Free Republic

We have an update on the Maine Senate Democrat primary, and it's not good news for Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Newcomer Graham Platner and the state's governor, Janet Mills, were the top two candidates in the race, with Platner being endorsed by twice-failed presidential candidate and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as a humble, purported working-class guy who would buck Schumer and the Democrat establishment and would be a "fighter" against President Trump's America First agenda. Mills had the backing of Schumer and the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), with the belief that her popularity in the state and...

For months, Kevin Warsh’s path to the Federal Reserve chairmanship ran straight through one Republican senator who refused to budge: Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Tillis had made clear he would block Warsh’s confirmation until the Justice Department dropped what he called an illegitimate criminal probe of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. On Friday, the DOJ dropped it. On Sunday, Tillis dropped his block. The Senate Banking Committee is now expected to vote Wednesday on Warsh’s nomination. A floor vote could follow before Powell’s term as chair expires on May 15. Tillis had made his position clear since January, when...

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is facing mounting backlash after effectively shutting down momentum to eliminate the filibuster—despite renewed pressure from Donald Trump and a growing number of Republicans who say the rule is crippling the party’s agenda. Behind closed doors this week, Thune urged Republicans to stop even talking about ending the filibuster, siding with moderates who want to preserve the 60 vote threshold that has repeatedly blocked conservative legislation. That position is now drawing fire from within his own party. Trump has been crystal clear: get rid of the filibuster and start passing laws. “I say, end the...

Sen. John Cornyn is facing renewed scrutiny after a resurfaced video began circulating online, raising fresh questions about his past positions on immigration as his re-election campaign intensifies. Cornyn, who has aligned himself closely with Donald Trump on the campaign trail, is now drawing criticism from conservatives who argue his record does not match his current messaging—particularly on the issue of amnesty. The unearthed clip has fueled backlash among Republican voters and added momentum to attacks from his primary challenger, Ken Paxton. Immigration has quickly emerged as a defining issue in the race, with critics pointing to the video as...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following months of urging from President Trump and the American people to pass the SAVE Act and secure the integrity of U.S. elections, the party that promised to save America announced that it wasn't really interested in saving America anymore. Republican leaders in the Senate held a press conference on Tuesday to officially set aside any plan to move forward with the SAVE Act, citing a waning desire to fulfill countless campaign promises to save the country. "We know we campaigned on saving the country, but honestly, we don't really care," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune....

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Monday announced the death of his 36-year-old daughter, who had suffered from juvenile diabetes. “We are heartbroken beyond words by the passing of our beloved daughter, Madison, 36, after a decades-long battle with juvenile diabetes and other health issues. She filled our lives with love and laughter, and her absence leaves an immeasurable void,” Warner and his wife, Lisa Collins, posted in a statement on X. “We are grateful for the loving support of friends and family during this difficult time and ask for privacy as we navigate this profound loss,” he added. Madison is...

A new poll from the nonpartisan Texas Public Opinion Research (TPOR) shows state Attorney General Ken Paxton leading Sen. John Cornyn by 8 percentage points among likely voters in the Republican Senate primary runoff on May 26. The poll, released Friday and conducted by the polling firm Slingshot Strategies on behalf of TPOR, shows Paxton leading Cornyn by a margin of 48% to 40%, with 11% undecided. Perhaps most significantly, the poll indicates that, even if President Donald Trump were to endorse Cornyn, it would not give him enough of a boost to close the gap with Paxton. Trump, who...

Sen. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) has been held up as a model for the Democratic Party’s future since winning his Senate seat in 2024, with colleagues praising his skills as a communicator who succeeded during a time when other Democrats have struggled. He has drawn consistent praise for his authenticity and for his ability to connect with voters — particularly Latinos, a key demographic Democrats have sought to win back in recent years. But this week, the junior senator from Arizona has faced questions that could taint his future political prospects — particularly if he decides to run for president in...

