Free Republic

A small group of conservative leaders had gathered in the Trump International Hotel last week for a friendly discussion about the year that was ending and their priorities for the year to come, when Stephen K. Bannon spoke up. “I’m not going to name names,” he snapped, looking around the room as he complained about being left virtually alone to defend Roy S. Moore, accused of sexually molesting and assaulting teenage girls, while the Republican leadership and Democrats bludgeoned the Alabama Senate candidate. “If we want to win,” he added, according to three people who were in the room, “We...

Long-time pro-mass immigration billionaires Charles and David Koch became the latest force to pressure congressional Republicans to nullify the end of DACA with a legislative amnesty Thursday. Koch spokespeople said the brothers will throw their weight behind the growing effort to force a two-house GOP majority that has refused to pass either funding for the southern border wall or the RAISE Act, a key nationalist immigration reform, to quickly pass an amnesty for those who were once exempted from federal immigration law under President Barack Obama’s DACA. The Koch amenability to open borders and amnesty is nothing new. In 2013,...

U.S. companies feel less welcome in China and some are shifting operations to other countries, a business group reported Wednesday, amid rising tension between President-elect Donald Trump and Beijing over trade. The report by the American Chamber of Commerce in China reflects frustration among companies that see China as a key market but face growing efforts to block access to technology and other promising industries. […] Communist leaders have promised to make China’s state-dominated economy more productive by opening more industries to private and foreign competitors. Business groups say such initiatives have had little impact. The American chamber said 81...

Republican lawmakers upset about the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage have advanced measures in about a dozen states this year that could strengthen protections for those who refuse on religious grounds to provide services to same-sex couples. The bills could benefit court clerks, photographers, florists, bakers, wedding-hall operators and others who say gay matrimony goes against their beliefs. For a party already being torn apart by the presidential contest, the state legislative efforts have exposed deep rifts between the GOP’s social conservatives and its pro-business wing. Business leaders worry that such measures will allow discrimination and scare away companies...

Rep. Todd Young has won the backing of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in his Indiana Senate bid, representing the business lobby's first entry into a Republican Senate primary this cycle. The Chamber announced Monday that it had cut an ad for Young, a three-term congressman representing Indiana's 9th District in the southern part of the state. Young faces another member of Indiana's delegation, fellow three-term Rep. Marlin Stutzman, in the GOP primary. Stutzman has the backing of the Club for Growth, a group that favors fiscally conservative candidates in Republican primaries, as well as other conservative groups. The 30-second...

In a State of American Business address, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue said Thursday that the Obama administration is on a "regulatory tear" that will continue until President Barack Obama leaves the White House. [...] ... "How do we know? They've been telling us every day since the first of the year. It has unleashed a runaway EPA that has been stretching the law, and in some cases, breaking it in order to consume control over the local economic development across America," he said. ...

Some of the largest and most influential trade unions in the country are calling out Democrats for boosting guest worker programs and open borders policies. North America's Building Trades Unions--an umbrella organization representing three million workers and 15 major unions, including the Laborers and Teamsters--sent outgoing Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D., Md.) a letter Thursday accusing her of selling out workers by importing foreigners to work for "Close to Slavery" wages. Mikulski pushed for increasing the number of temporary H2B visas that allow companies to bring guest workers to the United States to fill seasonal jobs. "We wanted to express to...

“You told me you were in favor of an eventual path to citizenship,” Todd said, according to NBC’s transcript of the program. “Well, legal status is what I was talking about,” said Ryan.

OPINION REVIEW & OUTLOOK The Deportation Party? Trump proposes to stop even most legal immigration. Aug. 17, 2015 Republican critics of U.S. immigration policy have long claimed that they welcome legal immigrants. That claim is going to be tested now that Donald Trump has unveiled a policy outline that would deport millions and sharply restrict all immigration. Mr. Trump is bidding to make the GOP the deportation party.

ouse Republican leaders succeeded last month in their quest to shut down a federal agency that helps U.S. companies sell their goods overseas, but a majority in Congress may soon have the last word.. A path to reviving the Export-Import Bank has emerged in Congress, and the agency, which has the strong backing of business groups, could be providing assistance again within weeks. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he would allow bank advocates to include a five-year reauthorization of the agency on a highway funding bill that must pass by the end of the month. And there's enough...

CVS Health is leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, saying the trade group’s position on tobacco products is incompatible with CVS’ focus on health. The Chamber of Commerce said its position on tobacco products is being misinterpreted and it’s unfortunate that a company is leaving the organization over the issue. A New York Times article published June 30 said the Chamber of Commerce is fighting anti-smoking laws around the world at the behest of the tobacco industry, which is facing increased regulation aimed at reducing smoking. …

Senate GOP leadership is staying away from a proposal to ensure illegal immigrants don’t get tax break payouts from the government, with the party still smarting from a battle over Department of Homeland Security funding. Senior Republicans generally say they support the goals of the bill from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that seeks to keep immigrants protected from deportation by President Obama’s executive actions from claiming several years’ worth of earned income tax credits. But with the most recent immigration fight having just finished, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has said he’s still examining the...

LOS ANGELES — They pushed strollers, tugged toddlers and streamed into the convention center in the heart of this city on Sunday, thousands of immigrants here illegally and anxious to find out if they could gain protection from deportation under executive actions by President Obama. The crowd, waiting in a long snaking line to check in, was drawn by an information session organized by advocacy groups offering people initial assessments to see if they meet the requirements to apply to stay in the country and work. The day became a kind of coming-out party for about 5,000 unauthorized immigrants, the...

Republican Rep. David Valadao says he’s not worried that Congress’ failure to pass immigration legislation will hurt his prospects for re-election to a district in California’s agricultural heartland. Same goes for GOP Rep. Jeff Denham, who represents a neighboring district in the state’s San Joaquin Valley. Still, the California congressmen are making sure voters know they support an immigration overhaul. They’re aware that Democrats will try to turn the congressional gridlock into an advantage during this year’s midterm elections. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $300,000 on television ads in Valadao’s district, noting that he is the son of immigrants....

More than five years after U.S. governors began a bipartisan effort to set new standards in American schools, the Common Core initiative has morphed into a political tempest fueling division among Republicans. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce leads establishment voices—such as possible presidential contender Jeb Bush—who hail the standards as a way to improve student performance and, over the long term, competitiveness of American workers. Many archconservatives—tea party heroes Rand Paul and Ted Cruz among them—decry the system as a top-down takeover of local schools. The standards were developed and are being implemented by states, though Common Core opponents argue...

The Chamber of Commerce and 635 big businesses, including Facebook, sent a letter on Tuesday to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) urging "legislative action to seize this opportunity to fix our dysfunctional immigration system by enacting meaningful immigration reforms this year." Saying they are encouraged by the House GOP leadership's "immigration principles" that they consider "guideposts," the business organizations wrote that they are "united in the belief that we can and must do better for our economy and country by modernizing our immigration system." They also pressed for amnesty by writing about the need to respect "family unity.""Done properly, reform...