Free Republic

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, just a few months after surviving a federal corruption trial that threatened to land him behind bars, is scheduled to announce Wednesday that he will seek another six-year term. The New Jersey Democrat, 64, will kick off his campaign in Union City, his hometown, at an event attended by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, Gov. Phil Murphy and other “prominent New Jersey Democrats,” according to an advisory from his campaign. Menendez’s main opponent come November will likely be the well-funded Republican Bob Hugin, a Marine Corp veteran and former pharmaceutical executive who, like Menendez, ascended to great...

Former Arizona sheriff and current GOP candidate Joe Arpaio says that he will resume his controversial campaign challenging the legality of former President Obama's birth certificate, deemed a racist campaign by many, if he is elected to the Senate. In remarks first reported by Right Wing Watch, Arpaio told a roomful of supporters in Arizona that he has remained silent about his accusations pertaining to Obama's birthplace while campaigning, but plans to resume his attacks if elected. "I don't talk about it anymore, until I become a U.S. senator. ... So I'm kind of dropping that right now," Arpaio told...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is set to offer a "no-holds-barred" assessment of the Trump administration in a new memoir. The book's publisher, Simon and Schuster, said Monday that the title, "The Restless Wave," will begin with McCain's 2008 White House run against now-former President Barack Obama, and will reflect on his time in the Senate during Obama's tenure in office, according to AFP. But he will also "share his experiences during the divisive 2016 election and his no-holds-barred opinions on the current developments coming out of Washington," the publisher said.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday praised special counsel Robert Mueller amid speculation that President Trump may be preparing to fire him.

Do you remember when CNN's James Clapper was caught lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2013 when he was still the Director of National Intelligence in response to a question about whether the NSA collected data on millions of Americans? Well, the good news for Clapper is he might be exonerated since it could be that it was not him but his "evil twin" that was the one who was doing the lying. Clapper made the suggestion on Friday about his "evil twin" lying instead of him on CNN during an interview with Erin Burnett. Because President Donald Trump tweeted about...

"Contrary to popular belief @SenJohnMcCain is doing fine and has no intention of resigning!" McCain said in a tweet Thursday afternoon, labeling those who are pushing such reports as "crackpots."

The House and Senate increased their own budgets in the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending package. The Senate increased its total salaries of officers and employees by $12.6 million in the 2,232-page bill that lawmakers had fewer than 48 hours to read and vote on. The bill avoids a government shutdown that would take place at midnight on Friday. Aside from giving their own institutions a bonus, the omnibus also gives away millions to prevent "elderly falls," promote breastfeeding, and fight "excessive alcohol use." The legislation increases the Senate budget to $919.9 million, up $48.8 million from fiscal year 2017, according...

Thursday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” House Freedom Caucus vice chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) slammed GOP leadership for allowing what is predicted to be the passage of a $1.3 trillion spending bill that does not include many of the priorities on which Republicans, including President Donald Trump, campaigned. Jordan took issue mainly with the funding for Planned Parenthood, restrictions on guns and lack of border wall funding.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House easily approved a bipartisan $1.3 trillion spending bill Thursday that pours huge sums into Pentagon programs and domestic initiatives ranging from building roads to combatting the nation's opioid abuse crisis, but left Congress in stalemate over shielding young Dreamer immigrants from deportation and curbing surging health insurance premiums. The vote was 256-167, a one-sided tally that underscored the popularity of a budget deal among party leaders that provided enough money to address many of both sides' priorities. Further highlighting how eager lawmakers were to claim victories, the House approved the 2,232-page package — which stood...

Former CIA chief John Brennan is a liar. And he’s not the kind of garden variety dissembler that we see in Washington all the time, either. Rather, Brennan is the kind of man who feels comfortable brazenly misleading the American people about an attack on democracy, and then shamelessly lecturing them about civic decency. You may recall, as director of the CIA, Brennan oversaw an operation of illegal spying on a staffer of the legislative branch of the United States government. At least five agency officials under his watch broke into Senate computer files, viewing drafts of a report on...

