Republicans

Punchbowl News reports: Tulsi Gabbard is on record calling for the U.S. government to “drop all charges” against Edward Snowden, wanting to repeal key intelligence-gathering tools and sometimes embracing Russian talking points regarding the wars in Syria and Ukraine. That’s even before examining Gabbard’s foreign policy views, which are far outside the mainstream of American political discourse — and even …

Politico reports: Florida will conduct a special election on April 1, 2025, to fill the House seat vacated by Matt Gaetz, kicking off a sprint among Florida Republicans to represent the deep-red district. On Friday morning, Gaetz said he did not plan to return to Congress but hasn’t announced what he’ll do next. It takes several months to fill the …

CNN reports: Trump is planning to offer the role of secretary of agriculture to former Senator Kelly Loeffler, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported on Friday. Loeffler is expected to visit Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate later in the day. Loeffler served as a senator from Georgia between 2020 and 2021, following the resignation of Johnny Isakson over health issues. She then lost the …

The Associated Press reports: Texas’ education board voted Friday to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they will receive additional …

CNN reports: Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general on Thursday, said Friday he will not be rejoining Congress next year. “I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” he told Charlie …

The Associated Press reports: Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday proposed a nearly $6.5 billion budget for the coming year that directs half of new spending toward a school voucher program. The Republican governor called for increasing the state’s budget by nearly 3%, or $182.5 million, in the fiscal year that begins July 1. Sanders detailed the budget plan …

CNN reports: President-elect Donald Trump is considering shaking up the leadership at the FBI by firing the director and installing an experienced former agent and MAGA loyalist in the top two roles. Trump has planned for months to fire Christopher Wray if he was elected, but in recent days has struggled to find a compromise of selecting a new director …

Punchbowl News reports: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) led a failed effort to oust Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this year. Democrats ended up saving his job. Yet now, less than seven months later and with a subcommittee gavel soon-to-be in hand, the MAGA firebrand is expected to support Johnson’s reelection as speaker come January, according to multiple GOP sources familiar …

The Hill reports: Republican senators are pouring cold water on the idea that President-elect Trump could force the Senate into an extended recess next year so that he would be able to fill key positions in his Cabinet without going through the Senate confirmation process. Republican senators and aides say that Trump allies who claim that the incoming president would …

Newsweek reports: Donald Trump’s nominee for Attorney General Pam Bondi has held ties to the Church of Scientology at various points throughout her career. A fundraiser for Bondi’s reelection campaign in 2014 in Clearwater, Florida, was organized by six prominent Scientologists, the Tampa Bay Times reported at the time. Christina Johnson, Bondi’s campaign spokeswoman, told the newspaper that Bondi was …

The Washington Post reports: During the Trump administration, Republicans were much more likely to say their economic positions had improved — and under Biden, far more likely to say it had worsened. Since 2022, more than half of Republicans have said their economic situations have declined over the past year. But suddenly, over the last month, that’s shifted. Among Democrats, …

USA Today reports: On Jan. 9, 2009, Linda McMahon filled out a vetting questionnaire to serve on the state board of education in Connecticut. On it, she indicated she earned a bachelor’s degree in education, according to a copy of the original form the governor’s office provided to USA TODAY. She did not. McMahon, a billionaire and wrestling executive who …

The Associated Press reports: Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. told Fox Business on Sunday that the transition team had backups in mind for his controversial nominees should they fail to get confirmed. The swift selection of Bondi came about six hours after Gaetz withdrew. Gaetz posted on social media that he looks “forward to continuing the fight to save our …

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports: Sen. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) introduced the “Returning Education to Our States Act” to the Senate on Thursday afternoon, according to a press release from his office. The bill would eliminate the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and redistribute its work to other federal departments. Educators and education lobbyists across the state have voiced …

The Hill reports: House Democrats will push to release the Ethics Committee report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) despite Gaetz’s decision Thursday to withdraw his name from the running to lead the Justice Department in President-elect Trump’s incoming administration. Rep. Sean Casten [photo] (D-Ill.), who had introduced a resolution Wednesday to force a House vote on releasing the report, …

The Washington Post reports: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy vowed “mass headcount reductions” to the federal government in an opinion piece Wednesday that sketched out their vision for President-elect Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” in the greatest detail so far. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Musk and Ramaswamy laid out their plans to slash federal regulations, cut government …

Law & Crime reports: Gaetz and Greene sued the cities of Riverside and Anaheim over a political rally that was scheduled to occur in July 2021. While the court allowed the lawsuit against the municipalities to move forward, U.S. District Judge Hernan Vera strongly rejected attempts to sue organizations like the NAACP, LULAC, the League of Women Voters and various …

Courthouse News reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to block the implementation of Proposition R, a ballot measure passed by Dallas voters that decriminalizes marijuana possession within the city limits. Also known as the Dallas Freedom Act, the measure passed Nov. 5 with close to 67% of the vote. It amends the Dallas City Charter …

Axios reports: Matt Gaetz’s former congressional colleagues, in both parties, raised a collective cheer Thursday as the onetime Florida congressman withdrew his nomination for attorney general. But the question members were left still asking: Will Gaetz return to be sworn in for his term in the 119th Congress? “This is the only decent thing Matt Gaetz has ever done,” said …

CNN reports: The woman who says she had sex when she was a minor with then-Rep. Matt Gaetz told the House Ethics Committee she had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017, sources familiar with her testimony tell CNN. The woman, who was 17 years old at the time, testified that the second sexual encounter, which has …