Free Republic

President Donald Trump’s call for House Republicans to support releasing Jeffrey Epstein-related documents was a stunning capitulation after a months-long campaign to block the vote. It was also a specific defeat for Trump at the hands of a despised GOP opponent: Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. “He got tired of me winning,” Massie said of Trump’s U-turn in an interview Monday morning. Insisting “I DON’T CARE!” in a late-night Truth Social post, Trump was bowing to the inevitable — a broad House Republican mutiny on a vote that was only scheduled because Massie forced it. It was the result of...

Discredited author Michael Wolff once encouraged Jeffrey Epstein to blackmail then-presidential candidate Donald Trump — insisting the convicted pedophile could generate a “debt” from him. The Trump-obsessed writer’s email exchanges with Epstein were among the trove of documents released by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. In one email, Wolff floated the possibility of intimidating Trump for his own benefit — as he warned Epstein that the then-GOP candidate could be asked about their alleged ties while on the campaign trail. “I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you — either on air or in...

Eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus voted Sunday evening to proceed to a House-passed continuing resolution, taking a major step toward ending the 40-day shutdown. The Senate voted 60-40 to advance the House bill, which will serve as the legislative vehicle for a bipartisan deal to fund military construction, veterans’ affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch through Sept. 30 and the rest of government through Jan. 30. It sets the stage for the House to return to Washington later this week to vote on the bill in hope of getting to President Trump’s desk for his...

@RandPaul Tonight the process of opening the govt begins, less chaos is a good thing but hidden deep in the swamp speak of the Republican bill will be a waiver of PAYGO the long-standing law requiring new spending to be offset with cuts. And so it goes, a trillion here a trillion there. $38 trillion in debt and counting. A depressing outcome

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., gives a mixed review of President Donald Trump, even as the president seeks to oust him from Congress. (Credit: Fox News Digital)

So can anyone point out the existing GOP Healthcare plans? I saw a report from Trump's intercircle saying Trump has no real interest in a fundamental Healthcare plan as it steps on too many toes of this wealthy friends. Trump dabbles around the edges but nothing concrete.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene showed a softer side Tuesday as she broke repeatedly with President Trump and the GOP during an interview on “The View” — calling for “women of maturity” to unite in a surprisingly warm appearance.. *** The populist conservative, calling herself “unapologetically America first,” trashed Trump’s endorsement of ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral race — saying she backs Republican Curtis Sliwa, despite his slim chances against socialist Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. “I wouldn’t vote for Andrew Cuomo. All these women came out with accusations against him, which I found pretty disgusting, and then...

A defense attorney in Michigan is pushing back on the FBI’s allegations that his client and a group of young men arrested Friday were planning to carry out a violent attack over the Halloween weekend. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrests of multiple people Friday who he said were plotting a “potential terrorist attack.” He said more details would be forthcoming. Amir Makled, the lawyer for a Dearborn, Mich., man who was still detained Saturday, said he hasn’t gotten many details about the case, but he told The Associated Press that, after reviewing the matter, he doesn’t expect any...

Conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro blasted Tucker Carlson on Monday, calling him “the most virulent super-spreader of vile ideas in America.” In an episode of “The Ben Shapiro Show” released Monday, Shapiro criticized Carlson’s podcast episode with Holocaust-denier Nick Fuentes, saying Carlson failed to push back on Fuentes’ bigotry. “The issue here isn’t that Tucker Carlson had Nick Fuentes on his show last week. He has every right to do that, of course,” Shapiro said. “The issue here is that Tucker Carlson decided to normalize and fluff Nick Fuentes and that the Heritage Foundation then decided to robustly defend that performance.”...

Q: Why is President Trump going after Thomas Massie? JD VANCE: It's one thing to disagree with the party on an issue...voting against the party on *EVERY single issue*? Every time we've needed Thomas for a vote, he's been completely unwilling to provide it. That's why Trump turned his ire on Massie. We could never count on him for some of the most difficult votes. I say that as someone who knew Thomas well before I got into politics.

There are a few reasons to doubt the American government's stated aim of wiping out these so-called "narco terrorist" gangs threatening the US from Venezuela, even after one takes out of the equation the sort of equipment the military is deploying - which isn't what they would need for effective drug smuggling interdiction. While the president acknowledges that the synthetic opioid fentanyl is a huge killer in the US (which it is) and is supplied by drug gangs (which it is), to blame Venezuela for fentanyl production is simply incorrect.Mexican cartels produce fentanyl with precursors largely supplied from China, and...

@RandPaul Like I told @cherylcasone on @MorningsMaria, Republicans ran against Biden’s reckless spending… then adopted his spending levels. I won’t. $38 trillion in debt isn’t sustainable. It’s a threat to our economy and our dollar. I’ll keep voting no until Washington gets serious about balancing the budget.

@Holden_Culotta Tucker Carlson: “What the hell is going on that Thomas Massie is a target, but Lindsey Graham has a Trump endorsement?” “Of all the members of Congress that I know, Massie is the most principled.” “If Lindsay Graham continues to get elected, then the whole MAGA thing is totally fake.” “I don’t think there are many people in the country who live out Donald Trump’s own stated principles more precisely than Thomas Massie does.” “His personal life … is like one of the most impressive things I’ve ever heard.” “He is self-reliant in the most American sense.” “This is...

@RandPaul On @MeetThePress, I made it clear: America needs diplomacy over endless war, real debate before military action, and fiscal sanity, not $2–3 trillion deficits from either party. I’ll stand with President Trump when he’s right and stand up to government overreach when he’s not.

@RonPaul In an hysterical rant over the weekend, President Trump has blasted Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) as a couple of "wackos" who refuse to vote with the Republican Party. Meanwhile, President Trump has just announced that his first in-person fundraiser of the election cycle will be for...Lindsey Graham! Also today, Israel breaks ceasefire and kills dozens more Palestinians in Gaza.

Amid a wave of U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean and plans for covert operations in Venezuela, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is leading a bipartisan effort to force a vote to stop President Trump from unilaterally declaring war on the South American nation. Kaine, a longtime proponent of Congress' powers to declare war, filed the resolution late Thursday, a move that will force the Senate to take up the legislation after a 10-day waiting period. Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., co-sponsored the plan. Kaine said concerns about war in the Latin American region are growing. "The pace...

JUST IN: Spotify bans Nick Fuentes podcast after it hits #1 on the charts just days after being allowed on the platform.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he spoke with Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) last week to tell her Republicans are “working around the clock” to bring healthcare prices down, after she vocally criticized Republicans throughout the week for the government shutdown and split from her party in deploring rising costs. “I had a thoughtful conversation with her on the phone the other night,” Johnson told host Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.” Johnson said Republicans on the committees of jurisdiction were the ones leading discussions on the shutdown and healthcare subsidies — committees he said Greene isn’t a part of but...

When challenged that killing citizens without due process is a war crime, the vice president responded that he "didn't give a sh*t." Sometimes in fits of anger, loud voices will say they don't care about niceties such as due process—they just want to kill bad guys. For a brief moment, all of us may share that anger and may even embrace revenge or retribution. But over 20,000 people are murdered in the U.S. each year, and yet somehow we find a way to a dispassionate dispensation of justice that includes legal representation for the accused and jury trial. Why? Because...

During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) President Trump's lethal strikes against alleged Venezuelan narco boats in international waters.