Free Republic

The House on Wednesday batted down an effort from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) to publicly release all reports on file with the House Ethics Committee on investigations into members of Congress regarding allegations of sexual harassment of staff or of a sexual relationship with a member of their staff.In a 357-65-1 vote, the chamber moved to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee — a move that essentially kills the effort. Thirty-eight Republicans and 27 Democrats voted against referring the resolution to the panel. *** The resolution directs the Ethics Committee to make public, within 60 days after adoption,...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday rated the US performance in the war with Iran as a 15 on a scale of 10, saying the Islamic republic’s leaders were rapidly being killed, and vowing to push on.Trump’s comments came as the conflict expanded on its fifth day, with a US submarine sinking an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka and fresh blasts across the Middle East. “We’re doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15,” Trump told a gathering of...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that an increase in President Donald Trump's new temporary global import tariff to 15% from 10% was likely to be implemented sometime this week. The new tariff rate was announced by Trump in late February after the Supreme Court struck down his previous global tariffs under a national emergencies law. He initially imposed the 150-day tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 at a lower 10% rate. "That's likely sometime this week," Bessent said on CNBC of the 15% rate order from Trump. During the 150 days, we will see...

***Marco Rubio insisted Tuesday that he was misunderstood one day prior when he said the US attacked Iran on Saturday because “we knew that there was going to be an Israeli action” that would “precipitate an attack against American forces.” Rubio walked back his prior statements after President Trump flatly denied that Israel chose the timing of the attack — maintaining in an Oval Office pool spray hours earlier, as he had in interviews, that he chose to attack after unsuccessful US-Iran talks Thursday in Geneva. “This was a question of timing, of why this had to happen as a...

President Trump announced the US is going to “cut off all trade with Spain” over Madrid’s lack of support for the attack on Iran. “We were going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he said during an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump spent several minutes complaining about the NATO allies’ refusal to allow the US to use their military bases to attack Iran and argued that they don’t spend enough on defense. “Spain has been terrible,” he said. “Spain actually said that we can’t use their bases.”...

A former New York City resident who killed two people and wounded 14 others at a packed Austin, Texas, bar was possibly motivated by the US attacks on Iran, sources told The Post. The FBI is investigating the shooting as a possible ideologically motivated act of terrorism, the sources said. The killer, who is a US citizen from Senegal, had a Quran in his car and clothing described as Islamic garb when he opened fire on Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden near the University of Texas-Austin campus, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The gunman has a history of arrests...

No sooner had President Donald Trump completed his State of the Union address Tuesday night than four much-respected historians offered Newsmax some provocative analysis of the 100-minute speech*** ***” President Trump's State of the Union had elements of the usual annual address to Congress but also some surprises," said*** Luke Nichter*** Portions of it, Nichter said, "took the usual grab bag approach to listing past achievements and suggesting a few new proposals — ending sanctuary cities, the SAVE America Act, and a new 'war on fraud' to be led by Vice President [JD] Vance. Otherwise, the biggest portion was celebrating...

Disruptive Rep. Al Green was ejected from the House chamber for the second year in a row during President Trump’s State of the Union on Tuesday. Green (D-Texas), 78, had waved around a sign that said “Black people aren’t apes” as he was escorted out of the chamber. He also declined to sit as Trump began speaking. The sign was in response to Trump posting a since-deleted video on his Truth Social that raised doubts about the legitimacy of the 2020 election and ended with a clip depicting former President Barack Obama as an ape. It appears that the post...

The United States Marine Corps has decided to retain the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle for its close combat formations rather than adopt the Army’s M7 Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle, a Marine Corps spokesperson confirmed to Task & Purpose. “The Marine Corps will retain the M27 for our close combat formations as it best aligns with our unique service requirements, amphibious doctrinal employment of weapons, and distinct modernization priorities, while ensuring seamless interoperability across the Joint force and with coalition partners,” the spokesperson said in an email to the publication. *** The M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, based on a Heckler...

New satellite imagery and flight-tracking data show a significant buildup of U.S. military aircraft at a key air base in central Jordan, as tensions rise over Iran's nuclear program, The New York Times reported Friday. Images captured Friday reveal more than 60 U.S. attack aircraft parked at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base — roughly three times the number typically stationed there.Flight data also indicate that at least 68 cargo planes have landed at the base since Sunday, suggesting a surge of personnel, equipment, and logistical support. More fighter jets may be positioned under protective shelters. The images show advanced aircraft, including...