Earlier this year, the U.S. Justice Department asked two Senate committees to provide transcripts and records of contacts with former CIA Director John Brennan regarding the now-discredited Russia collusion allegations, signaling there was an active investigation into whether the former spy boss had misled or obstructed Congress. The letters gave a hard deadline of Feb. 23 for compliance. Two months later, the body run by Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has not complied, slowing a key angle of a grand jury investigation based in Fort Pierce, Fla., into whether Obama and Biden-era government officials engaged in a conspiracy...

"Politics War Room" James Carville and Al Hunt speculated on whether Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., may switch parties and throw Democrats’ Senate plans in disarray. As Carville and Hunt took questions from listeners, one asked why Fetterman, who has been known for taking surprisingly bipartisan stances, doesn’t just go all the way and switch parties. "I am not a big Fetterman fan," Carville said, declaring he thinks Fetterman is often motivated by wanting to see his name featured in newspapers. "He may switch, because they are going to correctly say if he wants to run again – I don’t know,...

Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida accused Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of misconduct on Thursday, which Gallego denied. Luna told CBS News' "The Takeout with Major Garrett" that the Arizona Democrat was the previously unnamed senator whom she said was facing "very disturbing" allegations in a cryptic social media post earlier this week.

Former President George W. Bush contributed $5,000 to Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) reelection bid as the incumbent fights for his political life against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), according to campaign finance filings released Wednesday. Bush gave $3,500 for Cornyn’s primary race and $1,500 to use in the general election. Individuals are allowed to give a maximum of $3,500 to candidate committees per election.

But now the Democrat from New York is feeling buoyed by his party’s unity in the latest government funding fight, as well as by President Donald Trump’s worsening political standing, and he’s brimming with confidence about Democrats’ odds of retaking the Senate, seeing as many as eight seats in play in November.

Republicans in the Senate are prepared to confirm a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito before the midterm elections. Sources that are close to the judge told CNN earlier this month that Alito is considering retiring, but has not made a decision yet. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that the GOP is “prepared” for the possibility of Alito retiring.

A GOP senator who voted to convict President Donald Trump accused the Republican establishment of not pouring enough money into his already cash-rich reelection campaign, Punchbowl News reported Friday. Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy is set to face voters for the first time since his vote following Trump’s second impeachment, as he competes against Louisiana Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming in a brutal May 16 GOP primary.

Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) reelection effort is under mounting pressure as Louisiana’s Republican Senate primary enters its final weeks, with the incumbent lashing out at GOP allies and facing the possibility of missing the runoff altogether in an increasingly volatile three-way race. Just five weeks before Louisiana Republicans vote on May 16, Cassidy finds himself squeezed between Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming, the former congressman and founding member of the House Freedom Caucus…. …. In February 2021, Cassidy voted to convict Trump during the president’s second impeachment trial. He later said, “I voted to convict President...

The Senate filibuster is often romanticized as a noble safeguard of minority rights, a procedural guardrail that forces consensus and slows the passions of majorities. Yet the actual history of the filibuster—its accidental creation, its use by factional minorities, and its long record of blocking popular and essential legislation—tells a very different story. From the beginning, the filibuster has been less a principled protection of deliberation than a tool for thwarting the democratic process, empowering small groups of senators to override the will of the electorate and frustrate the functioning of representative government. Its history demonstrates not a tradition worth...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced a brutal reality check on national television after refusing to admit that weakening Iran's military is a "good thing." From his "Schomer Israel" roots to pleasing the radical left, here's why Schumer is now putting party politics over Middle East security. Schumer used to say his name is Schumer because he is "Schomer Israel" in Senate. Today he not only doesn't defend Israel, he defend those who want to destroy Israel in order to please the radicals in his party. On March 23, 2026 the Gateway Pundit reported "The radical left’s hatred for President...

@realBrandonGill I am officially endorsing @KenPaxtonTX to be our next Senator from Texas. The Senate needs serious change— people who understand what time it is and what is at stake for our country. And that starts by electing conservative warriors like Ken.

.@VP: "I would bet every dollar that I own that the next time the Democrats have control of the Senate, they will break the filibuster, pack the Supreme Court, and destroy this country. We have to do it NOW in order to save the country."