Rand Paul

President-elect Donald Trump involved himself publicly in the Senate leadership race for the first time, writing in a post on TruthSocial that anyone running to be the next Senate Majority Leader should agree to let Trump make recess appointments to his cabinet.

Elon Musk is endorsing lawmaker Rick Scott for Senate majority leader, joining a growing list of MAGA figures who are throwing their support behind the Florida Republican.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" that his experience in business would make him an ideal candidate to lead Republicans in the Senate.

At least two of his priorities are launching mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, and tackling taxes.

President-elect Trump was inclined to stay out of the Republican race for Senate majority leader, telling friends the bid by MAGA-backed dark horse, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, was "not serious."Now, MAGA media is cranking up pressure on Trump and Republicans to dump the two establishment frontrunners — Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas — and go with their MAGA choice. The campaign is gaining substantial steam online.Why it matters: This is a high-stakes test of MAGA media — rallying together on the X, the most powerful Republican platform — and its ability to sway the new Republican governing majority. Trump could probably decide the race if he offered a full-throated endorsement. Thune and Cornyn have pleaded privately to keep this among Senate Republicans."The people who just gave Donald Trump a sweeping mandate do not want Thune or Cornyn to lead the US Senate," popular MAGA podcaster Charlie Kirk, who has 4 million followers on X, tweeted Saturday evening. "They want Rick Scott. It's very clear. Share if you agree." Podcaster Benny Johnson, who has 3 million followers, tweeted: "A vote for Rick Scott is a vote to END the anti-Trump rot of Mitch McConnell in the US Senate. Thune and Cornyn are a continuation of McConnell's total failure."Tucker Carlson called on his 14.5 million followers to flood Senate offices to lift Scott: "Rick Scott of Florida is the only candidate who agrees with Donald Trump. Call your senator and demand a public endorsement of Rick Scott." Carlson told Axios when we asked if the online campaign could succeed: "It's possible. Look at the numbers on this tweet. 11,000 comments in nine hours. Crazy. People care."The big picture: The Senate majority leader will be the most powerful Republican in Congress — controlling not just legislation but cabinet confirmations. Thune is seen as the favorite in the secret-ballot vote, given his broad popularity with Republican senators. But several Republicans have gone public with their support for Scott, including an endorsement Saturday evening by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), a top contender for a Trump cabinet post.Scott also is backed by fellow conservatives Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky. The bottom line: The GOP leader race is a secret ballot game. Outside or online momentum doesn't always reflect support from the 53 people who matter, but that momentum might tip the scales on a Trump endorsement — which could change everything.

President-elect Trump’s resounding victory last week threatens to further isolate his few remaining GOP critics on Capitol Hill. The shrinking group of Republicans who have bucked the president-elect underscores Trump’s dominance over the party and raises questions about how this GOP faction will navigate the new political reality in Washington. Only a handful of vocal Trump skeptics will remain in the [...]

Sen. Mitch McConnell suggested that with the GOP winning the Senate majority in the 2024 elections, the filibuster will remain intact.

For Schumer, the only mystery remaining as of Wednesday morning was the size of the minority he would lead – and the early signs were that it would be smaller than expected.

Republican lawmakers weighed in after Trump was projected the winner in the 2024 presidential contest.

Opponents of antisemitism have expressed frustration that the Antisemitism Awareness Act still remains in limbo, fearing it could be watered down or amended to the point where it is no longer supported by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

Political Focus Group member Jessica Hurd explains why she thinks MAGA will stick around regardless of what happens in the Nov. 5 election.

If Donald Trump wins the presidential election, Republicans hope he will fulfill a longstanding GOP goal of privatizing the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Instead of raising taxes yet again, the county needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with a real, effective plan to address homelessness.

As Congress enters a critical stretch to the November elections, a lengthy to-do list of critical funding items is piling in its absence. Congressional leaders have faced pressure from all sides to return early in recent weeks to approve additional disaster aid in the wake of back-to-back hurricanes. While there hasn’t been any appetite to [...]

