Free Republic

Here are the two problems voters face because of “maverick” congressional Republicans: Their own 'integrity' forbids them to do what voters want them to do. They know better. Their non-combative (weak) nature is a feature, not a bug, and it’s killing the conservative agenda. Frankly, I’d like to strangle any Republican who does not support what Trump is doing.

Seven Republican senators on Thursday voted against advancing a six-bill funding package to keep the government open past Friday, citing concerns about the ballooning federal deficit and what they saw as the failure of the so-called appropriations minibus to significantly cut spending Sens. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) voted against a motion to advance the bill, even though it had the strong support of Senate GOP leaders.The package, which was blocked on a 45-55 vote, would have failed regardless of how the Republicans...

With the clock ticking down to a potential government shutdown this Friday, Senate Republicans are reportedly considering a move that could leave the southern border wide open to invasion.A group of Republican senators is now openly discussing whether to split the Homeland Security appropriations bill away from a six-bill funding package in order to avert a partial government shutdown that would impact the Pentagon and several other major federal departments, according to The Hill.The six-bill package includes funding for the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Transportation, State, and financial services-related agencies.DHS, the very agency responsible for...

One thing that’s overlooked in Rules for Radicals – even by Alinsky himself – is the key role played by what I call “Alinsky Republicans” or “Alinsky conservatives.” These are the people who, despite their professed opposition to everything Alinsky and his book were trying to achieve, act as the catalyst – the trigger or fuse – for the climactic events leading to victory for radical activists. These are the defeatists, the doom trolls, who, after being frozen and personalized in good Alinskian fashion, simply give up, throw in the towel and sell out the cause they supposedly represent. They...

New York Congressman Mike Lawler has said that President Trump’s deportation policy is “not working” and urged him to embrace a mass amnesty for illegal aliens.After the killing of another far-left protester who was trying to interfere with the work of federal immigration officers, Lawler has penned an op-ed in The New York Times urging Americans to “wake up after Minneapolis” and take a new approach to immigration.He wrote in his piece:The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis this month were tragic and preventable. No matter where you stand on immigration enforcement, the shootings show that what...

A growing number of Republican senators are calling for an investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis as many Trump administration officials defend federal officers’ actions. Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Crapo of Idaho, John Curtis of Utah, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have all said there needs to be a thorough probe into Saturday's fatal shooting of Pretti, a U.S. citizen, by Border Patrol. Administration officials overseeing immigration enforcement may soon face public scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats alike. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.,...

A key House Republican called on President Trump Sunday to begin yanking ICE agents out of Minneapolis — warning the chaos will only “get worse” after protester Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a federal agent a day earlier. *** James Comer (R-Ky.) suggested a de-escalation was needed after the 37-year-old ICU nurse was gunned down — especially if “there’s a chance of losing more … innocent lives.” “If I were President Trump, I would almost think about, OK, if the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm’s way and there’s a chance of...

Republican Chris Madel is ending his campaign for governor of Minnesota, saying that he cannot support the national members of his party and their "retribution on the citizens of our state." Madel said he supported the original stated purpose of Operation Metro Surge — to detain the "worst of the worst" migrants who are in the country illegally — but said the operation has "expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats." His decision comes two days after a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and ICU nurse. It was the...

Most in the GOP are silent or backing the Trump administration, but a conspicuous few are speaking out. A small but growing number of Republicans are raising public concerns about the killing Saturday of a 37-year-old Minnesota man by federal agents.Hours after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti on a Minneapolis street, one House GOP chair called for the top ICE leader and other Trump administration officials to publicly answer lawmakers’ questions. GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina called for independent probes into the shooting, with Cassidy arguing the integrity...

Dozens of Republicans joined all voting Democrats on Wednesday evening to reject a GOP-led effort to eliminate federal funding for a nonprofit organization accused of bias against conservatives. Lawmakers voted 127 to 291 to strip $315 billion in funding for the State Department’s democracy promotion programs, including the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), out of a government funding package, falling well short of a majority. Republican Arizona Rep. Eli Crane, who offered the amendment, argued that although NED has the ostensible goal of promoting democracy, the organization has repeatedly promoted “anti-American objectives” and undermined freedom of speech.

