Free Republic

close Fox News Flash top headlines for July 26 Mike Enzi, the former Wyoming senator, died Monday after sustaining serious injuries in a recent bicycle accident near his home in Gillette, Wyoming. Enzi, who was 77, "passed away peacefully" while surrounded by his family, a statement read. "His family expresses their deep appreciation for all of the prayers, support and concern. They now ask for privacy and continued prayers during this difficult time." report

Rep. Liz Cheney could face competition if she decided to run for the Republican nomination for Senate in Wyoming, with former Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis weighing a 2020 bid. Lummis, 64, who retired from Congress in 2016 after four terms, is considering a political comeback in the wake of Republican Sen. Mike Enzi's decision forgo reelection. Republicans close to Lummis said she would not be discouraged from running by Cheney, 52, whose failure so far to say whether she will make the race has otherwise frozen the field of potential candidates. Cheney, Lummis' successor as Wyoming's at-large representative, is the daughter...

The Senate on Wednesday took a symbolic shot at President Trump’s trade policy amid anxiety on Capitol Hill over his tariff strategy. Senators voted 88-11 to instruct lawmakers hashing out a deal on a government funding bill to include language “providing a role for Congress” on tariffs implemented for national security reasons, known as Section 232 of the trade laws. The vote is nonbinding, meaning lawmakers don’t have to add trade language into the funding bill. But the vote margin, with more senators supporting it than the amount needed to override a veto, underscores the depth of concern on Capitol...

More than two dozen Senate Republicans are urging President Trump to re-engage in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. The 25 GOP lawmakers sent a letter to Trump on Friday saying they support his recent comments that he may consider U.S. participation if the 11-nation Asia-Pacific pact is improved.

Advocates of abolishing the $1 Federal Reserve note are at it again, this time hoping that President Donald Trump and conservative Republicans will finally side with their three-pronged approach to revamping the nation’s currency system. Under S. 759, introduced March 29 by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the government would end production of the $1 Federal Reserve note, revise the composition of the 5-cent coin, and suspend production of 1-cent coins. While the draft legislation calls for an end to paper dollar notes and the cent, it is silent on dollar coin production. Backers of the legislation...

Senators on Thursday rejected a push by Sen. Rand Paul to tie a battle over accepting refugees in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks to an ObamaCare repeal bill. Senators voted 10-89 on the amendment from the Kentucky Republican, who is running for president. Sixty votes were needed for the amendment to be adopted. Republicans Sens. John Barrasso (Wyo.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Mike Lee (Utah), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Jeff Sessions (Ala.), Richard Shelby (Ala.), David Vitter (La.) and Paul supported the amendment. Paul's amendment would place a "pause" on issuing visas to more...

Republicans in the Senate are leading efforts to pass legislation that would allow the states to impose a sales tax on online transactions. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) has proposed the Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA), which would allow states to "collect and remit sales and use taxes with respect to remote sales.” The bill includes an exemption for companies whose gross remote sales are less than $1 million per year. The legislation enjoys support particularly among legislators in rural states who believe that online retailers are encroaching on sales made out of traditional storefronts. […] This is not the first time...

Federal employees would see 5.5% pay cut under proposal, AFGE president says WASHINGTON – Federal employees would be on the hook for billions of dollars in cuts to their take-home pay and benefits under a budget plan issued today by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. said.“Senate leaders have doubled down on the vicious budget cuts proposed a day earlier by their House colleagues,” President Cox said. “Their vision for the future means more financial pain and sacrifice for millions of hard-working Americans who serve the public day in...

When Sen. Jeff Sessions stepped aside to make way for Wyoming's Mike Enzi to lead the Budget Committee, many wondered if there were bigger plans ahead for Alabama's junior senator. It appears there is Sen. Sessions is set to take over the Senate panel that oversees immigration, reports indicate. The move was first reported in Politico and while the senator's office can't confirm the move ahead of the official announcement, the change is a perfect fit for Sessions who has emerged as the leading opponent of the White House's immigration plans. Sessions is set to take over chairmanship of the...

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions is out as chair of the Senate Budget Committee. **"Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is giving up his bid to become the next Budget Committee chairman — deferring to Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and eliminating the only competitive chairmanship battle in the incoming GOP Senate majority. "Sessions has been the panel’s top Republican for the past four years but Enzi technically retains seniority over the Alabaman on the committee and said several weeks ago that he would challenge Sessions for the chairmanship."** This is going to portrayed as a simple matter of seniority. It isn’t. That story...

