Republicans

Courthouse News reports: A group of Illinois Republicans sued the state’s Democratic governor and others in federal court Monday over a law they claim is designed to expand voting by mail to dilute Republican votes and tilt elections in favor of Democrats, while also risking a spike in voter fraud. The Cook County Republican Party targeted Governor J.B. Pritzker in …

The Hartford Courant reports: A Republican running for Congress in Connecticut’s 2nd District abruptly dropped his bid on the day of the primary following his arrest. Thomas Gilmer of Madison was arrested by Wethersfield police late Monday, a department official confirmed. He was charged on a warrant with first-degree unlawful restraint and second-degree strangulation and posted a $5,000 bond. Sources …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday ruled out ordering public school systems to impose mask mandates for returning students and teachers, echoing his preference that local education officials decide whether to require face coverings to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Kemp, speaking at the opening of a testing site at Hartsfield-Jackson airport, said he was confident …

The Associated Press reports: Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said Monday that he has subpoenaed the FBI to produce documents to his committee related to the Trump-Russia investigation. The Wisconsin senator also defended a separate investigation he is leading into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Ukraine, even as Democrats say the probe has the effect of amplifying Russian propaganda and …

The Birmingham News reports: The attorney for state Rep. Will Dismukes, R-Prattville, said today Dismukes disputes the charge that he stole money from a former employer and expects him to put up a vigorous defense. Attorney Trey Norman said he has not asked Dismukes, 30, if he is going to resign his seat in the Alabama House of Representatives. But …

Politico reports: Facing possible electoral calamity, Republicans are now turning to a familiar playbook: stoking fear by trying to redefine the Black Lives Matter movement as a radical leftist mob looking to sabotage the white, suburban lifestyle. Republicans are using two lines of attack: the Trump administration, candidates in safe red seats and right-wing social media channels seek to label …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton advised today that local Texas governments’ attempts to delay evictions for renters grappling with the COVID-19 recession amounted to rewriting state law — something they can’t do, he said in nonbinding legal guidance. “While local officials do possess certain emergency powers … statewide eviction procedures far exceed the requirement that those …

From a money beg issued today by Rep. Gym Jordan: Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the radical, unhinged Democrats got what they have wanted since November 2016. They undermined our democracy in January by voting to impeach President Trump – our duly elected president who 63 MILLION Americans voted for! Schiff and Pelosi are furious that …

Politico reports: House GOP leaders raced to disavow a Republican congressional candidate who made racist Facebook videos and embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory. But less than two months later, the party has done little to block Marjorie Taylor Greene from winning a seat in the House. Now, Republicans could be days away from adding their most controversial member yet to …

The Hill reports: “The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop,” Sasse said in a statement.  “President Obama did not have the power to unilaterally rewrite immigration law with DACA, and President Trump does not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law.“ Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R) offered less harsh comments, saying that while he …

Courthouse News reports: A federal judge in Iowa dismissed California Congressman Devin Nunes’ libel suit against Esquire magazine and journalist Ryan Lizza over an article saying Nunes was hiding a “politically explosive secret” involving his family’s dairy farm in the Hawkeye State. Nunes, a Republican who has represented California’s 22nd Congressional District since 2003, filed a lawsuit last year in …

USA Today reports: As Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed this summer for schools to reopen, state leaders told school boards they would need Health Department approval if they wanted to keep classrooms closed. Then they instructed health directors not to give it. Following a directive from DeSantis’ administration, county health directors across Florida refused to give school boards advice about one …

Roll Call reports: Three months ago, House Administration ranking member Rodney Davis led the GOP opposition to Democrats’ proxy voting rule that allows members to cast votes from their districts during the pandemic. Now the Illinois Republican, stuck quarantining at home after a positive COVID-19 test, will likely miss his opportunity to vote on the next coronavirus relief package because …

The Washington Post reports: It was a selfie by Del. Mark Cole that first caught Sookyung Oh’s eye. Cole (R-Fredericksburg) tweeted an image showing off a bright red face mask he said he’d purchased from the congressional campaign of Del. Nick Freitas (R-Culpeper) Oh, who is Virginia director of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) Action Fund, …

Just in from Gallup Polling: With more indications that a vaccine could be close, the next question for health professionals, policymakers and political leaders will be Americans’ willingness to be vaccinated once a vaccine is ready. But many Americans appear reluctant to be vaccinated, even if a vaccine were FDA-approved and available to them at no cost. Asked if they …

The Columbus Dispatch reports: A more sensitive coronavirus test has determined that Gov. Mike DeWine does not have COVID-19, his office announced Thursday night. A rapid test before DeWine was scheduled to greet President Donald Trump in Cleveland determined he was positive for the virus. A second, more-proven test administered later Thursday in Columbus produced a negative result. “We feel …

The Alabama Political Reporter reports: An arrest warrant has been issued for Alabama State Rep. Will Dismukes, R-Prattville, for felony theft from a business where he worked, Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey said Thursday. Dismukes is charged with first-degree theft of property in connection with a theft that occurred at his place of employment between the years 2016 to …

The New York Daily News reports: You can go to Disney World now — if you dare. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) on Thursday finally rescinded coronavirus quarantine rules on people coming to Florida from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, months after the tri-state area tamed the pandemic. DeSantis, who is facing harsh criticism for allowing the pandemic to rage …

The Texas Tribune reports: Five of the Texas Legislature’s most conservative members are suing Gov. Greg Abbott and state health officials, claiming Texas leaders overstepped their bounds when they awarded a major contract for tracking Texas’ coronavirus outbreak to a little-known technology firm. In a lawsuit filed Monday, Republican state Reps. Mike Lang, Kyle Biedermann, Bill Zedler, Steve Toth and …

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday before he was supposed to greet President Donald Trump. DeWine took a COVID-19 test as part of the protocol to meet Trump on the tarmac at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland. Trump planned to tour the Whirlpool plant in Clyde, Ohio, before attending a private …