Latest news with #RINOs
Fox News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Karine Jean-Pierre Exposed By Her Own Team: 'Unprepared And Ineffectual' (ft. Tim Young & Christophe Fox)
Story #1: Has President Donald Trump given in to the 'RINOs?' What do we make of the divide over the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' as principle clashes with practicality. Story #2: Tim Young, comedian and Media Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, joins Will to break down former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre facing attacks from Democrats following her departure from the party, the Left's weird push of narratives like 'TACO' and 'We're all going to die,' and are Republicans afraid of a 2028 Presidential ticket of Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett? Story #3: Mentalist Christophe Fox joins Will and the Crew to pull off jaw-dropping mind-reading feats that leave Will and Two-A-Dayz completely stunned. Tell Will what you thought about this podcast by emailing WillCainShow@ Subscribe to The Will Cain Show on YouTube here: Watch The Will Cain Show! Follow Will on X: @WillCain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
New York Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
For These Trump Voters, a Rubber-Stamp Congress Is a Key Demand
Congress is a coequal branch of government empowered to make laws, control government spending and declare war. But according to Trump voters, the role of the legislative branch is to rubber-stamp the president's agenda — and they don't appreciate Republicans who deviate from the party line. In two recent focus groups that quizzed older Trump voters from across the country about their views of Congress and congressional leaders, participants consistently praised lawmakers who displayed 'loyalty' to President Trump and disparaged those whom they viewed as failing to fall in line behind him. They expressed as much disdain for members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus as they did for the more moderate senators they refer to as RINOs, or 'Republicans in Name Only,' including Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. And they reserved their purest aversion for Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the solidly conservative former longtime party leader, whom they described alternately as an 'obstructionist' to Mr. Trump's agenda, a 'snake in the grass' and a 'bowl of Jell-O' with no spine. Their perspectives offered a striking contrast to the reception that many Republican lawmakers have confronted at raucous town halls throughout the country in recent months. The lawmakers have been grilled and booed by constituents at these events for supporting Mr. Trump's policies on tariffs, immigration and, most recently, the sprawling domestic policy bill that the G.O.P. pushed through the House last week. And they help explain why most Republican lawmakers have put aside any reservations they may have on key issues and backed the president — because a critical portion of their party's base is still demanding that they do so. 'For loyal Trump voters, they're loving what they see as him 'doing something' and don't want congressional Republicans getting in the way of his agenda,' said Sarah Longwell, the anti-Trump Republican strategist who conducted the focus groups. 'And members of Congress have gotten that message loud and clear.' These voters represent only a piece of the electorate that Republicans must court in the run-up to midterm congressional elections in which their governing trifecta is on the line. Since Mr. Trump took office, G.O.P. lawmakers have struggled to defend his executive actions, his efforts to dismantle the federal bureaucracy and unilaterally defund government programs, and to explain to their constituents why they are not doing more to challenge him. In Nebraska this week, Representative Mike Flood faced an angry crowd grilling him on the Medicaid and food assistance cuts included in the domestic policy bill. And he admitted he had been unaware that the measure included a provision to limit the power of federal judges to hold people, including Trump administration officials, in contempt for disobeying court orders. But Ms. Longwell's sessions, videos of which were shared with The New York Times, were a reminder that there is still a powerful pull for Republicans to swallow whatever disagreements they may have with Mr. Trump and bow to what he wants. Since the beginning of this Congress, Speaker Mike Johnson, whose too-slim majority in the House leaves him little latitude to maneuver, has positioned himself less as the leader of the legislative branch and more as a junior partner to Mr. Trump. That stance is exactly what these voters, whom Ms. Longwell identified only by their first names and last initials to protect their privacy, said they liked about him. Arthur M., a voter from Arizona, described Mr. Johnson as 'loyal,' adding: 'I'm not saying they should never have any other ideas of their own, but they certainly shouldn't have someone dissenting if you're trying to put an agenda through — and that's what the Congress is.' Jeff B., a voter from Georgia, said Mr. Johnson always appeared to be 'in over his head.' But he did not see that as a negative. 'He's not the kind of guy like Mitch McConnell, who was pulling all the strings,' he said. 