Republicans

Axios reports: Corporate giants would be barred from acquisitions and century-old antitrust laws would get sharper teeth under a new proposal by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) shared exclusively with Axios. Hawley is among the Senate’s most conservative members, but his attack on corporate power wouldn’t sound out of place on Elizabeth Warren’s or Bernie Sanders’ agenda. That’s how deeply Republicans’ …

CNN reports: Rep. Matt Gaetz, who’s facing a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations, was recently denied a meeting with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate as the ex-President and his allies continue to distance themselves from the Florida congressman. Two people familiar with the matter said Gaetz tried to schedule a visit with Trump after it was first revealed …

From a lengthy Playbook report on this weekend’s RNC retreat for major donors: As Playbook and the New York Times have reported, Trump has become a complication for donors. They don’t want their money going toward his retribution efforts. Remember: These are exorbitantly wealthy people — some with egos as big as Trump’s — and they are not interested in …

USA Today reports: Former House Speaker John Boehner, once the nation’s highest-ranking Republican, told USA TODAY that embattled Rep. Matt Gaetz should resign if he is indicted. If the Florida congressman refuses, Boehner said, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy should move to expel him from the House. “When a member gets in trouble, it splashes back on all the members,” …

Axios reports: During this weekend’s highly anticipated donor retreat hosted by the Republican National Committee in Palm Beach, Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel was escorted off the premises while his primary opponent, Jane Timken, was allowed to stay, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell Axios. What we’re hearing: The invitation-only event is taking place at the Four …

CBS News reports: House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (Wyo.) said on Sunday that the allegations against one of her harshest critics, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), are “sickening,” but refused to say whether or not he should resign. While appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan asked Cheney if she would call for Gaetz’s resignation. “You know, as …

Politico reports: Rep. Matt Gaetz insists he’s not resigning amid an ongoing federal investigation, but Republicans in his deep red Florida district are already eyeing his seat. Several Republican elected officials and others who live in the sprawling Panhandle district said they received a robo-call over the weekend asking voters if they thought Gaetz would step down due to his …

The Hill reports: Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said on Sunday that his decision to veto the transgender youth healthcare ban was a “message of compassion and conservatism,” saying it aligned with his conservative belief in limited government. Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Hutchinson acknowledged the blowback he has received from his party for his veto of the …

The Daily Beast reports: For the second week and row, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was target No. 1 on Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update.” And this time, anchor Colin Jost didn’t even bother to acknowledge how much he looks like the scandal-plagued congressman. “Well, our favorite Florida congressman, Matt Gaetz, is back in the news, but this time it’s good!” …

The Wichita Eagle reports: Kansas Senate Republicans ousted Sen. Gene Suellentrop as majority leader Friday — the first major political penalty paid by the Wichita Republican after he was charged with leading police on a drunken wrong-way chase down Interstate 70. The extraordinary vote by the GOP caucus marked an all-out attempt by senators to separate themselves from Suellentrop, who …

Today in predictable news: In a The Economist/YouGov Poll released this week, respondents were asked “Do you believe Derek Chauvin should be found guilty of murder?” Among all respondents, 57 percent said “yes” Chauvin should be found guilty, with 25 percent saying they were “not sure” and just 18 percent saying “no.” But among Republicans, only 31 percent said Chauvin …

The Hill reports: Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) said Saturday he is taking a monthlong leave after having surgery on his eye, saying he’ll be “effectively blind” for a month. Crenshaw, who lost his right eye in 2012 during a bomb attack while he was serving in Afghanistan, said his ophthalmologist discovered that his retina was detaching in his left eye …

CNN reports: Republican Rep. Peter Meijer has a warning for his party: He fears baseless conspiracy theories like QAnon will destroy the GOP from within if Republicans don’t decisively and unequivocally condemn the false and dangerous beliefs and take action to stop their spread. “The fact that a significant plurality, if not potentially a majority, of our voters have been …

Mediaite reports: When CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski published an article quoting several recent comments by West about Texas seceding from the United States, West fired back in a tweet that “left-wing propaganda mill” CNN was “running a hit piece” on him and “the progressive socialist left are the real racists.” Kaczynski’s article includes multiple quotes by West on radio interviews since …

The Houston Chronicle reports: The Electric Reliability Council of Texas will argue that it has governmental immunity that protects it from the at least 35 lawsuits that have been filed against the operator after February’s disastrous winter storm which killed dozens of people and created millions of dollars of damages. “ERCOT has and will continue to assert that it is …

The Washington Examiner reports: Attorney Joe diGenova issued an apology to a former Homeland Security Department cybersecurity chief who he once suggested should be executed. A statement was released on Friday, four months after the ex-official, Chris Krebs, sued him and the Trump campaign for defamation. Krebs sued the Trump campaign and diGenova on Dec. 8 in Montgomery County, Maryland, …

“Let me assure you, I have not yet begun to fight for the country I love and for the nation that I know benefits from America First principles. “I’m built for the battle and I’m not going anywhere. I won’t be intimidated by a lying media. “‘We have your back.’ That is the sentiment I have heard from thousands of …

CNN reports: Texas Republican Party chairman Allen West falsely suggested that Texas could secede from the United States and become an independent country, a CNN KFile review of his comments in recent months shows. In radio interviews after the 2020 presidential election, West suggested Texas could vote to again become a republic, as it was before joining the United States …

The American Independent reports: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is scheduled to be a “featured guest” at an upcoming conference organized by a couple with deep roots in the world of the QAnon conspiracy theory and featuring several speakers who have promoted that and other debunked conspiracy theories. The website for the “For God & Country Patriot Roundup 2021,” scheduled for …

The Washington Post reports: The House Ethics committee on Friday said it would launch an investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who has been accused of sexual misconduct, among a litany of other things. The Justice Department is investigating Gaetz for an alleged relationship with a 17-year-old girl. In a statement Friday, the committee chairman said they were aware of …