Free Republic

Rep. Paul Mitchell of Michigan quit the Republican Party on Monday over the GOP’s refusal to admit that President Donald Trump lost the election to President-elect Joe Biden. Mitchell, in a scathing letter to GOP leaders, wrote that Trump’s baseless claims alleging widespread ballot fraud, and the Republican Party’s tolerance of those claims, threatened “long-term harm to our democracy.”

House Armed Services votes to make Pentagon rename Confederate-named bases in a year BY REBECCA KHEEL - 07/01/20 11:02 PM EDT House Armed Services votes to make Pentagon rename Confederate-named bases in a year The House Armed Services Committee has approved an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would require the Pentagon to strip Confederate names from bases and other property within one year. The amendment, offered by Reps. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.), was approved 33-23 as the committee considers its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The vote fell largely along party...

...In a lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.) argued that Whitmer usurped powers reserved for the state legislature and said the "unreasonable" orders "shock the conscience," according to The Detroit News. Mitchell said in the suit that the order had prevented him from seeking medical treatment for a knee injury...

U.S. Rep. Pete Olson of Texas announced Thursday he would not seek re-election after his current term, becoming the second Republican congressman this week to do so. Olson's retirement could set up a fierce battle in his district, which was once a safe Republican district but has become increasingly Democratic, and national Democrats have made it clear they are focusing on Texas as a battleground state in 2020. Olson's decision comes one day after Rep. Paul Mitchell of Michigan, announced his own retirement. Like Mitchell, he said his family was a big factor. "As someone who has long advocated for...

Lawmakers are returning to Congress on Monday following a racist series of tweets from President Donald Trump aimed at four Democratic lawmakers, and Republican leaders as well as rank-and-file members are feeling the pressure to weigh in on the President's comments. But many leaders in the party are so far not weighing in publicly -- including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. "If he issues a statement on this we'll be sure to forward," said McConnell spokesman David Popp in response to a question from CNN. While many Republican leaders in Congress have thus far not spoken out, some GOP members...

Businessman and combat veteran John James has the inside track to the Republican nomination for Senate in Michigan after Rep. Fred Upton dropped plans to run and opted for re-election to the House. James, a first-time candidate, outperformed Upton in public and private polling. That Republican primary voters prefer a novice outsider to a respected lawmaker with a lengthy record of accomplishment reveals the extent to which rejection of the political establishment is dominating GOP politics. “You want someone who is real. That’s how President Trump got elected,” said Rep. Paul Mitchell, R-Mich., who broke ranks and endorsed James over...

Gov. Jerry Brown and his fellow Democrats in the Legislature were frustrated this year in seeking a few Republican votes to close the state's budget deficit by asking voters to approve billions of dollars in tax extensions. Support from at least two Republicans in both legislative houses was needed for the two-thirds majorities required to pass the special election constitutional amendment that Brown and Democrats sought. As the months-long talks collapsed, the Democrats said they'd try to pick up enough seats in the 2012 elections to secure two-thirds margins, thereby cutting the GOP out of future tax issues. And the...