Free Republic

Twenty-five Republicans rebelled against John Boehner (R-Ohio), who won a third term as Speaker on Tuesday. The 25 Republicans, including three freshmen, didn't coalesce around a single alternative candidate. Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), whose nomination for Speaker became public just minutes before the vote, attracted the most votes at 12. Meanwhile, the other two long-shot candidates, Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) only received three and two votes each. Additionally, freshman Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) voted "present" rather than voting for anyone. And two Republican lawmakers voted for people who aren't even members of the House: Rep. Gary...

The upcoming rally at the U.S. Capitol against the U.S. nuclear agreement with Iran is still on - and has gained much momentum despite the fact that President Obama has secured enough support in the Senate to prevent Republican forces from blocking it. Some star power is involved. The speaker’s roster for the event on Wednesday afternoon now includes Republicans Sen. Ted Cruz, Reps. Jim Bridenstine, Louie Gohmert, Steve King, Mike Pompeo, Ted Yolo; Donald Trump, broadcasters Glenn Beck and Mark Levin, American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp, Citizens United founder David Bossie, Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization...

Florida might have its share of Republican presidential candidates but one former presidential candidate who ran twice in the Sunshine State is behind U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Former U.S. Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H., who ran twice for the U.S. Senate in Florida, was named as a co-chair of Cruz’s veterans outreach team on Wednesday. Smith joins U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., and Texas state Sen. Brian Birdwell as co-chairs of “Vets for Ted” while Bill Connor will be national director. Cruz has also named Smith, a Navy veteran, as part of his team in New Hampshire, home of the...

Sen. Cruz Names U.S. Sen. Bob Smith, Congressman Jim Bridenstine, and Texas Sen. Brian Birdwell co-chairs of “Vets for Ted,” Bill Connor to Serve as National Director HOUSTON, Texas – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today named former U.S. Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire, Congressman Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma, and Texas State Sen. Brian Birdwell as co-chairs of the Cruz for President military coalition, “Vets for Ted.” Bill Connor will serve as national director.“I am humbled and proud to have Bob, Jim, Brian, and Bill leading the ‘Vets for Ted’ military coalition,” Sen. Cruz said. “Each of these men...

Conservative blogger Erick Erickson is hoping the momentum of the Donald Trump presidential campaign can lead to the overthrow of House Speaker John Boehner. Erickson recounted on his blog Wednesday that despite the effort by conservative House members like Reps. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Steve King (R-Iowa), Boehner was reinstated as Speaker by a slim margin of victory in January. He credited Boehner’s victory to his ironclad agreement to conservatives that he would fight “tooth and nail” against President Obama’s executive amnesty on the Department of Homeland Security. Boehner broke that promise and funded DHS with barely...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine of Tulsa and Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman of Sapulpa are among the Oklahoma leaders endorsing U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential bid. Cruz's campaign announced Wednesday that Bridenstine and Bingman are among more than a dozen elected officials on Cruz's Oklahoma Leadership Team. Others include Republican state Sens. Gary Stanislawski and Anthony Sykes, and state Reps. David Brumbaugh, David Derby, Dan Fisher, Mark Lepak, Mark McCullough, Michael Rogers, Chuck Strohm, Ken Walker and Justin Wood....

Oklahoma Conservative Says Cruz is a “Winner” and “Proven Fundraiser”HOUSTON, Texas – Oklahoma Representative Jim Bridenstine, one of the most principled conservatives in the House of Representatives, has endorsed U.S. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for President. Bridenstine is a vocal leader among a growing group of young conservatives in the House that have pushed for smaller, more accountable government, full repeal of Obamacare, and protections for religious liberty. The Oklahoma Republican becomes the sixth Member of Congress to endorse Cruz following announcements from Texas Representatives Louie Gohmert, Michael Burgess, John Culberson, John Ratcliffe, and Brian Babin.In a recent Breitbart.com op-ed Bridenstine...

For decades, entrepreneurs in Oklahoma and Texas have looked to the immense natural resources found beneath our states’ soil, convinced that with a dream and a little hard work they could revolutionize an industry. These entrepreneurs have characterized the innovative spirit that has made the sister states places of promise for countless Americans. We are proud to represent Oklahoma and Texas, respectively, and together we believe we can unleash the American energy renaissance that is already underway. To do so, we need to scale back the government, restore state and local control, and welcome technological advancement to tap into the...

Washington • The state-owned oil company of Azerbaijan secretly funded an all-expenses-paid trip to a conference at Baku on the Caspian Sea in 2013 for 10 members of Congress and 32 staff members, according to a confidential ethics report obtained by The Washington Post. Three former top aides to President Barack Obama appeared as speakers at the conference. Lawmakers and their staff members received hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of travel expenses, silk scarves, crystal tea sets and Azerbaijani rugs valued at $2,500 to $10,000, according to the ethics report. Airfare for the lawmakers and some of their spouses...

WASHINGTON - First District Congressman Jim Bridenstine said Saturday he could get behind U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho of Florida as speaker of the House. "Congressman Ted Yoho is a courageous leader," Bridenstine said in a press release."I applaud and respect him for standing up to offer an alternative to the status quo. "I could certainly vote for Ted Yoho as speaker of the House."

