Free Republic

Embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson, who will face a historic vote next week in the House of Representatives to remove his gavel and strip him of the Speakership, is plummeting among Republicans and supporters of former President Donald Trump and surging among Democrats and supporters of Democrat President Joe Biden. When Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) calls the privileged resolution on a motion to vacate Johnson from the Speakership, Democrats intend to vote to save Johnson’s job by voting for the motion to table Greene’s resolution. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House who has essentially...

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Riverton, Utah, Mayor and Senatorial candidate Trent Staggs, who is running to replace Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT). In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump described Staggs as being 100 percent “MAGA” and a “highly successful entrepreneur,” while slamming Romney as a “total loser.” “Trent Staggs is 100% MAGA, and is running to fill The Mitt Romney, a Total Loser, Seat as the next Senator from the Great State of Utah! A Highly Successful Entrepreneur, who has served brilliantly as Mayor of Riverton for the past six years,” Trump wrote.

Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) took a shot at former President Donald Trump on Tuesday. The Utah Republican Senator said of Trump’s character during an interview that aired on CNN’s “News Central” that you don’t pay someone not to have sex with you. On the steps of Capitol Hill, speaking to CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju, Romney said, “I think everybody has made their own assessment of President Trump’s character. And so far as I know, you don’t pay someone $130,000 not to have sex with you.”

In a recent episode of The Purple Principle, a podcast that examines democracy and polarization from a nonpartisan lens, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said that while he was skeptical of ranked choice voting at first, he now sees it as a meaningful solution to elect candidates with the broadest appeal. "I resisted ranked choice and different initiatives that would weaken the two political parties," he said. "Now I don't see it as weakening the parties as much as forcing the candidates to say, 'We've got to appeal to a broad swath of the American electorate." Many voters may not...

lamenting he does not have the votes to change the rules at this time. Johnson’s carefully worded statement stopped short of outright calling for a rule change that could save his gavel, but he made clear he opposed the current rules and understands “the importance of that idea” of changing them. Rep. Thomas Massie pointed out Johnson’s misleading statement, responding to it on social media. “The Speaker tried to change the rules to eliminate the motion to vacate but he didn’t have the votes today,” Massie posted on X.

On a rainy Wednesday in Dallas, powerful Republican donors gathered at the home of billionaire Kelcy Warren to help save the political career of House Speaker Dade Phelan. The speaker of the House is considered a titan of Texas politics, wielding the power to shape legislation, appoint committee leaders and amass a robust campaign fund to spend on protecting incumbents and other allies. That power wasn’t enough to protect Phelan from a surprisingly strong challenge by David Covey, who rode support from former President Donald Trump to a top finish in the March primary and forced Phelan into a precarious...

Republican strategist Karl Rove urged Democrats to “go hard” at former President Trump’s rhetoric surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, calling the former president’s pledge to free imprisoned rioters a “critical mistake.” “If they were smart, they’d take the January 6 and go hard at it. And they would say, ‘He wants to pardon these people who attacked our Capitol,'” Rove said told MSNBC’s Ari Melber. “One of the critical mistakes made in this campaign is that Donald Trump has now said ‘I’m going to pardon those people because they’re hostages,'” Rove said in the interview, which...

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Steele criticized the New York appeals court’s decision to pause enforcement of the multimillion-dollar judgment against former President Trump and his company over deceitful business practices. In a terse order on Monday, a five-judge state appeals court panel said it would delay the enforcement of the $464 million judgment against Trump, the Trump Organization and top executives, plus interest, if they post bond within 10 days. The bond amount was also slashed by more than half. “Yet again, @realDonaldTrump gets special treatment with his own private system of justice,” Steele, a regular critic...

Former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel has come out against former President Trump’s promise to free the January 6 prisoners. McDaniel voiced her opposition during a Sunday interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” — the network where she is now a paid contributor. “I want to be very clear. The violence that happened on January 6 is unacceptable. It doesn’t represent our country. It certainly does not represent my party,” McDaniel told interviewer and co-worker Kristen Welker. “If you attacked our Capitol and you have been abused and you’ve been convicted, then that should stay,” McDaniel continued. McDaniel said...

Outgoing Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) said Thursday on CNN’s “OutFront” that the Republican-led House impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden’s possible involvement with his son Hunter’s business deals was a “sideshow” that needed to end. Buck said, “I think the investigation is warranted in terms of looking at what Hunter Biden did. I think that we may want to look at laws that restrict the family members of the president and vice president in terms of outside of influences.”