House Republicans are asking Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to explain reports about the Biden administration having purchased a device allegedly linked to "Havana Syndrome." House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino led six subcommittee chairmen in sending a letter on Wednesday to Noem and her agency in which they ask for a detailed explanation of how the device was acquired, its cost, the results of the year-long testing period of the device and what specific analytical or operational purpose the department had for obtaining the device. [snip] More recently, there has been at least one news report in which...

WASHINGTON — The Senate advanced a resolution Thursday to block President Trump from taking additional military action in Venezuela, just five days after the capture of Caracas strongman Nicolas Maduro. In a 52-47 vote, the upper chamber agreed to consider a so-called “War Powers resolution” to force Trump to end hostilities toward the South American nation, in a blow to the administration. The measure must still clear the Senate and House to take effect

There have been times in the past when IÂ’ve gotten crosswise with certain segments of the conservative base and/or with the readership of National Review. And, because, like the Elephant Man, I am a not an animal but a human being, I have always had at least some self-doubt. ThatÂ’s as it should be. People who share principles should not only hear each other out when they disagree; they should be able to see each otherÂ’s points and hold open the possibility that oneÂ’s opponents have the better argument. This is not one of those times, at least not for...

This is an opportunity for the Republicans, and they had better not blow it. There must be merciless investigations. There must be prosecutions, including of Tim Waltz and others, if they appear criminally liable for tolerating, or even aiding and abetting, this looting of the public purse. We need to be careful here – we are foreclosed both by God’s prohibition on bearing false witness and the utilitarian consideration that the last thing we want to do is not be able to get a conviction should we criminally charge someone. But if we do criminally charge them, having found probable...

The House GOP passed a bill outright banning transgender surgeries for minors, yet some Republicans still objected. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's bill Protect Children's Innocence Act passed in a 216-211 late-night vote on Wednesday. This legislation would make it a felony to perform sex changes or provide puberty blockers and hormone therapy to children. Although the bill was passed largely along party lines, both Democrats and Republicans had some defectors. On the Republican side, Reps. Mike Lawler of New York, Mike Kennedy of Utah, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Gabe Evans of Colorado voted against criminalizing transgender surgeries...

Members of the MAGA faithful gathered here Thursday to kick off Turning Point USA’s America Fest, the largest meeting for the organization since its founder, Charlie Kirk, was shot to death on a Utah college campus in September. Despite that somber backdrop, the event quickly devolved into a spectacle of MAGA infighting.

The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday evening to pass the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which will make it a crime for sex-change surgery and hormonal treatments to be provided to minors. The bill, authored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), makes it criminal to “knowingly perform, or attempt to perform, genital or bodily mutilation on another person who is a minor” with penalties of up to ten years in prison. It further protects minors from chemical castration or hormonal treatments. Parents who facilitate, consent to, or transport the minor to receive sex change surgeries could also be charged. This...

The House voted 231-195 on Thursday to pass legislation that would nullify President Trump’s efforts to strip more than 1 million federal workers of their collective bargaining rights, sending the measure over to the Senate, where its prospects are less rosy. Twenty Republican lawmakers broke ranks to support the Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550) on the floor. Introduced by Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., the measure effectively nullifies Trump’s March executive order barring unions at more than 40 federal agencies under the guise of national security and bars federal agencies from terminating any union contracts that...

Donald Trump is the only President in history that has had recess appointments blocked by his own party.Think about that.Traitors.They held 2 minute pro forma sessions every few days during vacation to block recess his appointments.Sickening.Video at link.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R ) on Thursday said he would help President Trump primary Republican state lawmakers who voted against a redistricting measure backed by the leader. “I am very disappointed that a small group of misguided State Senators have partnered with Democrats to reject this opportunity to protect Hoosiers with fair maps and to reject the leadership of President Trump. Ultimately, decisions like this carry political consequences,” Braun wrote in a post on the social platform X. ‘I will be working with the President to challenge these people who do not represent the best interests of Hoosiers,” he...