Free Republic

Hours before the Senate’s PATRIOT Act standoff hit its peak this month, Republican leaders thought they had Rand Paul figured out. He would object, rail on the matter on the Senate floor — and then let at least a temporary extension through. “I don’t agree with Sen. Paul on this issue, but I think he’s been a constructive guy,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas said just before the week-long recess. A day later with the clock past midnight and the Senate in a standstill largely because of Paul’s objections, Cornyn wasn’t nearly as generous. “I’m a little surprised,”...

After the Sept. 11 attacks, Americans began to look at our national security in a different light. No longer were the lines of battle neatly drawn and enemies easily identified. In the 21st century, threats would be constantly evolving and growing even more complex. The crisis in Syria and Iraq has illustrated just how dangerous these threats are, both abroad and at home. In February, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center estimated more than 20,000 foreign fighters had joined the Islamic State or other related groups in Syria — among them, some 3,000 were from Western countries. More than...

Forty-seven Senate Republicans are signaling in an open letter to Iran and the White House that a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program will be at risk once President Obama leaves office. “It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system,” the senators wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Bloomberg. “Thus, we are writing to bring to your attention two features of our Constitution — the power to make binding international agreements and the different character of federal offices — which you should seriously...

President Obama’s pick to serve as the next attorney general is having a hard time finding Republican supporters. To be confirmed by the Senate, Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch only needs four Republicans to support her nomination. But it is unclear where those votes will come from. Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah) is the only Republican so far who has signaled his intention to vote for Lynch, though several others have spoken favorably about her. But many Republicans are expressing concerns about Lynch's stance on immigration and what they suggest is a lack of “independence" from the White House. Lynch’s confirmation...

Republicans voice support for Netanyahu congressional speech Top Republican leaders took to public and private channels Thursday to expose a coordinated campaign by the Obama administration to attack Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his acceptance of an invitation to speak before Congress, according to conversations with multiple lawmakers and leading pro-Israel insiders. The statements, many of which were obtained by the Washington Free Beacon in conversations with leaders in Congress, come in the aftermath of a widely cited New York Times report in which Obama administration officials accused Netanyahu of breaking diplomatic protocol by agreeing to speak before receiving...

Egypt has offered to evacuate thousands of its citizens from Libya after Islamic State (Isis) released pictures showing 21 kidnapped Egyptian Christians paraded in orange jumpsuits. Egypt said it had no choice but take urgent measures on Friday with Isis expanding fast across Libya, its war-stricken neighbour. “We are helping them,” Cairo’s foreign ministry spokesman, Badr Abdelatty, said. “If they would like to come back from Libya, we are facilitating their return to their home country.” The Coptic Christian guest workers were kidnapped in Sirte, on Libya’s coast, by Isis units based there in two operations in December and January....

If congressional Republican wanted to make the ongoing controversy surrounding Benjamin Netanyahu even more of a partisan food fight, this is clearly the way to do exactly that. Senate Republicans on Thursday moved to officially welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.S. ahead of his planned speech to Congress next month, the latest development in a saga that has roiled politics in both countries. Almost all GOP senators were listed as co-sponsors of a resolution by Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) saying the Senate “eagerly awaits the address of Prime Minister Netanyahu before a joint session of the...

At the start of the last Congress, John Cornyn wrote an editorial titled “Partial Government Shutdown May Be Needed to Restore Fiscal Sanity.” He’s singing a different tune today. “I’ve evolved,” the Texas Republican and newly minted Senate majority whip said in an interview last week with CQ Roll Call. For starters, the memory of the 2013 shutdown over Obamacare instigated by his fellow Texas senator, Ted Cruz, remains fresh. “Part of wisdom is to learn from your experiences, and I think we learned the hard way that shutdowns are not well received by the American people,” Cornyn said. “And...

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said he hopes his GOP colleagues hold off on a vote to fully repeal Obamacare until after Republicans have shown they can govern. “I think it’s important that we demonstrate that we can be productive before we have the inevitable fight over repealing Obamacare,” the Texas Republican said in an interview with CQ Roll Call Wednesday. “We are going to have that vote. But my own preference would be we have it after we’ve been able to demonstrate that we can actually get some things done.”

U.S. President Barack Obama voiced optimism on Wednesday that a government shutdown can be avoided in coming weeks, pointing to comments from Republican leaders of Congress who oppose a budget showdown. Obama said there are enormous potential areas for compromise with the Republican Congress, mentioning tax reform, trade and paying for infrastructure projects that would create jobs.

