Republicans

Josh Israel reports at Think Progress: The nickname stems from the 2018 West Virginia Republican Senate primary. In that race, coal baron Don Blankenship, the former Massey Energy CEO who served a one-year sentence in federal prison for conspiring to violate mine safety rules, ran ads promising to replace McConnell as the Senate’s GOP leader. The spots, which referred to …

Just in from Pew Research: Most Americans (70%) say they would not be particularly bothered if they heard people speak a language other than English in a public place, including 47% who say they would not be bothered at all. Still, a sizable share (29%) says this would bother them at least some. According to the new survey, 47 percent …

NBC News reports: A Republican state legislator from Texas went on an extended Twitter rant on Tuesday, dismissing concerns over an ongoing measles outbreak in his state and calling vaccines “sorcery,” “dangerous,” and “self-enriching ‘science.’” Rep. Jonathan Stickland, who represents a state legislative district near Fort Worth, initiated his outburst on Twitter after a Houston-based pediatrician and vaccine scientist, Dr. …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: An investigation into U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz will proceed, the Florida Bar said Wednesday, meaning the Panhandle Republican could face discipline for allegedly intimidating President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen. A grand jury-like panel called the Grievance Committee will next decide whether there is probable cause that Gaetz’s tweet violated Florida rules for lawyers. …

The Tennessean reports: House Speaker Glen Casada said Tuesday he will not resign from his leadership position, despite participating in sexually charged text messages with his now former chief of staff. Speaking to WTN’s Brian Wilson, the Franklin Republican said he had no intentions to step down, adding, “I’m sorry that I did it and I’m embarrassed that I did …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: Sen. Thom Tillis has drawn a Republican challenger in 2020. Garland Tucker III, the retired chairman and CEO of Triangle Capital Corporation and an author, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Committee to run in the Republican primary on Monday. Tucker wrote “Conservative Heroes: Fourteen Leaders Who Changed America — Jefferson to Reagan” and …

Politico reports: Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi will not run for reelection next year, the four-term Republican senator said on Saturday. The 75-year-old Senate Budget Committee chairman announced his retirement in Gillette, Wyo., where he used to be mayor. The low-key Wyomingite said he wants to focus on budget reform. He frequently ignores reporters to go about his day, which is …

CNBC reports: Vice President Mike Pence told CNBC on Friday that Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden is “advocating a socialist agenda,” just like others vying to take on President Donald Trump. In an interview with CNBC’s Eamon Javers, Pence took multiple shots at his vice presidential predecessor, the frontrunner among more than 20 Democratic candidates, while contrasting their goals with …

The Washington Post reports: To Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), the bill he signed Thursday that threatens voter registration groups with criminal charges and fines over incomplete forms and missed deadlines is simply about creating “elections with integrity.” Voting rights advocates, however, argue the law’s true purpose is keeping new voters, particularly African Americans and other minorities who have signed …

The Daily Beast reports: During a Monday night appearance on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick used a well-known if antiquated gay euphemism while describing Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, prompting host Laura Ingraham to give him an opportunity to clean up his comments at the end of the interview. “He is so light in …

The Daily Beast reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gleefully signed a T-shirt joking about the death of former Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, according to photos tweeted Monday. The T-shirt features Garland’s face surrounded by clouds and the dates 3/16/16 and 1/3/17, with the cursive phrase “gone but not forgotten.” McConnell played an instrumental role in keeping Garland, who …

USA Today reports: Former Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, a foreign policy leader in the Senate who received the nation’s highest civilian awards for his efforts to secure and destroy weapons of mass destruction after the collapse of the Soviet Union, died Sunday, according to his family. The cause of death was complications from chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Vice President Mike …

The Louisville Courier reports: Republican Gov. Matt Bevin reopened political wounds with Kentucky teachers on Thursday when he blamed their sickouts for the shooting of a 7-year-old. “One thing you almost didn’t hear anything about while we had people pretending to be sick when they weren’t sick and leaving kids unattended to or in situations that they should not have …

New York’s WINS radio reports: Bridget Anne Kelly, former Gov. Chris Christie’s deputy chief of staff who became a central figure in the infamous “Bridgegate” scandal, was sentenced on Wednesday by a federal judge to 13 months in prison for her role in shutting down lanes to the George Washington Bridge. And she had harsh words for the former governor, …

The Hill reports: Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) on Tuesday said that the censure he faced earlier this year for controversial statements regarding white nationalism gave him a better understanding to the suffering of Jesus Christ. During a town hall in Cherokee, Iowa, King appeared to compare his experience of being formally rebuked in the House to the trial and persecution …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump’s hotels and properties have taken in nearly $5 million from Republicans, GOP groups and the president’s own campaign since he took office in 2017. According to public disclosures highlighted by the Center for Responsive Politics, pro-Trump super PACs, the Republican National Committee and the president’s own reelection committee have spent at least $4.7 million on …

Business Insider reports: Sen. Mitt Romney, the former GOP presidential nominee, condemned President Donald Trump after reading special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation report on Friday. Romney said that while it’s “good news” that Mueller found insufficient evidence to charge Trump and his aides with conspiracy to collude with Russia, he added that the report lays out a disturbing portrait …

The Times Of San Diego reports: Rep. Duncan Hunter posted a video Thursday showing himself at the “grand border wall in Yuma, Arizona.” He says: “It looks pretty tough to cross. Let me see if I can do it.” He swings his legs over a horizontal rail less than waist high and declares: “There you go. That’s how easy it …

The Washington Post reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday kicked off his 2020 reelection bid with a video highlighting his successful effort to block President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland — a move that helped reshape the court and over which Democrats are still fuming. The video also includes footage of President Trump hailing McConnell as …

Wehoville reports: What happens at Coachella doesn’t stay at Coachella, to the likely disappointment of Keith Anthony, a gay West Hollywood fitness trainer and member of the city’s Business License Commission. Anthony and his boyfriend, Tyler Tixier, were photographed hanging out at the desert music festival this past weekend with Aaron Schock, the former GOP congressman from Illinois who is …