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on Wednesday afternoon conceded to Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) after a race to become the next chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. Sessions, currently the panel’s ranking member, said he reached an agreement with his “good friend” Enzi. “We have talked and I am deferring to his seniority so that he can lead the Budget Committee as its Chairman beginning in 2015,” Sessions said in a statement. “Mike graciously deferred to me two years ago after he timed out on HELP as Ranking Member, and it has been my enormous privilege to serve as the panel’s...

A spokesman for Republican House Speaker John Boehner called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "unhinged" on Monday, after Reid charged Republicans may have had a helping hand in emboldening Russia to annex Crimea. "Since a few Republicans blocked these important sanctions last work period, Russian lawmakers voted to annex Crimea and Russian forces have taken over Ukrainian military bases," Reid said on the Senate floor Monday. "It's impossible to know whether events would have unfolded differently if the United States had responded to Russian aggression with a strong, unified voice." Reid was referring to the stalling of a Ukraine aid...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that Republicans may have helped Russia annex Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in a surprisingly sharp attack ahead of a test vote on a bill authorizing more U.S. sanctions on Russia and $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine. […] Reid’s charge comes despite widespread support among Republicans and Democrats in Congress for providing Ukraine with much-needed economic assistance and hitting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government with sanctions. …

As we begin debate on this aid and sanctions package, I also hope that Republicans who stopped action on this legislation prior to the break have considered how their obstruction affects United States’ national security.” “In light of such clear-cut Russian aggression against Ukraine, it’s difficult to believe Republicans blocked this package at all. But it’s almost unimaginable why they blocked it – to protect the anonymity of their own big-money donors. ““Democrats fought hard four years ago to pass this landmark expansion of quality, affordable health care. And we will fight just as hard to make this law work...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–Nev.) is facing a revolt among Republicans for adding controversial language to an aid package for Ukraine.The Senate is expected to vote on the Ukraine measure next week. The controversial provisions, which have support of the Obama administration and liberals from both parties, would increase U.S. financial support to the International Monetary Fund.A growing number of Republicans warn that attaching the IMF language would reduce U.S. power while expanding Russia’s influence on the global stage in the wake of its annexation of Crimea.>>> Q&A: Why Do Conservatives Oppose the IMF Reform Package?Yesterday, Sen. Ted Cruz...

Five months after shaking Wyoming Republican politics by launching an audacious bid to unseat the state’s senior senator, Liz Cheney on Monday called an abrupt end to her chaotic campaign, citing unspecified “serious health issues” that have arisen in her family. The announcement by the ­eldest daughter of former vice president Richard B. Cheney caught her fellow Republicans by surprise, just as her decision to enter the race had in July.

Mike Enzi's conservative average: If you leave out the moderate-protecting ACU (McConnell at 100%, Graham at 92%) Enzi is at 76%. Even with the ACU, Enzi is at only 80%. Once he's safely reelected, he'll vote for McConnell for leader and will be the next Orrin Hatch or Thad Cochran, a republican that Chuck Schumer can count on for a vote when needed. Enzi (WY) - 08/19/14 - 80% (Average) - 74% (Heritage) - 71% (CFG) - 92% (ACU) - 82% (FreedomWorks) Enzi (WY) - 08/19/14 - 76% (Average) - 74% (Heritage) - 71% (CFG) - 82% (FreedomWorks)

Eighty-five of 100 U.S. senators voted to renew the president’s power to indefinitely detain Americans, denying them of their fundamental right to due process.On December 19, by a vote of 84-15 (Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, did not vote), the Senate sent the Fiscal Year 2014 version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to President Obama’s desk. Although an overwhelming majority of Republicans and Democrats signed off on the evisceration of the Bill of Rights, a small coalition of Independents, Republicans, and Democrats refused to accede to such a devastation deprivation of rights. A list of the lawmakers...

Yes, nepotism, carpetbagging and cruelty to her sister hurt -- but Cheney’s troubles show a movement near its end. OK, Liz Cheney was a carpetbagger from Virginia who had little to sell in Wyoming besides her father’s connections. Still, Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter was not nearly as ludicrous a Senate candidate as Christine O’Donnell of Delaware, or Joe Miller of Alaska, or Sharron Angle of Nevada, or Joe Buck of Colorado, or … well, you get the point – all of whom won their 2010 Tea Party primaries against respectable conservative mainstream Republicans. That was 2010. On Sunday the...

Former Vice President Dick Cheney said he was “surprised” that his daughter Mary, who is a lesbian, publicly attacked her sister Liz on Facebook over her views on same-sex marriage. “We were surprised that there was an attack launched against Liz on Facebook, and wished it hadn’t happened,” Cheney said Tuesday during an event at the National Press Club to promote his new book. “It’s always been dealt with within the context of the family and frankly that’s our preference.” Cheney declined to address the subject further, telling the moderator, “don’t waste your time.” The Cheney sisters’ very public feud...