GOP Rep. Ken Buck will retire from Congress next week leaving Republicans with a razor-thin majority. Following the resignation of Kevin McCarthy, Bill Johnson, Ken Buck and the ousting of George Santos, the Republicans will be left with a razor-thin majority of 218-213. ..... Snip..... House Speaker Mike Johnson was shocked by Ken Buck’s surprise announcement. “I was surprised by Ken’s announcement. I’m looking forward to talking with him about that,” Speaker Johnson told reporters on Tuesday.

Retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) endorsed Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) for vice president Sunday, contending the “media overreaction” she received following her highly scrutinized and oddly delivered State of the Union rebuttal “tells us who liberals most fear as VP nominee.” The failed 2012 Republican presidential nominee took to X to defend Britt following a wave of criticism over her rebuttal, which was described by some as “cringe.”

A top House Republican lawmaker is preparing to circumvent Speaker Mike Johnson, R– La., to force a vote on a bill related to Ukraine aid and U.S. border security. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said that he was preparing the legislative maneuver as a fail-safe in the event Johnson does not bring a Ukraine aid bill to the floor. "It’s existential, it’s time-sensitive. Whether it’s our [bill] or somebody else’s, we’ve just got to get the money out the door," Fitzpatrick told reporters on Thursday morning.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said Friday that GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is among his party’s best surrogates on the campaign trail, as she seeks to take down former President Trump in the Republican primary. “I think she’s one of our better surrogates, so I hope she stays in. I hope she does well tomorrow — at least, well enough,” Newsom said, referring to the GOP South Carolina primary, after CNN’s Jake Tapper asked whether Haley or Trump had a better chance against President Biden in November. Newsom, a staunch supporter of Biden, added that he agreed with most...

Trump’s post on Truth Social: [“The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country. It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction. Open Borders, Rigged Elections, and Grossly Unfair Courtroom Decisions are DESTROYING AMERICA. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE, A FAILING NATION! MAGA2024”] Trump’s comparison of the U.S. under Biden and the Deep State provoked outrage from his critics, including sole remaining GOP rival former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley who posted, “Donald Trump could...

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who voted twice to convict former President Trump on impeachment charges, is ruling out voting for Trump in 2024, citing a court’s finding that the former president sexually abused E. Jean Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s. Romney’s announcement that he won’t vote for Trump isn’t surprising. But it does show him sharpening his rhetoric against the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination by saying the reason for his opposition is a Manhattan jury’s finding last year that Trump sexually abused and defamed Carroll, awarding her $5 million in damages. A New...

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) defended Joe Biden’s mental capacity and criticized Special Counsel Robert Hur in remarks to liberal media reporters on Friday. Speaking to a HuffPost reporter, Romney said, “I thought he did a good job in the press conference,” Biden held Thursday night to defend himself from allegations of serious memory issues made in the special counsel’s report on Biden’s criminal mishandling of classified documents. However, Romney noted that Biden’s age, 81 is a “huge issue” in the 2024 election, while also taking a shot at President Trump’s age. Romney attacked Special Counsel Hur in comments to Raw...

On Sunday the US Senate finally released James Lankford’s Joe Biden approved open borders bill to screw Americans. The so-called border bill gives $60 billion to Ukraine and only $20 billion to US border security. The bill ensures that the US borders remain open indefinitely with 5,000 allotted illegals a day and whoever else manages to make it across. This bill was designed by Lankford and Senate Republicans along with Chuck Schumer to give power to Democrats and bail out Joe Biden who opened the borders in his first act as president. Lankford went on with Jake Tapper on CNN...

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this week on whether states can keep Donald Trump from appearing on primary election ballots for president based on the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause. More seriously, it could decide that Trump is ineligible to be president again even if he wins the November election. We should hope for two outcomes: First, that the court does not use technicalities and procedural issues to evade a clear decision; and second, that it allows common sense and the fate of democracy to loom large in its decision. The case before the court is an appeal...

This shouldn’t even be a question. A great party is trying to produce its presidential nominee. Donald Trump is the leader in the contest so far, and looks likely to be the victor. But the cycle has just started (61 delegates allocated, 2,368 to go) and the party isn’t united, it’s split, roughly 50/50 pro-Trump and not. Nikki Haley is right to stay in and fight. No one has the right to shut her down. She’s stumping in her home state, South Carolina, and getting a lot of advice.