Free Republic

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) released all the 44,000 hours of Jan. 6 footage. Immediately, the release blew apart the Jan. 6 Committee's narrative about the event. . The video release showed why they were likely suppressed. They included police escorting peaceful protesters walking through the Capitol, even shaking their hands. There was even a video showing one "protester" who appeared to have been cuffed, then taken to an area by the Capitol Police, where he was released and fist-bumped one of the officers. ... That raised many questions about whether the man released was an undercover officer, which then...

As the joint chamber of Congress waited for Israeli President Herzog to enter, and as members were seated in their respective areas, Kristen Sinema, striking a rather voluptuous pose, was seen chatting with Republican Senator from Utah Mike Lee. From the time she entered until she sat down, she was not seen talking to any Democrat.

A Utah mayor has announced he will seek the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Mitt Romney in the state's 2024 Senate election, becoming the first candidate to pose a challenge to the Republican senator should he attempt to seek re-election. Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs – a Republican who gained notoriety in 2020 for his opposition to mask mandates amid the coronavirus pandemic – said he is looking to protect the country that his children will some day inherit. "I love my children, and I'm worried about the country they will inherit if I sit on the sidelines," Staggs told...

Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) backed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s support for ”substantive” budget cuts days before he is set to meet with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders to negotiate on debt ceiling legislation. The Hill reported that McConnell signed onto a letter sent to Democrat Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), that calls for “structural budget reform” in debt ceiling negotiations and opposes Democrats’ proposal for a “clean” bill that only raises the debt ceiling.

WASHINGTON (TND) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will head to the nation's capital next week to meet with congressional Republicans ahead of his expected announcement to run for president in 2024. The National Desk (TND) has independently verified that the Republican governor of the Sunshine State will participate in a policy discussion in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, hosted by a nonprofit backing DeSantis as the GOP's next presidential candidate called "And to the Republic." The event is being put on in partnership with the conservative Heritage Foundation. Well-known Republican lawmakers such as, Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., Darin LaHood, R-Ill., Thomas...

Former President Donald Trump took aim at potential Republican primary foe Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a recent campaign event, with much of the criticism garnering little enthusiasm from those in attendance.During his Saturday campaign event in Waco, Texas, on Saturday, Trump argued that DeSantis had little chance of becoming Florida's governor without the former president's endorsement, with Trump breaking into an impersonation of DeSantis allegedly begging him for his support in the state's 2018 Republican primary."So, he came, and he really wanted [my endorsement]. I said, ‘You can’t win, can you? How do you – can [you] win?'" Trump...

The group of Ron DeSantis’ top donors and supporters gathering in Palm Beach, Fla., this weekend includes some longtime backers of former President Donald Trump. The Florida governor’s three-day retreat at the Four Seasons hotel — just four miles down the road from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate — kicked off Friday evening with a cocktail reception and dinner for the approximately 150 attendees. The event, billed as a celebration of the “Florida blueprint,” precedes a likely DeSantis presidential bid that would pit him against Trump. And the roster of people there shows that the governor is appealing to major GOP figures...

For all the opposition to Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House, he sure is doing the kinds of things to gain support from those with a skeptical eye.Initially, I wasn’t a fan of McCarthy following up a subpar election performance with a promotion, but it quickly became apparent that there is no alternate path. No other viable Republican who could gain enough support stepped up to the plate, and continuing to hold things up would only benefit Democrats at this point, who have floated the idea of electing a “unity candidate.”With that said, even though it appears McCarthy has...

Republican leadership in the House is barreling ahead with efforts to prevent Democrats from passing a lame-duck omnibus spending bill this year.“We’re 20 days before the new members are being sworn in. We’ve got two members leading appropriations in the Senate who will no longer be here or be able to be held accountable to the constituents,” Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said at a press conference on Wednesday. He was referring to Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., negotiating what will be in the omnibus, despite the fact that they will be leaving office next month.“We’ve got an...

A small but vocal group of Republican senators is furious with GOP leadership over the agreement with Democrats to approve a massive year-end spending bill that will fund the federal government through next September. The bipartisan deal has created a schism between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican colleagues in both chambers — including House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy — who accuse Mr. McConnell and his leadership of rolling over to help Democrats pass a major budget on the brink of a government shutdown and the holidays without knowing what’s in it. “I don’t see any reason why Republicans...

