Free Republic

Maryland Democrats are considering a radical overhaul of congressional district lines that would give them a chance to win all eight of the state’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, putting the lone Republican representative at risk. Two of the four draft maps released by the General Assembly’s Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission spell trouble for Rep. Andy Harris (R), who represents a district that covers the Eastern Shore. Those proposals would add hundreds of thousands of voters from Anne Arundel County, home of Annapolis, in with voters from the less populous counties on the Eastern Shore. The two halves...

Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney’s name has been removed from a historic warship in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor by the Living Classrooms Foundation. The foundation’s removal of Taney’s name from the ship serves as the latest in a series of gestures meant to acknowledge past wrongs and signal solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police. James Piper Bond, LCF president and CEO, said in a statement Wednesday that the organization was inspired to make the change, calling the court ruling “an abomination” and “great injustice”...

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Saturday that America is facing “an enemy within.” She singled out socialist “America Last” policies—apparently referring to the opposite of former President Donald Trump’s America First agenda, in a string of Twitter posts. “Yes there is an enemy within,” she wrote. “And that enemy is a poisonous rot of socialist policies and America last sell outs who are pompous hypocrites that believe they are untouchable elites.” By using the term “enemy within,” Greene seemed to be responding to recent remarks made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). She told reporters that the House needs...

Two House members nearly came to blows and had to be separated by a Capitol staffer after several lawmakers had preached about coming together as Americans. The wild scene took place as lawmakers debated certifying the Electoral votes from Pennsylvania. An altercation reportedly took place between Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) and Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), though what prompted it remains unclear.

EXCLUSIVE: A resolution introduced Thursday by House Republicans condemns allegedly “anti-American” statements by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after remarks in which she called for supporters to begin “dismantling the whole system of oppression.” The resolution, introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz. – and co-sponsored by Reps. Scott Perry, R-Pa., Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., Andy Harris, R-Md., Chip Roy, R-Texas, Ted Budd, R-N.C., Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., and Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz. – accuses Omar of having “a documented history of expressing anti-American sentiments.”

Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris says Washington, DC won’t decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, cacti and plants on his watch. Harris told The Post he’s appalled that drug reform activists submitted on Monday what they say is enough signatures to get an initiative on the November ballot making natural hallucinogens the lowest law enforcement priority. Harris said he will force a House Appropriations Committee vote next week to stop it, using the power of Congress over DC’s budget.

It's a surreal thing to tune into a committee mark-up and see Democrats singing "Happy birthday to you." Before February, nothing about that would have seemed mildly ironic. But in a House majority that thinks birth days aren't always worth celebrating, Rep. Nita Lowey's (D-N.Y.) song suddenly feels a little off. Especially when that same chairwoman goes on to spend the next three hours arguing that Americans should make sure babies overseas never get born. If Democrats get their way, there will be no "Happy birthday" song for who knows how many children. In the majority's debate over State Foreign...

A Salisbury University student has been charged with illegal wiretapping after prosecutors said he streamed a meeting with a congressional staffer for Maryland Rep. Andy Harris via Facebook Live without permission. Jake Burdett, 20, was charged last week with two felony counts of making an illegal recording and distributing the video filmed during a Maryland Marijuana Justice rally at Harris’s Salisbury office in October, the state prosecutor’s office announced Thursday. Marijuana legalization protesters have long tangled with Harris, who in 2014 worked to block full legalization of the drug in the District of Columbia. A protest outside the Republican’s Capitol...

Being conservative is a dangerous business these days. Congressman Andy Harris (R-Md.) is the latest Republican to find that out, Capitol Police say. A clash over marijuana policy outside Dr. Harris's office turned violent when a group of protestors stormed into Harris's office and assaulted him. Huffington Post reporter Jennifer Bendery was there and tweeted that Congressman Harris was "trying to hold his office door closed but was not successful." The demonstrators, she insisted, "were smoking weed."Across town, officials were busy investigating at least two packages of ricin that had been sent to Defense Secretary James Mattis and Admiral John...

There is what appears to be a female protester laying on the ground. Medics have just arrived and are working on her in some capacity. There is a smell of weed in the air here.