Trump declared he was "the father of IVF" during a Fox News town hall, while also saying he just recently discovered what the decades-old procedure actually is.

Democratic incumbent Rep. Chrissy Houlahan and Republican challenger Neil Young are competing for the seat.

SPOKANE — The first debate between Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican challenger Dr Raul Garcia elicited civil disagreements and a fair amount of agreement for what may be expected in modern polarized politics.

A National Institutes of Health employee who served the agency for over three decades is pleading the Fifth after the House COVID Subcommittee demanded her testimony on allegedly making documents "disappear" for coworkers.

Lawmakers are seeking answers from the Biden administration on whether an "entanglement" with the border crisis has affected FEMA's ability to respond to disasters.

Republican Senator Rand Paul was busy last week.What Happened: In addition to introducing a measure that aims to relax federal constraints on hemp by tripling the allowable THC content from 0.3% to 1%, he also proposed a cannabis-related bill.The Clean Slate Act would allow individuals convicted of simple drug possession and other low-level, nonviolent crimes involving marijuana to request record sealing. That's for offenses that aren't eligible for automatic relief.The newly introduced measure is a companion bill to a House version, filed in 2023, by Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

“All the troubles in the world apparently lead back to Wuhan,” muses National Review’s Jim Geraghty.

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced the Hemp Economic Mobilization Plan (HEMP) Act on Thursday, aiming to relax federal constraints on hemp by tripling the allowable THC content from 0.3% to 1%.This legislation seeks to redefine hemp and simplify the testing process, shifting focus from raw hemp flower to finished products – a change that could ease operational challenges for hemp farmers and processors.HEMP Act Aims To Cut Red Tape"For years, I've led the fight in Washington to restore one of Kentucky's most historically vital crops by legalizing industrial hemp,” Senator Paul stated in a press release. “We achieved a hard-won victory, but there is still work to do to prevent the federal government from weighing down our farmers with unnecessary bureaucratic micromanaging. My legislation will help this growing ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

Lawmakers are moving quickly to pass emergency legislation to plug a roughly $3 billion shortfall facing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as officials warn veterans' and survivors' benefits payments are at risk absent congressional action in the coming days. The House passed legislation with bipartisan support Wednesday night, and members on both sides of [...]

Donald Trump’s call for mandating free access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) has puzzled congressional Republicans, drawing a mix of skepticism and opposition.

The antitrust trial against Google by Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) has started, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has shown his support for the tech giant. What Happened: Paul described U.S. antitrust policies as being “misused and abused” and defended Google’s business strategies, such as linking their search engine to computer and phone sellers, during CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. “We are going to penalize them for trying to be good business? That’s insane. And the ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

Why do conservatives wrap themselves in the flag so desperately? Maybe because their ideas are un-American

Hawley was among eight US senators who cleared more than $100,000 last year in book royalties. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, led the pack with about $460,000 in 2023.

n January 1942, a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, low-flying airplanes began appearing in the skies between Springfield and Decatur.

How the Democratic presidential candidate's state-level achievements might inform her national ambitions

Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah won the Republican primary in Utah's 2nd congressional district on Tuesday. She will take on the Democratic nominee in November. The seat has been solidly red and will likely be won by Republicans.

Republicans in the Senate are slamming President Biden over his delay of weapons to Israel as the country continues to fight against several terrorist groups.

'You have missed the point'

Here are his pandemic missteps and why trying to criminalize them is a bad way to go.

The last time Congress passed a law to protect children on the internet was in 1998 — before Facebook, before the iPhone and long before today’s oldest teenagers were born

Not to exonerate him on his missteps, but investigating Fauci would be naked politicization of science — something Fauci himself can be accused of.

Here are 10 questionable things Dr. Anthony Fauci did during the pandemic years as America’s COVID-19 czar: He administered conflicting advice about masks to the public, first saying they were unnecessary, then changing positions and even wearing one at an...