Republicans

Knoxville’s NBC News affiliate reports: Two Tennessee representatives introduced a bill that would make the Holy Bible Tennessee’s official state book. Sen. Mark Pody and Rep. Jerry Sexton introduced HB2778/SB2696 on Feb. 5. This isn’t the first time Tennessee has seen such a proposal — Former Gov. Bill Haslam vetoed a similar bill in April 2016. At the time, Haslam …

“We won’t credential him as a conservative. I suppose if he wants to come as a non-conservative and debate an issue with us, maybe in the future we would have him come.  This year, I’d actually be afraid for his physical safety, people are so mad at him. “The biggest problem we have with Mitt Romney is not that he’s …

The Insider reports: Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says he doesn’t think God will judge him when he dies for voting to acquit President Donald Trump. Graham called in to Fox News Radio’s “Brian Kilmeade Show” to discuss the Senate vote that acquitted Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in his impeachment trial, and he discussed …

The Washington Post reports: The Senate’s impeachment trial of President Trump may have ended, but the political fallout will continue for weeks and possibly months to come. A pair of Democratic super PACs on Friday announced reservations for a several-million-dollar digital ad campaign targeting Republican senators in Arizona, Maine and North Carolina, two days after the trio voted to acquit …

Nancy Pelosi writes for the Washington Post: The president’s lawyers all but concede his misconduct. Their argument was only that Congress and the American people have no right to stop him from using his power to cheat in our elections. With their vote, Senate Republicans embraced this darkest vision of power: that if the president believes his reelection is good …

The Miami New Times reports: The Miami-Dade Democratic Party on Thursday filed a formal bar complaint against Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R), urging the Florida Bar to sanction the Trump acolyte for storming a secure congressional facility during the closed-door phase of the impeachment inquiry. As previously reported at the time, a faction of approximately two dozen House GOP members, …

The Portland Press-Herald reports: U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, appearing in Maine for the first time since her vote not to impeach President Trump, said Friday that she disapproves of retribution against anyone who came forward with evidence during the process. Trump is expected to fire Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a National Security Council aide who testified against him during the …

NPR reports: Mississippi’s former welfare director, four colleagues and a former pro wrestler have been charged with carrying out a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme to siphon public money from needy families for their own personal use — from business investments to a luxury rehab stay in California. Special agents from the Office of the State Auditor arrested John Davis, who is …

The Arkansas Times reports: Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway) took to Facebook to fret about the upcoming appearance of Emmy Award-winning actor Billy Porter, of the FX show “Pose,” on an episode of “Sesame Street.” “What do you think I should do about this as your state senator? Do you approve of your taxpayer dollars being used to promote the radical …

The Washington Post reports: Joe Walsh, a former Illinois congressman who last year announced a primary challenge to President Donald Trump, has ended his long-shot bid for the Republican nomination, he said on CNN Friday morning. Walsh, a tea party activist who hosted a conservative talk radio show, once supported Trump but became one of the most prominent Republican voices …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump abused his power and shouldn’t be in office, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a fellow Republican, said Thursday in a rare dissent from within party ranks. The U.S. Senate should have been allowed to hear from more witnesses who could have provided evidence about the charges against the president, Scott, a frequent Trump critic, …

The Sacramento Bee reports: Twitter is demanding that Rep. Devin Nunes pay its legal fees in a new court filing responding to one of the Republican congressman’s attempts to identify anonymous people who heckle him online. Nunes, R-Tulare, is suing Twitter, two parody accounts known as Devin Nunes’ Cow and Devin Nunes’ Mom and a Republican strategist in Henrico County, …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: A rural Utah lawmaker is asking his colleagues to send a message of support to President Donald Trump by voting to censure Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, on Thursday announced that he had filed a resolution to censure Romney, saying the senator’s judgment was questionable even if his motives were pure. “We’re …

From the editorial board of the Salt Lake Tribune: He could have voted with the rest of the Republican members of the Senate of the United States to acquit the president of the United States on both of the articles of impeachment brought by the House of Representatives. He could have rationalized it — to himself, to his party, to …

The New York Times reports: Senator Mitt Romney of Utah said Wednesday that he would vote to convict President Trump of abuse of power, making him the first Republican to support removing Mr. Trump for his bid to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. “I think the case was made,” Mr. Romney said in an interview in his Senate …

Via press release: Law360 has recognized McGuireWoods as a White Collar Practice Group of the Year — one of only five firms to earn the prestigious honor. It marks the second time the publication has recognized the firm for its elite government investigations and white collar litigation practice. McGuireWoods earned the Law360 recognition for its work handling high-stakes investigations and …

The Charleston Post & Courier reports: A group of prominent Upstate Republicans is preparing to launch a wide-scale effort this week to encourage GOP voters across South Carolina to vote for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Feb. 29 Democratic primary, The Post and Courier has learned. The Republican plan to impact the Democratic race, emerging just weeks before the …

Mediaite reports: Missouri Republican Congressman Billy Long became an Internet sensation of the 2020 State-of-the-Union address for enthusiastically cheering President Donald Trump and giving thumbs up while a wad of cash appeared to spill out of his suit’s breast pocket. Long was seen on camera, with stacks of what looked like US currency sticking up from his pocket, reacting with …

Fox News reports: Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said he was “disgusted and insulted” after seeing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tear up her copy of President Trump’s State of the Union speech following his remarks Tuesday evening. Pelosi’s move sparked outrage from many others on the right as well, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, House minority whip …

Reuters reports: Republican Senator Rand Paul gave the purported name of the anonymous whistleblower at the center of President Donald Trump’s impeachment in a speech in the Senate on Tuesday, after earlier being blocked from doing so during Trump’s trial. Paul uttered the name in a question that U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts had earlier declined to read …