Free Republic

Senate Republicans on Monday criticized Elon Musk’s directive for federal government employees to lose their jobs if they did not send in a bullet-pointed summary of what they did last week at work, describing it as a rash decision that was not handled well. The email asking what they accomplished over the past week had set a deadline of Monday at midnight for responses. However, that was walked back by the Office of Personnel Management when it told departments and agencies that they could ignore that email. Nevertheless, some Senate GOP members took issue with Musk’s request as he continues...

WEST VIRGINIA — Former West Virginia Delegate Derrick Evans has formally announced his intention to run for West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s seat in the U.S. Senate in the 2026 election. In his candidacy announcement, he called Capito a RINO (Republican In Name Only), stating that she stayed silent during a “secret vote” for Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Evans said that Thune is a career politician and that he is poised to delay or obstruct President Trump’s future cabinet appointments. Evans has thrown his vote behind Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, stating, “he’s one of us.” Evans was...

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV (WOWK) — It was a dramatic night at Shepherd University in the eastern panhandle as protesters briefly shouted down West Virginia’s two U.S. senators. Fortunately, no one got hurt. More than a dozen protesters took the stage at Shepherd University Thursday night, disrupting the “Beyond Pepperoni Rolls” forum with U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (I) and Shelley Moore Capito (R). The forum was moderated by MetroNews “Talkline” host Hoppy Kercheval. The group is concerned about climate change, and its belief that both West Virginia senators are still too supportive of the fossil fuel industry. Campus police came to the...

America last! The U.S. Senate has cast a contentious vote, advancing a massive $95 billion foreign aid package that supports Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and Taiwan, but notably omits any provisions for bolstering U.S. border infrastructure. In a 67-32 cloture vote, the Senate crossed party lines, with several RINO senators joining Democrats to move the foreign aid bill forward. Republicans who joined Democrats in voting in favor include: Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Bill Cassidy (R-LA) Roger Wicker (R-MS) Todd Young (R-IN) Susan Collins (R-ME) Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) John Kennedy (R-LA) John Thune (R-SD) Dan Sullivan (R-AK) Mitt Romney...

Senate Republicans on Monday recoiled at former President Trump’s comments at a rally in New Hampshire over the weekend, where he said the thousands of immigrants streaming into the United States on a daily basis are “poisoning the blood of our country.” They also balked at Trump quoting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s criticism of the American political system as a defense against the 91 felony counts he is facing in Washington, D.C., Miami and New York. “I think it’s unhelpful rhetoric,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s (Ky.) leadership team, when asked about...

12 RINOs …

The Biden administration has been hesitant to send the drone to Ukraine amid fears that sensitive technologies may end up in Russian hands. What's happening: A group of 16 bipartisan senators, led by Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), is urging Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to answer a series of questions on transferring the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, since the armed drone is Ukraine’s “highest priority” military transfer request. The Biden administration considered transferring the MQ-1C for the last several months across 24 assistance packages. During that time, Russia has started using Iranian TB-2 drones, and the technology is threatening...

Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) is seeking to codify a Trump-era rule that limits states throwing up regulatory roadblocks to pipeline construction, Breitbart News learned exclusively on Wednesday.The congressman and Trump-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate is set to introduce a bill on Thursday which would cement the 2020 Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule. The rule was created to limit states’ review power after Republicans in Congress reported that some states were using the permitting process detailed in Section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to stop new energy projects.The bill is the House companion to Sen. Shelley Moore...

Washington, D.C.— Today, after months of bipartisan negotiations led by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), two proposals were introduced which include legislation to reform and modernize the outdated Electoral Count Act of 1887 to ensure that the electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect each state’s vote for President. In addition to Senators Collins and Manchin, the senators involved in the bipartisan negotiations include: Rob Portman (R-OH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Warner (D-VA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Todd...

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) Cornyn is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who negotiated with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) last year on legislation to expand background checks for commercial sellers but without success. Cornyn scored one of the few notable accomplishments on gun violence legislation in recent years when he coauthored and helped pass the Fix NICS Act in 2018. The legislation required federal agencies to produce plans for uploading all relevant information to the National Instant Criminal Background Checks System. McConnell tapped Cornyn to lead the negotiations for Republicans shortly after a bipartisan group of senators met...

Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 @JackPosobiec BREAKING: Senate GOP and Democrats have signed off on a bill to provide funding to states for nationwide Red Flag Laws 6:19 PM · Jun 21, 2022

The Senate on Tuesday broke through nearly 30 years of stalemate on gun control legislation by voting 64 to 34 to advance an 80-page gun safety bill The Senate voted to proceed to the bill just more than an hour after negotiators unveiled its text, giving lawmakers little time to digest its details. The Daily Wire lists exactly what the bill would do, including provisions to grant the federal government the ability to deny you weapons based on “red flags” it defines. (Hint: Believing in the Constitution is a “red flag”) Notably, the 80-page legislation includes language on highly controversial...

Fourteen Senate Republicans bucked the National Rifle Association and other Second Amendment advocates on Tuesday to advance bipartisan gun control and school safety legislation. In a 64-34 vote, the Senate voted to begin debate on an ambitious rewrite of the nation’s firearm laws. Although only a simple majority was needed to take the measure up, 14 Republicans led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell voted in favor.

Mitt Romney (Utah) $13,647,676 Richard Burr (North Carolina) $6,987,380 Roy Blunt (Missouri) $4,555,722 Thom Tillis (North Carolina) $4,421,333 Joni Ernst (Iowa) $3,124,773 Rob Portman (Ohio) $3,063,327 Todd C. Young (Indiana) $2,897,582 Bill Cassidy (Louisiana) $2,867,074 Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania) $1,475,448

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told The Hill on Wednesday that she will make a bid to join Senate Republican leadership starting in 2023. Capito, who currently serves as an adviser to Senate GOP leadership, said that she will run to be vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference. "I will be seeking to join the elected leadership team. ... I just think I have a good sense of American families and voices of West Virginians and also what the conference is thinking," Capito told The Hill. Capito, 68, is an ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and...

No senator other than her former boss, Sen. Richard Shelby, has publicly endorsed Katie Britt yet. But she is quietly getting support from at least a half-dozen of Shelby’s Republican colleagues in her bid against Donald Trump’s pick in Alabama’s open Senate race. Five Republican senators — Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) — have donated to Britt’s campaign from their leadership PACs. None of them have done so yet for GOP Rep. Mo Brooks, who Trump endorsed in April to replace the retiring Shelby (R-Ala.). Sen. Tommy Tuberville...

A total of 32 House and Senate Republicans helped push Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package over the finish line, most of whom have been showered with campaign cash from the leading lobbying group behind the bill — the US Chamber of Commerce. Lawmakers run for office, grabbing donations from interest groups, then, after their election, voting for legislation supported by those special interest groups despite their constituents’ opposition. The Chamber had been lobbying for Biden’s infrastructure bill, since the start of the year. By July, Open Secrets reported the Chamber had spent more than $12 million lobbying for the bill...

Don't be fooled by the party line vote. The filibuster required 60 and 10+ GOPers voted. They're listed below. Assistant Democrats! @ChadPergram 2) The GOP yeas were Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Rob Portman (R-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME).. 3) ...John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Roy Blunt (R-MO).

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Sunday said the infrastructure bill announced by a bipartisan group of 10 senators will not include a gas tax increase or undo the 2017 tax reform bill. When asked by host John Dickerson on CBS’s “Face the Nation” how the group plans to pay for the package, Collins, who is part of the bipartisan coalition, silenced rumors of a gas tax increase or rolling back the 2017 tax reform bill, while outlining the group’s strategies for financing the initiatives. Collins said the group, which includes five senators from each party, is considering three “pay fors”:...

President Biden ended infrastructure negotiations with a group of GOP lawmakers, led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, the White House said Tuesday.The development came after Biden reportedly failed to get the Republicans on board with increasing their overall spending on the plan."He [Biden] informed Senator Capito today that the latest offer from her group did not, in his view, meet the essential needs of our country to restore our roads and bridges, prepare us for our clean energy future, and create jobs," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. "He offered his gratitude to her for her...