Republicans

NBC News reports: New York state authorities yanked the liquor license of a restaurant that played host to a “Covid conga line” and might have led to at least one infection, officials said Thursday. The Whitestone Republican Club threw its Christmas bash at Il Bacco in Queens. “After video surfaced of a potential superspreader holiday party at Il Bacco with …

CNN reports: Two Republican members of the House of Representatives tell CNN that they expect at least 140 of their GOP colleagues in the House to vote against counting the electoral votes on January 6 when Congress is expected to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Among the more than one dozen Republican House members who have already publicly said they’ll …

The Washington Post reports: Vice President Pence late Thursday asked for a lawsuit that aimed to expand his power to use a congressional ceremony to overturn the presidential election be dismissed, arguing that he was not the right person to sue over the issue. The filing will come as a disappointment to supporters of President Trump, who hoped that Pence …

Axios reports: In an extraordinary conference call this morning with fellow Senate Republicans, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said his Jan. 6 vote certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election will be “the most consequential I have ever cast,” according to a source on a call and two other sources briefed on the private remarks. His remarks to his conference …

Cleveland’s ABC News affiliate reports: With a swift signature, Gov. Mike DeWine made Senate Bill 27 into law Wednesday. It’s a law that requires any aborted fetal tissue to be buried or cremated. Any woman who is getting an abortion can choose what she wants to do with the remains, and if she doesn’t want to choose, then the clinic …

Fox News reports: Republicans in Georgia say they’ve recruited more than 8,000 volunteers in the state to serve as poll watchers for next week’s twin Senate runoff elections, where the GOP majority in the Senate is at stake. The combined effort by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the re-election arm of the Senate GOP; the Republican National Committee; …

CNBC reports: Sen. David Perdue of Georgia is quarantining after contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19, his campaign said Thursday, less than a week before the Republican’s runoff election against Jon Ossoff. His runoff against Ossoff is one of two runoffs in Georgia that will determine whether Republicans or Democrats have majority control over the U.S. Senate in …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Fred Piccolo, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ communications director, has resigned from the governor’s office, a move he said was planned before he deleted his Twitter account shortly after his controversial Christmas Eve tweet about COVID-19 victims. Piccolo, who was named DeSantis’s chief spokesman in July, said he will move over to the state Department of Education …

Politico reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham on Thursday urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow a stand-alone vote on $2,000 stimulus checks after the new Congress is sworn in next week. The remarks from the South Carolina Republican break with the public posture of his party’s top Washington lawmaker and come just a day after McConnell rejected the proposed payment …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday that he has sued the City of Austin and Travis County, a declaration that came a day after local leaders declared new restrictions for when restaurants and bars can serve customers during New Year’s weekend. Paxton filed a petition for temporary injunction and a temporary restraining order in Travis …

NBC News reports: Congresswoman-elect María Elvira Salazar of Florida announced Thursday that she will miss the swearing-in ceremony for new members of Congress on Sunday in Washington after testing positive for the coronavirus. Salazar, a Republican from the Miami area who defeated Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala in one of the biggest House upsets of the election year, was admitted to …

Politico reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell attacked the House-passed bill increasing stimulus checks to $2,000 on Wednesday afternoon, likely dooming the prospects of boosting direct payments as the 116th Congress comes to an end. The Kentucky Republican said the House’s proposal is too generous for higher earners and “does not align with what President [Donald] Trump has suggested, which …

The Associated Press reports: New Hampshire’s Republican governor said Wednesday that he is canceling his outdoor inauguration ceremony next month because of public safety concerns — namely, armed protesters who have been gathering outside his home in the weeks since he issued a mask order. “My first responsibility is ensuring the safety of my family and our citizens” Gov. Chris …

The Atlantic City Press reports: Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, will raise objections to accepting the Electoral College’s vote counts from states that did not follow their own laws in setting rules for the Nov. 3 election, he said Wednesday. “I won’t be voting to certify the electors,” Van Drew said in a phone interview Wednesday. “It’s what I’ve talked …

The Queens Eagle reports: At least one person has been hospitalized for COVID-19 after attending an indoor Christmas dance party hosted by the Whitestone Republican Club earlier this month, the Eagle has learned. James Trent, chair of the affiliated Queens Village Republican Club, was admitted to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset where he is recovering from COVID-19, he said …

The New York Post reports: Louisiana Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, who died while battling COVID-19, suffered a heart attack following a procedure, a hospital official said. The 41-year-old was receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport when he died Tuesday, the Monroe News-Star reported. LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor G.E. Ghali confirmed Letlow underwent an operation …

Politico explains the process: The least-understood aspect of Congress’ electoral vote certification occurs days before the main event. On Jan. 3, the first day of the new congressional session, the House and Senate will adopt a set of rules that govern the Jan. 6 meeting. The so-called “concurrent resolution” usually originates in the Senate, where the rules committee — chaired …

Axios reports: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said in a statement Wednesday that he will object to the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory during the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, alleging that some states failed to follow their election laws and that Big Tech interfered on behalf of Biden. Hawley is the first senator to say …

The Daily Beast reports: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) needs your help to keep the U.S. Senate in Republican hands. So blared a handful of Facebook’s ads that Cruz’s campaign committee purchased this month. But none of them were actually raising money for the Republican candidates in Georgia. Instead, every penny donated went directly to…Cruz. The Cruz campaign bought 15 separate …

The Associated Press reports: Luke Letlow, Louisiana’s incoming Republican member of the U.S. House, died Tuesday night from complications related to COVID-19 only days before he would have been sworn into office. He was 41. Letlow spokesman Andrew Bautsch confirmed the congressman-elect’s death at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport. “The family appreciates the numerous prayers and support over the past days but …