Category Archives: Republicans

Republican to quit House citing party’s reliance on ‘lie’ of stolen 2020 election

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Colorado congressman Ken Buck will not seek re-election saying party must ‘project to the public what the truth is’

A leading conservative congressman announced his retirement, in large part because his Republican party “continues to rely on this lie that the 2020 election was stolen”.

“I have decided I’m not going to seek re-election,” Ken Buck of Colorado told MSNBC on Wednesday, after news that Kay Granger of Texas, the longest-serving Republican congresswoman, will also step down next year.

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US should place ‘no limit’ on civilian casualties Israel inflicts, senator says

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However, Republican senator Lindsey Graham says, Israel should be ‘smart’ and try to limit casualties ‘the best they can’

The US should place “no limit” to civilian casualties Israel might inflict in Gaza in response to the Hamas terror attacks of 7 October, a senior Republican senator said.

Speaking to CNN, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was asked: “Is there a threshold for you, and do you think there should be one for the United States government, in which the US would say, ‘Let’s hold off for a second in terms of civilian casualties?’”

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Republicans welcome local benefits of climate law despite voting against it

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Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene among those accused of hypocrisy over efforts to gut landmark Inflation Reduction Act

At least a dozen Republican members of Congress have welcomed clean energy investment flowing to their electorates following Joe Biden’s landmark climate bill, even as they launch fresh attempts to dismantle the legislation.

The group of conservative lawmakers, including the House of Representatives members Nancy Mace, Clay Higgins and Marjorie Taylor Greene, have all recently praised the arrival of new renewable energy, battery or electric vehicle jobs in their districts even after voting against last year’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was loaded with incentives for clean energy projects.

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US House Republicans plan to give Israel $14.3bn by cutting IRS funds

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One of the first policy actions under the new speaker Mike Johnson is a partisan bill despite Joe Biden’s request for $106bn in joint aid

Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Monday introduced a plan to provide $14.3bn in aid to Israel by cutting funding for the Internal Revenue Service, setting up a showdown with Democrats who control the Senate.

In one of the first major policy actions under new House speaker Mike Johnson, House Republicans unveiled a standalone supplemental spending bill only for Israel, despite Joe Biden’s request for a $106bn package that would include aid for Israel, Ukraine and border security.

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Mike Pence’s exit from White House bid is winnowing of crowded field, rivals say

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Departure could help Republican candidates but DeSantis and Haley, as well as Ramaswamy and Christie, still hugely trail Trump

Mike Pence’s surprise withdrawal from the Republican presidential nomination race on Saturday is part of natural winnowing of the crowded field, rivals of the former vice-president said Sunday – and one that could help their quest of candidates to wrestle the nomination from overwhelming frontrunner Donald Trump.

“In the end, the race is narrowing, which everyone said it would,” said former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, one of Trump’s fiercest Republican critics and one of four who have qualified for a third TV debate next month in Miami that may not have included Pence, who, he told CNN’s State of the Union, had run “a tough race, a good race”.

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Judge orders Ivanka Trump to testify in family’s civil fraud trial – US politics live

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Donald Trump’s daughter could appear on witness stand in New York civil fraud trial as early as next week

George Santos has been a target of protesters and hecklers from practically the day he arrived in the Capitol, and there were plenty of those waiting for him as he departed federal court this morning:

Santos was there to enter a “not guilty” plea to a slate of new federal charges, and learn he would stand trial on the allegations on 9 September.

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New House speaker Mike Johnson praised ‘18th-century values’ in speech

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Louisiana congressman told audience at 2013 anti-abortion event Americans should live by 250-year-old religious and moral values

Before entering elected office, Mike Johnson, the new Republican speaker of the US House, praised “18th-century values” and told an audience that Americans should live by them when it came to morality and religion.

In video footage of a forum hosted in 2013 by Louisiana Right to Life, an anti-abortion group, Johnson, a devout Baptist and then an attorney for rightwing groups and causes, is asked about the “condition of conscience” in Europe and Canada regarding abortion policy.

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Mike Johnson’s speaker win reveals the iron grip Trump still has on Republicans

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The previously little-known rightwinger from Louisiana shows all the hallmarks of the ex-president’s voice

After engineering this month’s unceremonious defenestration of the hapless Kevin McCarthy, some far-right Republicans openly dreamed of installing their hero Donald Trump to replace him as speaker of the House of Representatives.

Trump himself, meanwhile, suggested that only Jesus Christ was certain to be elected to the role – apparently overlooking practical concerns of presumed unavailability.

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Mike Johnson helped Trump on January 6 – now he’s a threat to democracy

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Louisiana congressman known as ‘Maga Mike’, elected House speaker Wednesday, is staunch Trump supporter and election denier

The Louisiana congressman Mike Johnson, whom Republicans in Congress elected as their speaker after more than three weeks of leaderless chaos, played a key role in Donald Trump’s attempts to subvert the results of the 2020 election.

Johnson amassed enough support to win the speakership because of his allegiance to Trumpian ideals, earning him the nickname on the far right of “Maga Mike”. A litmus test of sorts for the speakership was alignment with rightwing views, including believing in a stolen election, though the firebrand approach of failed speaker candidate Jim Jordan soured moderate members, despite his election-denying bonafides.

