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☆ One of the most powerful rich families in American politics just got their son in the Senate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ricketts' family owns the Chicago Cubs and has broadly supported conservative causes. Ricketts will replace former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse who left the chamber. Pete Ricketts will be joining the US Senate, an appointment that caps his political comeback and cements his family, which owns the Chicago Cubs, as one of the most powerful forces in American politics. Sen. Deb Fischer, a two-term Republican incumbent and loyal ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, is also up for reelection then too. Along with owning the Cubs, the Ricketts family has long been among the biggest funders of Republican campaigns.

☆ Former Nebraska Governor Ricketts to become U.S. senator
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Katharine Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Nebraska's former Republican Governor Pete Ricketts is due to become a U.S. senator after being appointed on Thursday to fill the seat left vacant by Republican Senator Ben Sasse. In an anticipated move, Nebraska's Republican Governor Jim Pillen announced the appointment of his predecessor at the state Capitol on Thursday morning. Ricketts, 58, served two terms as Nebraska's governor, wrapping up his second term last week. The senator was one of seven Republican senators who voted to impeach then-president Donald Trump. Ricketts' appointment will not alter the balance of power in the Senate.

☆ U.S. House Republicans who bucked McCarthy are powered by small-dollar donors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Jason Lange | Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives Republicans who tried to block Kevin McCarthy’s leadership bid last week share more than far-right political views. That’s about twice the share reported by the rest of the Republican House conference. Trump raised massive amounts of cash from small donors, thanks to a supply of controversial statements that drew him constant media attention. Close to 60% of his funding came from small donors. Both Gaetz and Boebert were in the top 15 House Republican campaigns ranked by funds raised.

☆ Ted Cruz touted 'frogsby90' before Georgia stomped TCU by 58 points to win the national title
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Ted Cruz entered Monday night ecstatic about the TCU Horned Frogs' chances. #frogsby90," Cruz wrote on Twitter before the game. Led by Quarterback Stetson Bennett, a former walk-on player, Georgia stomped TCU 65-7. According to ESPN Stats and Info, the win is the largest margin of victory in a bowl game in college football history. Georgia enters next year with another chance at history: becoming the first team of the polling era to win three straight national titles.

☆ A dozen Republicans file for Kentucky governor's race
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Bridget Bowman | Bridget Bowman Is A Deputy Editor For Nbc'S Political Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A dozen Republicans filed to run against Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Secretary of State’s office, following Friday's filing deadline. Bevin had called reporters to the state Capitol on Friday but did not ultimately file, per the Louisville Courier Journal. Bevin lost a close race to Beshear in 2019, falling short by roughly 5,000 votes. Kentucky is a top pickup opportunity for Republicans, given the state's partisan lean.

☆ First woman and LGBTQ person elected Massachusetts governor sworn in
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Maura Healey, the first woman and first open member of the LGBTQ community to be elected governor of Massachusetts, was sworn into office at the Statehouse Thursday, pledging to lead “with empathy and with equity.”Healey’s elevation to governor signals a political shift in the state’s top elected office from GOP to Democratic hands. Kim Driscoll, who served as mayor of Salem, was elected lieutenant governor with Healey and was also sworn in on Thursday. She acknowledged the soaring cost of housing in Massachusetts and vowed in her first 100 days to create a new secretary of housing. She’s only the second Democrat in the past three decades to be elected governor in Massachusetts. Nancy Lane / The Boston Herald via APThe new governor is also part of a record number of women occupying top state elected offices in Massachusetts.

☆ House speaker chaos signals Donald Trump’s shrinking influence
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Trump's allies repeatedly rejected Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, displaying his power's limits. A week of House speaker chaos revealed one thing about Donald Trump: He can't get his MAGA house in order. The drama started on Tuesday, and it wasn't until Friday that McCarthy managed to make headway in flipping members' votes. "The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, 'Sir, you do not have the votes, and it's time to withdraw.'" House members who are responding to the MAGA base have no reason to fear Trump on this, he said.

☆ U.S. House brawl over McCarthy raises worries about Republican governance
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Republicans captured a thin House majority in November's midterm elections, breaking the hold of President Joe Biden's Democrats on both chambers of Congress. That infuriated many House Republicans, including some who are now leading the opposition to McCarthy and demanding greater control over the House agenda. Republican Representative Andy Biggs at the time called McConnell's deal "offensive and dangerous." Lawmakers tried to remove House speakers by invoking the rule in 1910 and in 2015, when former Republican Speaker John Boehner resigned after a hardline conservative filed a request to oust him. Boehner and his successor as speaker, fellow Republican Paul Ryan, both left the post after conflict with conservative hardliners whose influence has since grown.

