Free Republic

1600 Daily ‘You gave us a deadline’ “We’re all working in an effort to develop an immigration reform plan that will serve the interests of the American workers,” President Donald J. Trump said yesterday. The President’s remarks came after he and Vice President Mike Pence sat down with a Republican Senate working group on immigration in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Several quotes after the meeting reveal what 2018 could hold for one of the President’s signature issues: Vice President Pence: “We’re going to enforce the laws of this country for the citizens of this country. . ....

As a heartwarming Christmas gesture, a newly signed minor league baseball player used part of his draft bonus to pay off his parents’ mortgage. In a viral video shared on Twitter, Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Pavin Smith tweeted a video of his parents reacting to a letter he wrote detailing that he wants their home to be officially theirs:

R.I. (WPRI) – Rhode Island is now just 157 residents away from losing one of its two seats in the U.S. House, which would give the state a single vote there for the first time since George Washington was president, according to an analysis of newly released population data. Kimball Brace, the reapportionment expert who has been involved in drawing legislative and congressional districts in Rhode Island since the early 1980s, ran the numbers Wednesday after the U.S. Census Bureau announced Rhode Island had added about 2,000 residents between July 2016 and July 2017.

Democrat Shelly Simonds took the Virginia House of Delegates seat Tuesday from Republican David Yancey after a recount had her in the lead by a single vote, reports the Washington Post. A three-judge panel still has to certify the results, but if approved, her victory will bring the 51-49 GOP majority to a rare 50-50 split.

House Republicans will need to pass their tax plan for a second time after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that provisions in the bill violated the rules governing the legislation. "Members are advised that we expect Senate Democrats to insist on a Byrd Point of Order on the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 1, which is likely to be sustained," said guidance from House Majority Whip Steve Scalise's office, which was sent to GOP lawmakers. "As such, Members are further advised that an additional procedural vote on the Motion to Concur is expected tomorrow morning, which will clear the bill for...

House Republicans passed their $1.5 trillion tax-cut package Tuesday afternoon, kicking the action over to the Senate as the GOP speeds toward swift passage of President Trump’s top legislative priority and the most significant rewrite of the tax code in three decades. “Today, we’re delivering on our tax reform promise to the American people,” said Rep. Kevin Brady, the House’s top tax-writer. “For the first time in over three decades, we’re delivering a new tax code that provides more, fairer taxes, and bigger paychecks to Americans across the country.” The House passed the plan on a 227-203 vote, and the...

The House Intelligence Committee is set to interview Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and British publicist Rob Goldstone on Monday as part of its ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, CNN reported. Wasserman Schultz resigned as head of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) last July after leaked emails showed party officials appeared to favor Hillary Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Wasserman Schultz has also denied knowing about an arrangement for the DNC to help fund a dossier containing salacious allegations about President Trump. Clinton’s campaign and the DNC reportedly paid millions to a law firm involved...

On Aug. 9, 1974, Richard Nixon bowed to the inevitability of impeachment and conviction by a Democratic Senate and resigned. The prospect of such an end for Donald Trump has this city drooling. Yet, comparing Russiagate and Watergate, history is not likely to repeat itself. First, the underlying crime in Watergate, a break-in to wiretap offices of the DNC, had been traced, within 48 hours, to the Committee to Re-Elect the President. In Russiagate, the underlying crime -- the "collusion" of Trump's campaign with the Kremlin to hack into the emails of the DNC -- has, after 18 months...

Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe on Monday night reportedly postponed an appearance before the House Intelligence Committee that was scheduled for Tuesday. The abrupt cancellation occurred following a report by Fox News that raised new questions about connections between the Justice Department and Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm behind the infamous Trump dossier. Fox News reported that McCabe’s interview will be rescheduled for next week. The Justice Department told the network that the cancellation was due to a “routine scheduling error.” A Congressional source told The Daily Caller that the excuse is “very hard to believe.”

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan’s Republican governor announced Friday that Democrat John Conyers’ congressional seat will not be filled until the regularly scheduled November election, leaving it vacant for nearly a year. Gov. Rick Snyder decided the post will be listed twice on the August primary and November general election ballots. While unlikely, it is possible voters could choose one candidate to fill the vacancy until January 2019 and elect another to a full two-year term after that. **SNIP** Michael Gilmore, a Detroit attorney who is running for the seat, said not having representation in the House for nearly a year...

