Republicans

Vox reports: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a longtime opponent of “endless wars,” just blocked a resolution condemning President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American troops from northern Syria. “I object to this resolution because it does nothing to fix this problem,” Paul said, while pushing his own bill to stop arms sales to Turkey. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had …

The Associated Press reports: A farming business owned by the family of West Virginia’s billionaire governor has received $125,000 in soybean and corn subsidies, the maximum allowed from a federal program meant to help American farmers through the U.S. trade war with China. There is no evidence Gov. Jim Justice did anything illegal. But at least one analyst said the …

The Morning Consult reports: The most vulnerable Republican senators are not improving their standing in their home states ahead of a tough 2020 election cycle, while the field of potential Democratic challengers took shape and began to flex its muscle. Republicans representing Colorado, Arizona, North Carolina, Maine and Iowa all saw their net approval — the share of voters who …

The Associated Press reports: The House has overwhelmingly voted its bipartisan condemnation of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of American forces from northern Syria. Despite stark divisions over Democrats’ Trump impeachment inquiry, Democrats and Republicans banded together Wednesday and approved a nonbinding resolution by 354-60 vote. The resolution states Congress’ opposition to the troop pullback and says Turkey should cease its …

The Hill reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) teed off against the House impeachment inquiry on Tuesday, marking his first comments since Congress returned from its two-week break. “House Democrats are finally indulging in their impeachment obsession. Full steam ahead,” McConnell said during a speech from the Senate floor, adding that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had “crumbled” to …

The Huffington Post reports: Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel attacked Hunter Biden on Tuesday for using his family connections ― only to get called out by Twitter users for the exact same thing. McDaniel is the niece of former presidential nominee and current Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, but didn’t mention that minor detail in a tweet attacking the son …

The Associated Press reports: In a sign of a turbulent campaign to come, indicted U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter failed to win the endorsement Monday of his local Republican Party after arguing that he is the best candidate for the job despite his approaching federal trial. Hunter faced significant odds of winning the two-third support he needed for the nod from …

The Oregonian reports: Organizers of the Oregon Republican Party’s drive to recall Gov. Kate Brown conceded Monday that they did not manage to gather the necessary 280,050 valid voter signatures to put the recall on the ballot. Party Chairman Bill Currier did not return phone calls to The Oregonian/OregonLive, but he said on Monday’s Lars Larson Show that “we did …

Just in from Public Policy Polling: PPP’s newest Maine poll finds that Susan Collins is in trouble for reelection…and that she’s likely to find herself in more trouble no matter what side of impeachment she comes down on. Collins is unpopular, with only 35% of voters approving of the job she’s doing to 50% who disapprove. She trails a generic …

From the Conservative Partnership Institute: Conservatives unequivocally support Ken Cuccinelli for the position of Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. As acting head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Cuccinelli has proven himself exceptionally capable of executing the president’s agenda on complex and sensitive issues. Rather than backing away from a media that is at times overtly …

From the military blog Task & Purpose: On Sunday, the official Twitter account of Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), a decorated Army staff sergeant and freshman congressman from Florida’s 18th district, posted what was probably intended as a simple birthday message to the U.S. Navy featuring an imposing warship contrasted against a vanilla sky. Unfortunately, the unlucky staffer who likely produced …

From the right wing Washington Examiner: A Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee was ejected from a closed-door impeachment hearing. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida tried to enter a hearing Monday in which lawmakers from three different committees are interviewing President Trump’s former top aide on Russia, Fiona Hill. Gaetz said he believed he should be allowed to attend …

Politico reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham signaled on Sunday that President Donald Trump’s partnering with Congress to stop Turkish aggression in Syria would be “a game changer.”  “I applaud his decision to work with Congress to stop Turkeys [sic] aggression in Syria through crippling economic sanctions,” he tweeted, saying he had spoken to the president. “This decision by President Trump will …

The Hill reports: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) criticized Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) response to a town hall question about same-sex marriage earlier this week. On Warren’s response, Rubio tweeted Saturday, “Vividly captures the condescension of elites & their incessant ridicule of Americans with traditional values. It elicits glee among celebrities & blue check brigade.” “But for the millions sick of …

Politico reports: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan publicly expressed support for the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, joining a small but growing number of Republicans breaking from the party’s mostly unwavering support of the president. “I think we do need an inquiry because we have to get to the bottom of it,” Hogan said in a segment on PBS’ Firing …

Politico reports: Retiring Republican Rep. John Shimkus is ending his support for President Donald Trump after this week‘s withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Syria-Turkey border, calling the move “despicable.” The Illinois Republican told St. Louis radio station KMOX on Thursday that after he learned about the withdrawal, he told his own chief of staff to “pull my name off …

Phoenix’s NBC News affiliate reports: Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) said House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into President Trump was a “serious matter” but decried the “partisan bickering,” while adding the Senate Intelligence Committee would take the matter more seriously. “Every senator voted for the Senate Intelligence Committee to look into the matter in a bipartisan way,” she told 12 News KPNX. …

Politico reports: Turkey’s incursion into Syria on Wednesday is prompting fresh bipartisan condemnation of President Donald Trump’s moves and more congressional threats to hamstring Turkey economically, with some Republicans calling the situation “sickening” and a “terrible mistake” by the president. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), otherwise reliable allies of Trump, both lambasted the president on Wednesday …

Iowa Starting Line reports: Three times in a row today, Sen. Joni Ernst dodged questions about whether it’s appropriate for a president to ask a foreign power to investigate a political rival. After a round of questions from a CNN reporter looking for a “yes” or “no” answer from Ernst, the senator walked away and talked with a few Iowans …

Axios reports: In an interview with Axios on Tuesday night, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) condemned President Trump in his harshest language yet for deciding to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria, suggesting Trump is violating his oath of office by allowing Turkey to move in and attack the Kurds. Driving the news: Graham said Trump is making the biggest mistake …