Free Republic

*** Here’s an early look at the five Senate seats most likely to flip next year.Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff (Ga.) is considered the most vulnerable Democrat on the Senate map …. But ... Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) decided against a Senate bid, depriving the GOP of its top choice across the entire 2026 map. *** ... Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) is in, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is out, and operatives believe Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) may follow Carter into the primary. ***NorthCarolina If Democrats are going to make any headway toward winning back the majority, toppling Sen. Thom...

President Trump has returned from the Middle East to mounting questions about whether it’s appropriate for him to accept a luxury Qatari jet to serve as the next Air Force One, including from Republicans increasingly dubious that the move is a smart and worthwhile idea. Republicans have given the president a wide berth on a multitude of issues throughout his first four months in office as they push to enact his agenda. However, very few are rushing to his defense after he made clear he plans to accept the $400 million gift. “It’s an unnecessary distraction,” one Senate Republican told...

Senate Republicans on Monday criticized Elon Musk’s directive for federal government employees to lose their jobs if they did not send in a bullet-pointed summary of what they did last week at work, describing it as a rash decision that was not handled well. The email asking what they accomplished over the past week had set a deadline of Monday at midnight for responses. However, that was walked back by the Office of Personnel Management when it told departments and agencies that they could ignore that email. Nevertheless, some Senate GOP members took issue with Musk’s request as he continues...

Public comments from President Trump blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia’s invasion of his country are unnerving Senate Republicans, who have largely sought to avoid conflicts with the White House. Trump’s escalating war of words with the Ukrainian leader comes as hawks in both parties plead with the president not to give Moscow a free pass in talks to end the bitter three-year conflict. “I’m concerned with anything that would ultimately allow there to be a moral equivalency between Zelensky and Putin,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who visited Ukraine alongside a pair of Senate Democrats over the weekend...

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) announced Tuesday that he will support Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to become director of national intelligence, paving the way for her to reach a floor vote and increasing her chances of winning full confirmation. Young had been considered a crucial Intelligence Committee GOP swing vote on Gabbard’s nomination. “I appreciate Tulsi Gabbard’s engagement with me on a variety of issues to ensure that our intelligence professionals will be supported and policymakers will receive unbiased information under her leadership,” Young posted on the social platform X alongside a letter Gabbard sent him of commitments in order to win...

The Senate on Saturday approved the nomination of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), putting her at the center of an administration focused heavily on immigration. The 59-34 vote to confirm Noem capped off a relatively smooth process even as other nominees face more intense scrutiny.

Senate Republicans are steamrolling ahead on Pete Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Pentagon, and a new report detailing allegations of abusive behavior by the nominee have seemingly not dissuaded them. The Senate is set to hold an initial procedural vote on the nomination Thursday, even as Democrats attempt to delay final passage.

President-elect Trump’s ill-fated nomination of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to run the Justice Department marked an early sign of his potential limits in moving his nominees and dealing with Senate Republicans, giving him less wiggle room to get his Cabinet in place. Riding high off his electoral win earlier this month, Trump tapped Gaetz to become attorney general in what emerged as a quick test for Senate Republicans, with Trump expecting them to capitulate to him as they have numerous times over the years. But Gaetz turned out to be toxic. His withdrawal served as strike one for Trump’s...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told a bipartisan group of senators Thursday that he could bring Russia to the negotiating table next year if the Biden administration speeds up shipments of weapons to Ukraine and greenlights missile strikes deeper into Russia. In a closed-door meeting that lasted about 90 minutes, Zelensky told senators that he needs more F-16 fighter jets and long-range missiles with capability to strike more than 100 miles into Russia, promising that Russian President Vladimir Putin would negotiate a peace deal if his own country faces a greater military threat. “He’s saying that within the [military aid] package...

Democrats fresh off a triumph in the 2022 fight for the Senate now face an even more difficult battle: retaining their majority in the next election as they defend nearly two dozen seats. Of the 33 Senate seats contested in 2024, 23 are held by Democrats, including a number in states that former President Trump won or nearly won. Republicans have their sights on taking down the likes of Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and reversing the “candidate quality” issues that plagued them in 2022. Here are some issues to watch that could affect...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) support for the Electoral Count Act is renewing the schism between him and former President Trump, setting up a vote likely to divide the GOP caucus. Supporters are hopeful that McConnell’s backing will lead to a majority of the Senate GOP conference backing the legislation, drafted in response to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol that many blame on Trump. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a co-sponsor of the bill, said he believes 20 to 30 Senate Republicans could ultimately back the proposal, which is expected to be voted on during the lame-duck...

Inflation, inflation, inflation. That’s the message Republicans have been begging and pleading to talk about for months. But don’t tell that to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Graham stole the spotlight from the biggest news in GOP circles — that the consumer price index report showed that inflation rose 0.1 percent in August — by rolling out legislation that would ban abortion nationally after 15 weeks, creating headaches for a party that has been on its heels for much of the past month. The move effectively kneecapped messaging by Republicans, who have centered their midterm arguments on what they describe as...

BULVERDE, Texas — Texas Republicans remain bullish that President Trump will repeat his 2016 win here next week. But they warn the party nonetheless has a lot of work to do in the coming years as Democrats continue to make inroads across the state, especially in suburban areas. For two cycles now, Texas Republicans have watched as Democrats picked off long-held GOP House seats in the Dallas and Houston suburbs, with the minority party continuing to go on offense in a number of seats few saw as possible pick-up opportunities years ago. This has set off alarm bells for party...

[VIDEO at source] Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer praised Florida Sen Marco Rubio at the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit Friday, saying he is “a very strong candidate.” Ahead of presumed 2016 announcements by Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina and Mike Huckabee, Krauthammer told National Review’s Rich Lowry that Rubio is “the perfect antithesis” to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. He said Rubio is the candidate Democrats “fear the most.” “Marco is a very strong candidate,” Krauthammer started. “You can see a route for him, and he’s the perfect antithesis to Hillary. If you ask Democrats who they fear the most, I...