Free Republic

(CNSNews.com) - The spending deal that President Donald Trump cut last week with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)--and that was passed by a Republican-controlled Congress—breaks one of Trump’s unambiguous campaign promises: It funds Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. Fiscal 2017 will end on Sept. 30 and the spending law Trump signed Friday will essentially continue federal funding from that date through Dec. 8 at the same levels and for the same purposes as the legislation currently funding the governmen That means both Planned Parenthood’s Title X and Medicaid funding can...

exas Sen. Ted Cruz said President Donald Trump "speaks in ways that I wouldn't" on North Korea but that it helps to "have a president who is strong." The Republican senator told ABC News "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz that if North Korea's claim that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb Sunday is true, it is "a serious escalation in their ability to commit mass acts of murder" that will spur calls for "further serious steps to prevent North Korea from using those weapons." "North Korea right now, it’s the most dangerous place on the face of the planet," Cruz...

Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton discussed his National Review op-ed on how to get the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear agreement with Breitbart News Daily SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Thursday. Below is an excerpt from Bolton’s NRO piece: Although candidate Donald Trump repeatedly criticized Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear agreement, his administration has twice decided to remain in the deal. It so certified to Congress, most recently in July, as required by law. Before the second certification, Trump asked repeatedly for alternatives to acquiescing yet again in a policy he clearly abhorred. But no...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie rejects Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) memory of the Hurricane Sandy relief bill. Cruz insisted recently that the Sandy bill, created in hopes of helping the victims affected by the storm that hammered New Jersey in 2012, was filled with unnecessary pork spending that had nothing to do with relief efforts. How dare Cruz spew that narrative while standing in Texas shelters and demanding aid on live TV, Christie responded on CNN Wednesday.

Never one to shy away from speaking his mind, Republican Gov. Chris Christie (N.J.) came out swinging Wednesday, publicly criticizing two members of his own party: President Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. During Christie’s rounds on cable news early Wednesday morning, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski asked the governor whether he agreed with Trump’s decision last week to pardon former Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of federal criminal contempt after disobeying a court order to stop targeting Latinos in his illegal alien sweeps. “My understanding has always been that one of the prerequisites you look...

ADDISON — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Thursday that cities should not get rid of Confederate statues and monuments in order to "sanitize history." "I don't think we should go through and simply try to erase from history prior chapters, even if they were wrong," Cruz said during a news conference. "But I think that's a decision each community has to make. ... I suspect different communities will approach this decision differently." President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was disappointed with the removal of Confederate monuments, saying on Twitter that the nation's cities were losing some of their beauty.....

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz wants the Department of Justice to investigate Saturday's attack that killed one woman in Charlottesville, Va. as an incident of domestic terrorism. In a statement released Saturday night, Cruz called the incident "tragic and heartbreaking" and said the Justice Department must be involved immediately. "The Nazis, the KKK, and white supremacists are repulsive and evil, and all of us have a moral obligation to speak out against the lies, bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred that they propagate," Cruz said in a statement. "Having watched the horrifying video of the car deliberately crashing into a crowd of...

Some thoughts about the horrible events in Charlottesville: First of all, the ideology of the white nationalists who showed up to protest is vile and unacceptable. The same can be said of many of those who showed up to counter-protest. Everyone has a right to protest, and to counter-protest. I’ve done it myself. They have every right to demonstrate peacefully, to carry signs, to shout slogans, no matter how vile they may be. They have every right to shout at each other back and forth, no matter how fruitless that may be. This is America. You get to do that....

Ted Cruz’s Democratic challenger is working overtime to drive a wedge between the senator and his base on one of his central issues — criminal justice reform. Over the past six months, Rep. Beto O’Rourke has reached out to members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus to collaborate on the issue, hosted a Facebook Live event with them to talk marijuana policy, and sought support from the conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks for a criminal justice bill he introduced in the House. While O’Rourke is no stranger to working with Republicans on issues relevant to his El Paso district, the lawmaker’s...