Giving an interview at the SXSW conference in Austin Texas over the weekend, the Democratic nominee opposing Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said American civilians should not be permitted to buy an AR-15 rifle. El Paso Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, is proud of his campaign’s claim that he shuns political action committee (PAC) money. He criticized Senator Cruz for taking $300,000 from the National Rifle Association and boasted that his campaign has taken $0 from the NRA. He told a story about a woman at a town hall who asked him if he could stand up to the NRA. O’Rourke explained...

This week, Congressional Democrats released a detailed tax hike plan that they promised to implement if given majority control of the House and Senate after the 2018 midterm elections. So much for the crocodile tears about the deficit--Democrats want to raise taxes not to reduce the debt, but rather to spend that tax hike money on boondoggle projects. As you might expect, hold onto your wallets. Here are the details: Increase the top marginal income tax rate from 37 percent to 39.6 percent. This nearly 3 percentage point increase in the top personal rate is not only a hike in...

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said on Thursday that he will introduce legislation to nix President Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports just minutes after they were announced. "I will immediately draft and introduce legislation to nullify these tariffs, and I urge my colleagues to pass it before this exercise in protectionism inflicts any more damage on the economy," Flake said in a statement. Trump announced that he would levy the penalties — a 25 percent tariff for steel and 10 percent on aluminum — during a White House event. Canada and Mexico are exempted amid larger trade negotiations, Trump...

The survey found that Tester would score 42 percent of his state's votes, with 55 percent saying they would vote Republican. Manchin is at 43 percent, with 52 percent voting Republican. Donnelly has 45 percent of votes, with 51 percent voting Republican. McCaskill is down 44 percent to Hawley's 52 percent. The polling was closer for Heitkamp. The survey said she would garner 47 percent, versus 49 percent for a generic Republican challenger.

President Trump's national approval rating is still historically low — 39.8 percent in the RealClearPolitics average and 40.2 percent at FiveThirtyEight — but "as state-by-state polling of Trump's approval rating shows, the national mood really isn't so national," Nathaniel Rakich notes at FiveThirtyEight. "Voters in different corners of the country differ in how deep their anger runs — and at whom it's directed. ... To take control of the Senate, it doesn't much matter how Democrats perform elsewhere if they can't win both Nevada and Arizona and defend red-state Democrats in places like Missouri and Indiana." According to a new...

The incumbent Ted Cruz has a strong challenger in Beto O'Rourke for the coveted Lone Star State Senate seat in November's General Election. Ted cruised to victory while Beto roared and showed he's ready for a showdown. Texas Republican U.S.Senate incumbent Ted Cruz will face Democrat challenger Beto O'Rourke after both won their respective party's primary ballot Tuesday night. The headliner on the Texas ballot was the race for the United States Senate seat held by incumbent Ted Cruz, the junior senator winding down his first term. Cruz had four opponents in the Republican Primary. Cruz had more than 80...

While he survived a brutal and controversial Senate primary in 2014, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, citing his failing health, is resigning effective April 1. A special election will be held to finish the remainder of his term that ends in 2020. If no one gets above 50 percent, a runoff will be held. For now, Gov. Phil Bryant will appoint an interim senator to fill the vacancy until the election. Cochran’s colleague, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MI), is up for re-election this year and is facing a challenge by state Sen. Chris McDaniel. McDaniel challenged Cochran in 2014 (via NPR): I...

Mississippi Senator Cochran to resign April 1.

Democratic obstruction in the Senate has left the Department of Education without leadership in its office of civil rights at a time when anti-Semitism has risen by 94 percent in U.S. schools. Kenneth Marcus, the Trump administration's nominee to be assistant secretary for civil rights, has been stalled since Oct. 30. Marcus is the founder and president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing civil rights of the Jewish people. Marcus was not confirmed out of the Senate HELP committee until last month on a party line vote and now awaits...

NEW YORK — As Michael Savage contemplates a run for the U.S. Senate in California, the radio star on Monday unveiled a platform of borders, language and culture. In an email to Breitbart News, Savage outlined his plan for the Golden State if he decides to jump into the race: Seal the borders, build the wall like a citadel, deport illegal aliens. English is the only language permitted on government documents, including ballots used for voting. Again: English only voting Fix the homeless problem in the big cities of California – get rid of the needles, feces and trash off...