Republicans

The Washington Post reports: The Texas Democratic Party is calling on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) to resign after unverified photos surfaced on social media purportedly showing him traveling to Cancun, Mexico, as millions of Texas residents were without power amid blackouts from the freezing weather. “Texans are dying and you’re on a flight to Cancun,” the Texas Democrats said in …

Axios reports: Former Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole, 97, announced Thursday that he has been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. The big picture: Dole served in the U.S. Senate for 27 years, including 11 years as as GOP leader, before retiring in 1996. He unsuccessfully ran for vice president on President Gerald Ford’s ticket in 1976, and for president …

Fox News reports: Sen. Ted Cruz flew to Cancun, Mexico, with his family this week as Texas dealt with a winter storm that left millions without power, Fox News has confirmed. Photographs of Cruz, R-Texas, at an airport began circulating on social media late Wednesday, with people alleging that the senator had left the state for Cancun amid a major …

The Associated Press reports: Power outages in Texas dropped below 1 million on Thursday morning for the first time in four days, but many people remained without electricity or safe drinking water after winter storms wreaked havoc on the state’s power grid and utilities. But Texas’ grid manager, under fire for its response to the winter storm, has warned that …

From Nikki Haley’s op-ed in the Wall Street Journal: Where does the Republican Party go from here? The party that abolished slavery, won the right to vote for women, and beat Soviet communism must continue to be strong and principled to move America forward. But the liberal media doesn’t care about that. It wants to stoke a nonstop Republican civil …

Mediaite reports: Talk about throwing out political red meat. Congresswoman and gun rights activist Lauren Boebert (R- CO) tweeted out an image of a steak on Tuesday, taunting Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to “come and take it,” in response to his call for widespread adoption of lab-created beef. But the rib steak image she so proudly tweeted out with the …

The Huffington Post reports: The U.S. Capitol Police are investigating two incidents related to the new metal detectors set up outside the House chamber: one involving a member of Congress potentially assaulting a police officer and the other involving a lawmaker trying to bring a gun onto the House floor. HuffPost personally observed and publicly reported on both incidents over …

The Texas Tribune reports: As millions of Texans continue struggling through a dayslong winter storm without power or potable water, Gov. Greg Abbott provided few details Wednesday on when they can expect their situations to improve. As of Wednesday night, 2.7 million households didn’t have power. And nearly 12 million Texans are facing water disruptions after enduring multiple days of …

San Antonio’s ABC News affiliate reports: Photos circulating on Twitter late Wednesday purport to show Texas Senator Ted Cruz on a flight to Cancun, Mexico, during the state‘s historic disaster. One sleuth cited clues from a photo that puts Cruz inside the Houston International Airport near the terminal for a United flight to Cancun at 4:10 p.m. Less than an …

CNN reports: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had an instant reaction when seeing the lengthy attack he endured from former President Donald Trump. He laughed about it, according to a source familiar with the matter. The reaction underscores how McConnell plans to navigate the post-Trump era: Focus squarely on winning back the Senate majority — while ignoring the former President …

Fox News reports: The Republican National Committee is launching a new panel on election integrity that it says is dedicated to restoring transparency and confidence to future elections. The RNC announced their new Committee on Election Integrity on Wednesday, sharing the news first with Fox News. The RNC says the new committee will work closely with state parties and other …

The Texas Tribune reports: As millions of Texans continue to struggle with power outages during a massive winter storm, Gov. Greg Abbott is scheduled to provide an update on the state’s response at 3:30 p.m. Central time Wednesday. There were 2.7 million Texas households still without power as of Wednesday morning, though the state’s electricity grid manager said utilities returned …

Law & Crime reports: A federal judge the District of Maryland on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit that Rep. Devin Nunes‘s senior aide Derek Harvey filed against CNN, former Rudy Giuliani business associate Lev Parnas, and Parnas’s lawyer Joseph Bondy. Judge Richard Bennett, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled that the defamation action failed to state a claim against CNN. …

The Hill reports: Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has come under fire for a tweet seen as a nod to the QAnon movement. A former GOP congressman and an ex-aide to Pence who has become a vocal critic of former President Trump were among the voices arguing that McEnany was giving air to a dangerous conspiracy theory with …

The Houston Chronicle reports: In a blog posted on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s website, Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is quoted responding to the claim that “those watching on the left may see the situation in Texas as an opportunity to expand their top-down, radical proposals.” “Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the …

The Texas Tribune reports: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Wednesday he’s issuing a notice for residents to boil water as the winter storm continues to affect the city’s infrastructure. The notice, first reported by the Houston Chronicle, comes as the mayor also urged grocery stores to stock up on bottled water and urged Houstonians to conserve as much as possible. …

Axios reports: Republican Doug Wardlow is officially launching his second bid for Minnesota attorney general, Axios has learned. Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, edged out Wardlow by four percentage points in 2018 — the closest margin of any statewide race on the ballot that year. Wardlow focused on heavily on law and order in an announcement video released Wednesday. …

Tampa’s Fox News affiliate reports: After some Manatee County commissioners criticized the decision-making behind the state’s vaccine pop-up site in “whitest and richest” Lakewood Ranch, Gov. Ron DeSantis had one simple message: If you don’t want it, it will be given to another county. The controversy started when Lakewood Ranch developer Rex Jenson received a call last week from the …

“I remind everybody, Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment was ‘Don’t speak ill of fellow Republicans.’ I want you to know this: Mitch McConnell was indispensable to Donald Trump’s success. “Mitch McConnell got the tax cut through with a two-vote Republican majority. Mitch McConnell was much to credit for Amy Coney Barrett as any single person. Mitch McConnell working with Donald Trump …

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) signaled late Tuesday he would oppose the Equality Act, legislation to expand the prohibition on anti-LGBTQ discrimination under federal law, throwing a massive wrench into plans of the bill’s supporters to guide it into law. “Sen. Romney believes that strong religious liberty protections are essential to any legislation on …