'He's struggling, and I think that's the way it's supposed to be. He looks like he's in over his head, and I think that's the way it's supposed to be.' The voters who participated in the focus groups, which were conducted on May 16 and 19, had uniformly negative views of those House Republicans they viewed as 'rabble-rousers,' which they defined as anyone expressing an opinion that was not in sync with the White House. Jane H., a voter from Indiana, criticized her congresswoman, Representative Victoria Spartz, an unpredictable lawmaker who often sides with the hard right, for being 'out of line' when she makes noises about opposing Mr. Trump's agenda. Gilbert W. from North Carolina held a similar view of Ms. Murkowski, who has routinely broken with her party to criticize Mr. Trump. 'Murkowski — this woman's never found anything on the Republican side she really goes for,' he said, calling her a 'troublemaker.' In contrast, Allen K. from Arizona praised his congressman, Representative Juan Ciscomani, for never making any waves. 'Whatever Trump does, he'll say,' he said of Mr. Ciscomani, describing that as a positive. As for Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the new Republican majority leader, he earned kudos mostly for not being Mr. McConnell. 'He's pressing Trump's agenda, it seems like,' Gilbert W. said. 'What else can you ask for?' Jane H., a three-time Trump voter, said: 'What I want to see is someone who will work hard and effectively to advance a conservative agenda, and to work closely with the White House to advance at this time Donald Trump's agenda. It's what the American people want, so that's what John Thune should be doing.' Many of the participants in the focus groups had only vague impressions of their own representatives, a reminder that to many voters, Congress remains a faceless institution of 535 mostly anonymous lawmakers about whom they don't have particularly strong feelings. That could help explain why most appeared to judge their elected officials almost exclusively according to how deferential they were to Mr. Trump, about whom they expressed potent — and extremely positive — sentiments. Asked for his opinions on Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Steve C., a voter from Michigan, said: 'I don't have an opinion on anyone specifically.'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What happens when the Freedom Caucus takes control?
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Up until five years ago, Wyoming House Speaker Chip Neiman was focused on cows and hay — not RINOs. That changed when neighbors asked the rancher to consider getting involved in Republican precinct politics. He remembers a contentious early meeting with Republicans complaining about 'RINOS.' 'Why are we talking about African animals?' he whispered to someone next to him. Neiman was a quick study on 'Republicans in name only,' growing irked by GOP legislators whose votes deviated on the party's core issues. That led him to run for the Wyoming House and join the hard right Freedom Caucus, which he sees as following true conservative Republican ideals. There are plenty of voters in his state who agree: Wyoming now has the only state legislative chamber in the country controlled by the Freedom Caucus. 'This isn't a flash in the pan,' Neiman said during an interview in his office here in the state Capitol. Five years ago, the legislature had eight Freedom Caucus members. That grew over the past two election cycles to 42 out of 62 House members today. Meanwhile, Democrats are an endangered species in Cheyenne, holding just six seats in the chamber. With a supermajority, the Freedom Caucus in its first legislative session was able to adopt bills that will reshape daily life in Wyoming, from launching a universal school voucher program that directs taxpayer dollars to pay for private, home, and religious education options to eliminating most gun-free zones and approving a substantial property tax reduction. The Freedom Caucus also passed legislation aimed at limiting illegal immigration and transgender rights. It wasn't all smooth sailing, acknowledges Neiman, pointing to a Senate that doesn't have the same Freedom Caucus power behind it and a sometimes reticent Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, who allowed some bills to become law without his signature. And Wyoming's conservative lawmakers know it's the next legislative session that will put them to the test. That's when they'll have to wrangle a state budget at the same time the Trump administration is slashing federal funds and roiling the economy with on-again-off-again tariffs. Neiman says he's not concerned about the challenges, and expects other states will see more Freedom Caucus members joining the legislative ranks. 'I pray for their success, because obviously there are people in those districts that voted those people in and that want to have their voice heard,' said Neiman. 