Jennifer Bendery Verified account @jbendery Follow Follow @jbendery More Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) just had his office door pushed through and was assaulted by demonstrators, a Cap Police officer tells me 9:37 AM - 2 Oct 2018

The two members of Congress who received campaign contributions from convicted Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort have selected charities to receive the funds, their spokespeople tell the Washington Examiner. Reps. Andy Harris, R-Md., and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., are the only current members of Congress to receive contributions from Manafort, who pleaded guilty to foreign lobbying and witness tampering crimes Friday after being convicted of tax and bank fraud last month. Harris, who received $500 during his first campaign for Congress in 2008, will give the funds to the Pregnancy Center North, campaign coordinator Nicole Beus said. The Baltimore-based center says...

Early jockeying has begun in the race for chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee — the largest caucus on Capitol Hill, and one that has seen its influence grow with Donald Trump in the White House. At least five House Republicans told The Hill they are weighing bids to replace the group's chairman, Rep. Mark Walker (N.C.). Known informally as the RSC, the caucus imposes a two-year term limit on its chairman, giving more members a chance to lead. So far, the possible contenders are: four-term Rep. Vicky Hartzler (Mo.); three-term Rep. Roger Williams (Texas); two-term Rep. Barry Loudermilk...

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) Florida Republican Congressman Ron DeSantis, along with 10 other GOP members of the House, sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday, detailing formal criminal referrals against James Comey, Hillary Clinton, Loretta Lynch and Andrew McCabe. While Sean Hannity and other conservative radio and TV talk show hosts played the letter up as if it is a momentous event, the truth is that it makes referrals that are already being acted upon by the Attorney General. Sessions has already and repeatedly made it clear that...

Washington, DC – Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-06) today sent a letter, along with several colleagues, to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and US Attorney John Huber, asking them to investigate several Obama-era officials for potential violation(s) of federal statutes. These officials include former FBI Director James Comey, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former Acting Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe, FBI Agent Peter Strzok and FBI Counsel Lisa Page, among others. Read the criminal referral here. The following members have joined DeSantis in this call for equal application of the law:...

Like most Americans, but unlike most of the other 434 members of the House of Representatives, Andy Harris pulls a lengthy commute to work each day. One way and without traffic, the Maryland Republican says he can go door to door in an hour and a half from his home in Cockeysville to his office on Capitol Hill. But if he hits traffic, it takes almost three hours just to get to work. Harris doesn’t mind. As a physician, he says he’s used to long hours in the operating room and, as a single father, the 60-mile trek is necessary...

This morning on Meet the Press, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said that the city will "explore every option" in regards to getting Initiative 71 enforced in the city. Initiative 71, which would have permitted the legal use of marijuana for recreational purposes, was passed with overwhelming support on Election Day, yet was blocked by Congress. Bowser had previously been against legalized marijuana, but has since changed her position to align with the will of the voters of the District of Columbia. Bowser also said that she intends on "forging a path" for increased autonomy in the District of Columbia. Mayor...

A congressional deal to avert another government shutdown contains a provision to stop the District of Columbia from allowing the sale of marijuana, angering supporters of a pro-pot initiative that D.C. voters approved overwhelmingly in November, The Washington Post reports. The anti-pot measure — a budget "rider" slipped into a $1.1 trillion catchall spending bill that would keep the government running past Thursday — could prevent the nation's capital from joining Colorado and Washington as legal weed havens. The measure does not overturn the results of Initiative 71, the legalization referendum that passed on Nov. 4 with more than 60...

Attorney General Eric Holder testified on Friday that the Justice Department (DOJ) never intended to stop the Louisiana school voucher program, despite his agency’s lawsuit that requested a permanent injunction against school choice scholarships.Under questioning before a House appropriations subcommittee, Rep. Andy Harris (R., Md.) got into a heated exchange after asking Holder if the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division was responsible for the lawsuit “against” the state’s scholarship program, which allows students to flee failing schools.“You buy into a premise that’s not correct,” Holder said. “That was not the division that was doing anything of that nature in Louisiana.”“We were...

EASTON — After spending the weekend in St. Michaels, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., was in Easton on Sunday, Sept. 22, to talk politics and what's going on in Washington, D.C. "What's going on in Washington today is outrageous," Cardin said. "We can't get the Republicans to sit down and take on the responsibilities to govern." On Friday, the House passed a continuing resolution that would defund the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, but would fund the government through Dec. 15, 2013. If the bill doesn't make it through the Senate by the end of September, it would force a...