Republicans

Mediaite reports: Amid the looming chaos of a failed spending bill designed to avoid a government shutdown, Senator Rand Paul offered a unique solution: name the world’s richest man the Speaker of the House. In a Thursday morning message on X, the social media platform owned by said “world’s richest man,” Senator Paul suggested that Elon Musk replace Rep. Mike …

The Hill reports: Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) handling of an end-of-year spending deal is throwing his grasp on his gavel into uncertain territory ahead of a critical Jan. 3 Speaker vote, as some GOP lawmakers question their support for the Louisiana Republican. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Wednesday came out against Johnson in light of the spending deal, pledging to …

“President Musk this morning made it clear – with all his vast government experience, which is basically, he became rich on the federal government – that he doesn’t want Republicans to pass this. And seemingly, Vice President Trump kind of backed him up at that point. And what it says about the politics is this is going to be a …

NBC News reports: Former Rep. David Rivera, R-Fla., was indicted Tuesday on charges that he violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act and laundered funds in order to “conceal and promote his criminal conduct,” the Justice Department said on Wednesday. In the indictment, Rivera is accused of working “as an agent” of Raul Gorrín Belisario, a Venezuelan national who the Treasury …

Media Matters has the transcript: SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (GUEST): But the problem is I got with the farm bill is it’s gonna be $1.5 trillion and $200 billion goes to the farmers in a five year period, and $1.3 trillion – STEVE BANNON (HOST): Food stamps. TUBERVILLE: Goes to food stamps. Now we need to start cutting and, and you …

The Huffington Post reports: The Oklahoma State Department of Education proposed a new administrative rule on Tuesday that would require school districts to collect data on undocumented students in the state. The agency that oversees the state’s public and charter schools announced the proposed rule about a month before President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised an unprecedented crackdown on undocumented …

NBC News reports: Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Wednesday announced the state has obtained an arrest warrant for attempted felony murder against Ryan Routh, who is already being held in federal custody on charges of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump. It’s a continuation of a back-and-forth between the Biden administration and Florida Republican leaders over the state’s role in …

“I think that he’s been transparent. You know, the problem that we had with the Bidens, they never were transparent with where their money came from. We know that Donald Trump owns properties in foreign countries. We know what he owns in the United States. “You know, I think the American people knew that when they voted to reelect. So …

Raw Story reports: Outgoing Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is not taking news that the House Ethics Committee will release what is expected to be a highly damaging report on him before Christmas lightly, and has posted a warning to his soon-to-be ex-colleagues on X on Wednesday afternoon. After posting a long screed on X earlier professing his innocence while also …

Newsweek reports: The Senate approved a defense bill on Wednesday that includes substantial pay raises for junior enlisted service members and increases overall military spending to $895 billion. The legislation also eliminates coverage for transgender medical treatments for children of military personnel. The annual defense authorization bill, which has passed Congress without fail for nearly six decades, typically enjoys strong …

CNN reports: The House Ethics Committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report into the conduct of former Rep. Matt Gaetz before the end of this Congress, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter. The report is now expected to be made public after the House’s final day of votes this year as lawmakers leave Washington …

The Washington Post reports: A man convicted of killing his brother and three other men in 1997 was executed in Indiana early Wednesday — the state’s first execution in 15 years. A statement from the Indiana Department of Correction said Joseph Corcoran was pronounced dead at 12:44 a.m. at a state prison in Michigan City, Ind. His wife, Tahina Corcoran, …

Via press release from Texas AG Ken Paxton: Attorney General Ken Paxton took action following reports that the Biden Administration is illegally selling segments of the border wall at the United States-Mexico border. Recent reports suggested the Biden Administration may be auctioning off up to half a mile per day of border wall sections for a mere fraction of the …

Florida Politics reports: No one in Florida will be able to access Pornhub, the most trafficked pornography website worldwide, as of Jan. 1. Officials with Aylo, the parent company to the site, confirmed it will deny access for all users geo-located in the state. An email from the company made clear the restriction will happen in protest of new age …

The Hill reports: Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt (Mo.) on Tuesday blocked a request by Democratic senators to pass legislation to protect federal workers from civil service reforms that President-elect Trump has endorsed to fight what he calls the “deep state” in Washington, D.C. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) stood on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon to ask for unanimous consent …

The New York Post reports: House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul said Tuesday that he believes that some unidentified drones spotted above New Jersey and New York are “spy drones” from China — after Biden administration officials insisted many of the aircraft are innocent commercial aircraft. “We want answers but the response I’m getting is we don’t know whose …

The Huffington Post reports: The lawmaker leading Republicans’ counter-investigation into the House Jan. 6 committee said former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) should face a criminal investigation over her committee work. In a report published Tuesday, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, said Cheney may have illegally tampered with a witness and encouraged that witness …

NewsNation reports: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is threatening to hold up a short-term funding package that needs to pass by the end of the day Friday to avoid a government shutdown unless leaders in Congress agree to vote on amendments to offset the cost of new spending in the proposal. Paul has significant leverage to force colleagues to vote on …

The Hill reports: “To all the idiots who claimed the shooter was trans with no information whatsoever to believe that, f**k off. Your ignorance speaks volumes. Your hate is consuming your brains (or what’s left of them),” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis) wrote early Tuesday on the social platform X, responding to a post by former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) that …

The Assembly reports: When Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson greeted his fellow members of the Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies over Google Meet last week, his screen name raised some eyebrows—and a few giggles. There at the bottom of his window was the online handle heard ‘round the world: minisoldr. Earlier this year, Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign came apart after an Assembly report …