Free Republic

Sit down, shut up and keep that phone in the closet. Detention for high schoolers? Nope, it’s the rules of the impeachment trial for US Senators. Lawmakers who normally relish bloviating on the Senate floor will be forced to remain silent throughout every session of the impeachment trial of President Trump when it begins Tuesday — and will be required to attend sessions six days a week, including Saturdays, for the duration. “That’s going to suck,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) told CNN. “I guarantee you it’s going to be hard,” he said, adding jokingly, “but I think we’ll survive.” Senators...

A white nationalist who ran for the U.S. Senate in Florida and was a featured speaker during the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was arrested on charges of kidnapping, domestic violence and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Augustus Sol Invictus, 36, was arrested Monday at a Florida mall by Brevard County Sheriff’s deputies on a warrant issued out of South Carolina, the Miami Herald reported. Jail records described him as an “out of state fugitive.” The Herald noted that news of the arrest was first reported on Twitter by the journalist Nick Martin,...

It’s Friday and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wants Fox News contributor Sara Carter to know that her website posted about a 17-month-old interview and made it look like he was defending the FBI in the wake of the Department of Justice Inspector General’s report on “Crossfire Hurricane.” During the old interview in question, CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Rubio a series of questions about the FBI’s applications for surveilling former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. At the time, Rubio said, “I don’t think [the FBI] did anything wrong. I think they went to the court, they got the judges to...

Watch the video at the link. Ted Cruz won the fifth Republican debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday, but Donald Trump held his own and Chris Christie "helped himself," political strategist Dick Morris told Newsmax TV. "Cruz was the big winner tonight," Morris said on the "Newsmax TV Post-Debate Special," hosted by Steve Malzberg. "He was terrific in his speeches. He was aggressive, forceful and really hit it out of the park three or four times. ..."Trump did very well, not as well as Cruz — but he clearly held his own and showed people why he is so popular,"...

It's no secret in Hong Kong that I was with my boss (Jimmy Lai, the owner of Apple Daily) and a few others recently walking the halls of government in Washington D.C. Saw Speaker Pelosi and other leaders in the House and Senate. Visited the State Department. Met some folks from administration, the think tanks, and of course always see the very switched on human rights groups. This week I shot down to D.C. and saw a few folks in a follow-up. All staffs and officials. Working level folks have best info. Both trips to D.C. were in regard to...

The newly rebellious senator has become an outspoken dissident in Trump’s Republican Party, just in time for the president’s impeachment trial..... Mitt Romney is leaning forward in his chair, his eyes flashing, his voice sharp. It’s a strange look for the 72-year-old senator, who typically affects a measured, somber tone when discussing Donald Trump’s various moral deficiencies. But after weeks of escalating combat with the president—over Ukraine, and China, and Syria, and impeachment—the gentleman from Utah suddenly appears ready to unload.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has been one of the most vocal critics of President Donald Trump’s decision to move U.S. troops out of northeastern Syria, said on Sunday he now believed “historic solutions” were possible. In an interview with Fox News Channel, Graham said a conversation he had with Trump over the weekend had fueled his optimism that a solution could be reached where the security of Turkey and the Kurds was guaranteed and fighters from Islamic State contained. “I am increasingly optimistic that we can have some historic solutions in Syria that have eluded us...

Withdrawal & endless war weren’t only options in #Syria This wasn’t a withdrawal its a relocation This isn’t end of “endless wars”,14k troops have been sent to region in last 6 months It was hasty decision with no planning & most consequential impact is dishonor & chaos— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) October 20, 2019

Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott on Wednesday asked President Trump to waive visa requirements for Bahamians affected by the shattering blow of Hurricane Dorian. The Republican lawmakers sent Trump a letter outlining their reasoning, citing their state's proximity to and relationship with the Bahamas. They asked Trump to make it easier for citizens of the Bahamas to come to the United States to reside with relatives while they rebuild their lives.

John Kutsch of Thorium Energy Alliance and James Kennedy of ThREE Consulting speak (briefly) on why a Rare Earth Cooperative is necessary, and the incentive structure which will enable massive foreign investment in domestic manufacturing infrastructure.

