Free Republic

Elon Musk told GOP congressional leaders and big-dollar donors on Tuesday that Republicans need to present a more compassionate front to voters and appeal to immigrants like himself, Axios has learned.Why it matters: While Musk has been publicly flirting with the Republican Party all year, his attendance at an exclusive GOP retreat in Wyoming marks a new level of involvement in helping the party define its agenda and prepare for its potential takeover of the House.Driving the news: Musk offered a robust defense of capitalism in addition to some political advice at House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's annual donor retreat...

Five Democratic senators have told the White House they won't support Saule Omarova to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, effectively killing her nomination for the powerful bank-regulator position.Why it matters: The defiant opposition from a broad coalition of senators reflects the real policy concerns they had with Omarova, a Cornell University law professor who's attracted controversy for her academic writings about hemming in big banks.Their opposition also hints at a willingness of some Democratic senators to buck the White House on an important nomination, even if it hands Republicans a political — and symbolic — victory.Republicans...

President Biden and the Democratic-controlled Senate have installed more federal judges during the first six months of his presidency than any administration since Richard Nixon's. Why it matters: While Democrats may spend more time talking publicly about vaccines and infrastructure, the rapid pace of both nominations and confirmations shows judges are one of the party's most urgent priorities. President Trump pushed through his own slate of judges to boost conservatives for decades. By the numbers: Biden has had eight federal judges confirmed since taking office on Jan. 20. * Six months into their presidencies, Trump and George H.W. Bush had...

On Wednesday morning, NBC’s Today show and ABC’s Good Morning America recited identical liberal talking points as both broadcasts warned viewers that the U.S. was on the verge of looking like world’s worst “authoritarian regimes” if the Pentagon followed through on President Trump’s desire to hold a military parade in the nation’s capital. “Some unusual marching orders from President Trump to the Pentagon. He wants a massive parade to highlight the country’s military strength,” fretted Today co-host Hoda Kotb. “But as NBC’s Hans Nichols explains, that request is not sitting well with some lawmakers,” she added.