The 364-58 roll call Wednesday by which the House killed a resolution to impeach President Donald Trump. A "Yes" vote is a vote to kill the resolution.Voting yes were 126 Democrats and 238 Republicans. Voting No were 58 Democrats and 0 Republicans. X denotes those not voting. Present denotes those who voted they were "present" at the time of the vote but did not vote yes or no on the issue. There are 2 vacancies in the 435-member House. ALABAMA – All Yes ALASKA – Yes ARIZONA – All Yes ARKANSAS – All Yes CALIFORNIA – Dems who voted No:...

It has been revealed that the lead FBI agent supervising the Hillary Clinton email scandal and the alleged Trump-Russia connection has been removed from the Mueller team for sending anti-Trump messages: A top FBI agent at the center of both the Clinton email and Trump-Russia investigations was removed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team for exchanging derogatory text messages about the president with a colleague. Peter Strzok, a veteran FBI investigator, was shuffled off to the FBI’s human resources department by Mueller after the Justice Department’s inspector general opened an investigation into the texts, The New York Times reported on Saturday. And according...

Kate’s Law and the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act continue to languish in the Senate in the wake of a California court’s verdict of “not guilty” for Kate Steinle’s illegal immigrant killer. Both bills passed through the House of Representatives in June. The House passed two immigration reform bills in June, Kate’s Law and the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, which marked two of the country’s first steps towards a pro-American immigration policy despite widespread Democrat opposition.

In the wee hours of Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate passed a major tax reform bill. While the U.S. House of Representatives passed a version of the same bill, the two are not identical, so the measure now goes into a process called "reconciliation" before it hits the president's desk. Even so, liberals (and at least one former Republican) started freaking out, as if this bill were the end of the world. Here are some of the most ridiculous responses to the passage of the tax bill. Enjoy!

The House and Senate have now each passed different versions of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Both bills are big improvement to America’s out-of-date tax code and could boost the economy by almost 3 percent, leading to more jobs and higher wages for working Americans. Both bills cut taxes for individuals and businesses, largely repeal the state and local tax deduction, and allow businesses to invest more in the American economy through temporary expensing. The bills now head to a conference committee where a unified bill will be crafted. Here are some of the major differences you need to know...

WASHINGTON – Rep. John Conyers will step aside as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee pending the investigation into allegations ​he ​sexual​ly​ harass​ed staffers. In a statement released through ​Democratic Minority ​Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office on Sunday, Conyers said he would like to keep his leadership position but realized that he may “undermine” the committee’s work if he stays at the helm.

New Jersey is potentially holding off hiking its income tax due to the possibility of the state and local tax deduction being eliminated in the GOP tax plan, according to the president of the New Jersey Senate. “I’m actually very concerned for the people of this state if this Trump tax happens, and I think we’re going to have to re-evaluate everything once that happens,” Senate President Steve Sweeney said Nov. 15 in reference to hiking the state’s tax rate on the highest earners from 8.97 percent to 10.75 percent. The Senate tax plan, which was voted out of the...

Washington, DC – Today, Club for Growth President David McIntosh issued the following statement as the House Ways and Means Committee continues to mark up the “Tax Cuts and Jobs” bill:“While the corporate tax cut will lead to some increase in our nation’s GDP, the rest of the provisions on individual taxpayers fails the pro-growth test,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh stated.“Republicans must correct at least four serious shortcomings of the House bill to follow through on campaign promises and to bring our nation closer to a tax reform proposal that is truly pro-growth.“1: millionaires’ tax rate: House Republicans...

As they prepare to unveil their own sweeping tax plan, Senate Republicans are revisiting key provisions of the GOP House proposal, including possibly eliminating property tax deductions as well as state income tax deductions, increasing the size of child-care credits, offering more help to small businesses and having corporate tax cuts phase in or expire, according to those familiar with the negotiations. The final outline of the Senate plan, scheduled to be released Thursday, remained a work in progress, officials cautioned. “Everything is on the table,” said one Republican official Tuesday evening, who did not want to be identified discussing...

The GOP are honing in on a legislative victory at last. Republicans are learning their lessons from the healthcare fight. They need a unified plan to achieve real, lasting tax reform. It has been a struggle just to get this far though. The September 27 tax framework released by the White House and GOP leaders included some clear goals, such as setting a corporate tax rate of 20 percent and cutting tax rates on businesses and individuals. However, it failed to offer answers to some looming questions, like where to set income brackets or which corporate tax breaks should be...