Matt told you about that high school principal in Florida who was recently reassigned for refusing to say matter-of-factly that the Holocaust happened. Last year, in an email exchange with a parent concerned about how the school was educating kids on the Holocaust, Spanish River High School principal William Latson appeared to suggest that it was not exactly a proven historical event.“Not everyone believes the Holocaust happened,” he wrote the mother, according to The Palm Beach Post. “And you have your thoughts, but we are a public school and not all of our parents have the same beliefs.”“I can’t say...

Never has there been a presidential race as sprawling and wide-open as the 2020 Democratic primary. It would be a landscape entirely without a map, except that a small handful of battle-hardened veterans have navigated similar terrain before. At the kickoff of the primary debate season four years ago, no fewer than 16 candidates were jockeying for position in the largest Republican presidential field in history—only to end up being mowed down by Donald J. Trump in what became a slaughterhouse of a campaign. What’s in store for this year’s Democrats? To get an insider’s view, POLITICO Magazine invited four...

The English Court of Appeals has reversed a decision to force a woman with developmental disabilities to have an abortion, overturning a decision from Justice Nathalie Lieven on June 21 in England's Court of Protection. The woman in question is 22 weeks pregnant, meaning the abortion would've been late-term. In her ruling, Lieven explained that she "has to operate" in the woman's "best interests, not on society's views of termination.” She reportedly accepted the opinion of NHS trust, which concluded that an abortion would be less traumatic for the pregnant woman than giving birth.In its overturning, the Court of Appeals...

President Trump announcing his re-election campaign for 2020.... The race to be the next British Prime Minister is now down to five candidates..... President Trump announcing that Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan is leaving.... "a deliberate policy to instigate war" Those comments from Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov Tuesday regarding the United States policy towards Iran......

"The founders never envisioned a professional political class," said Rooney, in an appearance Saturday on Fox News. The proposal would set members of the House to three terms and senators to two terms. Presidents are limited under the 22nd Amendment to two terms, while Supreme Court justices enjoy lifetime appointments. "This is a much better way than having these entrenched politicians who are too aligned with special interests over a period of years. I would say 18 years is plenty of time to serve your country in," he said, referring to the total time someone could spend in Congress if...

Washington (CNN)Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Republican Rep. Francis Rooney proposed a Constitutional amendment on Thursday that would impose term limits on members of both houses of Congress. The amendment, co-sponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and David Perdue (R-Ga.), would restrict senators to two six-year terms and House members to three two-year terms. A similar amendment was proposed by Cruz in January of 2017. "For too long, members of Congress have abused their power and ignored the will of the American people," Cruz said. "Term limits on members of Congress offer a solution to the brokenness...

A number of Republicans in the Senate are standing with President Donald Trump over his threat to apply tariffs to Mexico on Tuesday after several party members spoke out against it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that “there is not much support in my conference for tariffs” and he is hoping that the tariffs are not implemented. Other Senators also decided to speak out against Trump’s threat. Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said he will not support applying a tariff to Mexico, saying he “would not be inclined to vote [for] a tariff against a friend,” Politico reported...

Frustrated Senate Republicans say the Trump administration has largely kept them in the dark about a possible military confrontation with Iran. What GOP lawmakers already know, however, has them on edge. Trump has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group, a Patriot missile defense battery and an Air Force bomber task force to the Middle East, while the State Department has ordered a partial evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. A few legislators have received briefings, but many can only guess at the extent of the threat and where a ramp up in combat forces may lead. “I don’t think...

These Senate offices include Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), who is up for re-election in Texas in 2020; Tom Cotton (R-AR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Jim Risch (R-ID). Not one of those senators would publicly stand by Burr on Wednesday evening, when asked where they stand both on the subpoena and on whether Burr should remain chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Not only has the entire Senate Intelligence Committee GOP membership basically abandoned defending Burr publicly, it appears no Republicans anywhere have his back on this. What’s more, while Burr himself...

A day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor to declare “ case closed” about the Russia investigation, reports surfaced that the Senate Intelligence Committee has issued a subpoena for Donald Trump Jr. The committee, which is Republican-led, issued the subpoena in order to get answers about Trump’s prior testimony before Senate investigators during the Russia investigation, according to Axios.