Free Republic

Many Republicans have rallied to former President Trump’s defense over the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago home, echoing his claims that the move was politically motivated and unjustified. However, a number of GOP figures have broken ranks to defend the Department of Justice (DOJ) and critique Trump’s handling of classified material.

Former Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Charlie Dent on Saturday said former President Trump’s speech at a rally on Saturday night in the Keystone State was a “major gift” for Democrats. “Most Republican candidates don’t want anything to do with Donald Trump in this general election. They want this to be about Joe Biden and the Democrats, but to the extent Trump inserts himself into this conversation, he’s giving the Democrats a major gift right now,” Dent said on CNN.

Former Lehigh County congressman Charles Dent and former Bucks County congressman Jim Greenwood, both Republicans, have endorsed Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro in his campaign for governor over Republican nominee Doug Mastriano. “I’ve been a Republican my entire life, and I have always supported Pennsylvania’s Republican Governors – but in this election, I am proud to endorse Josh Shapiro,” Dent said in a statement released by Shapiro’s campaign. Josh has integrity and always works to bring people together. We may not always agree on every policy position, but that is to be expected. His focus on improving our economy,...

More than 100 Republicans, including some former elected officials, are preparing to release a letter this week threatening to form a third party if the Republican Party does not make certain changes, according to an organizer of the effort.

(Reuters) - Dozens of former Republican officials, who view the party as unwilling to stand up to former President Donald Trump and his attempts to undermine U.S. democracy, are in talks to form a center-right breakaway party, four people involved in the discussions told Reuters. The early stage discussions include former elected Republicans, former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump, ex-Republican ambassadors and Republican strategists, the people involved say. More than 120 of them held a Zoom call last Friday to discuss the breakaway group, which would run on a...

The strict lockdown in Israel easing today with home confinement ending for millions of people... "So for your health I ask you-do not come tomorrow" Those words in a video from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking his supporters to stay away from the court hearing tomorrow as his corruption trial moves into its key phase... Iran and the United States staking out positions on the nuclear issue... More than 100 people missing and at least seven dead in the wake of a torrent of water unleashed by the bursting of a glacier... The pipe-laying for the Nord Stream 2...

Washington (CNN)More than two dozen former Republican lawmakers announced Monday they are endorsing Joe Biden for president. Former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and former Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania are among those throwing their support behind the Democratic presidential nominee through "Republicans for Biden," and the endorsements come on the morning of the first day of the Republican National Convention. Biden has repeatedly emphasized Republican support as he looks to build a broad coalition in his campaign against President Donald Trump.

Rep. Charlie Dent (Pa.), a frequent critic of President Trump and a leader of the GOP’s moderate bloc in the House, said Tuesday that he will resign from Congress within weeks. His decision could set up a costly special election if the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania orders one. Dent had already announced his retirement from Congress in September, citing personal reasons for the decision while also lamenting the marginalization of the “governing wing” of the Republican Party as the GOP has moved further to the right. He said in a statement released Tuesday morning that he will leave “in the...

Few Republicans in Washington are willing to go head-to-head with President Trump, but there is one band of GOP members willing to stand up to the leader of their own party: lawmakers who have announced their retirements. While it’s not uncommon for members to feel far more liberated on their way out the door, it has taken on a whole new meaning in the Trump era, where lawmakers are confronted daily by a never-ending stream of White House controversies. The GOP’s retirement caucus has provided some of the most biting commentary on the president in recent months, with Rep. Ryan...

Republican Rep. Charlie Dent (Pa.) said Saturday that the firing of Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe on Friday looked to be a "vindictive" move by the president. In an interview with CNN, Dent said that while he would wait for the inspector general's report to judge McCabe, his firing looked like retribution from the White House. "This firing looks a bit forced, a bit rushed. Candidly, it looks like retribution and a bit vindictive," Dent said. "And I think it's unfortunate. The man said he's resigning, you know, and on a Friday night before his 50th birthday he's fired to...

