Free Republic

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who has been under the microscope this week for an anecdote about killing her dog, defended her actions Wednesday, saying she shot the “dangerous” pup in order to protect her children. “It was a dog that was extremely dangerous,” Noem said Wednesday on Fox News’s “Hannity.” “It had come to us from a family who had found her way too aggressive.” “We were her second chance. And she was — the day she was put down was a day that she massacred livestock that were part of our neighbors,” she continued. “She attacked me....

Former CIA Director John Brennan criticized former President Trump in an interview with a Belgian state broadcaster published Sunday, saying Trump isn’t qualified to handle national security matters. “I think he didn’t believe what we were telling him,” Brennan said in the interview with RTBF, referring to a meeting on national security he had with Trump before his inauguration in 2017. “And he was especially trying to find out how we knew what we knew about Russian interference in the election,” Brennan continued. “According to me, he was not qualified at the time, and he is not qualified today. We...

A majority of Americans say the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot was an “attack on democracy that should never be forgotten,” according to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll released this week. In the poll, 55 percent of respondents said the Capitol riot was an “attack on democracy that should never be forgotten,” but 43 percent said “too much is being made” of the riot and that it is “time to move on. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said former President Trump bears “a great deal” of responsibility for the Capitol riot, and 16 percent said he bears a “good amount”...

House Republican Vice Chair Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) became the chamber’s Speaker on Wednesday, three weeks after Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted.Johnson became his conference’s fourth Speaker nominee on Tuesday, and he takes over in the midst of multiple international crises, most notably in Israel, Gaza and Ukraine. There has been a split in the House GOP over aid to Ukraine as they face a war against Russia, making the passage of some recent bills a tough hill to climb in the lower chamber. President Biden announced the sending of a budget request to Congress requesting aid for both Israel...

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) took another swing at embattled New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez (D) on Thursday, saying he’s not interested in Menendez’s explanation. “Unless Senator Menendez is coming today to resign, I am not interested in hearing his ‘explanation’ for gold bars stashed in a mattress,” Fetterman’s statement read. “We’re past the point of his tough talk and defiance, given the scope and scale of his alleged corruption.