Republicans

Chicago’s NBC News affiliate reports: Illinois Rep. Darren Bailey was removed from the state legislature Wednesday after refusing to comply with a rule requiring all lawmakers to wear masks during the special session. After the State House voted overwhelmingly to adopt the rule, Democratic Rep. Chris Welch made a motion to remove Bailey from the House proceedings. After Bailey refused …

Seems like somebody doesn’t want to be prosecuted: Jeff Sprecher, the husband of Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), sent a $1 million check to the leading pro-Trump super PAC even as she been fending off criticism around her family’s stock trading. Sprecher, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, donated to America First Action on April 29, according to a …

The New York Post reports: It’s a prank that would make Bart Simpson proud. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves was duped into congratulating a curiously named student — Harry Azcrac — during a virtual graduation ceremony. In the video, streamed on Facebook Live, Reeves sends his well wishes to the school’s valedictorian before running down the list of newly minted graduates. …

Jared Holt reports at Right Wing Watch: Republicans in the state of Oregon have voted to nominate someone who believes in the QAnon conspiracy theory as their candidate for U.S. Senate in November’s ​election showdown​. Jo Rae Perkins, whom Right Wing Watch profiled in January, won her primary election yesterday in a blowout, stomping her next​ closest opponent by more …

The Sarasota Herald reports: Facing an explosive charge that his administration is manipulating coronavirus data to help make the case for reopening Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis played down the controversy today as a “nonissue.” Rebekah Jones, a data expert at the Florida Department of Health, told FLORIDA TODAY that she was fired on Monday. And she said in an email …

Courthouse News reports: A pair of Republican lawmakers in California say they’re prepping a bill aimed at restricting the unprecedented power wielded by Governor Gavin Newsom during the Covid-19 health emergency. The bill by Assemblymen James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, and Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin [photo], seeks to end Newsom’s emergency powers by enacting a resolution that overturns the state’s declaration of …

The Texas Tribune reports: A federal judge opened a path for a massive expansion in absentee voting in Texas by ordering Tuesday that all state voters, regardless of age, qualify for mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. Days after a two-hour preliminary injunction hearing in San Antonio, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery agreed with individual Texas voters and the Texas …

The Associated Press reports: Republican political operatives are recruiting “extremely pro-Trump” doctors to go on television to prescribe reviving the U.S. economy as quickly as possible, without waiting to meet safety benchmarks proposed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. The plan was discussed in a May 11 conference call …

The Washington Examiner reports: In the special election for appointed Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s seat, again, none of the rivals attract the 50% support needed to skip a runoff. Loeffler’s campaign in the so-called jungle primary has been derailed by allegations she and her New York Stock Exchange chairman husband Jeffrey Sprecher made favorable trades after she received a private …

Florida Today reports: Late last Friday, the architect and manager of Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard — praised by White House officials for its accessibility — announced that she had been removed from her post, causing outcry from independent researchers now worried about government censorship. The site was created by a team of Florida Department of Health data scientists and public health …

Axios reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Monday that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will serve as the acting chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee while a federal investigation into Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is ongoing. The backdrop: Last week, the FBI seized Burr’s phone as part of an investigation into stock trades he made shortly before the coronavirus …

The Associated Press reports: Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Monday that the party “will not be holding a virtual convention,” pledging that the presidential nominating convention in late August will be conducted at least partly in-person. “It’s quite a ways away, and there’s ample time for us to adjust, if necessary,” McDaniel said. But later, in response to …

The New York Times reports: The Republican program, which has gained steam in recent weeks, envisions recruiting up to 50,000 volunteers in 15 key states to monitor polling places and challenge ballots and voters deemed suspicious. That is part of a $20 million plan that also allots millions to challenge lawsuits by Democrats and voting-rights advocates seeking to loosen state …

“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 …