☆ Democratic U.S. Senator Casey diagnosed with prostate cancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Bob Casey, the senior U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, on Thursday announced he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will undergo surgery later this year. Casey's Democratic Party controls 51 of 100 Senate seats, with Republicans holding 49. While he has a record of being a reliable Democratic vote, in the past he has expressed reservations with some federal initiatives for battling climate change. Casey also sided with former Republican President Donald Trump on some of his trade-restriction initiatives. Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden, McConnell Kentucky event is a roadmap for White House under new Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks during an event to tout the new Brent Spence Bridge over the Ohio River between Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, near the bridge in Covington, Kentucky, U.S., January 4, 2023. That's the opposite of what the White House thinks voters want. In a stark sign of the Republican divisions that the White House hopes will work to their advantage, Trump endorsed McCarthy on Wednesday morning, while lobbing a racial slur at McConnell's wife. Biden and McConnell were joined by Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, former Ohio Senator Rob Portman, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. McConnell was among a handful of Republicans who voted for the infrastructure law while many House Republicans including McCarthy opposed it.

☆ Trump urges House Republicans to back McCarthy for speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Former Republican President Donald Trump threw his weight behind Representative Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday, telling U.S. House Republicans that they should back the California Republican's bid for the speakership. "It’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY," Trump posted on his social media platform. "DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT. Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB - JUST WATCH!" Reporting by Susan HeaveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: If not McCarthy then who? Other possible candidates for U.S. House speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] U.S. House Republican Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) makes his way through the U.S. Capitol on the first day of the new Congress in Washington, U.S., January 3, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Here are six potential candidates to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives if Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy fails to win the post due to a rebellion by hardliners in his party. 2 House Republican is a supporter of McCarthy who could get support from moderates in the caucus, while also appealing to hardline conservatives. REPRESENTATIVE JIM JORDANThe Ohio congressman is leader of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of the most hardline House conservatives. Jordan has repeatedly supported McCarthy in speaker votes, but all 20 holdouts voted for him on Tuesday.

McConnell wants to get credit from voters in his home state of Kentucky for the spending project, while Biden wants to highlight the on-the-ground impacts of lawmakers working together. That's the opposite of what the White House thinks voters want. Democrats' unexpected success in the last midterms shows "the American people said very loudly and clearly they wanted us to come together and work for a common ground,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday. The two will be joined by Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, former Ohio Senator Rob Portman, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. McConnell, of Kentucky, was among a handful of Republicans who voted for the infrastructure law while many House Republicans including McCarthy opposed it.

☆ There are currently zero members of the US House of Representatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US House currently has no duly-sworn members, and won't until a Speaker is chosen. It's the first time in a century that the House has been vacant for more than a day. Hours later, the chamber re-convened for the 118th Congress, ready to elect a new Speaker of the House and organize itself. The House is scheduled to reconvene at noon at Wednesday, with the first order of business being the election of a Speaker. asked former Republican Rep. Billy Long of Missouri, noting the role that members play in assisting their constituents with federal agencies.

☆ Moderates talk about flexing their muscles but they never do, Doug Heye says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailModerates talk about flexing their muscles but they never do, Doug Heye saysDoug Heye, former Republican National Committee communications director, discusses the stalemate over the election of a U.S. House speaker.

The exact contours of the Democrats' majority is in flux after Senator Kyrsten Sinema switched her party affiliation from Democrat to independent. But either she caucuses with Democrats and gives the party a 51-49 majority or she does not, leaving Democrats with a 50-49 edge. But in a 50-50 Senate where Democrats and Republicans had an even number of seats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, several civil rights lawyers and nominees supported by progressive advocates stalled with deadlocked votes. And in a 50-50 Senate, occasionally Vice President Kamala Harris was needed to cast a tie-breaking vote. Assuming they are renominated, their path to confirmation could be smoothed, as the Judiciary Committee under Durbin's leadership will now have a majority of Democrats.

☆ North Carolina won't charge Trump's ex-staff Meadows with voter fraud
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. state of North Carolina will not charge former Republican President Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows with voter fraud, the state's Justice Department said on Friday. In April, North Carolina removed Meadows from the voter roll after state authorities said they were investigating his voter registration. Meadows has previously echoed Trump's false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. "After a thorough review, my office has concluded that there is not sufficient evidence to bring charges against either of them (Meadows and his wife) in this matter," North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said in a statement. In North Carolina, voters must live in the county where they are registering and have resided there for at least 30 days prior to the election date, according to the state elections board website.

