Republicans

Newsweek reports: After a highly contested race, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin is refusing to concede his seat, even though the race has been called in favor of his opponent by Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.  The Associated Press refused to call a winner due to the tight margin of the race. Bevin, citing “irregularities” in the voting process, …

The New York Times reports: Votes have started to come in for the governor’s race in Kentucky, which has been cast as a showdown between an unpopular governor and an unpopular party. The Republican incumbent, Matt Bevin, has focused his campaign on his alignment with President Trump and his opposition to impeachment, with the president holding a rally on Monday …

Axios reports: Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that he will not read any of the transcripts released Tuesday by the House committees conducting the impeachment inquiry, telling CBS News: ‘”I’ve written the whole process off … I think this is a bunch of B.S.” In a revision to his Oct. 17 testimony, U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon …

Reuters reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday predicted the Senate would acquit President Trump of any articles of impeachment passed by the Democratic-controlled House. “How long it goes on really just depends on how long the Senate wants to spend on it,” McConnell told reporters. “I will say I’m pretty sure how it’s likely to end. If …

The Hill reports: Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci believes that GOP lawmakers will pressure President Trump to leave office by March. “When you talk to elected Republicans privately, they can’t stand the president,” Scaramucci told Yahoo’s “On the Move” Tuesday morning. “They know the president is a lawless person and basically a criminal.” Back in September, Scaramucci made …

The Washington Post reports: The librarians of Citrus County, Fla., had what seemed like a modest wish: A digital subscription to the New York Times. For about $2,700 annually, they reasoned, they could offer their roughly 70,000 patrons an easy way to research and catch up on the news. But when their request came before the Citrus County commission last …

The Washington Post reports: Addressing a packed arena in Lexington, Ky., Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) claimed on Monday night that he knows the identity of the whistleblower whose complaint is at the center of the impeachment inquiry against President Trump. Then, Paul delivered a pointed message to the media. “Do your job and print his name!” the senator yelled, prompting …

CBS News reports: As the impeachment inquiry enters its public phase, top Republicans in the House are weighing whether to temporarily assign Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the panel that will conduct the initial public hearings. Discussions about adding Jordan to the committee are “active and serious,” a senior Republican involved in …

The New York Times reports: The Republican National Committee paid to generate thousands of calls to the congressional offices of nearly three dozen House Democrats in recent weeks, an effort that was aimed at both shaping opinion around the impeachment inquiry and tying up the phone lines of the elected officials, according to two people briefed on the effort. The …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump’s cage-side seats to a fighting match in New York City cost the Republican National Committee about $60,000, according to officials familiar with the cost. The price included the ringside seats for Trump and his guests, catering and security, one of the officials said. The president’s guests included House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Reps. …

CBS News reports: A lawyer for the whistleblower who reported concerns about the president’s dealings with Ukraine told CBS News he offered to have Republicans on the House Intelligence Community submit questions to his client directly without having to go through the committee’s Democratic majority. Attorney Mark Zaid told CBS News he contacted Representative Devin Nunes, the committee’s ranking member, …

Axios reports: Top Republicans are privately worried about a new threat to President Trump’s campaign: the possibility of Facebook pulling a Twitter and banning political ads. Facebook says it won’t, but future regulatory pressure could change that. If Facebook were to ban — or even limit — ads, it could upend Trump’s fundraising and re-election plan, GOP officials tell Axios. …

The Huffington Post reports: Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) came up with a novel way to avoid a question about President Donald Trump on Thursday. Instead of ignoring the activists from the progressive group MoveOn.org who were asking it, he head-butted their camera. “There you go,” he said, then walked into an elevator to end the strange encounter. He never answered …

The Military Times reports: A 3.1 percent military pay raise is set to take effect on Jan. 1, regardless what lawmakers say about the ongoing budget fights on Capitol Hill. On Thursday, Senate Democratic leaders blasted Republican colleagues for misleading military members about their future paychecks, assuring troops that their annual salary boost is safe. In fact, the pay increase …

NBC News reports: Less than a month after he was named President Donald Trump’s cybersecurity adviser in 2017, Rudy Giuliani walked into an Apple store in downtown San Francisco. He wasn’t looking for a new gadget. Giuliani was looking for help. He was locked out of his iPhone because he had forgotten the passcode and entered the wrong one at …

The Washington Post reports: White House officials and congressional Republicans have begun early talks on a new package of tax reductions and economic growth measures, under pressure from President Trump, who is agitating to announce a new tax cut proposal heading into the 2020 election. The discussions are preliminary and far from the decision stage, according to officials involved. The …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: President Donald Trump will be the only choice on the ballot in Minnesota’s Republican presidential primary, even though he is not the only candidate running. That’s at the direction of the Republican Party of Minnesota. Its chairwoman, Jennifer Carnahan, sent a letter to the Minnesota Secretary of State on Oct. 24 outlining its “determination of candidates” …

The Hill reports: Senate Republicans are taking the House impeachment proceedings against President Trump more seriously as damaging revelations against the president mount and the possibility of a quick dismissal of the charges shrinks. Earlier this year, GOP senators pledged to quickly quash any articles of impeachment passed by the House. But as the Democrats compile more evidence that Trump …

The Hill reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday blasted the newly unveiled House impeachment procedures, arguing they still fall short of giving President Trump due process. Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a top ally of Trump, said that the decision to allow House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to take the lead in the …

The New York Times reports: Robert Livingston, the former Republican congressman turned lobbyist, repeatedly told a foreign service officer assigned to the White House that the American ambassador to Ukraine should be fired because of her association with Democrats, the officer plans to tell impeachment investigators on Wednesday. The officer, Catherine M. Croft, will testify that she “documented” multiple calls …