Republicans

The Press-Enterprise reports: A Temecula council member is facing a backlash after comparing the refusal to wear a mask to prevent the coronavirus to civil rights hero Rosa Parks’ fight against racial segregation. Critics said Jessica Alexander’s comments, including “I’m getting pushed to the back of the bus,” were insensitive and historically ignorant. “Look at Rosa Parks. She finally took …

Florida Politics reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is in the 2024 Republican Presidential mix, and as if on cue, a potentially supportive political action committee materialized this month. The Make America Florida political action committee was registered with the Federal Elections Commission. The Super PAC has a Twitter account, with 64 followers thus far. It includes links to merchandise, such …

Mediaite reports: Rep. Liz Cheney is the third-ranking member of the House of Representatives and when asked if former President Donald Trump should be prosecuted for his role in the January 6th attack on the Capitol Building led by his supporters, she demurred and said that should be left up to the Department of Justice. This according to reporting by …

Atlanta’s ABC News affiliate reports: Former Congressman Doug Collins announced Monday that he will not run for office in 2022 — silencing the rumors that he could possibly challenge fellow Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in a primary or go after Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock’s seat. Collins gave up his seat in Congress, where he served in the 9th district, to …

The Arizona Republic reports: Lawyers for Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based company the Arizona Senate hired to lead a recount of Maricopa County’s 2.1 million general election ballots, are asking a judge to keep secret its procedures for the recount and shut out the public as well as the press from a hearing in which the documents might be discussed. Judge …

The Hill reports: The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a bid by Republican state attorneys general to revive former President Trump’s “public charge” rule. The rule, which Biden administration formally rescinded last month, tightened restrictions on poorer immigrants seeking U.S. residency. A group of red-state attorneys general, led by Texas’s Ken Paxton (R), had moved earlier this year to …

The Washington Post reports: This past weekend, a cadre of Republican critics raised the alarm that President Biden would take hamburgers and steaks off the menu as part of his new plan to combat climate change. But Biden’s plan doesn’t include any call to limit meat-eating. Instead, conservative ire was sparked by a Daily Mail article that baselessly speculated about …

Politico reports: Libertarian tech titan Peter Thiel is spending $10 million to boost one of his closest allies in next year’s Arizona Senate race, a contest crucial to the fight for the majority. The billionaire is coming out in support of Blake Masters, the chief operating officer of Thiel Capital and the president of the Thiel Foundation, who is expected …

The Anchorage Daily News reports: Alaska Airlines said Saturday that it banned state Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, from its flights for continuing to refuse to follow mask-wearing requirements for travelers. “We have notified Senator Lora Reinbold that she is not permitted to fly with us for her continued refusal to comply with employee instruction regarding the current mask policy,” …

CBS News reports: Three in four Americans think the jury reached the right verdict in which former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder in the death of George Floyd, a majority view that spans across all racial, age and partisan groups. Reaction to the verdict among White Americans is largely related to partisanship. White Democrats overwhelmingly think …

“The risks of the vaccines are less than the risk of the disease, particularly if you are over 40 and overweight. When Biden goes on the computer screen on a Zoom call, and wears a mask, he is making a mockery of the science and this is dissuading people who are skeptical anyway. “So if you want to convince people …

Forbes reports: As many politicians—including President Biden—applaud the conviction of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin as a step toward combating racial bias in policing, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday he does not believe systemic racism exists in law enforcement or other U.S. institutions. Graham pointed to the election of former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris …

Politico reports: Rep. Karen Bass on Sunday criticized the effort to recall Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic governor, questioning whether Republicans in the state would vote for a transgender candidate given that their party has advanced anti-trans legislation in various state legislatures. “Considering all of the anti-trans legislation around the country that Republicans have put forward, I have a hard time …

The Hill reports: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Sunday that President Biden’s first 100 days in office amounted to a “bait and switch,” and accused the president of pushing policies that were to the left of those he promised during the campaign. In an interview with Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday,” McCarthy argued that Biden had promised …

“Every idiotic thing that the Biden administration has done in the first 100 days, you begin to realize — whether it’s threatening everybody who believes in the Second Amendment or it’s attacking everybody who believes in right to life or it is attacking people of traditional values who are appalled that this administration would fly the gay flag at American …

The Daily Beast reports: The keynote speaker at a Minnesota county Republican Party’s event last month told members that George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police was “planned since 2016.” On March 27, New Zealand author Trevor Loudon addressed an audience of hundreds of members of the Wabasha County Republican Party at a dinner in a church, the Bemidji …

Reuters reports: A federal investigation into whether U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz trafficked a minor for sex will not be derailed by his assertion that a veteran asked his father for money to pay for the release of an American held by Iran, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said. Investigators believe the purported scheme to free Robert Levinson, …

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is scheduled to visit Pennsylvania and speak to the Allegheny County Republican Party next month, a visit likely to further fuel speculation around a figure already seen as a potential presidential candidate. The May 20 appearance was confirmed by three Pennsylvania Republicans familiar with the plans. Word of DeSantis’ visit spread as …

The Associated Press reports: Gov. Greg Gianforte on Friday signed a bill that prohibits state and local law enforcement in Montana from enforcing federal bans on firearms, ammunition and magazines. Supporters of the law have said it would protect the Second Amendment from stiffer gun control laws that could come from federal legislation or executive orders by President Joe Biden …

The Montgomery Advertiser reports: Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday signed a bill banning transgender youth from playing public school sports of the gender with which they align. The legislation is one of several bills targeting transgender youth in the Alabama Legislature this year. The bills have drawn protests from transgender youth, their families and advocates, and will likely lead to …