'They have a responsibility.' This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Has it been difficult operating within the system after the Freedom Caucus here and across the country has for so long worked on the sidelines? There's just a bunch more people in here that have a much more conservative mindset — a more Republican platform mindset — than there have been for a lot of years. A big part of the success of the Freedom Caucus is that a lot more people are becoming involved in the process. There's a lot of folks who are very frustrated with the direction of their legislatures. States are bracing for how the Trump tariffs and federal cuts will trickle down to them. How is it affecting Wyoming and are there areas in the state that might be disproportionately impacted? Tariffs have identified a situation where we're relying on other countries to provide resources that we can produce here cheaper. Fuel is one. So the American consumer — me as a farmer, buying my diesel — if I'm going to continue to buy out of that plant in Montana that has a pipeline to Canada, I'm going to be paying for those tariffs. It creates additional costs to all of our operating expenses in that part of the country, which increases the cost of food. The frustrating part to me is that we have now identified our dependence on outside countries for things that we should be and should have been taken care of here at home. … Why in the world are we allowing another country like China to say, 'I'll send you something?' Until more products are produced in the U.S., how does Wyoming anticipate dealing with tariffs? We really haven't seen the effects of the tariffs here so far. Yet we are seeing an exponential increase in mining and exploration. We are seeing a reinvigoration of companies coming in to invest in Wyoming, because we do have coal, we do have oil. We have natural gas, uranium mining up in my part of the country [near Devil's Tower National Monument], it's just exploding. You can't find a drilling rig to drill a water well because they're all out there drilling holes for uranium mining. As cuts are made at the federal level, what do you say to a family struggling to make ends meet? Just hang in there. And just know that as things get high, they're going to hit a point where prices will come back down. … I'll tell people that are on lower income abilities that right now there's a massive regrowth of the cow numbers in the United States, which means people are retaining heifers. … We are going to successfully over produce for the market, and we're going to see a drop. And that's just how it works. So patience is a virtue, and it's hard to do when things are tight. We're already seeing the price of oil decline. And what that translates into is the costs of goods and services, and the input costs are going down. So people are going to actually be able to have more money in their pocket. What about Medicaid cuts? I don't see there being cutbacks on children, the elderly and infirm. What they are cutting back on is basically able-bodied adults. But Wyoming didn't take federal money (for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act) so it won't be affected. Has it been difficult to work with GOP lawmakers who aren't in the Freedom Caucus? Not really. The big push is, how do you work with people that disagree with you — whether they're Republican or Democrat? As the speaker of the House, my job is to try to be able to listen, to try to work through differences that we can and to find common ground. Now, there's other things that I can't find common ground with. There's this real pushback and almost a resentment for holding Republicans (not just the Freedom Caucus) accountable for their votes, holding people accountable for their Republican stance. … You say you're a Republican. But when you go down to the Legislature and you vote a completely different way, to me, that's a lack of integrity. You're just using the R as a vehicle to get where you want into a position of power. You started your legislative session hoping to pass a handful of bills related to elections, immigration and education and you succeeded. Did you have to adjust to get them through? All those passed. One of them, [to restrict] voter identification, just got challenged. Wyoming was the first state in the union to pass U.S. citizenship to vote, and got a shout out from President Trump. I think it was only logical that you should be a Wyoming resident, be a U.S. citizen before you can vote. It was not difficult to get them passed in the House. They were very, very solid on that. The Senate took a little longer, but they got it passed and got it through. The big thing was waiting for our governor to sign it, which he ultimately did not — so it went into law without his signature. We overrode five vetoes, which was almost unheard of. … Our governor's, I mean, I work with people that are wrong all the time. I get along with him. We try to meet with him at least once a week, he or his people. State Freedom Caucuses are often criticized for taking their marching orders from the national Freedom Caucus. Did you do that to get bills passed? Absolutely not. But I don't go out of my way to try to reinvent the wheel. If I see a piece of legislation in another state that makes sense, we'll bring the bones of that here and try to shape it to fit Wyoming statutes. What do you say to Freedom Caucus members in the 49 other states? I pray for their success, because obviously there are people in those districts that voted those people in and that want to have their voice heard. They have a responsibility. I don't know if I would call them necessarily the conscience of the Republican Party, but if you're standing on the Republican Party platform of your state, voted on by the grassroots people, then I don't know what better place to stand other than the word of God. … I would encourage them to stay the course and make sure that integrity is the hallmark of your work, and that you listen to the people that elected you, and that you protect our Constitution and our Bill of Rights and know that that's what it's about.
Politico
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Politico
What happens when the Freedom Caucus takes control?