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) issued a statement on Saturday detailing why he’s going to vote against House Speaker John Boehner’s re-election on Tuesday. Massie, who’s entering his second term as a member from Kentucky, now becomes the second Republican House member announcing the coming rebellion against Boehner. Massie joins Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) in the fight for fresh leadership, and in his statement he detailed how Boehner and his leadership actually have misled members of the House GOP conference. “For years I watched Washington from afar and suspected that something was broken. Why is it that so many people approve...

The day after Republicans won the largest majority in the House of Representatives in almost 100 years and won a significant majority in the Senate, our liberal activist president claimed to hear the voices of all the people who didn’t vote. It was another example of stunning obstinacy from this president. It seemed Democrats were melting down, Republicans were unified, and all we had to do was buy enough time to get our Republican reinforcements to Washington in January. Like President Obama, Speaker John Boehner must have heard voices that didn’t vote. Together, they crafted the CR/omnibus, a $1.1 trillion...

On Wednesday, Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) said the mainstream media, by promoting and amplifying President Barack Obama's calls for more amnesty, was also to blame for the flood of illegal immigrant children from Central America coming across the border. In a CNN appearance on Wednesday, Bridenstine, whom many conservatives wanted to replace Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), said that "crime is not worse" in Central America today than it was when he was a Navy pilot. He mentioned that he "did counter-illicit trafficking operations as a Navy pilot" and "was there just two years ago doing counter-illicit trafficking operations." "The only...

Thousands of illegal immigrant children who have been arrested for crossing the U.S. border are merely pawns "in a political game" by President Barack Obama, Rep. Marsha Blackburn charged to Newsmax on Saturday. "I find it just horrific that these children would be used for a political point," the Tennessee Republican said after touring a detention center at Fort Sill Army Base in Oklahoma. .... Blackburn spent about two hours at the Fort Sill center with Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine, who appeared on Newsmax TV on July 3 to tell "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner how he was denied access when...

FULL TITLE: Rep. Bridenstine DENIED access to OK HHS facility housing 1200 illegal minors, asks “What are they trying to hide?” Congressman Jim Bridenstine tried to visit a facility in Oklahoma yesterday housing illegal alien minors who have crossed the border and was denied access to it. He was told he could schedule an appointment three weeks from now: There is no excuse for denying a Federal Representative from Oklahoma access to a federal facility in Oklahoma where unaccompanied children are being held. Any Member of Congress should have the legal authority to visit a federal youth detention facility without...

An Oklahoma Congressman who visited an Army base being used to house illegal immigrant children now wonders what the federal government is hiding after he was denied access to the facility. “There is no excuse for denying a Federal Representative from Oklahoma access to a federal facility in Oklahoma where unaccompanied children are being held,” Rep. Jim Bridenstine said in a statement following his visit Tuesday to Ft. Sill Army base near Lawton.

SEE: Bridenstine: Repeal the 16th Amendment ”U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., has introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal the 16th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which allows the federal government to levy the income tax.” Wrong Mr. Bridenstien! The 16th Amendment does not allow the federal government to levy an “income tax”. In fact, the phrase “income tax” does not even appear in the 16th Amendment, and the power to levy an income tax was exercised long before the 16th Amendment was adopted! The first so called “income tax” is found in An Act to...

Updated 6:37 p.m. | Sen. Ted Cruz gathered a group of House conservatives in his office Tuesday night, talking about immigration and House GOP leadership elections slated for after the midterm elections. As CQ Roll Call first reported last October, Cruz held a secret meeting with members at Tortilla Coast during the height of the government shutdown drama. Many of these same Republicans are the agitators who aren’t happy with Speaker John A. Boehner. The Texas Republican gathered roughly 10 members of the GOP Conference at 8 p.m. Tuesday for a 90-minute session that included candy bars, crackers and soda....

NEW ORLEANS — Few senators have sparked more excitement and debate in their first year in Washington as Sen. Ted Cruz. Today, the Texas Republican delivers the closing address at The Heritage Foundation’s Resource Bank meeting. The Foundry will broadcast Cruz’s speech live at approximately 12:45 p.m. ET. Outside of Washington, Cruz is perhaps best known for his efforts to stop Obamacare before implementation began last fall. In recent months, he’s been an vocal supporter of conservative principles on a range of issues. Just this week, Cruz filed the American Energy Renaissance Act, legislation he’s sponsoring with Rep. Jim Bridenstine...

Nearly one month after Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke before a group of oilfield executives and employees to announce his idea of an American Energy Renaissance Act to increase jobs and energy independence—his office recently announced the filing of similarly-named legislation. During his speech reported on by Breitbart Texas in February, Cruz said, “The American energy renaissance that is beginning before our eyes can help save us from the Obama economy.” Sen. Cruz announced--in conjunction with Congressman Jim Bridenstine (R-OK)--the filing of legislation that could bring the goal of new, high-paying jobs for Americans to reality. Together, the Republicans announced...