Retiring Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania said Sunday his GOP colleagues should be “prepared for the worst” and “hope for the best” ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, saying there is good policy in the Republican tax bill yet legislative victories don’t always translate into electoral success. Mr. Dent, a Republican moderate known to reach for bipartisan solutions, said Democrats passed big bills on health care and financial reform in the early Obama years, only to get wiped out in 2010. He said it’s unclear if the GOP will suffer the same fate, or if its tax cuts will buoy...

Charlie Dent, the Allentown congressman who has frequently clashed with President Trump and become one of the most prominent national voices for centrist Republicans, will not seek reelection next year, he announced Thursday night.

So much has been said recently about the rivalry between the House Freedom Caucus and a group called “The Tuesday Group,” a group of largely unnamed so-called “moderates” in the House. The leadership of the Tuesday Group is named, and some members willingly speak to reporters about their agenda. The group boasts of a membership of somewhere between 40 and 50 members, but only a few have outed themselves as part of the secretive backroom group. The most vocal member is one of the co-chairs named Charlie Dent, a Pennsylvanian Republican whose liberty score reveals that he votes liberal 72%...

Donald Trump’s private meeting Thursday with Senate Republicans — designed to foster greater party unity ahead of the national convention in Cleveland — grew combative as the presumptive presidential nominee admonished three senators who have been critical of his candidacy and predicted they would lose their reelection bids, according to two Republican officials with direct knowledge of the exchanges. Trump’s most tense exchange was with Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has been vocal in his concerns about the business mogul’s candidacy, especially his rhetoric and policies on immigration that the senator argues alienate many Latino voters and others in Arizona....

With all of the intraparty drama swirling in Congress, some moderate Republicans are said to be eyeing the exit door. Lehigh Valley congressman Charlie Dent says he's not one of them. This is despite an article in the National Journal this week that suggested he is among the fed-up Republicans who are thinking of calling it quits amid the clash over the House speakership. The six-term House lawmaker told the Washington D.C.-based National Journal earlier this week that he heard some of his colleagues are thinking retiring. The article quoted Dent as saying he's "preparing as if I'm running for...

Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Reps. Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) and Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) battled over the divide between the moderates and Freedom Caucus conservatives in Congress deciding who will be the next Speaker of the House.

Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy stunned House colleagues when he announced that he would withdraw from the race to be the next House Speaker. In the immediate aftermath, Rep. Charlie Dent says "anything is possible now." To get anything done "we might have to assemble a bipartisan coalition, that’s the reality of this place," Dent told CNN moments after McCarthy withdrew from the race. REP. CHARLIE DENT: The next Speaker should not appease those who make unreasonable demands. There are a number of members of our conference. You cannot get the yes on anything. For them the end will be...

A handful of “pro-life” lawmakers have sabotaged a vote House Republican leaders planned for today to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on scientific evidence showing unborn babies feel pain in abortions. As LifeNews reported yesterday, Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina along with Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania and Jackie Walorski of Indiana — each of whom have pro-life voting records — objected to a vote on the bill on the grounds that the language in the bill did not do enough to allow women who have been victimized by rape to have abortions. Together, they reportedly...

The following Republicans voted Tuesday to raise the government's borrowing limit: John Boehner, R-Ohio. Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va. Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy,R-Calif. Chief Deputy Whip Pete Roskam, R-Ill. Ken Calvert, R-Calif. Dave Camp, R-Mich. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y. Doc Hastings, R-Wash. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. Hal Rogers, R-Ky. Dave Reichert, R-Wash. Chris Collins, R-N.Y. Howard Coble, R-N.C. Charlie Dent, R-Pa. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. Pete King, R-N.Y. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J. Buck McKeon, R-Calif. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa. Gary Miller, R-Calif. Ed Royce, R-Calif. John Runyan, R-N.J. John Shimkus, R-Ill. Chris Smith, R-N.J. David Valadao, R-Calif. Frank Wolf,...

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent is among 14 House Republicans who have publicly said they would vote for a “clean” continuing resolution—not tied to defunding Obamacare—and he says there are plenty more. Dent, appearing Monday on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” said that members have told him privately they would vote for a “clean CR” if it comes up for a vote. A total of 217 representatives are needed to pass the resolution. Other reports show 20 or more Republicans promising to vote for a clean continuing resolution. …