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Up until five years ago, Wyoming House Speaker Chip Neiman was focused on cows and hay — not RINOs. That changed when neighbors asked the rancher to consider getting involved in Republican precinct politics. He remembers a contentious early meeting with Republicans complaining about 'RINOS.' 'Why are we talking about African animals?' he whispered to someone next to him. Neiman was a quick study on 'Republicans in name only,' growing irked by GOP legislators whose votes deviated on the party's core issues. That led him to run for the Wyoming House and join the hard right Freedom Caucus, which he sees as following true conservative Republican ideals. There are plenty of voters in his state who agree: Wyoming now has the only state legislative chamber in the country controlled by the Freedom Caucus. 'This isn't a flash in the pan,' Neiman said during an interview in his office here in the state Capitol. Five years ago, the legislature had eight Freedom Caucus members. That grew over the past two election cycles to 42 out of 62 House members today. Meanwhile, Democrats are an endangered species in Cheyenne, holding just six seats in the chamber. With a supermajority, the Freedom Caucus in its first legislative session was able to adopt bills that will reshape daily life in Wyoming, from launching a universal school voucher program that directs taxpayer dollars to pay for private, home, and religious education options to eliminating most gun-free zones and approving a substantial property tax reduction. The Freedom Caucus also passed legislation aimed at limiting illegal immigration and transgender rights. It wasn't all smooth sailing, acknowledges Neiman, pointing to a Senate that doesn't have the same Freedom Caucus power behind it and a sometimes reticent Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, who allowed some bills to become law without his signature. And Wyoming's conservative lawmakers know it's the next legislative session that will put them to the test. That's when they'll have to wrangle a state budget at the same time the Trump administration is slashing federal funds and roiling the economy with on-again-off-again tariffs. Neiman says he's not concerned about the challenges, and expects other states will see more Freedom Caucus members joining the legislative ranks. 'I pray for their success, because obviously there are people in those districts that voted those people in and that want to have their voice heard,' said Neiman. 'They have a responsibility.' This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Has it been difficult operating within the system after the Freedom Caucus here and across the country has for so long worked on the sidelines? There's just a bunch more people in here that have a much more conservative mindset — a more Republican platform mindset — than there have been for a lot of years. A big part of the success of the Freedom Caucus is that a lot more people are becoming involved in the process. There's a lot of folks who are very frustrated with the direction of their legislatures. States are bracing for how the Trump tariffs and federal cuts will trickle down to them. How is it affecting Wyoming and are there areas in the state that might be disproportionately impacted? Tariffs have identified a situation where we're relying on other countries to provide resources that we can produce here cheaper. Fuel is one. So the American consumer — me as a farmer, buying my diesel — if I'm going to continue to buy out of that plant in Montana that has a pipeline to Canada, I'm going to be paying for those tariffs. It creates additional costs to all of our operating expenses in that part of the country, which increases the cost of food. The frustrating part to me is that we have now identified our dependence on outside countries for things that we should be and should have been taken care of here at home. … Why in the world are we allowing another country like China to say, 'I'll send you something?' Until more products are produced in the U.S., how does Wyoming anticipate dealing with tariffs? We really haven't seen the effects of the tariffs here so far. Yet we are seeing an exponential increase in mining and exploration. We are seeing a reinvigoration of companies coming in to invest in Wyoming, because we do have coal, we do have oil. We have natural gas, uranium mining up in my part of the country [near Devil's Tower National Monument], it's just exploding. You can't find a drilling rig to drill a water well because they're all out there drilling holes for uranium mining. As cuts are made at the federal level, what do you say to a family struggling to make ends meet? Just hang in there. And just know that as things get high, they're going to hit a point where prices will come back down. … I'll tell people that are on lower income abilities that right now there's a massive regrowth of the cow numbers in the United States, which means people are retaining heifers. … We are going to successfully over produce for the market, and we're going to see a drop. And that's just how it works. So patience is a virtue, and it's hard to do when things are tight. We're already seeing the price of oil decline. And what that translates into is the costs of goods and services, and the input costs are going down. So people are going to actually be able to have more money in their pocket. What about Medicaid cuts? I don't see there being cutbacks on children, the elderly and infirm. What they are cutting back on is basically able-bodied adults. But Wyoming didn't take federal money (for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act) so it won't be affected. Has it been difficult to work with GOP lawmakers who aren't in the Freedom Caucus? Not really. The big push is, how do you work with people that disagree with you — whether they're Republican or Democrat? As the speaker of the House, my job is to try to be able to listen, to try to work through differences that we can and to find common ground. Now, there's other things that I can't find common ground with. There's this real pushback and almost a resentment for holding