Mitt Romney, the junior senator from Utah, was the only Republican senator who refused to endorse Mike Lee. Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee captured a third term Tuesday night after his same-state GOP colleague in the upper chamber de facto backed Lee’s challenger, a Democrat masquerading as an independent. Mitt Romney, the junior senator from Utah, was the only Republican senator who refused Lee an endorsement against failed 2016 third-party presidential candidate Evan McMullin. In April, Romney told Politico his refusal to endorse in the contest was due to having “two friends” in the race. “I don’t get involved in...

Salt Lake City, UT – Independent Senate candidate Evan McMullin called his liberal counterpart in Texas, Beto O’Rourke, to brag that he just finished his concession speech and now has his entire Saturday free. McMullin informed O’Rourke that he might even take his sweet drone out and “just check out the neighborhood” this afternoon, now that he’s put the finishing touches on his “it was a moral victory” comments he plans to give after being thoroughly beaten by opponent Mike Lee in the upcoming Utah Senate election.

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii implored Utah voters to reelect Republican Sen. Mike Lee to prevent "warmonger" Democrats' escalations towards nuclear war. Speaking at a packed gymnasium in Draper, Utah, Thursday, Gabbard, according to Deseret News, called Democrats "warmongers" who are "subservient to the military industrial complex" and are escalating the United States closer to nuclear war with Russia.Gabbard encouraged voters to send politicians like Lee to the Senate to "push the brakes on this and stop them [Democrats] from destroying life as we know it." But Lee's opponent, former CIA agent and independent Utah Senate candidate Evan...

While voters are hoping for clear skies and good weather next week on Election Day, these candidates are hoping for one thing: victory. OH Predictive Insights’ (OHPI) latest Utah Public Opinion Pulse (UTPOP) of likely voters revealed that the odds are in Mike Lee’s favor as he broke the 50% threshold of support in his race. Meanwhile, the Treasurer’s race shows the incumbent State Treasurer, Republican Marlo Oaks, well-positioned with his closest opponent at just 9%.

Fending off attacks from his independent challenger, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah worked to distinguish himself from former President Donald Trump in a contentious debate Monday evening. “I stood against my party time and time again to oppose reckless spending. I will do it again and again and again. We need people who say no,” the second-term Republican said. Lee repeatedly pointed to his voting record and twice told the audience at Utah Valley University that he voted less in line with Trump than all but two Republican senators — Rand Paul and Susan Collins. “To suggest that I’m...

Independent Utah Senate candidate Evan McMullin said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he will not caucus with either party if he beats incumbent Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) on November 8. McMullin said, “I am running as an independent. I’m building a coalition of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and members of third parties to better represent Utah and to help lead our country forward. And I’m not going to Washington to join a party or to caucus or to play the party power game. I’m going to represent our coalition, and that’s a commitment that I’ve made to our coalition...

Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) aides are “so annoyed” that Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-UT) comments exposed how Romney’s lack of endorsement for Lee will help Never Trumper Evan McMullin. On Fox News, Lee urged Romney to back his reelection, noting that the rest of the Senate Republican Conference has endorsed his bid.

Former President Donald Trump blasted Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) on Wednesday, even going so far as to predict he won't win reelection. Trump took to Truth Social to renew his endorsement of Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and call out Romney for not doing the same. "Mitt Romney is the junior senator from the Great State of Utah, which I won twice in a landslide, once by beating the candidate Evan 'McMuffin' McMullin who is currently running against Senator Lee," Trump wrote. "McMuffin does not represent the values of Utah, but neither, as you will see in two years, does Mitt...

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)’s political action committee, Country First, on Tuesday announced its endorsements for the 2022 mid-terms, which were essentially a slate of people running against Trump-endorsed candidates, including six Democrats, according to a press release. Kinzinger, who opted not to run for re-election after voting to impeach former President Donald Trump, said in a statement: “Now more than ever, it’s critical we elect leaders up and down the ballot who are loyal to the Constitution and willing to be a bulwark for democracy – regardless of their political party affiliation.” “We must set partisan politics and ideology aside...

Incumbent Sen. Mike Lee (R) is leading Independent challenger Evan McMullin by 4 points in the Utah Senate race, according to a new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll. The poll, conducted last week, found that 41 percent of the Utah voters surveyed say they will vote for Lee, while 37 percent say that they will vote for McMullin. Two percent of those surveyed expressed support for Independent American candidate Tommy Williams and 1 percent for Libertarian James Arthur Hansen, while an additional 5 percent said they will write in another name. Meanwhile, 12 percent were undecided on who they...