Republicans

Politico Playbook reports: This morning, we have a news flash for Scott’s overzealous allies: Congratulations, your campaign appears to be backfiring, badly. MAGA posters began targeting the GOP senators listed as backing Cornyn or Thune, while others openly threatened primaries and called senators “traitors.” There’s just one problem: There’s probably no group of Republicans more insulated from an outside pressure …

The Insider reports: Elon Musk is backing Sen. Rick Scott of Florida to lead the GOP in the Senate. “Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader!” Musk wrote in an X post on Sunday, a few hours after he posted a poll asking who should take up the position. When this article went live Monday, 1,088,220 votes were registered on Musk’s …

NBC News reports: Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on Sunday dodged when asked if Trump should seek to preserve the DOJ’s independence from the White House, telling moderator Kristen Welker that former President John F. Kennedy previously appointed his brother Robert F. Kennedy as attorney general and that Trump can “choose who he wants.” On Sunday, Barrasso also dodged questions about …

Mediaite has the transcript: CNN ANCHOR DANA BASH: Trump has repeatedly threatened to prosecute Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, Liz Cheney, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, General Mark Milley, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, New York AG Letitia James. Do you support him using the Justice Department to go after the people who disagree? JIM JORDAN: What I support it stopping …

The Hill reports: Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) said Sunday that President-elect Trump has “no enemies list” after Trump made headlines for referring to his opponents as “the enemy within.” “For the American people who have been listening to these lies from the Democratic left, I will tell you, this is not something that Donald Trump has ever spoken to, or …

Atlanta’s NBC affiliate reports: Former Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler has been chosen to help lead President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration efforts, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. Inaugural committees are not bound by federal campaign contribution limits, so it’s an opportunity for donors and corporate interests to express their unlimited support for the second Trump administration. Trump’s first …

The New York Times reports: President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Saturday that he would not invite Nikki Haley, his former ambassador to the United Nations, or Mike Pompeo, his former secretary of state, to join his incoming administration. Mr. Trump’s announcement on Truth Social, his social media platform, was an early indication of the decision-making process of the president-elect …

Florida Politics reports: In his second try for leadership of the Republican Senate caucus (and the Senate, given the results of Tuesday’s election), Rick Scott has backing from a group of thought leaders on the Right who run the gamut from fellow legislators to commentators and activists. Among the names rolled out Friday as a package: U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson; …

The Hill reports: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) said Friday that Democratic governors who have pledged to resist President-elect Trump’s immigration policies are being “extremely irresponsible” and should instead seek dialogue with the incoming administration. “If I had a new president in the White House, and even if he wasn’t from my political party, the first thing I would …

Politico reports: House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers is under consideration to be President-elect Donald Trump’s Defense secretary, according to three people familiar with the deliberations. Rogers, a conservative Alabama Republican and among the most strident of defense hawks in the House, would be a dark horse in a field of potential Trump Pentagon picks. Rogers has chaired Armed Services …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on Thursday unanimously directed its flagship university to disband an LGBTQ+ studies minor, months after conservative lawmakers and websites accused the program of promoting “liberal indoctrination” on campus. The LGBTQ Studies minor is one of 14 minors and 38 certificate programs that administrators said were “low-producing,” according to …

“With President Trump’s decisive victory this week, we are concerned that the Office of Special Counsel may attempt to purge relevant records, communications, and documents responsive to our numerous requests for information. “The Office of the Special Counsel is not immune from transparency or above accountability for its actions. “We reiterate our requests, which are itemized in the attached appendix …

“Some conservative estimates say that there are at least 15 million illegals who have come into the country on Joe Biden’s watch. It’s my hope that we deport every single one of them that we can. “And it starts with deporting violent criminals who are in the United States, who came here illegally, who have committed violent crimes. “I think …

Philadelphia’s Fox affiliate reports: Despite having already been declared the winner by the Associated Press in his campaign to unseat incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr. in Pennsylvania, David McCormick filed two lawsuits in Philadelphia Friday, challenging 15,000 to 20,000 provisional ballots that city elections officials were set to consider counting. McCormick currently holds a 0.5% lead over Casey, with …

“I don’t think he [Trump] should pardon Hunter. I think we need to be very careful about having a dual system of justice where, you know, the powerful or the sons and daughters of the powerful get off scot-free. “I could see possibly commuting the sentence, reducing it, and it wouldn’t surprise me if President Trump would do that. I …

The Associated Press reports: The Arizona Supreme Court has declined to hear Republican Kari Lake’s latest appeal over her defeat in the 2022 governor’s race, marking yet another loss in her attempt to overturn the race’s outcome. The court made its refusal to take up the former TV anchor’s appeal public on Thursday without explaining its decision. Lake, now locked …

The New York Times reports: A wave of racist text messages summoning Black people to report for slavery showed up on phones across the United States, prompting the scrutiny of the F.B.I. The N.A.A.C.P. said that messages were received in dozens of states, and attorneys general in two other states reported the same on Thursday. The F.B.I. said in a …

The Hill reports: Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) is urging President-elect Trump not to put his thumb on the scale in the race to elect a successor to outgoing Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), putting a new wrinkle in the high-stakes contest. Thune in recent days has declared his preference that Trump give Republican senators space to make …

NPR reports: A federal judge on Thursday struck down a Biden administration policy that aimed to ease a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens. The program, lauded as one of the biggest presidential actions to help immigrant families in years, allowed undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to apply for a green …

Politico reports: One of President-elect Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters in the House is on the short list to become his next ambassador to the United Nations, according to five people familiar with the potential appointment. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) tops the list of people the Trump transition team is considering for the influential diplomatic post. Stefanik has repeatedly attacked the …