Republicans

Roll Call reports: Former Rep. Chris Collins, who was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison in January for insider trading, will have his surrender date pushed back yet again due to the coronavirus pandemic. The New York Republican is set to report to FPC Pensacola on Aug. 18 to serve his 26-month sentence. The facility is a …

South Carolina’s FITS News reports: Around the time most South Carolinians were sitting down to their evening meals on Thursday night, a gay porn star by the name of Sean Harding fired off a tweet that set tongues-a-wagging across the Palmetto State (and in the nation’s capital). “There is a homophobic republican senator who is no better than (Donald Trump) …

The Texas Tribune reports: Republican leaders in five Texas counties shared racist Facebook posts, some of which also floated conspiracy theories, leading Gov. Greg Abbott to call for two of them to resign. Abbott and other top Texas Republicans called for the resignation of the GOP chairs in Bexar and Nueces counties after they shared on social media a conspiracy …

NBC News reports: As Republicans scramble to reboot the GOP convention, one option gaining traction is a multistate affair with major speeches and rallies in a variety of cities, according to three people familiar with the discussions. Part of the appeal of the roadshow approach is that it could allow President Donald Trump to claim having commanded the highest-attended convention …

Charlotteville’s CBS News affiliate reports: A racist, homophobic video made by a campaign surrogate for Republican Fifth District Congressional candidate Bob Good is circulating on social media. The video has some Greene County Republicans calling on Good to condemn the video or withdraw from the race. In the video, former Greene County Supervisor Eddie Deane sounds off about protesters who …

Esquire reports: Rod Rosenstein, the former deputy attorney general, popped by the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing into the origins of the investigation into the connections between the president*’s 2016 campaign and the Volga Bagmen. This, of course, was another episode in the continuing series, Bailing Out the President’s Ass, and the whole scene was rather pointless, except for …

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports: Tennessee must give all of its 4.1 million registered voters the option to cast ballots by mail during the coronavirus pandemic, a judge ruled Thursday. Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled that the state’s limits on absentee voting during the pandemic constitute “an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote guaranteed by …

The Anchorage Daily News reports: Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told reporters on Thursday that criticism levied at President Donald Trump by his former defense secretary is “true, honest, necessary and overdue” and said she is “struggling” with her support of the president. Murkowski’s comments represent an unusual rebuke for a Republican senator of the president’s actions in a time …

Axios reports: A New York Times spokesperson said in a statement Thursday that the paper will be changing its editorial board processes after a Wednesday op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), which called for President Trump to “send in the troops” in order to quell violent protests, failed to meet its standards. The shift comes after Times employees began a …

Stand by for another tweetstorm over this: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Thursday praised former Defense Secretary James Mattis, who, on Wednesday, offered a blistering critique of President Trump as a divisive leader. “Gen. Mattis’s letter was stunning and powerful. Gen. Mattis is a man of extraordinary sacrifice. He’s an American patriot. He’s an individual whose judgment I respect, and …

Reuters reports: Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley on Thursday said he would seek to block two of Donald Trump’s nominees in response to the president’s firing of two inspectors general, citing the need for “checks and balances.” Grassley has been pressing the White House to provide a rationale for Trump’s decision to dismiss the intelligence community’s inspector general and his …

The Washington Post reports: Staffers at the New York Times are publicly rebuking their own newspaper for publishing an op-ed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), which called for military intervention into American cities where protests over George Floyd’s death have led to further unrest. The backlash, which spilled out on Twitter, came from dozens across the organization and included opinion …

Sen. Tom Cotton writes in the New York Times: These rioters, if not subdued, not only will destroy the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens but will also take more innocent lives. Many poor communities that still bear scars from past upheavals will be set back still further. One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show …

The Nashville Business Journal reports: Republicans are looking for a place to hold a party, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee says Nashville is open for business. Lee’s office is in “early” talks with the GOP about moving the 2020 Republican National Convention from Charlotte to Nashville, Lee said Tuesday. RNC officials are expected to visit Music City on Thursday. “Nashville …

The Des Moines Register reports: Republican voters ousted U.S. Rep. Steve King on Tuesday, delivering an end to the two decades of controversy he brought to his heavily conservative district. The Associated Press has called the 4th Congressional District primary race for state Sen. Randy Feenstra of Hull, who had the backing of many state elected officials and national Republican …

The Hill reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday sidestepped a question about President Trump’s response to protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, and didn’t directly weigh in on the treatment of protesters outside the White House on Monday night. “I’m not going to critique other people’s performances. I can speak for myself, and I just …

The New York Times reports: The Republican National Committee is actively looking at alternative sites for its nominating convention in August, amid a high-stakes public feud with Democratic officials in Charlotte, N.C., the long-planned host city. Officials are planning to visit Nashville this week. Other cities under consideration, according to a Republican official familiar with the plans, are Las Vegas, …

The Associated Press reports: “There is no right to riot, no right to destroy others’ property, and no right to throw rocks at police. But there is a fundamental — a Constitutional — right to protest, and I’m against clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op that treats the Word of God as a political prop,″ said Republican …

Politico reports: North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, on Tuesday rejected the GOP’s plans for a full-fledged convention in Charlotte, telling Republican officials the only way the convention would move forward is with proper health protocols in place. “The people of North Carolina do not know what the status of COVID-19 will be in August, so planning for a scaled-down …

“The president should help to heal the racial divisions in this country. It is at times like this that a president needs to speak to the nation, to pledge to right wrongs, and to calm inflamed passions. “It was painful to watch peaceful protestors be subjected to tear gas in order for the President to go across the street to …