Republicans

NPR reports: Mississippi’s former welfare director, four colleagues and a former pro wrestler have been charged with carrying out a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme to siphon public money from needy families for their own personal use — from business investments to a luxury rehab stay in California. Special agents from the Office of the State Auditor arrested John Davis, who is …

The Arkansas Times reports: Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway) took to Facebook to fret about the upcoming appearance of Emmy Award-winning actor Billy Porter, of the FX show “Pose,” on an episode of “Sesame Street.” “What do you think I should do about this as your state senator? Do you approve of your taxpayer dollars being used to promote the radical …

The Washington Post reports: Joe Walsh, a former Illinois congressman who last year announced a primary challenge to President Donald Trump, has ended his long-shot bid for the Republican nomination, he said on CNN Friday morning. Walsh, a tea party activist who hosted a conservative talk radio show, once supported Trump but became one of the most prominent Republican voices …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump abused his power and shouldn’t be in office, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a fellow Republican, said Thursday in a rare dissent from within party ranks. The U.S. Senate should have been allowed to hear from more witnesses who could have provided evidence about the charges against the president, Scott, a frequent Trump critic, …

The Sacramento Bee reports: Twitter is demanding that Rep. Devin Nunes pay its legal fees in a new court filing responding to one of the Republican congressman’s attempts to identify anonymous people who heckle him online. Nunes, R-Tulare, is suing Twitter, two parody accounts known as Devin Nunes’ Cow and Devin Nunes’ Mom and a Republican strategist in Henrico County, …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: A rural Utah lawmaker is asking his colleagues to send a message of support to President Donald Trump by voting to censure Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, on Thursday announced that he had filed a resolution to censure Romney, saying the senator’s judgment was questionable even if his motives were pure. “We’re …

From the editorial board of the Salt Lake Tribune: He could have voted with the rest of the Republican members of the Senate of the United States to acquit the president of the United States on both of the articles of impeachment brought by the House of Representatives. He could have rationalized it — to himself, to his party, to …

The New York Times reports: Senator Mitt Romney of Utah said Wednesday that he would vote to convict President Trump of abuse of power, making him the first Republican to support removing Mr. Trump for his bid to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. “I think the case was made,” Mr. Romney said in an interview in his Senate …

Via press release: Law360 has recognized McGuireWoods as a White Collar Practice Group of the Year — one of only five firms to earn the prestigious honor. It marks the second time the publication has recognized the firm for its elite government investigations and white collar litigation practice. McGuireWoods earned the Law360 recognition for its work handling high-stakes investigations and …

The Charleston Post & Courier reports: A group of prominent Upstate Republicans is preparing to launch a wide-scale effort this week to encourage GOP voters across South Carolina to vote for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Feb. 29 Democratic primary, The Post and Courier has learned. The Republican plan to impact the Democratic race, emerging just weeks before the …

Mediaite reports: Missouri Republican Congressman Billy Long became an Internet sensation of the 2020 State-of-the-Union address for enthusiastically cheering President Donald Trump and giving thumbs up while a wad of cash appeared to spill out of his suit’s breast pocket. Long was seen on camera, with stacks of what looked like US currency sticking up from his pocket, reacting with …

Fox News reports: Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said he was “disgusted and insulted” after seeing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tear up her copy of President Trump’s State of the Union speech following his remarks Tuesday evening. Pelosi’s move sparked outrage from many others on the right as well, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, House minority whip …

Reuters reports: Republican Senator Rand Paul gave the purported name of the anonymous whistleblower at the center of President Donald Trump’s impeachment in a speech in the Senate on Tuesday, after earlier being blocked from doing so during Trump’s trial. Paul uttered the name in a question that U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts had earlier declined to read …

The Associated Press reports: A Montana lawmaker on Monday rejected legislative leaders’ call for his resignation over his assertion that the U.S. Constitution allows socialists to be jailed or shot. He said he filed to run for the state Senate on Friday, a decision that had nothing to do with the response to his comments. Republican Rep. Rodney Garcia of …

From the editorial board of the Fresno Bee: Two years ago, The Bee did not recommend Republican Devin Nunes for the 22nd District congressional seat. He had previously received the paper’s recommendation in every campaign since he was first elected in 2002. What changed? Nunes himself. He became obsessed with defending President Donald Trump against the Mueller investigation, to the …

How utterly unsurprising: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said on Monday that she will vote to acquit President Trump on the two House-passed articles of impeachment. Murkowski is the first of a small group of potential swing-vote senators to announce their decision ahead of Wednesday’s expected final vote. “I cannot vote to convict. The Constitution provides for impeachment but does not …

The Daily Beast reports: A mysterious Hawaii company may have illegally funneled a six-figure contribution to a political group boosting an embattled Republican Senator 5,000 miles away, an ethics watchdog alleged on Monday. The company, Society of Young Women Scientist and Engineers LLC, was formed in late November, according to corporate records in Hawaii. Just over a month later, on …

The Associated Press reports: For the past four days, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been calling for authoritarian governments in eastern Europe and Central Asia to ease restrictions on press freedom despite criticism for his own treatment of journalists at home. In Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan over the weekend and again on Monday, Pompeo raised human rights issues, …

Talking Points Memo reports: So much for blood is thicker than water. Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel dodged when asked to respond to the GOP backlash her uncle Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) has faced since being one of two Republicans who voted in favor of witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial Friday. During an interview on CBS’ “Face the …

Bloomberg News reports: Iowa Senator Joni Ernst warned Sunday that Republicans would immediately push to impeach Joe Biden over his work in Ukraine as vice president if he win the White House. “I think this door of impeachable whatever has been opened,” Ernst said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “Joe Biden should be very careful what he’s asking for …