Republicans

The Washington Post reports: House Republicans on Friday launched an investigation into Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s connections to China. In a letter to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote that Walz (D) had “concerning ties” to China, citing the governor’s dozens of trips to the country, and requested a trove …

The Houston Chronicle reports: Attorney General Ken Paxton is trying to shut down an immigrants rights group in Houston, alleging it is “systematically” flouting nonprofit rules by advocating too aggressively against state laws and political candidates. It is the latest attempt by the Republican attorney general to shutter groups aiding immigrants in Texas. Paxton has sought, unsuccessfully so far, to …

CNBC reports: Billionaire Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson appears to have a blank check policy when it comes to her support of former President Donald Trump, as she aims to help get him back to the White House. Adelson’s political aide Andy Abboud was overheard telling attendees at a campaign event at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Thursday …

Newsweek reports: Ohio Senator JD Vance’s plane made an “emergency” landing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Friday afternoon. Vance, who is running as Donald Trump’s vice-presidential pick, was flying in Trump Force Two. Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesperson for Vance, told Newsweek in an email, that the pilot “advised there was a malfunction with the door seal.” The malfunction allegedly caused …

The Hill reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is suing the Biden administration again over federal workplace protections for transgender employees. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Justice Department (DOJ), argues that agency guidelines clarifying what constitutes harassment under federal law are unlawful and asks the court to permanently …

Oklahoma City’s ABC affiliate reports: The superintendent of Bixby Public Schools has filed a lawsuit claiming Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters defamed and slandered him during a news conference in late July. In a lawsuit filed by Robert Miller Jr. in Tulsa County, the Bixby Public Schools superintendent says Walters made “maliciously uttered slanderous and defamatory statements” during a July …

Semafor reports: Maryland Senate candidate Larry Hogan heaped praise on Donald Trump for his Supreme Court nominees at a speech in November 2022, months after all three joined a majority ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The remarks came in an address to the Republican Jewish Coalition that was otherwise devoted to urging the GOP to move on from Trump, who …

The New York Post reports: A congressman is vowing to help unravel the mystery behind Peru’s so-called “alien mummies.” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), one of the foremost voices in Congress on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), declared that he would help get to the bottom of those puzzling Peruvian objects and recruit top talent to do so. “I will gladly help …

ABC News reports: Americans aren’t vibing with the Republican vice-presidential nominee. On average, only 33 percent have a favorable opinion of Sen. JD Vance, while 42 percent have an unfavorable one. That is a historically bad net favorability rating for a vice-presidential candidate. We applied our current favorability polling average formula to old polls of six freshly minted VP picks …

CBS News reports: After he was charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct, the chair of a key West Virginia state legislative committee was removed from his position by chamber leadership Wednesday. Republican Sen. Mike Maroney, who led the state Senate Health and Human Resources Committee, was arrested Tuesday on the two misdemeanors after an Aug. 4 incident at Gumby’s …

The New Republic reports: Elon Musk is pouring his heart and soul (and cold hard cash) into electing Donald Trump this November. New Federal Election Commission filings on Wednesday show that Musk’s pro-Trump America PAC has ramped up its operations, spending an initial $5.8 million. Musk initially seemed to promise a monthly donation of $45 million to the Super PAC, …

The Florida Alligator reports: Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis has called on the Board of Governors, which oversees the State University System, to launch an investigation into former UF President Ben Sasse’s “exorbitant spending” of university funds. The Alligator first reported Monday that Sasse, a former Nebraska Republican senator, more than tripled spending under the president’s office compared to …

The Daily Beast reports: JD Vance said America’s immigration challenges are like a sandwich that’s too big for your mouth, and he wants to deport undocumented migrants a “bite” at a time. Vance claimed at a Pennsylvania event Thursday there are at least 20 million undocumented immigrants in the states and he wants to deport a “million” of the “most …

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports: Hundreds of New College of Florida library books, including many on LGBTQ+ topics and religious studies, are headed to a landfill. A dumpster in the parking lot of Jane Bancroft Cook Library on the campus of New College overflowed with books and collections from the now-defunct Gender and Diversity Center on Tuesday afternoon. Video captured in …

Mediate reports: Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) confronted his Democratic challenger at the Missouri state fair on Thursday, challenging him to an impromptu debate during an awkward exchange between the two. In a video posted by Hawley on X, the senator says “Guys, how are you? Let’s go find Lucas Kunce. Let’s go find him. Come on, where’s he been? I …

The Christian Science Monitor reports: In 2021, J.D. Vance gave a speech to a conservative think tank on “woke capital” – and accused Amazon of funding Black Lives Matter in order to burn down the competition. “Who benefits most when small businesses on Main Street are destroyed? Who wants to see their competitors unable to deliver goods and services to …

Roll Call reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration Wednesday seeking to block a rule that requires nursing homes to have a minimum level of nurse and aide staffing to care for patients. The lawsuit argues the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services does not have the authority to require more staffing in nursing homes. The lawsuit …

City & State reports: In her bid to unseat Pat Ryan from the 18th Congressional District, Republican Alison Esposito has touted her 25 years of experience in the New York City Police Department as proof she has what it takes to “restore law and order.” Twice in Esposito’s career, the city settled lawsuits and paid people who alleged that Esposito …

Salon reports: In a 2020 appearance on the Portal podcast — hosted by Eric Weinstein, the Managing Director of Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital — the then-venture capitalist expressed his weird take on elderly women and how his mother-in-law has helped raise his son — he now has three children. “There’s sort of all the classic stuff that grandparents do to …

The Associated Press reports: An informational pamphlet for Arizona voters who will decide in the fall whether to guarantee a constitutional right to an abortion can refer to a fetus as an “unborn human being,” the state’s highest court ruled Wednesday. The Arizona Supreme Court sided with Republican lawmakers over proponents of the ballot measure on abortion rights. The pamphlet …