Free Republic

But the lawmaker didn’t say whether he would vote against the rescissions package. A top House Republican appropriator opposes the Trump administration’s plans to claw back funding for public media — a potential problem for GOP leaders who need near-unity within their party to pass the White House’s request that Congress revoke billions of dollars it has already approved. Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada, who leads the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security, on Monday joined with Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) to urge the administration to reconsider its proposal to cut $1.1 billion from the Corporation for...

President Trump has ordered the California National Guard to secure Los Angeles from the anti-ICE rioters, despite the vocal objections of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass. It’s the first time in 60 years that the commander-in-chief deployed a state’s National Guard without the governor’s blessing, and members of the Trump administration are saying the move is justified because the protests represent a “violent insurrection” against the country. “This is a violent insurrection,” White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller posted Saturday night. Vice President JD Vance also used the word in describing the riots: “Insurrectionists carrying...

*** Driving the news: In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel first obtained by Axios, Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) asked that they "immediately clarify whether this allegation is true." The lawmakers asked for a timeline of the DOJ's declassification and publication of the Epstein files, an explanation for why they haven't turned over any new documents since February. And they requested a description of Trump's role in reviewing the files, a list of personnel involved in their release and an answer for why files previously released to Congress contained "significant...

Elon Musk went nuclear on President Trump Thursday, accusing him of withholding information from the public about Jeffrey Epstein because it would implicate him. “Time to drop the really big bomb,” Musk posted on X after a multi-hour tirade against the president. “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files.” That is the real reason they have not been made public,” he claimed. “Have a nice day, DJT!” The disgraced financier’s association with Trump has been known for years as the two were videotaped and photographed together at parties in the 1990s.

President Trump rounded on Sen. Rand Paul Tuesday over the Republican lawmaker’s opposition to the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act due to its impact on the debt. “Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas,” Trump groused on Truth Social. “His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can’t stand him. This is a BIG GROWTH BILL!” In an earlier post, Trump, 78, had complained that Paul “has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming. He loves voting ‘NO’ on everything, he thinks it’s good politics,...

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that there were “enough” Republican senators who would not vote for the so-called “big, beautiful” spending bill without significant changes. Host Jake Tapper said, “How determined are you to be that guy if it actually means telling President Trump you are going to vote against the bill and you’re going to try to get other Republican senators to join you, unless there are major, major changes?” Johnson said, “Well, in 2010, I sprang out of the Tea Party movement and as I did parades I would shout, this...

A single Republican senator — Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — voted against the nomination of Harmeet Dhillon to serve as assistant attorney general, veering away from the rest of her GOP colleagues who voted in favor. After her nomination in December, lawmakers finally held a formal vote Thursday and Dhillon was approved in a 52-45 vote. However, Murkowski opposed the nomination and sided with Democrats. President Donald Trump announced in December the nomination of Dhillon to work as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. “Throughout her career, Harmeet has stood up consistently to protect our...

Senate Republicans want Elon Musk to stop talking about Social Security, and the Department of Government Efficiency to leave it alone. Musk’s statement that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme,” and his plans to cut up to 12 percent of the Social Security Administration’s workforce, are giving GOP lawmakers heartburn. They warn that Social Security reform is known as the “third rail” of politics for a reason: Any party that touches it is likely to get zapped come Election Day. And Republicans fear that reductions in staff and field offices will boomerang on them, predicting constituents will grow frustrated if...

President Trump said Monday he will "lead the charge" to oust Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) for his refusal to support Republicans' government funding bill.

"I think many of these firings are indiscriminate."

WASHINGTON (AP) — His group spent nearly $1 million on ads opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s pick to lead the nation’s health agencies. He’s delivering speeches urging the president to stand with longstanding foreign allies and lobbying members of Congress while aides write letters and opinion columns. This weekend, he posted an article he penned more than a decade ago on the limits of presidential power after Trump claimed that, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” Mike Pence is emerging as one of the last Republicans in Washington willing to publicly criticize the new...

The effort to undermine President Trump continues in the US Senate @SenTomCotton is working behind the scenes to stop Trump’s pick, Elbridge Colby, from getting confirmed at DOD Colby is one of the most important pieces to stop the Bush/Cheney cabal at DOD Why is Tom Cotton… Show more

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, said there was a moral imperative for the U.S. government to deliver international food aid to starving people. He also said it was important to not undermine market opportunities for U.S. commodities in wake of Trump administration maneuvering to close the U.S. Agency for International Development. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of U.S. Senate video) TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said a freeze on federal funding and change at the U.S. Agency for International Development left $340 million in lifesaving food grown in the United States sitting at domestic ports awaiting...

Sen. Lisa Murkowski issued a joint statement with the Danish member of parliament who holds two seats representing Greenland, emphasizing that the United States should view the icy landmass as a “an ally” rather than “an asset.” “The appeal of Greenland is easy to understand. It is strategically located for defense, shipping, and more. It is also a storehouse for all sorts of minerals, the building blocks of society that will determine who leads—and controls—the industries of the future,” the statement began. “Of course, a businessman turned president would be interested. But Greenland is not for sale. The question has...

<p>Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski — who broke with her party on numerous occasions to support former President Joe Biden’s nominees — became the first Republican senator to publicly oppose Pete Hegseth’s nomination to serve as Defense secretary.</p><p>Murkowski was one of several Senate Republicans rumored to be potential “no” votes against Hegseth, and she made it official with a Thursday statement making clear that she cannot support his nomination because of character concerns related to Hegseth’s past infidelity and accusations about his drinking habits, among other issues. Murkowski previously voted to back 12 Biden nominees whom most Republicans opposed in 2021, according to Alaska Public Media, and she voted with Biden about 64% of the time in 2023, according to ABC News.</p>

Monday marked a significant point in U.S. history, with President Donald Trump staging a triumphant return to the White House and following his inauguration with a slew of executive actions aimed at furthering his MAGA mission. One issue he had been discussing at length in recent weeks involved renaming the Gulf of Mexico, and an announcement on the first day of his second term confirmed that he was already in the process of ordering its named changed to the Gulf of America. Another natural feature, the nation’s tallest mountain, was also included in the statement, as Fox News reported: The...

Now he wants unity

Burrows’ effective governing coalition is 36 Republicans and 49 Democrats — and is the first time a speaker was elected in the official vote with a minority of his own party behind him in recent memory.

"Democrat Coalition Propels Dustin Burrows to Speaker of the Texas House." Burrows is very much in favor of the practice of awarding State House committee chairmanships to Democrats...as was his sleazy predecessor Dade Phelan. "Burrows won despite the fact that Republicans control 88 of the chamber’s 150 seats." Last month, Cook won the Republican nomination for speaker. However, Burrows and a minority faction of Republican members immediately sought to build a coalition with Democrats to secure his victory. “Today, the RINO (anti-MAGA) Establishment laughed in the faces of our Republican grassroots. They chose Democrat chairs and Lobbyist buddies over their...

Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk’s influence over President-elect Donald Trump had a “self-life.” Co-host Jonathan Karl said, “You know what it’s like to be part of Donald Trump’s inner circle. You were in the inner circle from 2016 through 2020, but I want to ask you about Musk. He’s practically moved into Mar-a-Lago. My first question to you is, this is the wealthiest guy in the world. What is in it for him? Why has he become so attached to Trump?”