Free Republic

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tore into President Donald Trump’s Iran peace effort Tuesday, demanding immediate briefings for Congress and the public while branding the administration’s handling of the conflict a secretive “misadventure” that has left America “worse off by every measure.” Speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer said the administration has offered inconsistent accounts of its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran and accused Trump of keeping lawmakers and the American people in the dark. Schumer called on Trump to convene a classified Gang of Eight briefing, brief the full Congress on the MOU and publicly explain what...

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the chamber aims to pass an extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without including the SAVE America Act. Thune is rebuffing President Donald Trump, who said he opposes any renewal of FISA that does not include the SAVE ​America Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voting. Section 702 of FISA, which allows the U.S. to spy on foreigners overseas without a warrant, lapsed over the weekend, which Thune said is a risk to national security.

Dear Senator Warren,When I watched your recent video on X about Elon Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire, I found myself in the unusual position of agreeing with you—at least in part. That is not a sentence I write often.You see…you are correct that something has gone profoundly wrong in an economy that can produce a trillionaire. You are correct that the gap between the financial elite and ordinary Americans has become so vast that most people can barely comprehend it. And you are correct that millions of Americans increasingly feel as though the economy is rigged in favor of...

While campaigning in New Hampshire for U.S. Senate candidate John Sununu, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he expects another federal government shutdown in September, in order to give Democrats an advantage in the November midterm elections. Kennedy told reporters that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., could use the approaching expiration of the Consolidated Appropriations Act on Sept. 30 as an opportunity to “create more chaos” ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. “I think he is going to shut the government down in September because that would create more chaos,” Kennedy said of Schumer. “I wish I didn’t have to...

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell was admitted to a hospital Sunday, his spokesperson said, but there was no immediate information about why he was there or his prognosis. McConnell, 84, was the longest serving Senate leader in history before stepping aside from that role while finishing his final term, which ends in January. “Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care,” spokesperson David Popp said in a statement without elaboration. It was not immediately clear whether the Kentucky lawmaker was in Washington, his home state or elsewhere. McConnell’s health has been a subject of scrutiny...

Ever since the news of Texas Democrat Bobby Pulido’s decision to assist his child molesting band member out of jail went viral on Monday, his frequent campaign partner James Talarico has been eerily silent. At a campaign rally in December 2025, Pulido and Talarico appeared side-by-side and offered glowing endorsements of one another. Pulido has admitted to being a longtime fan of Talarico, saying that “he resonated with me a long time ago.” The endorsement from Talarico has meant so much to Pulido that leftist political accounts expressly refer to him as the “Talarico-endorsed candidate.” Talarico likewise fawned over receiving...

James Talarico: There's been a lot of talk in this race about what it means to be a real man. Recently on the campaign trail I told the story of my adoptive dad, Mark Talarico. Every Saturday morning, he would mow our lawn, and then without anyone asking him to, he would go next door and mow our neighbor's lawn because she was a widow. My dad never talked about it — he just did it, because that's what a man does.

Kaine didn’t seem to get it when a Fox News reporter asked him about the outrage over the verdict on his side. “I have a hard time understanding why they would say that,” Kaine said about claims that the verdict was racially charged. All right, then: What about specific claims by Crockett and others? “I know what they’re saying, but I have a hard time understanding,” Kaine said.

Presler posted. “I was very gracious & asked him to pass the SAVE America Act.” Cornyn later reposted Presler’s post and responded with a single word: “Grifter.”

Senator John Cornyn was not consoled when President Trump professed on social media that the senior Republican from Texas would “remain my friend for a long time to come” after the president had enthusiastically endorsed the man who defeated Mr. Cornyn, ending his Senate career. “If that’s the way friends treat you, you wonder about his enemies,” Mr. Cornyn said this week in his first extensive interview since his loss two weeks ago to Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas, an opponent Mr. Cornyn labeled corrupt and unfit for the Senate. Mr. Cornyn said he had come to terms with...

For Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky, a person with a Nazi tattoo on their chest should be disqualified as a candidate for political office. But that tattoo, along with a series of other controversies that have dogged Senate candidate Graham Platner, has not been enough to dissuade most Democratic voters in Maine from supporting him. On Tuesday, Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer and military veteran, won a decisive victory in the Maine Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. He will now face longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in this November's midterm elections. For many Democrats, the removal of Collins is the central...

NEW: The Trump-aligned org Citizens for Sanity is dropping a six-figure ad buy in the Texas Senate race.The ad is a 15 second clip of AI-generated James Talarico singing a "trans kids" rendition of “Favorite Things."

Democratic state Representative James Talarico holds a 3‑point lead over Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in the latest poll of Texas's U.S. Senate race released Tuesday. Despite Texas’s reputation as a reliably Republican state, Democrats are hopeful about their chances of flipping the seat in November due to a favorable national environment fueled by President Donald Trump’s negative approval rating, political baggage carried by Paxton and reversion among Hispanic voters who trended toward the GOP in 2024. Even as polls show a potentially competitive race, Texas is viewed as an uphill challenge for Democrats, but the new poll released Tuesday...

Sen. John Fetterman and his possible future U.S. Senate colleague Graham Platner are both Democrats, but that’s not keeping them from trading profanity-laced barbs. During a town hall on Sunday, Platner — the frontrunner in Maine’s Democratic primary on Tuesday — was asked about forming relationships in the Senate if he were eventually elected. Platner chose to compare himself to Fetterman, who has frustrated Democrats with his constant criticism of the party, frequently on Fox News, and his support for President Donald Trump’s nominees and policies, such as the Iran war. “As you can all probably tell, I got a...

Jim Messina on Graham Platner: ‘You’re Seeing a Star Is Born’ Pam Key9 Jun 20263 1:24 Tuesday on MS NOW’s “The Briefing,” Democratic strategist and campaign manager for Obama’s 2012 reelection, Jim Messina, said we were seeing a star being born in Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner (D). Messina said, “Well, first of all, I thought that was a master class. I don’t know if he wrote that or who wrote that, but that was generally good. And the fact that he one year ago wasn’t a politician, and then he delivers that in front of the basically the...

During an appearance on the Unity Over Division podcast, U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico (D) echoed Joe Biden by saying the Second Amendment is “not absolute.” Talarico said, “I believe in the Second Amendment just as much as I believe in the First. We have a right to bear arms to protect ourselves, our families. We have a right to own weapons for sport or for hunting. But like any freedom in the Bill of Rights, it’s not absolute.”Breitbart News reported that on February 26, 2020, during a CNN Town Hall, Biden argued that the Second Amendment was not “absolute.”...

Whenever he gets in trouble — which is pretty often — Graham Platner has a ready response: It’s the Jews! OK, he mostly just says “AIPAC,” and waves at Benjamin Netanyahu ultimately calling the shots, but he’s still making it sound like an international Jewish conspiracy. The Democratic candidate for a Maine US Senate seat has been hit by reports he has a history of abusing women, revelations that he long (and until last month) maintained an active profile on the “Kik” predator app, plus his own admissions to sexting multiple women since his 2023 wedding. All of it after...

Now that the race for U.S. Senate in Texas is solidified between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, there are photos emerging of Talarico, who had famously declared his campaign to be "non-meat," now packing all kinds of meat into his mouth. End Wokeness is highlighting some of the images on X, stating: "James Talarico's team is now forcing him to eat meat in front of reporters "proving he's Texas tough." "He looks like he wants to puke."

Democrats focused on taking back the Senate in November are growing increasingly worried that a surging liberal candidate in Michigan’s contentious Democratic Senate primary could imperil their slim shot at being in the majority next year. Polls consistently find Abdul El-Sayed, a former local health official who lost a previous gubernatorial bid, at or near the top of the three-person August primary race. He has outflanked Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow from the left, boosted by a populist agenda and endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and liberal lawmakers. His strength in primary polls has triggered backlash...