The Senate unanimously agreed to block President Trump from making appointments during their August break amid concerns that he’ll replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions during the recess. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who Trump blasted on Twitter after she voted against the party on health care last month, locked in nine “pro forma” sessions over the next four weeks, The Hill reported.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz will be in East Texas on Friday, touring local businesses and taking part in a roundtable discussion at Tyler Junior College. “East Texas is home to many hardworking Texans and job creators that contribute significantly to the engine of Texas’ economy,” Phil Novack, a spokesman for the senator, said. “Sen. Cruz looks forward to visiting with folks in Kilgore and Tyler, listening to their concerns and discussing solutions that will help create jobs and spur economic growth for the region.” At 10 a.m., Cruz will tour the Skeeter Boats manufacturing facility in Kilgore. At 11:30 a.m.,...

A Texas man is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday after being arrested for threatening to kill a federal official identified as Sen. Ted Cruz. James Amos Headley, 59, was arrested after admitting to FBI agents that he left a threatening phone message for the official, who was described by the initials T.C. in an affidavit but identified by sources as Mr. Cruz, the San Antonio Express-News reported. A message left July 11 on voicemail at the U.S. Capitol included a threat against the official as well as his family. “Pretty soon you’re gonna be runnin for your life, just...

President Trump is talking to Senator Ted Cruz and others about what they would do differently as Attorney General, should Jeff Sessions resign, as reports indicate. White House sources also report President Trump was truthful when he made comments expressing buyer’s remorse over appointing Jeff Sessions to the role. Trump staffers believe Sessions, Donald Trump Jr, and Rohrabacher aide Paul Behrends were unfairly scapegoated due to the left-wing Russia narrative. In addition, a replacement for special prosecutor Bob Mueller is being acitvely discussed as the President weighs the decision to fire the Rosenstein-appointed prosecutor. Many within the Trump camp...

An Australian senator has been forced to step down because she is a dual citizen of Australia and Canada. The Australian constitution disqualifies potential candidates from seeking election if they hold dual or plural citizenship. Larissa Waters, who was also the deputy leader of the Green party, told a news conference Monday that was only found out about her status on Monday with “great shock and sadness.” Waters was born to Australian parents in 1977 while they were studying and working in Winnipeg. She left Canada as an 11-month old baby and said she always believed she was just Australian....

Republicans are finally getting smart on Obamacare. It took one of the savviest Republican senators -- Ted Cruz of Texas, with an assist from Mike Lee of Utah -- to get the GOP to figure out how to replace Obamacare, reduce premiums and save money for the government, all without alienating millions of voters. He's pulled the Republicans' fannies out of the fire, flipping a losing strategy into a big-time winner. The Cruz amendment -- which has been inserted into the GOP Senate health plan -- is smart, because it doesn't take anything away from anyone. If you want Obamacare,...

We also know that many who supported Ted Cruz were either silent after Donald Trump received the Republican presidential nomination, or went all out on the "vote your conscience" last-ditch attempt to thwart the will of the millions who voted for the party front runner. Some even publicly announced they'd never vote for Donald Trump in the general election and were rewarded with a gubmint job. It now infuriates us that some of the very people who lectured us about "conservative principles" and insulted Trump supporters daily on social media or on their radio programs are now being praised for telling...

Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Beto O’Rourke received $2.1 million in donations in the second quarter for his campaign against incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who raised $1.6 million from April to June. Although O'Rourke raised more money in the second quarter, Cruz's campaign said in an email Thursday that the former Republican presidential candidate has $5.7 million cash on hand. O'Rourke's bid is considered a long shot because reliably GOP Texas hasn't had a Democratic senator since 1994, and although he has raised funds quickly since announcing his candidacy, O'Rourke had only $535,000 in campaign funds at the end of...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) knocked CNN on Thursday for referring to his healthcare amendment as the "so-called Consumer Freedom amendment." "Weird… my search for tweets from CNN mentioning the 'so-called Affordable Care Act' turned up no results," Cruz tweeted, linking to the search.

The new bill includes major changes to the original. One of the most significant was the inclusion of an amendment by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, which would allow insurers offering Obamacare plans to also offer cheaper, bare-bones policies. The amendment was included in an effort to earn more conservative support, but could also drive away some moderates who fear the amendment could drive up premiums for those with pre-existing conditions.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will support the new version of the GOP ObamaCare replacement bill, a major boost for the measure's chances of passage in the upper chamber. "If this is the bill, I will support this bill," Cruz told reporters Thursday after a meeting of GOP senators. "Now, if it’s amended and we lose the protections that lower premiums my view could well change." An amendment from Cruz to allow insurers to offer plans that do not meet ObamaCare requirements was included in the new bill in a key move to win his support.