Republicans

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 …

The Hill reports: Republican Sen. Pat Toomey (Pa.) on Tuesday evening announced he would object to a request to swiftly pass House-approved legislation to increase the amount of direct stimulus checks to $2,000. Toomey is one of several Republican senators who would object to such a request, including Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), according to a Senate …

“That has been discussed. I know that has been a concern. Gee, there may be riots and things. Look, there’s going to be trouble no matter what. “And so why should not we be about defending the Constitution and putting down trouble by those who want to destroy our Constitution instead of just saying let’s just let these people do …

Axios reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday blocked Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) request to hold a vote on a House standalone measure that would boost the size of stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 per person. President Trump has demanded that the payments be increased, creating a rift between him and Senate GOP leadership ahead of …

CNBC reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Tuesday attempt to increase direct payments in the year-end coronavirus relief bill to $2,000. The House — with nearly all Democrats and a few dozen Republicans on board — voted Monday to boost the cash deposits to $2,000 from $600. Now, Senate Republicans wary of spending more …

The Washington Post reports: Earlier this month, Tom Mountain, a Massachusetts Republican Party leader, posed for a maskless photo in front of a silver menorah as dozens of other guests without face coverings mingled nearby at a White House Hanukkah party. Three days later, the vice chairman of the Massachusetts Republican State Committee was rushed to the hospital with a …

Via press release from GOP Rep. Louie Gohmert: The 2020 presidential election was one we’d expect to see in a banana republic, not the United States of America. In fact, the rampant fraud and unconstitutional actions that took place were so egregious that seven contested states– Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin all sent dueling slates of …

Bloomberg News reports: Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue lobbied Donald Trump last week to sign the pandemic relief bill he’d criticized, concerned that the president’s delay would harm his and Senator Kelly Loeffler’s prospects in the Jan. 5 runoff elections, according to people familiar with the matter. In a Christmas-Day phone call to Trump, Perdue argued that the bill was …

Politico reports: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and President Donald Trump’s defeated electors from Arizona may force Vice President Mike Pence to publicly pick a side in Trump’s bid to overturn his 2020 election loss. Though the lawsuit itself is unlikely to gain legal traction, it does put Pence in the position of having to either contest the suit — putting …

From a lawsuit filed yesterday: This civil action seeks an expedited declaratory judgment finding that the elector dispute resolution provisions in Section 15 of the Electoral Count Act, 3 U.S.C. §§ 5 and15, are unconstitutional because these provisions violate the Electors Clause and the Twelfth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.U.S. CONST. art. II, §1, cl. 1 & Amend. XII. Plaintiffs …

“It is sad to the extent we’ve got Republicans who are unwilling to do their homework and unwilling to make tough decisions, and unfortunately, Adam Kinzinger falls in that ballpark. If he would do his homework, he would understand the evidence is overwhelming. “He can either surrender to the people who support voter fraud, election theft, or he can fight …

Via press release from Mitch McConnell:  I applaud President Trump’s decision to get hundreds of billions of dollars of crucial COVID-19 relief out the door and into the hands of American families as quickly as possible. The bipartisan rescue package that Republicans in Congress and the Trump Administration negotiated with the Democrats will extend another major lifeline to workers at …

Via press release from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “The signing of the bipartisan, bicameral coronavirus relief legislation is welcome news for the fourteen million Americans who just lost the lifeline of unemployment benefits on Christmas Weekend, and for the millions more struggling to stay afloat during this historic pandemic and economic crisis. “This relief legislation is a down payment on …

Politico reports: “This is a scam,” said Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of continued efforts by President Donald Trump and some House Republicans to overturn the election of President-elect Joe Biden. Kinzinger, speaking Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said: “The reality is there is no impetus to overthrow an election,” and added that even if there were …

The Des Moines Register reports: Rep. Steve King filed an ethics complaint against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday, objecting to the manner in which he was stripped of all of his House committee assignments last year. In the 23-page complaint, filed with the House Ethics Committee, King argues he did not violate U.S. law, the chamber’s Code of …

The Hill reports: “You don’t get everything you want, even if you’re president of the United States,” GOP Sen. Pat Toomey said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I think the COVID relief measures are really, really important.” “In my state, as in many other states, we have governors who are closing down businesses again,” he added. Toomey called it a “hopeful …

The Wall Street Journal reports: As the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices walloped U.S. frackers this spring, Texas billionaires Dan and Farris Wilks got a $35 million relief loan to help one of their fracking companies stay afloat. At the same time, they were on a buying spree in the country’s oil patch. Since spring, businesses controlled by the …