Republicans

From the editorial board of the Philadelphia Inquirer: During the2018 campaign, Rep. Jeff Van Drew raised $1.9 million — about half in individual donations, and close to $120,000 in small donations, according to Federal Election Committee data. As a show of gratitude, Van Drew announced last week his intention to switch parties and become a Republican after less than a …

Talking Points Memo reports: Five staffers of Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ) announced their decision to resign from his office in light of his decision to join the Republican Party after declaring that he opposes impeachment. In a letter sent Sunday, the staffers said Van Drew’s decision to defect from Democrats and join the GOP compelled them to resign from …

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: Rep. Jeff Van Drew, the conservative South Jersey Democrat who has vocally opposed impeaching President Donald Trump, is expected to switch parties in the coming days, according to three New Jersey Democratic sources, leaving a party he has represented for more than 20 years. Van Drew didn’t just oppose the impeachment effort. He repeatedly touted his …

The Kansas City Star reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has launched a personal Twitter account in anticipation of a run for an open Senate seat in Kansas. A source close to Pompeo said that the Republican “needed to set up a personal Twitter account for future plans,” strongly indicating the secretary is laying the groundwork for a run. A …

The Hill reports: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)on Saturday pledged to help impeachment “die quickly” in the Senate as it becomes increasingly likely that the House will vote to impeach President Trump, leading to a Senate trial. “This thing will come to the Senate, and it will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make …

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports: In twenty tweets Friday evening, the Republican ex-governor defended his decision to issue pardons that ranged from a man convicted of beheading a woman and stuffing her in a barrel, to a man convicted of hiring a hit man to kill his business partner, to a man convicted of raping a 9-year-old. On Friday, Senate President …

The Huffington Post reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday night bragged about blocking President Barack Obama’s attempt to fill federal judicial vacancies for two years. Then, he laughed about it as he discussed the Republican Party’s effort to stack the courts with conservative judges under President Donald Trump. “I was shocked that former President Obama left so …

The Washington Post reports:  Matt Bevin is no longer the governor of Kentucky, but his decisions continued to send shock waves through the state’s legal system this week after he issued pardons for hundreds of people, some of whom committed violent offenses. Bevin issued 428 pardons since his defeat to Democrat Andy Beshear in a close election in November. His …

The Hill reports: Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld (R) said Thursday that as many as a half-dozen GOP senators are privately in favor of voting to convict President Trump at a likely impeachment trial. “I know most of the senior Republicans in the Senate,” Weld, a long-shot candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, said in an interview at The Hill’s …

CNN reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to hold a final vote to acquit President Donald Trump, should he be impeached, when a majority of senators believe his trial has run its course instead of holding a vote on dismissing the articles of impeachment, two Republican senators told CNN. Republicans want to have a vote on acquittal — …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: The family of a man pardoned by Gov. Matt Bevin for a homicide and other crimes in a fatal 2014 Knox County home invasion raised $21,500 at a political fundraiser last year to retire debt from Bevin’s 2015 gubernatorial campaign. The brother and sister-in-law of offender Patrick Brian Baker also gave $4,000 to Bevin’s campaign on …

NBC News reports: As the Senate begins preparations for an impeachment trial next month, many Republican members are questioning the wisdom of having President Donald Trump call witnesses and are instead discussing a speedy resolution. Republican senators have been holding talks about the likely trial and few see the benefit of a slate of witnesses testifying on behalf of the …

Gothamist reports: A failed attempt to secede is still well-regarded in some quarters of the South, a century-and-a-half after the Civil War. And the failed attempt to secede is apparently still well-regarded in some quarters of New York’s southern-most corner, a generation-and-a-half after the last breakaway attempt failed. So says Staten Island City Councilman Joe Borelli. “Secession is wildly popular …

The Week reports: Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) just spent more than 40 minutes tearing into the FBI for its handling of the 2016 investigation into Russian election interference. Graham said FBI agents were “biased” against President Trump and questioned whether the agency had selected its top individuals. Graham did say he respects the FBI as a whole, …

The Hill reports: Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) has blocked an attempt by Democrats to pass legislation meant to prevent Russia and other countries from interfering in elections. Crapo’s move came after Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) asked for consent to pass the Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines, or DETER Act. Van Hollen argued the bill would underscore that …

CNN reports: In conversations with the White House, the Kentucky Republican has made clear he hopes to end the trial as soon as he can, an effort to both get impeachment off his lap and protect his conference from potentially damaging votes should the process break out into partisan warfare. That will include a continuous whip count until McConnell feels …

Yahoo News reports: Republican Rep. Ted Yoho of Florida announced Tuesday that he will not seek another term, saying he never meant to spend more than eight years in Congress. Democrats seized upon the news as a sign of weakening morale among the GOP. Yoho, who aligned himself with the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party and has been …

NPR reports: Pierce Bush, the grandson of former President George H.W. Bush, says he’s running for Congress in Texas. Bush joins a crowded GOP field in Texas’ 22nd congressional district, a seat currently held by retiring Republican Rep. Pete Olson. At least 14 other Republicans are running in the GOP primary for this suburban Houston district, which will likely also …

The Daily Beast reports: A perennial Republican House candidate whose doomed bids against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) have become a cause celebre on the right was arrested Saturday on three felony charges. Businessman Omar Navarro has leveraged his frequent campaigns against Waters to become a prominent voice on the far-right, earning more than $1 million in campaign contributions and the …

USA Today reports: Another flashpoint came after Democratic and Republican presentations on what the Intelligence Committee found in the impeachment inquiry. At that point, Democratic counsel Barry Berke had moved from the witness table to the counsel chair at the elbow of Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, challenged having Berke both testify and then serve as counsel …