Free Republic

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch said the Supreme Court system is “working” in a Sunday interview where he reflected on the country’s founding principles. .... “Americans file about 50 million lawsuits a year, and you give us the 70 hardest ones, where lower court judges have disagreed about what the law means about a statute or a provision of the Constitution dictates in a particular case — there are nine of us. Can you get nine people to agree on where to go to lunch?” he asked Bream. “All right, we’ve been appointed by five different presidents over 30 years,...

The chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Service committees on Saturday expressed they are “very concerned” about the withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany amid President Trump’s feud with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump on Wednesday had announced that he was reviewing a possible reduction of U.S. troops in Germany. “We are very concerned by the decision to withdraw a U.S. brigade from Germany,” the chairs, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), said in a joint statement. “Germany has stepped up in response to President Trump’s call for greater burden sharing, significantly increasing defense spending...

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on Friday warned that the growing national debt is “a ticking time bomb” and he called on his fellow lawmakers to do “much more.” The U.S. national debt crossed 100 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of the first quarter, the first time the debt crossed that line since 1946. The debt surpassed $39 trillion in March, a mere five months after it reached $38 trillion. Roy told Fox Business’s Cheryl Casone that the debt is “a ticking time bomb and that some of us have been talking about for a long time.”...

The head of the U.N.’s nuclear agency said Tuesday that Russia remains open to removing highly enriched uranium, a critical component of nuclear weapon development, from Iran. Rafael Grossi stressed the importance of ensuring Iran loses this supply or that its enrichment is diluted during an interview with The Associated Press… On Wednesday, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to help with “enrichment” during a phone call between the two leaders, presumably in reference to this proposed enriched uranium removal process. “He told me he’d like to be involved with the enrichment — if he can help us get...

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) on Wednesday said he is not interested in launching a presidential campaign for 2028. “I have zero interest in running for president in 2028. I love serving the state of Georgia. I’ve got two young daughters,” Ossoff said during a Wednesday appearance on MS NOW’s “The Briefing.” The Georgia lawmaker warned against playing “fantasy football” with the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, arguing it “risks distracting us from the urgent task at hand.” … In addition to Ossoff, strategists have floated Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker as potential...

The United States has burned through thousands of missiles since the Iran war began on Feb. 28, diminishing the armaments needed in a potential future conflict with China tied to its tensions with Taiwan.The U.S. military has used 1,100 long-range stealth cruise missiles — nearly all of the total number left in Washington’s stockpile — and fired off more than 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles, The New York Times reported. The U.S. only produces roughly 100 Tomahawks a year, meaning under current production, it could take 10 years to replace.In addition, in less than eight weeks American forces have spent more...

California gubernatorial candidates struggled to break through on the debate stage Tuesday, as Democrats look to capitalize on former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-Calif.) dramatic exit from the crowded field. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, billionaire Tom Steyer, former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and five other rivals, including Trump-backed Republican Steve Hilton, fought for standout moments in the 90-minute program at Pomona College in the unique, nonpartisan contest. Faced with questions about affordability, housing and other crises facing the Golden State, the candidates clashed in crosstalk, interruptions and squabbles with moderators just a week after a more muted showdown. Becerra jabbed...

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) said on Thursday that he was appalled by a report about the death of 31 slots who died under the care of Sloth World, a tourist attraction in Orlando that wasn’t yet opened to the public. The slots were from South American rainforests, and perished in storage warehouses between December 2024 and February 2025, according to an incident report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “These sloths — naturally solitary animals — were put in the worst conditions possible,” Frost said in a Thursday post on X. “They were taken from their natural habitats...

A simmering feud between Reps. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has roared back up to a boil, escalating to tit-for-tat threats of expulsion as each lawmaker publicly lobs attacks on the other’s character. Mace on Monday filed a resolution to expel Mills, citing allegations of dating violence and campaign finance laws — a move that comes amid renewed scrutiny of sexual misconduct by House members after Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) resigned last week. “Cory, your days are numbered. Start packing,” Mace said in a statement announcing the expulsion resolution.But Mills is pointing the finger...

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...

The battle between Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and the GOP’s right flank is heating up, with hard-line House conservatives throwing their support behind his primary opponent after the moderate Republican called two of them “scumbags” on national television. Gonzales kicked the hornet’s nest over the weekend when, during an interview on CNN, he went after Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Bob Good (R-Va.) — “it’s my absolute honor to be in Congress, but I serve with some real scumbags” — launching personal attacks on the conservative duo. “Matt Gaetz, he paid minors to have sex with them at drug parties....

Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) suggested Wednesday that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) should have less access to President Trump as the conflict with Iran persists. “I absolutely think he should have his Oval Office credentials revoked,” Cammack told Migrant Insider’s Pablo Manríquez as she departed the Capitol. Graham, a staunch foreign policy hawk who has openly supported the U.S. military operation in the Middle East, is a frequent guest at the White House and often travels with Trump. On Monday, he and Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) met with the president and newly minted Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin — before the...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday he has encouraged President Trump to “wind down” the Iran war and “wind up” efforts for a peace deal while noting that it would take an agreement from both parties to resolve the conflict in the Middle East. “Keep it up Mr President. Wind down the war and wind up efforts for an historic peace deal,” Graham wrote in a post on social platform X, responding to Trump’s Truth Social post touting “serious discussions” with what Trump described as a new and more reasonable regime in Iran. Graham has recently come under criticism for...

Russia has quietly become Iran’s most consequential external partner. Public reporting shows Moscow feeding Tehran real time satellite imagery of U.S. and Israeli positions — a simple but powerful boost to Iranian targeting and battle damage assessment. Russia has also helped upgrade Iran’s Shahed drones with better navigation and communications systems. These aren’t glamorous contributions, but they matter: they force the United States to burn multimillion dollar interceptors on cheap, disposable threats. None of this changes the balance of power. But it absolutely changes the tempo of the war. China’s support looks different — quieter, but just as important. Beijing...

President Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. war in Iran has been won, but that he coudn’t say exactly when it would end. “I think we’re going to end it. I can’t tell you for sure. You know, I don’t like to say this, this war has been won. The only one that likes to keep it going is the fake news,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office following the swearing in of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Trump has repeatedly given contrasting signals about the war, at one moment suggesting talks are taking place that could lead...

Conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly said Monday that it was becoming increasingly clear that the Trump administration will not be able to change the Iranian regime as a result of its war. “It is becoming apparent to the Trump administration that they are not going to be able to change the regime, unless you throw 10,000 ground troops into Iran, which is never going to happen,” O’Reilly told NewsNation’s Leland Vittert on “On Balance.” “So, the thinking is, we’ll make a deal, the deal will encompass inspectors going in to see that they aren’t enriching uranium, no ballistic missiles and bunch...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that overthrowing Iran’s regime will require a “ground component” along with a revolution, as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with the Middle Eastern country nears the start of its fourth week. “It is often said that you can’t win –– you can’t do revolutions from the air, that is true,” Netanyahu said in a press conference in Jerusalem. “You can’t do it only from there, you can do a lot of things from the air and we’re doing –– but there has to be a ground component, as well. “There are many possibilities for...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) late Tuesday said President Trump has “no reason” to invade Tehran but urged the president to “take” Kharg Island to cripple the Iranian regime’s economy. “No, we’re not going to evade Iran,” Graham told Fox News’s Sean Hannity. “There’s no reason to, we’re going to destroy their ability to hurt us, have a nuclear weapon, build missiles to hit America and terrorize the region.” “Kharg Island — 90 percent of their income comes from oil and gas revenue,” he continued, adding that “100 percent of that revenue generating capabilities on a single island, Mr. President, take...

There is no institution that has lost more trust among the American people since 2020 than our judicial system. This is not surprising. The legitimacy of the court depends upon it being seen as non-partisan arbiters of the law, and ever fewer Americans see them as such. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) started this when he allowed only 28 percent of President Obama’s nominees to be confirmed in the final two years of his presidency — and that was before his double standard with respect to the Supreme Court nominations of Merrick Garland and Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

A super PAC backing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) for Senate is airing television ads in Palm Beach, Fla., where President Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort, as his endorsement in a competitive primary runoff hangs in the balance. Lone Star Liberty PAC came out with a new television ad on Friday that accuses Paxton’s opponent, Rep. John Cornyn (R-Texas), of having “betrayed” Trump, citing his votes to confirm Merrick Garland as U.S. attorney general and Lisa Monaco as deputy attorney general in 2021. “John Cornyn betrayed President Trump, and he doesn’t deserve our trust” the...