One of the recurring topics during Obama's speech to the Business Roundtable taking place today, aside from Obama's clear revulsion against any sort of pessimistic thought - although we admit there is still time for an executive order that makes only Optimistic thought legal, or a brand new Federal Department of Optimism with a $1 trillion annual budget - has been Obama's fear and loathing of another government shutdown. The issue, you see, is that Republicans are simply unwilling to compromise. Because, apparently, Obama is, about everything... except taxes, immigration or healthcare. And while everyone knows Obama's position and...

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) blasted President Obama’s executive order on immigration, saying the president needs a “remedial civics 101” course to refresh his understanding of the Constitution's separations of power. “There is an appropriate way to address this, and it’s not amnesty,” Cornyn said on the Senate floor Thursday. “This is really a terrible precedent.”

The Senate narrowly rejected legislation to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline on Tuesday, handing a defeat to the oil industry and dealing a major blow to Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu, who staked her political career on the outcome. The Senate voted 59-41 for the legislation, falling one vote shy of the 60 needed for passage under the deal bringing it to the floor. But Keystone supporters insisted the defeat would be short-lived. Republican leaders are vowing to try again after they take over the chamber in January — when they will have more than enough votes to get a measure...

Internet old-timers - those of us over age 25 - remember a time when the web was called the Information Superhighway. The debate over net neutrality has us thinking about another sort of highway: the Trans-Texas Corridor. The TTC, a proposed 4,000-mile toll road, rail and utility project, died a death of a thousand cuts in 2010. First proposed as a much-needed infrastructure investment, the well-intentioned project grew into a monstrosity of politically connected contractors, private property concerns and conspiracy theories. The biggest blow to TTC was statewide opposition to granting Spanish-owned developer Cintra a 50-year, multibillion-dollar deal to control...

During a debate with Democratic challenger David Alameel, Texas Sen. John Cornyn said it is time to reach a "consensus" on immigration reform by "finding parts that we agree on," including providing children of illegal immigrants access to education. "I believe education is the way out," the Republican said. He added that the children of parents "who did not comply with our immigration laws are guilty of nothing," and "it makes no sense to condemn them to a minimum-wage job for the rest of their lives when they could produce so much more, when they could be so much more....

Texas' two Republican Senators disagree on what Republicans should prioritize if the party regains control of Congress. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who is considering a 2016 presidential run and is seen as the conservative voice in Congress, wants Republicans to try to repeal Obamacare and stop President Barack Obama's executive grants of amnesty. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who may become Majority Whip if the GOP wins a net of six Senate seats this year, believes Republicans will only win the White House in 2016 if conservative stalwarts like Cruz water down their bold conservatism and compromise. Cornyn recently said "that...

A bipartisan group of senators from across the political spectrum—from Elizabeth Warren and Patrick J. Leahy to Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio—wants President Barack Obama to speak out and act to support Hong Kong’s democracy movement.They don’t specify exactly what they want Obama to do—they say “demonstrable, meaningful steps”—but note that a 1992 law “authorizes you to suspend trade and economic provisions should Beijing not provide sufficient autonomy for Hong Kong.”Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is president pro tempore and Judiciary chairman, leads the letter with Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Rubio.“The people of Hong Kong have sent a strong...

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today wrote to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske to request additional information on the screening process for incoming passengers to the U.S. following this week’s first confirmed case of Ebola in Dallas: “Under current protocols, what specific events or indicators would justify an enhanced screening process by CBP? Is CBP currently considering additional plans to increase enhanced screenings of incoming passengers?,” wrote Sen. Cornyn. “I urge you to coordinate with the CDC to ensure that we are providing accurate, timely, and appropriate information to all passengers arriving into the United...

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran (Kan.) said Thursday that lingering disappointment over the outcome of recent elections has made it harder for Republicans to raise money in their pursuit of the Senate majority. "When I started the attempt to raise money for our candidates -- or for races even before we had candidates -- it was hard to get Republican donors to get out the checkbook," said Moran. "They had been through election cycles before in which we didn't have the success that people thought we should and Governor Romney did not get elected president." Moran made his...

Remember how the National Republican Senatorial Committee wanted everyone to know just how terrible the Senate Conservatives Fund is? Remember how NRSC consultants took to op-ed pages, pushed reporters, and tweeted about the lavish and extravagant expenses of SCF? Remember how when a candidate got endorsed by SCF, everyone knew immediately NRSC would support the opposite candidate out of spite? (See e.g. Ben Sasse v. Shane Osborn) Remember how the NRSC, Chamber of Commerce, and other establishment groups poured tons of money into primaries to stop SCF gains and those of other outside groups? Well, NRSC spent so much money...