Free Republic

Just 19% of voters questioned in a new national poll give Democrats in Congress a thumbs up on how they're handling their duties, with 72% disapproving. That's an all-time low since Quinnipiac University first began asking congressional approval questions in their surveys 16 years ago. The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since November's elections, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate and defended their fragile House majority. And Republicans made gains among Black, Hispanic and younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party's base. The trend is reflected in the new...

The House voted 422-6 against Rep. MTG’s amendment to cut $500 million in US funding to Israel’s missile program. ...

It’s finally passed and heading for President Trump's desk for signature. The recissions package has made it over the finish line in a 216-213 vote in the House. It had to be bounced back from the Senate, which passed it on a 51-48 vote, as the upper chamber had made slight adjustments to it during the vote-a-rama process. The GOP has slim majorities in Congress, but they’re getting the Trump agenda through. 216-213:House approved the Trump WH's 1st round of DOGE spending cuts, $9B in foreign aid & public broadcasting from previously approved funding by Congress. Republicans Fitzpatrick (PA) &...

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday confirmed he's seriously considering two options to try to redraw California's congressional districts to get more Democrats elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. The update comes after President Donald Trump earlier this week urged Republican state lawmakers in Texas to help the party pick up five seats in that state. Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the state Legislature to discuss redistricting in an upcoming special legislative session. Unlike Texas, the California Legislature does not draw district maps. Every 10 years, the state's independent redistricting commission undertakes the work through a lengthy, citizen-led process. Voters...

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) says Texas is racist and that black Democrat members of Congress should have special privileges such as not facing competition from white people.Incidentally, Crockett previously admitted she used her skin color to get hired.pic.twitter.com/XdJTduZJNv— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) July 15, 2025

PBS and NPR stations are on the verge of losing the federal funding that has helped keep them on the air for decades. The Senate is preparing to vote on a rare measure called a “rescission,” which would claw back money that was already budgeted by Congress, including nearly $1.1 billion in funding for public media. Here’s what will happen if lawmakers zero out the funding for PBS and NPR. What will viewers and listeners notice? Over time, some local stations may be forced off the air, while other stations may have fewer shows to broadcast. Stations may have fewer...

The vote failed 211-210, and the full truth remains hidden. As TGP readers know, this measure would have forced Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Department of Justice to publish all Jeffrey Epstein–related documents—including flight logs, communications, and purported client lists—on a publicly accessible website within 30 days. The Gateway Pundit reported earlier that in a jaw-dropping move late Monday, House Republicans once again slammed the door shut on transparency, voting 7‑5 in the Rules Committee to block Rep. Khanna’s amendment that would have forced Bondi and the Department of Justice to publish all Epstein‑related files publicly. Last week, Khanna (D‑CA) announced...

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday on Fox Business that Republicans plan to bring more reconciliation bills and rescission packages to the floor within the coming year to help President Donald Trump achieve his “America First” agenda. Host of “Sunday Morning Futures” Maria Bartiromo asked the Louisiana Republican about the party’s plans for the future, and Johnson said they’ve been setting up a framework for quite a while. “We’re implementing a playbook that we designed well over a year ago,” he replied. “About 15 months ago, we began this process, understanding and believing that we would win unified government, that...

Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is reportedly ready and willing to testify before the U.S. Congress about the full extent of Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal empire — and the powerful men who participated in it. According to a Daily Mail report, Maxwell, 63, has not been offered a plea deal, nor has she been contacted by any U.S. officials about providing testimony — something she would reportedly “welcome.” “She would be more than happy to sit before Congress and tell her story,” a source close to Maxwell told the news outlet. “No one from the government has ever asked her. She...

NBC News National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki analyzes what Republicans are up against as they seek to protect their majority in both chambers of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is notable for implementing significant changes to the U.S. tax code, including making 2017’s individual income tax brackets permanent.But there are non-tax-related items in the bill that will impact the lives of everyday Americans, affecting travel, women’s health care, immigration, and welfare benefits.Here are ten major non-tax areas that are addressed in the legislation, which President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4.Air Traffic ControlThe new law provides $12.5 billion to the Transportation Department to institute long-overdue reforms to the nation’s air traffic control system.That includes $4.75 billion to upgrade copper telecommunication infrastructure...

Some A-10 Warthogs could get a reprieve from total retirement as Congress moves to reverse some of the Pentagon’s most dramatic Air Force cuts in its proposed fiscal 2026 budget. The Pentagon’s budget, which the department released in June, calls for the Air Force to retire its remaining 162-plane fleet of A-10 attack aircraft in 2026, two years earlier than originally intended. It also calls for canceling the E-7 Wedgetail program in favor of E-2D Hawkeyes and space-based sensors, and cutting the planned purchase of F-35A Joint Strike Fighters down to 24, or nearly in half. The proposed E-7 and...

We’re told that passing President Trump’s $9.4 billion rescission package – the one that would eliminate much of the funding for NPR and PBS (they can hold telethons) and some modest cuts in foreign aid – is a tough sell in the Senate. Apparently, the Cookie Monster desperately needs tax dollars.’ It passed the House so the Senate needs to toughen up and get it done. If they can’t cut the budget by 0.13% or the deficit by 0.5% we are sunk.Fortunately, Trump is tightening the screws ahead of the July 18 deadline. We will keep you posted.

Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise helped to gain an Iranian woman’s release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement after he advocated for her.Mandonna “Donna” Kashanian, 64, has been living in the U.S. for 47 years. Her husband, Russell Milne, and daughter, Kaitlynn Milne, are both U.S. citizens.

Tennessee Rep. Mark Green announced that he has resigned from Congress to take a mysterious new job — narrowing Republicans’ already ultra-slim majority by one seat ahead of messy fights such as the looming government shutdown battle in the fall. The retired US Army officer had revealed his intention to step down last month after passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but had refrained from giving an exact date. On Friday, he tendered his resignation, which is effective July 20, per his letter to GOP leadership.

House Republicans propelled President Donald Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bill to final congressional passage Thursday, overcoming multiple setbacks to approve his signature second-term policy package before a Fourth of July deadline. The tight roll call, 218-214, came at a potentially high political cost, with two Republicans joining all Democrats opposed. GOP leaders worked overnight and the president himself leaned on a handful of skeptics to drop their opposition and send the bill to him to sign into law. Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York delayed voting by holding the floor for more than eight hours...

Trump's Big Beautiful Bill has passed the House and now awaits Trump's signature. The vote was 216-213. Massie and Fitzpatrick voted "No". Two GOP members didn't vote. All Democrats voted "No".

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, on Monday said he would back challengers to members of Congress who vote for President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill." Musk broke his short-lived X silence about the bill over the weekend, unloading on it for being “utterly insane.” On Monday, Musk criticized “every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history,” vowing that “they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

Crews are putting up large anti-scale barricades around the White House and the Treasury tonight.. Big news coming this weekend? ... Any guesses? ... Lisa Murkowski, who had a high chance of voting NO, just voted YES to advance the Big Beautiful Bill after she spoke with Vance 3 to go! ... JD Vance is on the Senate floor lobbying Republican holdouts to vote YES on the Big Beautiful Deal

President Donald Trump is on the verge of getting billions of dollars from Congress to recruit and retain agents to carry out the mass deportation campaign that was one of the central promises of his campaign. Trump has been on a roll in his efforts to combat illegal immigration and remove undocumented immigrants from the country, and both advocates and critics of his plans say that bolstering border security and interior enforcement will make it easier for him to execute on his vision. The issue, a key tenet of his MAGA movement for a decade, helped him win back the...