Republicans

Politico reports: The House Ethics Committee formally admonished Rep. Matt Gaetz for a threatening tweet about President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer — the lightest form of punishment that the panel can take. While the 10-member panel determined that the Florida Republican’s “actions did not reflect creditably upon the House of Representatives,” the committee also concluded in its report …

The Hill reports: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has denounced the QAnon conspiracy theory, becoming the highest-ranking congressional Republican to publicly condemn the theory. McCarthy said during an interview on Fox News on Thursday evening that “there is no place” in the GOP for the theory, which posits that President Trump and his allies are working to expose an …

Baton Rouge’s ABC News affiliate reports: Senator Bill Cassidy announced Thursday, Aug. 20 that he has tested positive for COVID-19. He says after being notified Wednesday night that he was exposed to someone with the virus, he was tested Thursday and received a positive result. Cassidy says he has contacted his doctor and is strictly following CDC recommendations to quarantine …

Jared Holt reports at Right Wing Watch: A cast of far-right figures joined anti-Muslim provocateur and self-proclaimed “Islamophobe” Laura Loomer at a party celebrating her win of the Republican nomination to represent Florida’s 21st Congressional District in the U.S. House last night. Although Loomer faces a difficult challenge against incumbent Democrat Rep. Lois Frankel in a solidly blue district, her …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday night that House legislation focusing on the U.S. Postal Service could be a chance to make some headway in the stalled negotiations over a coronavirus relief package. However, he indicated the Senate is unlikely to pass a bill that addresses only the Postal Service. The Democrat-controlled House could pass …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott and top Texas leaders announced Tuesday that they will push for legislation next year that would freeze property tax revenues for cities that cut police budgets, just days after the Austin City Council approved a budget that will cut police funding by one-third and reinvest money in social services. The proposal sets up …

Media Matters reports: Republican congressional candidate and right-wing pundit Marjorie Taylor Greene is a bigot both on and offline. In February 2019, she visited Capitol Hill — her likely future place of employment — and filmed herself unsuccessfully trying to interrogate Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). During the video, she falsely claimed that they’re illegitimate members of …

The Washington Post reports: The St. Louis couple who became famous after wielding guns at protesters on their private street will be part of the largely digital Republican National Convention next week, Trump advisers said this week. The couple — Patricia and Mark McCloskey — will appear on behalf of the president during the virtual weeklong event and express their …

Glorious Leader must be celebrated at all times: The Republican National Committee (RNC) has submitted an application to conduct a fireworks display near the Washington Monument next week after President Trump concludes his acceptance speech at the White House. The National Park Service received the application last Friday, and its approval is still pending, according to Mike Litterst, chief of …

Mediaite reports: Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) did not mince words in a tweet about Edward Snowden Sunday evening, calling him a “traitor” and stating that granting him a pardon “would be unconscionable.” Cheney’s tweet almost certainly came in response to a comment by Trump on Saturday that he was apparently willing to consider pardoning Snowden. “I’m going to look at …

The New York Times reports: Bob Good, a self-described “biblical conservative” who is the Republican nominee for a House seat in his conservative Central Virginia district, is hoping to rally clergy members with meetings this week attacking a new state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, which he characterizes as an assault on religious liberty. And …

The Associated Press reports: Sen. Mitt Romney said Friday that politicians attacking the vote by mail system are threatening global democracy but stopped short of criticizing President Donald Trump, who has been openly against an expected surge of mail-in ballots. The United States must stand as an example to more fragile democratic nations to show that elections can be held …

“They need to start breaking the bond that we have with each other. And they can do that by making us wear a mask. By telling us to stay at least six feet away from another human being. Because we don’t want to get too close, because they could be bad for us. “See, this is all about de-socialization. Love …

From the editorial board of the National Review: Party leaders can’t stop Greene from being elected in a district that routinely backs Republicans over Democrats by a 3-1 margin, but congressional Republicans would be wise to follow the lead of Illinois Republican Adam Kinzinger in repudiating Greene. House Republicans should go further and deny Greene committee assignments when she arrives …

The Hill reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) broke with President Trump on Friday by saying there is no debate over whether Sen. Kamala Harris is a U.S. citizen, remarks that came after the president encouraged a conspiracy theory that the California Democrat may not be eligible to serve as vice president because her parents are immigrants. In a pair of …

The Bangor Daily News reports: Sen. Susan Collins said Thursday that efforts by the U.S. Postal Service to cut costs could backfire amid reported mail delays in Maine and across the country and reiterated support to increase funding to the embattled agency. The Maine senator, who is facing the most competitive re-election campaign of her career this year and has …

Politico reports: Sen. Ron Johnson this week said his probe of Obama-era intelligence agencies would help President Donald Trump win reelection, igniting fury from Democrats who say it was an explicit admission he’s using his committee to damage Joe Biden’s candidacy for president. “The more that we expose of the corruption of the transition process between Obama and Trump, the …

The Washington Post reports: The RNC and Trump campaign advisers are now mapping out their post-election strategy, including how to challenge mail ballots without postmarks, as they anticipate weeks-long legal fights in an array of states, according to people familiar with the plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. The campaign plans to have lawyers …

The Texas Tribune reports: During a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Gov. Greg Abbott expressed his sympathy for Texans who are now unemployed following his order closing bars, but stressed that those areas are one of the most “prolific spreading events.” On Thursday, he said bars could potentially reopen once coronavirus metrics improve more significantly. He said he would need …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday withdrew his lawsuit challenging the city of Atlanta’s mask mandate and coronavirus restrictions, ending a legal feud between the Republican governor and the Democratic leader of the state’s capital city over how to contain the pandemic. Kemp said he will instead sign an executive order Saturday that is expected to specify …