Republicans

ABC News reports: In a hearing late Thursday, legislators said their package of election law changes would drop some of the most controversial elements. State Rep. Barry Fleming (R), who heads the Special Committee on Election Integrity, said the new version of the bill would allow up to four weekend days of early voting, more than what is currently required. …

The Texas Tribune reports: Several bills responding to Texas’ February power outages — including one mandating that power plants prepare facilities for extreme weather and another reforming the Electric Reliability Council of Texas board — were advanced by the Texas House State Affairs Committee on Thursday. None addressed the price ERCOT set for wholesale electricity prices during the storm and …

The Hill reports: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) insisted Thursday that Republicans were not trying to reverse former President Trump’s election defeat in challenging the results of November’s presidential contest in a testy exchange with CNN’s Manu Raju. McCarthy had endorsed a Texas lawsuit challenging the election results in four battleground states, and he voted to object to both …

The Miami Herald reports: Frank Artiles, the Republican political operative suspected of secretly arranging a sham candidate to run in a key 2020 state senate race, surrendered to a Miami-Dade County jail on Thursday to face felony campaign finance charges. Artiles, himself a former state senator, was seen arriving at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, along with his lawyer. …

Fox News has the transcript: It would destroy the Senate as we know it. Anything big like this, you should be able to get a few votes from the other side, right? If you want to federalize the elections and do away with redistricting by the states and turn it over to some commission that will fundamentally change how you …

The Daily Beast reports: Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) kicked off Thursday’s House hearing on violence and discrimination against Asian-Americans by railing against the Chinese Communist Party and extolling lynchings, saying he takes “justice very seriously.” “The case we are talking about here the tragedy we just saw occur in Atlanta, Georgia,” Roy declared. “I would also suggest that the victims …

Axios reports: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) introduced a resolution on Thursday to remove Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) from the House Intelligence Committee over his ties to a suspected Chinese spy. The resolution will likely not pass in the Democratic-controlled House. Democrats say they have no intention of removing Swalwell from the committee. Axios first reported in December that …

The Associated Press reports: Attorneys general from 21 states on Wednesday sued to to overturn President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the contentious Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. Led by Ken Paxton of Texas and Austin Knudsen of Montana, the states said Biden had overstepped his authority when he revoked the permit for the Keystone pipeline on his first day …

From the editorial board of the Kansas City Star: It was bad enough that Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop was arrested just before 4 a.m. on Tuesday, after police stopped an SUV that they said had been speeding the wrong way on Interstate 70. But now, The Star has reported that the Kansas Highway Patrol had to attempt a …

Newsweek reports: Rep. Mo Brooks is planning to hold a rally with former President Donald Trump’s advisor Stephen Miller on Monday, as changes to his official campaign page have all but confirmed he will be running for the Senate. Following an update to the congressman’s campaign Facebook page, followers are told to contact “[email protected]” with queries. “Mo Brooks for U.S. …

USA Today reports: The House voted Wednesday to award Capitol police, Metropolitan police and other law enforcement agencies with the Congressional Gold Medal, for protecting lawmakers, staffers, reporters and visitors from insurrectionists on Jan. 6. About 140 police officers were injured during the attack, including 15 who were hospitalized, when rioters broke into the building, vandalized offices and interrupted the …

Miami’s ABC News reports: A search warrant was executed Wednesday morning at the home of former Florida Sen. Frank Artiles as part of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office’s investigation into whether he illegally funded a planted candidate in the November election. Sources say the warrant involves the search of his electronics, including his cell phone and computer, and the contents …

The Hill reports: The Kentucky legislature has passed a bill that would require a governor to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat with a member of the departed senator’s party in a move sure to spark the political rumor mill around Frankfort. The bill would require a sitting governor to choose a replacement for a vacant Senate seat from a …

Madison’s ABC News affiliate reports: Wisconsin Senate Republicans voted 18-12 Tuesday to pass a resolution honoring Rush Limbaugh, the divisive conservative commentator and radio host who died February 17. Two Republicans, Sen. Dale Kooyenga and Eric Wimberger, did not vote. In the same Senate session, Republicans turned down Democratic efforts to include slavery and Black history in a bill requiring …

The Washington Post reports: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sued the Biden administration Wednesday over its $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, alleging the federal government sought to impose “unconstitutional” limits on states’ ability to access some of the aid. The lawsuit from Yost, a Republican, follows a day after 21 other GOP attorneys general issued their own veiled legal threat …

Reuters reports: The third and last remaining commissioner of the Texas utilities regulator resigned under pressure on Tuesday after the release of comments to investors vowing to protect utility profits and dismissing financial hits from a cold snap on municipal power companies. The resignation came soon after the disclosure of inflammatory comments by the Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D’Andrea …

The Washington Post reports: Twenty-one Republican state attorneys general on Tuesday threatened to take action against the Biden administration over its new $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus law, decrying it for imposing “unprecedented and unconstitutional” limits on their states’ ability to lower taxes. The letter marks one of the first major political and legal salvos against the relief package since President …

The Associated Press reports: Conservative lawmakers in Utah have fired another salvo in their longtime campaign against online porn with a new requirement that all cellphones and tablets sold in the state automatically block pornography in a plan that critics call a significant intrusion on free speech. Supporters and critics alike are now waiting to find out if new Gov. …

CBS News reports: Griddy Energy, the Texas electricity provider accused of charging customers thousands of dollars during Winter Storm Uri, said today it has filed for bankruptcy. Griddy was a “thriving business with more than 29,000 customers” before the winter storm struck, CEO Michael Fallquist said in a statement. The storm with record-low temperatures sparked a weeklong freeze and left …

West Palm Beach’s ABC News affiliate reports: South Florida Democrats have announced the creation of Ron Be Gone, a new political group aimed at ensuring Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn’t win re-election. The Fort Lauderdale-based group “is a grassroots-funded organization solely dedicated to taking on Ron DeSantis and supporting the eventual Democratic nominee for governor in 2022,” a news release said …