Republicans

Roll Call reports: Thad Cochran of Mississippi, the mannerly former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee where he was a dependable provider for his home state during more than four decades in Congress, has died at the age of 81. Cochran, who retired from the Senate on April 1, 2018, after dealing with health issues, died Thursday morning in Oxford, …

Politico reports: A defiant Roy Moore brushed aside Donald Trump’s warning not to run for Senate again, telling POLITICO on Wednesday that Alabama voters are capable of deciding for themselves whether he’s fit for office. “The president doesn’t control who votes for the United States Senate in Alabama,” Moore said in a phone interview. “People in Alabama are smarter than …

Courthouse News reports: The Miami Herald and others sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his cabinet on Tuesday, claiming their planned meeting in Jerusalem on Wednesday will violate the open-meetings provision of the state’s Sunshine Law. The Tampa Bay Times, Gannett, and Gatehouse Media joined the Herald and the First Amendment Foundation in opposing the cabinet meeting planned for the …

The New York Times reports: Democrats accused Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, of hypocrisy on Tuesday after he said Republicans would confirm a justice to the Supreme Court if a seat opened up amid the election campaign in 2020, even after denying President Barack Obama a similar opportunity in 2016. The senator made the remarks at a Chamber of …

Mobile’s NBC affiliate reports: In a heated exchange on Twitter Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr., son of the President of the United States, went after controversial former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, advising him not to run as a 2020 U.S. Senate candidate after his loss to Democrat Doug Jones in 2017. While Moore has expressed interest in a 2020 run, …

CBS News reports:  The only Republican in Congress to accuse President Trump of impeachable conduct faced voters in his Michigan district Tuesday, receiving a standing ovation from many who saluted his “courage” while sparring with some former supporters who faulted him for embracing a Democratic “smear attack” against Mr. Trump. During a two hour event that was originally scheduled to …

CBS News reports: Republican Rep. Justin Amash — the first and thus far only Republican to say the president has committed impeachable offenses — isn’t backing down. And he doesn’t seem to care if the whole world knows it. Amash raised plenty of eyebrows earlier this month when he described Mr. Trump’s actions outlined in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report …

ABC News reports: The embattled Texas elections chief who questioned the U.S. citizenship of nearly 100,000 people resigned Monday ahead of being forced out of office, stepping down as Republicans went home to defend their vulnerable majority in 2020 rather than try forcing a late vote to save Gov. Greg Abbott’s nominee. Secretary of State David Whitley never received a …

The Idaho State Journal reports: A fundraising event for the proposed creation of a 51st state called Liberty started on a tense note Thursday evening as onetime loyalists of state Rep. Matt Shea held what they called a “silent protest” and stood toe-to-toe with armed security guards. The Liberty State Gala drew about 200 people to the CenterPlace Regional Event …

The Hill reports: Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said on Sunday that statements by FBI agents investigating President Trump sounded “a whole lot like a coup and it could well be treason.” Cheney told Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week” that the beginnings of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation were suspect and need to be investigated. “Think about the fact …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: Could George Takei boldly go where no man has gone before? No, not into the far reaches of space, but someplace even harder to reach: Defeating long-time Sen. Mitch McConnell for his seat in Washington. Oh my! The actor famous among Star Trek fans for his role as USS Enterprise pilot Hikaru Sulu and, more recently, …

Politico reports: Rep. Chip Roy became the man who delayed $19.1 billion in disaster aid to communities throughout the country on Friday. House leaders tried to pass a multibillion-dollar disaster assistance measure by unanimous consent, but the Texas Republican objected on the floor. Communities still severely damaged by wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, lava flow and even typhoons have waited for this …

Mother Jones reports: Mike Huckabee built his dream house on a public beach, a spot where some of the more than 4 million spring breakers and tourists who come to Walton County each year had been parking their lawn chairs and fishing poles since time immemorial. That meant the Fox News contributor had to share much of the 115-foot-long spit …

The Associated Press reports: Mississippi’s governor and two other top Republicans say a state lawmaker should resign if he punched his wife. Second-term Republican Rep. Doug McLeod of Lucedale was arrested last weekend and charged with misdemeanor domestic violence. George County sheriff’s deputies say McLeod bloodied his wife’s nose after she didn’t undress quickly enough when McLeod wanted to have …

Bil Browning reports at LGBTQ Nation: Totally-not-gay-at-all former Republican Congressman Aaron Schock was snapped poolside at the Standard Hotel in West Hollywood by a gay tourist visiting from New York. The loathed closet case was accompanied by an attractive speedo-clad young gay man who was on Scruff while they lounged by the pool. Later he was spotted chatting up and …

Fox News reports: Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., broke with his Republican colleagues Saturday when he claimed that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian election meddling showed President Trump engaging in “impeachable conduct.” Attorney General William Barr, Amash argued, “deliberately misrepresented” that report in not emphasizing clear evidence of obstruction on Trump’s part. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel responded …

Axios reports: Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will fight any federal plans that include “dumping” hundreds of migrants in southern Florida from the U.S.-Mexico border — even if that means taking it to President Trump directly. The federal government has reached capacity for processing the thousands of migrants crossing the border, forcing officials to find other options while …

Michigan Live reports: State Rep. Larry Inman said he probably should have picked up the phone and called labor union representatives instead of sending texts that would later be part of a federal indictment alleging he solicited bribes. Inman, R-Traverse City, was indicted May 15 by federal prosecutors for attempted extortion, bribery and lying to an FBI agent. The indictment …

The Associated Press reports: Conservative lightning rod Roy Moore of Alabama, narrow loser of a turbulent special election for Senate in 2017, is considering a fresh run next year. National Republican leaders are signaling they’ll again try preventing their party from nominating the twice-removed state jurist whose campaign was battered by allegations of long-ago sexual harassment of teenagers. “The people …

The Associated Press reports: A now-dead Ohio State team doctor sexually abused at least 177 male students over nearly two decades, and university officials knew what he was doing and did little to stop him, according to an investigative report released by the school Friday. Dr. Richard Strauss committed the abuse from 1979 to 1997 — nearly his entire time …