Republicans

“It is so unseemly for a former president to take the virtual commencement ceremony for a series of historically black colleges and universities and turn it into a political drive-by shooting. “I mean, you know, this is a moment where these young graduates could be inspired to a life of service, to, you know, recognize that life is going to …

Axios reports: President Trump is leaning toward preserving his total funding cut for the World Health Organization after being on the brink of announcing he’d restore partial funding, according to three sources familiar with the situation. A fourth source, a senior administration official, cautioned that the decision-making was fluid and was still subject to change. Behind the scenes: Trump spent …

Cox Media reports: Republican Sen. Mitt Romney on Saturday denounced President Donald Trump’s firings of internal government oversight officials, calling it a “threat to accountable democracy.” Romney’s comments came in response to Trump’s Friday firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick — the latest in a series of dismissals of independent government watchdogs that have come in the wake …

Meditiate reports: President Donald Trump has been relentless in his political attacks on former Vice President Joe Biden, despite the fact that the RNC recently poll-tested 20 different lines of attack against Biden and found that none of them were effective. Trump’s latest line of attack has been the ill-defined conspiracy theory known as “Obamagate” — which Mediaite founder Dan …

“You can’t pass a bill on this floor with proxies and have it upheld unless you change the Constitution, and this doesn’t do it. “Now some here say, ‘But if it saves one life, it’s worth it.’ How about the million Americans who laid down their lives not for a wishy washy ‘Oh maybe we should be afraid we might …

The Washington Post reports: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy refused to endorse Rep. Steve King in his primary election and shot down the Iowa Republican’s claim this week that he’d get back his committee assignments. King, who is facing a tough primary challenge in June, said during a candidate forum Monday that he and McCarthy (R-Calif.) had reached an agreement …

The Christian Post reports: Twenty members of Congress have signed onto a letter urging Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to protect Christian military service members who are under threat from a secular legal organization that’s calling on the military to punish them for sharing their Christian faith. Led by Reps. Doug Collins, R-Ga., and Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., they and 18 …

The Huffington Post reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he was wrong to claim former President Barack Obama didn’t leave a “game plan” to deal with a pandemic when he left the White House to President Donald Trump. “I was wrong,” McConnell told Fox News’ Bret Baier. “They did leave behind a plan, so I clearly made …

CNBC reports: Sen. Richard Burr will step down as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee amid an FBI probe of Burr’s stock sales in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. “Senator Burr contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the pendency of the investigation,” Senate Majority …

Politico reports: Senate Republicans have a problem in Kansas. And they still think Mike Pompeo is the solution. Staring at a messy primary, a credible Democratic challenger and a real battle for Senate control, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing for the secretary of State to jump into the race with just weeks to go until the filing deadline. …

NBC News reports: A senior law enforcement official confirms to NBC News that the FBI obtained the cellphone of Sen. Richard Burr pursuant to a search warrant, as part of an investigation of possible insider trading. Burr turned over his phone to agents after they served a search warrant at his Washington, D.C.-area residence. Burr, R-N.C., who chairs the Senate …

The Washington Post reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the state’s highest court on Wednesday to stop election officials from allowing voters to cast absentee ballots while citing fears of the coronavirus. In a filing with the Texas Supreme Court, Paxton argued that officials in five counties overstepped their authority by recommending that voters who are concerned about contracting …

Roll Call reports: Rep. Steve King said he and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy agreed he should be able to sit on committees, a privilege King was stripped of when he made racist comments in early 2019, but some top Republicans are not open to the idea. Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming — the third-highest ranking Republican in …

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports: The Wisconsin Supreme Court has struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ order shutting down daily life to limit the spread of coronavirus — marking the first time a statewide order of its kind has been knocked down by a court of last resort. The state’s highest court, which is controlled by conservatives, sided with Republican lawmakers Wednesday …

The Washington Post reports: Mike Garcia, a businessman and former Navy pilot, defeated state Assemblywoman Christy Smith, who conceded the election Wednesday. Although mail-in ballots remained uncounted, Garcia had a comfortable 12-point lead over Smith in the 25th District, north of Los Angeles. Garcia will finish the term of Katie Hill, the Democratic congresswoman who resigned last year amid allegations …

The Sioux City Journal reports: Northwest Iowa Congressman Steve King said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has agreed to a process by which the nine-term incumbent can get “exoneration” and back on committees that were stripped in January 2019 after King’s controversial published remarks about white supremacy. “On April 20, Kevin McCarthy and I reached an agreement that he would …

Talking Points Memo reports: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) stood by the biting comments he made to top White House COVID-19 task force official Dr. Anthony Fauci about the doctor’s opinion that it would be premature to reopen the country right now. Paul argued that “we really need to have competition among the experts,” pointing to British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson’s projection …

Austin’s ABC News affiliate reports: On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a letter to Travis County and the city of Austin, warning some requirements in the city and county’s stay-at-home orders are unlawful and must change to meet the state’s most recent order. According to Paxton, those requirements include “strict and unconstitutional demands” on houses of worship, restrictions …

ABC News reports: As the long-term effects of the devastating coronavirus pandemic become more apparent and the country assesses reopening, some vulnerable Senate Republicans appear to be shifting their campaign messaging away from their ties to President Donald Trump. Although Arizona Sen. Martha McSally hosted Trump in his first visit outside of Washington since the country began re-opening, he hasn’t …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Gov. Brian Kemp extended some coronavirus restrictions Tuesday as he eased other limits imposed during the pandemic, setting the stage for summer camps to reopen and some state employees to return to offices within a week. The governor ordered bars, nightclubs and live performance venues to remain shuttered through the end of May, which he said …