☆ Arizona judge rejects Katie Hobbs' request to sanction election denier Kari Lake
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

An Arizona judge on Tuesday rejected Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs’s request to sanction defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake over her failed effort to overturn the state’s election results. The suit was rejected by the Superior Court in Maricopa County on Saturday. Hobbs had asked the court to award her over $600,000 to compensate for fees and expenses accrued in defending against Lake’s lawsuit. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson said in Tuesday’s ruling that Lake’s claims in the lawsuit were not groundless. The lawsuit had targeted Hobbs, who is currently Arizona’s secretary of state and becomes governor next week, along with top officials in Maricopa County.

☆ Trump tax returns to be released by U.S. House panel on Friday
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Moira Warburton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Yuri GripasDec 27 (Reuters) - Former Republican President Donald Trump's redacted tax returns will be made public on Friday, a spokesperson for the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee said on Tuesday. The committee released a report into its findings last week, which said the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) broke its own rules by not auditing Trump for three of the four years of his presidency. The documents to be released on Friday are expected to include Trump's tax returns filed between 2015 and 2021, the years he ran for and served as president. Trump's tax returns were not released alongside last week's report because they contained sensitive information that had to be redacted before publication, committee members said. Trump was the first presidential candidate in decades not to release his tax returns during either of his campaigns for president.

☆ Arizona judge rejects governor-elect's request to sanction election denier Lake
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jim UrquhartDec 27 (Reuters) - An Arizona judge on Tuesday rejected Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs's request to sanction defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake over her failed effort to overturn the state's election results. The suit was rejected by the Superior Court in Maricopa County on Saturday. On Monday, Hobbs and Maricopa County deputy attorney asked the court to sanction Lake and her attorneys, alleging that Lake had filed a "groundless" lawsuit for a "frivolous pursuit." Hobbs had asked the court to award her over $600,000 to compensate for fees and expenses accrued in defending against Lake's lawsuit. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson said in Tuesday's ruling that Lake's claims in the lawsuit were not groundless.

☆ Arizona governor-elect asks court to sanction election denier Lake
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 26 (Reuters) - Arizona's Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs asked a court on Monday to sanction defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake over her failed effort to overturn the state's election results. Hobbs joined a motion by Maricopa County for sanctions on Lake and her attorneys in which the county's deputy attorney Thomas P. Liddy wrote Lake filed a "groundless" lawsuit for a "frivolous pursuit," court documents showed. Her suit claimed "hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots infected the election" in Maricopa, the state's most populous county. In a separate court filing, Hobbs also asked the Superior Court in Maricopa County to award her over $600,000 to compensate for fees and expenses accrued in defending against Lake's lawsuit. Lake was one of the most prominent of the Trump-aligned Republican candidates who lost battleground state races in the midterm elections.

☆ Arizona judge dismisses election denier Kari Lake's bid to overturn vote results
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 24 (Reuters) - An Arizona judge on Saturday rejected defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's effort to overturn the results of her election loss in the state's governor race. Lake was one of the most high-profile Republican candidates in the midterm elections to embrace former Republican President Donald Trump's false claims of voter fraud in 2020. Her lawsuit targeted Lake's Democratic opponent, Governor-elect Katie Hobbs, currently Arizona's secretary of state, along with top officials in Maricopa County. The suit claimed "hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots infected the election" in Maricopa, the state's most populous county. Lake, a former television news anchor, was one of a string of Trump-aligned Republican candidates who lost battleground state races in the midterm elections.

☆ Ahead of Zelenskiy address, U.S. Senate backs new ambassador to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. Washington has been sending a steady supply of weapons and economic assistance to Zelenskiy's government as Ukraine fights Russian troops. Moscow has an ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov.

☆ U.S. Capitol riot probe to release final report on assault by Trump backers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. congressional panel probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol wraps up its work on Wednesday with a final report outlining its case that former President Donald Trump should face criminal charges of inciting the deadly riot. The report lists 17 specific findings, discusses the legal implications of actions by Trump and some of his associates and includes criminal referrals to the Justice Department of Trump and other individuals. Trump then waited hours to make a public statement as thousands of his supporters raged through the Capitol, assaulting police and threatening to hang Pence. Monday marked the first time in U.S. history that a congressional committee referred a former president for criminal charges. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ahead of Zelenskyy address, U.S. Senate backs new ambassador to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during her confirmation hearing to be the next ambassador to Russia in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on November 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. Washington has been sending a steady supply of weapons and economic assistance to Zelenskyy's government as Ukraine fights Russian troops.

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