Republicans

McClatchy reports: Arizona GOP Rep. Paul Gosar tweeted a fake image of a photoshopped meeting between former President Barack Obama and Iran President Hassan Rouhani amid growing tensions with Iran, captioning the post with, “The world is a better place without these guys in power.” Twitter users were quick to point out the photoshopped image Monday afternoon, noting the original …

From the right wing Washington Examiner: Eleven Republicans have put forth a resolution that, if passed, would seek to dismiss articles of impeachment against President Trump immediately. “Since the start of the impeachment process, Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats have made a mockery of our Constitution and abused impeachment for political gain,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is co-sponsoring the …

The Washington Post reports: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) pressed the case for a resolution he plans to introduce Monday that would change the Senate rules to allow it to dismiss the impeachment case against Trump if Pelosi does not send articles of impeachment to the chamber. “Nancy Pelosi is attempting to obstruct a Senate trial. That’s all there is to …

Fox News reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., insists that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not deliver articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate by the end of the week, the Senate should “take matters in our own hands.” What I would do, if she continues to refuse to send the articles as required by the Constitution, I …

The San Jose Mercury News reports: U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter of California is staying silent on when he will resign after he pleaded guilty to using campaign money for personal expenses, drawing the ire of a fellow Republican who wants to replace him. The six-term congressman said last month that he would step down “shortly after the holidays” but has …

Axios reports: Ready to skip 2020 and go straight to 2024? In a new SurveyMonkey poll, Republican voters chose children of President Trump — Don Jr. and Ivanka — as two of the top four picks for president in four years. Why it matters: An early poll like this is largely a measure of name ID. But it’s also a …

“The question is will there be more or less of the attacks. So what happens with his death is we’re sending thousands of more troops, which are thousands of more targets for them to shoot at, and I think that it is hard to imagine that the Iranians are going to shrink now and say, ‘Oh, you killed our leading …

Roll Call reports: Tennessee Rep. Phil Roe, the ranking Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, will not run for reelection in 2020, opening up a solidly Republican seat. “As someone who practiced medicine for over 30 years, I said I would serve five or six terms because I never intended this job to be a second career,” Roe said …

Mediaite reports: Former National Security Advisor John Bolton offered congratulations for the U.S. airstrike that killed Qasem Soleimani, one of Iran’s top military commanders, and expressed his hope for regime change in the country. Bolton, known as one of the more relentlessly hawkish foreign policy minds in the United States, served as Trump’s national security adviser until he left in …

ABC News reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tweeted in support of the U.S. airstrike that killed seven in Baghdad on Thursday including Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force. Officials said Solemani orchestrated several attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the past several months, and approved attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq earlier this week. …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is asking the FBI to investigate former Gov. Matt Bevin’s pardons. “I stand by the outstanding work of Kentucky’s prosecutors and respect the decisions of juries who convict wrongdoers,” Cameron said in a Monday letter delivered to state Rep. Chris Harris and Sen. Morgan McGarvey. “While Kentucky’s Constitution gives the governor …

Mediaite reports: Independent Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders ruled out the possibility of a Republican running mate in response to a question about former Vice President Joe Biden’s recent answer to a hypothetical to that effect. “The former vice president mused about having a Republican vice presidential on his ticket,” the reporter said, and asked “is that …

The Democrat & Chronicle reports: Assemblyman Brian Kolb was arrested and charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated following an Ontario County crash on New Year’s Eve. Deputies responded to a crash at 7980 County Route 41 in Victor at 10:27 p.m. Tuesday and identified Kolb as the driver of the 2018 GMC Arcadia involved in the incident. No one was …

Louisville’s CBS News affiliate reports: U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman told reporters Monday he will determine if any of the state inmates pardoned by former Gov. Matt Bevin also committed any federal crimes. “I will say this in regard to the underlying conduct in these pardons that were received … if the underlying conduct took place in the Western District of …

Reuters reports: Sarah Palin said in an amended defamation lawsuit against the New York Times on Monday that the deep-seated “animosity and ill-will” of the newspaper’s editorial page editor toward her motivated him to falsely link her to a mass shooting. Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor, made her claim against the editor, James Bennet, …

ABC News reports: Former Trump 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he will not run for Senate in New Hampshire after all, saying he would put his efforts into reelecting President Trump in 2020. “After much consideration I have decided to forgo a campaign for the US Senate. While taking on a career politician from …

NBC News reports: Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who faces a tough re-election battle next year, said in a radio interview on Monday that it was “inappropriate” for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to say he was working in “total coordination” with the White House and she excoriated Democrats for prejudging the process. “It is inappropriate, in my judgment, for …

Politico reports: Rep. Mark Meadows’ shock retirement — revealed just 30 hours before the filing deadline in North Carolina — has roiled some Republicans in the state who suspect he timed his announcement to benefit a friend of his wife. The four-term congressman will depart the House for an as-yet-undefined role with President Donald Trump, a decision he disclosed in …

“I think Senator McConnell is entitled to his opinion and his approach, so is Senator Murkowski, so is Senator Schumer, so is Senator Richard Blumenthal. I think many positions by many senators are calcified. “I can only speak for me. I’m gonna keep an open mind. I want to be fair to both sides.  I thought that the House proceedings …

“I said very early on in the campaign time period, when people asked me in 2016, ‘What are you looking for?’ Well, I said I always look for a president who can be a role model. “I don’t think that President Trump, as a person, a very good role model for a lot of different youth, but that’s just me …