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Tom Emmer reportedly faces substantial opposition in bid for House speaker – US politics live

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Up to 26 Republicans may sink Minnesota lawmaker Emmer’s chance to become next House speaker, reports say

Per the Hill, here’s a breakdown of the full vote totals from the first ballot:

As you can see, Tom Emmer received the most votes, but other candidates received more votes overall. It’s a secret ballot, so members don’t necessarily know each other’s choice, but we’ll see if Emmer picked up more support from other candidates in the second round of balloting.

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Republicans nominate Tom Emmer for House speaker

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It remains unclear whether House majority whip – the third nominee in three weeks – can win enough support on the floor

Tom Emmer of Minnesota emerged as House Republicans’ new speaker nominee after five rounds of voting on Tuesday, but it remained unclear whether the House majority whip could win enough support on the floor to capture the gavel.

Ahead of the Tuesday vote, seven House Republicans had launched speakership bids: Emmer, Jack Bergman of Michigan, Byron Donalds of Florida, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Austin Scott of Georgia and Pete Sessions of Texas.

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Trump is ‘single most dangerous threat’ to the US, warns Republican Liz Cheney

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Moderate, whose opposition to former president had cost her a congressional seat, considers a 2024 presidential run

Donald Trump is “the single most dangerous threat” the US faces as he seeks a return to the Oval Office, according to Liz Cheney, the moderate Republican whose opposition to her party leader’s presidency had cost her a congressional seat she held for six years.

“He cannot be the next president because if he is, all of the things that he attempted to do but was stopped from doing by responsible people … he will do,” Cheney – the daughter of former congressman, defense secretary and vice-president Dick Cheney – said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “There will be no guardrails. And everyone has been left warned.”

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Who are the Republican candidates for House of Representatives speaker?

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Nine congressmen had registered by Sunday’s noon deadline following Jim Jordan’s failed bid to claim the gavel

After more than two weeks of failing to choose a speaker, Republicans in the US House plan to reconvene on Monday to begin the process of nominating a third candidate to try to get the 217 votes needed to secure the speakership.

So far, Steve Scalise, the No 2 Republican in the House, and Jim Jordan, the far-right congressman, have both failed in their bids.

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Jim Jordan forced out of House speaker race after losing secret ballot

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Republican colleagues vote against Ohio congressman’s continued bid after his third failed attempt to corral support

Jim Jordan of Ohio was forced out of the House speakership race on Friday after his Republican colleagues voted against his continued bid for the seat in a secret ballot after his third failed attempt to corral enough support to win the gavel.

Jordan’s lost bid followed a contentious week on Capitol Hill, during which he and his allies attempted to cajole more moderate Republicans into backing Jordan.

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Jim Jordan says he’s ‘going back to work’ after losing secret ballot for House speaker candidacy – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For latest reporting on Jim Jordan and the House speaker race, you can read our latest report:

The number of Republicans who show up for today’s vote will also be a factor in determining whether Jordan wins or loses.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the GOP congressman Derrick Van Orden will not be in attendance, as he’s on a trip to Israel:

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US university professors are tired of being Republican culture war targets

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The GOP’s fight to seize control of American colleges is leading to resignations by higher education faculty

During his 18-year tenure at Louisiana’s largest public university, journalism professor Robert Mann courted backlash for speaking out against the state’s top political leaders.

Republicans called for Mann’s firing after he criticized former governor Bobby Jindal amid the state’s 2016 budget crisis. In 2021, Mann drew the ire of Jeff Landry, then state attorney general, for a tweet lambasting Landry’s effort to block a Covid-19 vaccine mandate at Louisiana State University.

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Jim Jordan says he will seek third vote and not planning to drop out of House speaker race – live

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Jim Jordan says he plans to speak with the 20 Republicans who did not vote for him

With Sidney Powell pleading guilty, Thursday’s developments mark a significant win for Fulton county district Fani Willis who delivered a 41-count indictment against ex-president Donald Trump and his operatives earlier this year.

Here are the six counts Powell pleaded guilty to:

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US senators to reportedly visit Middle East to show support for Israel

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Lindsey Graham, who said he wants to see Gaza ‘levelled’, among bipartisan group expected to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt

A bipartisan congressional delegation will visit the Middle East on Friday in a high-profile gesture of support for Israel following the Hamas attacks, it was reported on Thursday.

Among the group’s most prominent members is the Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who has prompted outrage in some quarters with his aggressive criticism of Hamas combined with a seeming lack of regard for Palestinian civilian lives, saying he wants to see Gaza flattened.

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Chaos in US House as Jordan waffles on third vote and interim speaker plan fails

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House Republicans unable to break impasse as Jim Jordan vows to press on with candidacy despite opposition

The leaderless House was plunged deeper into chaos on Thursday after Republicans refused to coalesce around a speaker and a plan to empower an interim speaker collapsed.

Angry and exhausted, the House Republican conference left a pair of tense closed-door sessions no closer to breaking the impasse that has immobilized the House for a 17th day. The party’s embattled nominee for speaker, congressman Jim Jordan, the Donald Trump loyalist who led the congressional effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and now chairs the House judiciary committee, had vowed to press ahead with his bid to ascend to the post.

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Matt Gaetz sorry for email that blamed other Republicans amid speaker fight

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Fundraising email from Florida congressman said ‘Rinos are working with radical Democrats … to block Jim Jordan’

The Florida Republican representative Matt Gaetz has issued an apology over a fundraising email sent out allegedly without his team’s approval.

On Wednesday, Gaetz apologized for an email “sent by a vendor without my team’s approval” and said that “it should have never been sent”.

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