Republicans (not just the Freedom Caucus) accountable for their votes, holding people accountable for their Republican stance. … You say you're a Republican. But when you go down to the Legislature and you vote a completely different way, to me, that's a lack of integrity. You're just using the R as a vehicle to get where you want into a position of power. You started your legislative session hoping to pass a handful of bills related to elections, immigration and education and you succeeded. Did you have to adjust to get them through? All those passed. One of them, [to restrict] voter identification, just got challenged. Wyoming was the first state in the union to pass U.S. citizenship to vote, and got a shout out from President Trump. I think it was only logical that you should be a Wyoming resident, be a U.S. citizen before you can vote. It was not difficult to get them passed in the House. They were very, very solid on that. The Senate took a little longer, but they got it passed and got it through. The big thing was waiting for our governor to sign it, which he ultimately did not — so it went into law without his signature. We overrode five vetoes, which was almost unheard of. … Our governor's, I mean, I work with people that are wrong all the time. I get along with him. We try to meet with him at least once a week, he or his people. State Freedom Caucuses are often criticized for taking their marching orders from the national Freedom Caucus. Did you do that to get bills passed? Absolutely not. But I don't go out of my way to try to reinvent the wheel. If I see a piece of legislation in another state that makes sense, we'll bring the bones of that here and try to shape it to fit Wyoming statutes. What do you say to Freedom Caucus members in the 49 other states? I pray for their success, because obviously there are people in those districts that voted those people in and that want to have their voice heard. They have a responsibility. I don't know if I would call them necessarily the conscience of the Republican Party, but if you're standing on the Republican Party platform of your state, voted on by the grassroots people, then I don't know what better place to stand other than the word of God. … I would encourage them to stay the course and make sure that integrity is the hallmark of your work, and that you listen to the people that elected you, and that you protect our Constitution and our Bill of Rights and know that that's what it's about.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iowa Republican Brenna Bird teases bid for governor, promises 'an exciting 2026'
Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird teased a run for governor, posting a video to social media mashing together clips of President Donald Trump praising her and telling an Iowa crowd that "she's going to be your governor someday, I predict." Bird posted the video with just the word "someday" along with the "eyes" emoji. The video, posted Friday, May 16, includes multiple clips of Trump thanking Bird before being an early supporter. He describes her as somebody who "supported me before people wanted to support me" and as "somebody who was with us early on and she's really become a big star and very popular." Bird, who is in her first term after defeating longtime Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller in 2022, was the highest-profile elected official to endorse Trump ahead of the 2024 Iowa Caucuses. And she has been a vocal supporter of him and his agenda while in office. 'Over the last several weeks, Bob and I have received encouragement from Iowans across the state and we're so grateful for their support," Bird said in a statement provided exclusively to the Des Moines Register. "Running for governor isn't a decision to be made lightly. We look forward to sharing our plans soon for an exciting 2026.' The social media video suggests Bird would play up her connection to Trump in a potential campaign. She has long been thought to be among the first in line to receive a potential endorsement if the president did decide to wade into the race. A Trump endorsement might not clear the Republican primary field of other serious contenders, but it could carry substantial weight in a state where Trump remains exceedingly popular among Republicans. 'Washington, D.C., RINOs didn't pick President Trump to win the presidency, and they aren't picking the next gubernatorial nominee," a senior adviser to Bird said in a statement. "When the attorney general is ready to announce her decision, she will. If Brenna Bird runs for governor of Iowa, there should be no doubt that she will be the Republican nominee.' Bird previously served as the county attorney for Fremont and Guthrie counties and as counsel to former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad. She was chief of staff to former U.S. Rep. Steve King. The teaser video comes the same week Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra launched an exploratory committee for governor and a statewide advertising presence. It made him the first person to launch TV ads in the race as he seeks to establish himself among a possibly growing primary field. Former Republican state Rep. Brad Sherman previously announced that he would run for governor. And multiple other Republicans have signaled their interest in the race, including state Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig, state Sen. Mike Bousselot, state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann and House Speaker Pat Grassley. Grassley said on a May 16 episode of Iowa Press that he is still considering a run and is weighing factors like the impact to his family and his farm. "I'm just gonna take some time now that session has wrapped up, as I've been saying, wanted to get through session, and then take the next couple weeks to kind of make a decision on what that would be," he said. On the Democratic side, state Auditor Rob Sand also recently entered the race, making his launch official May 12. Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at bpfann@ or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Republican Brenna Bird teases gubernatorial bid with Trump video
