow public school systems to charge tuition to students who aren’t documented in …

NBC News reports: Hayden Haynes, the chief of staff to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and one of the most powerful aides on Capitol Hill, was arrested after President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress on suspicion of drunken driving after his car struck a Capitol vehicle, two law enforcement sources told NBC News. One of the sources told NBC …

NBC News reports: The Republican-controlled House on Thursday voted to censure Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, for disrupting President Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday. The vote was 224-198, with 10 Democrats joining all Republicans in voting in favor of the censure resolution. Green voted present. As the vote proceeded, Green sat by himself along the center aisle. Following the …

“I am grateful to move HJR0051 forward with a positive recommendation to the State and Local Committee. I believe it is important to seek Almighty God’s hand of blessing in our state. As our Founders sought His help, I think it is important to seek His help today. If we are to pass on a free and prosperous state to …

NOTUS reports: Lawmakers are scrambling to avoid a government shutdown, as members of both parties say they don’t want funding to lapse next week. But one person might not mind if Congress misses the deadline: Elon Musk. “Sounds great,” he wrote last week on X of a potential shutdown. Musk has already demonstrated his ability to derail Republican leaders’ plans …

Austin’s NRP affiliate reports: A student LGBTQ+ organization is suing Texas A&M University over its newly adopted policy banning drag performances on its public campuses. The federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of the Queer Empowerment Council, a coalition of student groups at Texas A&M University-College Station. The lawsuit aims to block the university from enforcing the policy, which the …

NBC News reports: Elon Musk met with Senate Republicans for nearly two hours in a closed-door lunch meeting Wednesday, seeking to reassure them amid voter anxiety over the sweeping cuts his Department of Government Efficiency is making. They discussed a “rescission” package that the White House could send to Congress to codify his cuts through a measure that can get …

Mediaite reports: The official campaign account of House Republicans referred to Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) as “an illegal immigrant” on Wednesday, prompting fierce backlash. On Tuesday night, Espaillat delivered the Spanish-language response to President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. The lawmaker, who represents parts of Manhattan and the Bronx as part of New York’s 13th congressional …

Axios reports: Florida’s next attorney general could be the ex-congressman who almost became President Trump’s U.S. attorney general: Matt Gaetz. In a hypothetical primary matchup against Attorney General James Uthmeier, Gaetz was favored 39%-21%, according to a recent survey of likely Republican voters by Tony Fabrizio, one of the nation’s top pollsters who works for Donald Trump and several GOP …

The New York Times reports: Florida’s insurance regulator has demanded an unusually intrusive trove of data on millions of prescription drugs filled in the state last year, including the names of patients taking the medications, their dates of birth and doctors they’ve seen. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation in January sought this information from pharmacy benefit managers like UnitedHealth’s …

Fox News reports: Competing resolutions to censure Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, are causing some division within the House GOP on Wednesday. The Texas Democrat was thrown out of President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night after repeatedly attempting to interrupt the speech, minutes after it began. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-WA, a moderate Republican, announced …

Courthouse News reports: Lawmakers in the Texas Senate Education K-16 Committee gave initial approval Tuesday to two bills that would put more Christian teachings and practices in public schools, setting Republicans up with a second chance after similar proposals failed to become law in 2023. Senate Bill 10, authored by Weatherford Republican Senator Phil King [photo], would require a 16 by …