Republican Party News
Featuring coverage of Republican priorities, legislation, and internal debates, this section examines how the party shapes U.S. politics from a conservative perspective.
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Rand Paul on Budget Deal: ‘I’m Going to Do Everything in My Power to Stop It’
In an interview Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, doubled down on his promise to filibuster the Boehner-Obama budget deal reached by President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner. “This is a disaster,” Paul told Fox News about the deal, which would allow Congress to spend another $85 billion in the next three years. “I’m… -
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Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan Bashes ‘Bad’ Budget Deal but Doesn’t Blame Paul Ryan
Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, bashed a bipartisan budget deal struck Monday, criticizing both the “bad” substance of the package and the secretive way in which it was negotiated. But Jordan, in a sit-down interview with The Daily Signal in his office Tuesday, made clear he blames outgoing Speaker John… -
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Ted Cruz: ‘Meaningful Concessions’ Republican Leadership Should Receive in Debt Ceiling Fight
Sen. Ted Cruz says Republican leadership should make sure it receives “meaningful concessions” in the fight over raising the debt ceiling. But he’s not holding his breath. “Unfortunately, Republican leadership approaches every battle pre-emptively surrendering, saying we can get nothing,” Cruz tells The Daily Signal. The deadline to raise the debt ceiling is Nov. 3…. -
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Ted Cruz Delivers Speech on Sanctuary Cities: ‘Defiance of Our Laws Will No Longer Be Tolerated’
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, delivered a speech Tuesday on the Senate floor in support of the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act, legislation he co-sponsored that would deny some federal funds to “sanctuary cities,” or jurisdictions that don’t uphold federal immigration law. The legislation was later defeated in a 54-45 vote; it needed 60 votes… -
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Ted Cruz: Obama ‘Regulation Epidemic’ Hurts Minorities
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz criticized the Obama administration’s “regulation epidemic” for harming minorities in the U.S. through excessive costs and convoluted red tape. “Overregulation harms everyone, but it especially harms those who don’t have the resources or the political connections to get a special exemption, to have a lobbyist, to get a favor from government—and… -
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How Senate GOP Leadership Stymied Ted Cruz on Defunding Planned Parenthood
Days after Sen. Ted Cruz criticized his party’s leadership for preemptively surrendering to President Barack Obama, those GOP leaders exacted their revenge on Cruz. As the Senate voted Monday on a continuing resolution with taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, Cruz attempted to offer an amendment ending all federal funding for America’s largest abortion provider. The… -
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Former Speaker Newt Gingrich Explains Why John Boehner Resigned
Newt Gingrich served as House speaker from January 1995 to January 1999. He left the job with members of Congress frustrated by his leadership, similar to the circumstances facing Speaker John Boehner, who announced he would leave Congress by the end of October. -
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Ted Cruz: GOP Leadership Won’t Fight to End Planned Parenthood’s Federal Funding
Sen. Ted Cruz delivered a blistering critique of Republican leadership Thursday, just hours before lawmakers held what he described as a “show vote” attempting to end Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding. The Texas Republican summoned a handful of reporters, including The Daily Signal, to his Senate office to blast his own party for surrendering on the… -
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Rand Paul: ‘The President Is in Defiance of the Law’ on Iran Deal
Sen. Rand Paul says President Barack Obama has run afoul of the law, this time on the nuclear deal he struck with Iran. Paul contends that the president is in violation of the Iranian Nuclear Agreement Review Act (the Bob Corker-Ben Cardin bill), because the administration didn’t provide Congress with all documentation of the deal… -
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Rand Paul: ‘We Need to Be Talking About Planned Parenthood’
Sen. Rand Paul says it’s time to put the Democratic Party on the defensive when it comes to the fight over abortion and defunding Planned Parenthood. “The abortion issue—for years and years, Republicans have kind of said, ‘Well, we’re kind of squeamish, we’re not going to get too involved in this.’ These videos have brought… -
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott: States, Not Federal Government, Traditionally Regulate Marriage
AUSTIN, Texas—Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the federal government has no business regulating the issue of marriage. “In the United States Constitution and the amendments there are more than 7,500 words,” Abbott explains to The Daily Signal. “Not a single one of them mentions the word marriage or gives the federal government authority to regulate… -
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Rand Paul: Don’t Trade Liberty for Security, ‘You’ll Wind Up With Neither’
NASHUA, N.H.—Sen. Rand Paul said “we can catch terrorists, we can protect ourselves, and still have our freedom” during a town hall Wednesday in New Hampshire. Some want Americans to trade “their liberty for security” by continuing to permit surveillance of Americans’ phone records, Paul, R-Ky., said. “But the truth is, you’ll wind up with… -
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5 Actions Ted Cruz Says He Would Take on His First Day in the Oval Office
ATLANTA, Ga.—During a speech today, Sen. Ted Cruz told a group of conservative activists the first actions he would take should he be elected president. Speaking at the Red State Gathering, Cruz said that there are five policies he would implement on his first day in the Oval Office. The first action would be to… -
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Rand Paul: Congress Will Reject the Iran Deal
Sen. Rand Paul believes that the United States Congress will reject the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran. “There’s a very good chance that Congress will vote to disapprove of the agreement,” Paul tells The Daily Signal. “I think there’s a very good chance the president will then veto it, and then the real question… -
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Lindsey Graham and John McCain Team Up to Deride Obama’s ‘Feckless’ Foreign Policy
MANCHESTER, N.H.—At a campaign stop here, Sen. Lindsey Graham brought along a longtime friend and fellow foreign policy hawk to double up on deriding President Obama’s policies. Graham, a Republican nominee for president, was joined by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. McCain was the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2008, and he won the New Hampshire… -
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Rand Paul: The Tax Code Is ‘Chasing American Jobs Overseas’
WATERLOO, Iowa—Sen. Rand Paul said he would cut spending in a “dramatic fashion” while speaking at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center here Friday morning. He spoke on his “fair and flat” tax plan. “The 70,000 page tax code is chasing American jobs overseas, it’s chasing companies overseas.” With the highest taxes in the world,… -
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Rand Paul: Pro-Life Democrats Crucial to Defunding Planned Parenthood
Sen. Rand Paul says pro-life Democrats hold the key to passing legislation in the Senate that would completely defund Planned Parenthood. “There are several Democrats who say they are pro-life,” Paul tells The Daily Signal. “It’s not a guarantee that we get all the Republicans on this,” he adds. “The vast majority of Republicans will… -
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Tim Scott: $100-Million Body Camera Bill Will Make Police, Communities Safer
The viral cellphone video showing a police officer fatally shooting Walter Scott, an unarmed black man, in Sen. Tim Scott’s South Carolina hometown spurred the GOP’s sole black senator to introduce police body camera legislation Tuesday. Scott’s bill would send $100 million a year in federal funds to local and state police departments to outfit… -
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Lindsey Graham: Iran Deal ‘Worst Mistake’ Obama’s Made
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., slammed President Obama for being a clueless president when it comes to policy in the Middle East. “President Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Graham told The Daily Signal in an interview this past weekend in Iowa. “He doesn’t understand the Mid-East. He’s miscalculated who the ayatollah is. The ayatollah is… -
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Ted Cruz: Supreme Court Nominees Should Have ‘Paper Trail’ to Prove Conservatism
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who recently called for amending the Constitution to allow the public to vote on Supreme Court judges, says strict constructionist Supreme Court justices with a solid paper trail are needed. Cruz believes that the main problem is that Supreme Court justices are being chosen without a proven paper trail. He points…