Free Republic

Montana Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale introduced legislation Monday evening that prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from paying for, hosting or supporting adult cabaret performances. The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the bill, which defines an “adult cabaret performance” as a performance that features topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dances, strippers or male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to prurient interest. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said the DOD does not support or fund the shows, but Military.com reported that Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada had planned to host an all ages drag...

Going back to the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, the party of first-term presidents gained seats in House midterm congressional elections only twice. Karl Rove reminded readers a few months ago in his Wall Street Journal column that, since World War II, the average loss of House seats of the party of each first-term president in congressional midterms is 28. The largest loss was 63 in the first midterm elections in Barack 0bama's first term. This was after Democrats rammed through the Affordable Care Act without a single Republican vote. Given that Republicans need to pick...

Two top House Republicans among big tech's thorniest adversaries in Washington remain starkly divided on the right approach to rein in Silicon Valley.Two top House Republicans among big tech’s thorniest adversaries in Washington remain starkly divided on how to rein in Silicon Valley’s empire. Earlier this month, a group of bipartisan lawmakers led by Rhode Island Democrat Rep. David Cicilline and Colorado Republican Ken Buck — who serve as chair and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, respectively — unveiled a broad package of antitrust legislation to break up corporate tech monopolies....

This may be an idea that nearly violates the laws of physics, but here goes: As everyone assembles horserace stories and betting lines for Paul Ryan’s successor, how about hitting a seven-month pause button? I know how crazy this sounds. Every manual for seeking office suggests a crisp, early start. That would mean every candidate looking to run for Speaker of the House should start positioning right now, while attention to the vacancy remains high. But as Ryan announced his retirement intention Tuesday, one thought rushed to the foreground as I evaluated the big names likely to announce, and maybe...

President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) shared the podium in the Rose Garden this afternoon, where the two men tried to downplay to reported souring relationship between the White House and Senate Republicans (via ABC News): Trump claimed that his relationship with McConnell is "outstanding," a refutation of reports ranging back to the summer that documented growing frustrations between the two powerful Republicans.After first discussing his administration's current efforts at a tax overhaul, Trump suddenly pivoted to describe his rapport with McConnell."My relationship with this gentleman is outstanding [and] has been outstanding." Trump said.McConnell later...

If executive-branch agencies like the EPA and HHS are tempted to sneak some new rules into the record during the lame-duck period, House Republicans have a warning for them. A letter from all current committee chairs tell Obama administration officials that any nonsense will get punished at budget time, and high-ranking officials had better expect to spend a lot of time testifying on C-SPAN: Newly empowered House Republicans on Tuesday laid down the gauntlet to the outgoing Obama administration: DonÂ’t finalize any pending rules and regulations you think you can slip through before you leave office.In a letter to hundreds...

House Republicans will receive a briefing from Health and Human Services officials about the glitch-filled Obamacare website after being excluded from a meeting in which Democrats were given details about the troubled launch. “It’s not clear why Republicans were excluded in the first place, but we look forward to getting answers to how the administration botched this enormous use of taxpayer dollars so badly,” said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Gary Cohen, who handles insurance oversight for HHS, briefed House Democrats earlier Wednesday. Buck said he would announce details of the Republican meeting when they become...

We always knew that Obama has a glass jaw, that he can’t take a punch. But it’s a little surprising that he’s started staggering around the ring so soon after November, his approval numbers bleeding away, desperately counting the seconds until the bell rings at election time in 2014 to save him from further pummeling. It’s also hilarious. On paper he’s a bruiser. This is a guy who won a knockout reelection bout even though the economy was in the toilet. He hit the GOP with an uppercut over the Fiscal Cliff. He’s got an awestruck media in his corner...

The last time Democrats in the United States Senate adhered to the law and put forward an annual budget was back in calendar year 2009, just after the last presidential election.  Now that another major national electoral contest is in the rearview mirror, it appears that Harry Reid's motley crew is preparing to make good on their magnanimous pledge to actually do their jobs this year.  Via a senior Republican source at the Senate Budget Committee:   We expect to mark up a Senate Democrat budget next week. We don’t have a date, we don’t know details such as whether...

With elections barely four months away and their majorities at risk, Republicans on Capitol Hill say they are making calculations based on survival, not loyalty. President Bush has convinced them that sticking with him on Iraq and casting critics as soft on terrorism is a winning strategy despite public unease. But he has failed to convince them that his approach to immigration is good politics. The result may be a third election campaign in a row focused on national security, yet it also may mean a second year in a row for the president without a signature victory in domestic...