Is a miserable pissant of epic proportions. Sir Keir Starmer is blocking a request by President Trump to allow American planes to use British bases to attack Iran, telling him that it would be in breach of international law. In a rift with Washington, the prime minister is understood to have told Trump that the UK would not allow the use of British facilities at Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, which is home to America’s fleet of heavy bombers in Europe. Under the terms of long-standing agreements with Washington, these bases can only be used for military operations...

The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries. The disclosure by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the planning, raises the stakes for the diplomacy underway between the United States and Iran. U.S. and Iranian diplomats held talks in Oman last week in an effort to revive diplomacy over Tehran's nuclear program, after Trump amassed military forces in the...

Corey Lewandowski fired a Coast Guard pilot for leaving Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s blanket on a plane — but was forced to rehire them upon realizing there was nobody else to fly the plane, according to a stunning new report.Lewandowski, an unpaid special government employee who unofficially acts as chief of staff for Noem — with whom he’s had a years-long affair — has overseen a reign of terror over department staff since President Trump took office last year.According to the Wall Street Journal, Noem had to switch planes during an official trip due to a maintenance issue, but...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has a clear lead in the Lone Star State’s Senate Republican primary over incumbent John Cornyn — putting the two on a collision course for a May runoff, according to a new poll commissioned by Paxton’s principal campaign committee. The Pulse Decision Science survey found that 36% of likely GOP primary voters support Paxton, 27% back Cornyn and 15% prefer Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas). Another 22% said they were undecided about who to support.Early voting for the March 3 primary starts next week, with a runoff between the top two candidates set for May 26...

President Donald Trump has pardoned five former NFL players convicted of various offenses ranging from counterfeiting to drug trafficking*** Johnson revealed on social media Thursday that Trump has granted clemency to former New York Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko, former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Nate Newton, former Baltimore Ravens running back Jamal Lewis, former Buffalo Bills running back Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon. “As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again,” she wrote and added, “So is our nation.” Johnson also credited Cowboys owner Jerry Jones with relaying the news...

***U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled the government must pay to fly back or accept at a port of entry any of the men who are now in countries other than Venezuela. Upon arrival in the U.S., they will be detained as they fight accusations they are Tren de Aragua gang members. The judge previously ruled the government violated the due process rights of the 137 Venezuelan men, and they were entitled to a hearing. But Boasberg had left the door open for a legal process that didn’t entail their physical return. “Apparently not interested in participating in this process,...

Attorney General Pam Bondi ripped House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) as a “washed-up, loser lawyer” before clashing with lawmakers of both parties during a Wednesday hearing.President Trump’s top law enforcement official testified before the panel following the release of millions of files related to the prosecution of deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein — with several victims in attendance. Judiciary Democrats accused Bondi of ignoring those victims and having her Department of Justice harmfully release documents identifying some of them — while redacting members of Epstein’s rich and powerful circle. In heated exchanges with Raskin, the AG accused Democrats...

With all the recent attention on the remarkable price moves in gold and silver, it is surprising that the question of a comprehensive audit of the U.S. government’s gold reserves, a headline issue last year, has been conveniently memory-holed. For a time in early 2025, both President Trump and Elon Musk, in his semi-official capacity as head of DOGE (the so-called Department of Government Efficiency), were vocal advocates of a comprehensive accounting of U.S. gold reserves. President Trump announced plans to audit Fort Knox. Musk offered to video it. But then something happened. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave the public...

A federal grand jury refused to hand up an indictment Tuesday against six Democratic lawmakers accused by President Trump of “seditious behavior” this past fall. DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro led the failed effort to indict Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Chris Deluzi (D-Pa.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) and Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) over a video posted on social media this past November urging members of the military and intelligence community to “refuse illegal orders.” *** Slotkin, who previously accused Trump of “directing the FBI to target us” and “weaponizing the federal government” against...

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration's attempt to force Michigan to hand over its full, unredacted voter registration rolls. The judge ruled that federal law does not require the state to disclose voters' private information. U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou of the Western District of Michigan dismissed a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice after Michigan refused to provide a complete voter list containing personally identifiable details. Jarbou, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, granted the state's request to toss out the case. The dispute began last year as the Justice Department...