The Republican congressman from California told CNN correspondent Manu Raju “I support” Trump’s move to grant Stone clemency, according to a post Friday on Raju’s Twitter account. McCarthy’s apparent statement to reporters seems to be at odds with Stone’s repeated assertion that the GOP leader had privately advocated against Trump’s decision to keep Stone out of prison. Stone accused McCarthy and New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of advising the president to avoid commuting Stone before November’s election, worrying it could hurt the Republican Party politically....

As the Senate Judiciary Committee holds its last day of hearings for President Joe Biden’s nominee, the questioning from GOP senators on such topics as what a woman is and Jackson’s religious beliefs has been criticized. Also decried were the continual interruptions of Jackson while she was trying to speak, with some GOP questioners raising their voices. Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee and Senate majority whip, said he was “saddened” by the “attacks” on Jackson, Reuters reported....

The Georgia House on Thursday night could vote on a bill that would make significant changes to the state’s elections system that proponents say will restore voter confidence and improve oversight. The legislation comes a year after Georgia drew headlines for enacting a controversial elections bill. Critics say the new bill is being rushed through and will make it even more difficult to vote in the state. House Bill 1464 would add new security protocols for handling ballots, give the Georgia Bureau of Investigation a central role in election-related investigations and require the state election board to approve donations to elections offices from outside groups....

“After experiencing minor symptoms this morning, I sought a covid-19 test and was just informed the test results were positive,” Norman tweeted Thursday afternoon. “Thankfully, I have been fully vaccinated and my symptoms remain mild. To every extent possible, I will continue my work virtually while in quarantine for the next ten (10) days.” Norman is one of three Republican lawmakers to file the lawsuit against Pelosi last week. In it, he, along with Reps....

Congress passed another bipartisan $908 billion pandemic stimulus package on Monday, which included $600 stimulus checks to most Americans and 11 weeks of extra $300 federal unemployment checks to jobless workers. But Democrats had initially wanted much more, while many Republicans had backed a significantly smaller proposal. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, and Biden have described the latest stimulus package as a “down payment,” promising to do more once the president-elect takes office at the end of January....

Cheney, the number three Republican in the House of Representatives’ leadership, became the second Republican in Congress to back impeachment on Tuesday. In her statement announcing her decision, she said that there’s “never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution” than Trump’s incitement of a violent insurrection against the U.S. Capitol last week. Now the GOP lawmaker is facing backlash from some colleagues....

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had warned caucus members against defecting, urging Republicans to vote against the bill that would help Biden deliver on crucial elements of his domestic agenda. Still, 13 House Republicans broke with their party to vote in favor of the $1 trillion infrastructure plan, which passed largely along party lines in a 228-206 vote late Friday. With six progressive lawmakers in revolt, the legislation would not have succeeded if it were not for the Republican support....

While speaking to CNN’s Pamela Brown on Sunday, Davidson dismissed the idea that mass shootings would not happen without guns. The clip has so far been viewed over 115,000 times and Davidson has been condemned for his comments. Brown raised the recent gun safety bill that was signed into law by President Joe Biden and that it had gained support from some Republican senators. She added that some Republicans have argued it will save lives and said it also protected the Second Amendment....

The 148-page document, entitled “United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Minority Report” and published Thursday by ranking Republican member Senator James E. Risch, argued that the administration “ignored numerous intelligence reports about the potential for a speedy Taliban takeover of Kabul, decided to abandon Bagram Air Base, disregarded dissent cables from the State Department (State), failed to plan an evacuation until it was too late, and in the process, abandoned tens of thousands of Afghan partners....

“Senator Johnson feels healthy and is not experiencing symptoms,” his office said in a statement. “He will remain isolated until given the all-clear by his doctor.” Johnson, 65, was exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 on September 14, according to the statement. The senator quarantined for two weeks and tested negative twice during that time. After returning to Washington on September 29, Johnson was exposed to someone who has since tested positive, the statement read....

Seven Republican senators voted with all 50 members of the Democratic Caucus to convict Trump for inciting the insurrection against the U.S. Capitol on January 6, meaning the 57 to 43 decision was the most bipartisan presidential conviction vote in U.S. history. However, it still failed to reach the high constitutional threshold of a two-thirds majority (or 67 senators), which would have required 10 additional Republicans to vote “guilty.”...

“I had a black friend,” Morgan wrote on Twitter. “I liked her and I think she liked me, too. But now she is hostile and unpleasant. I am sure I didn’t do anything to her, except be white. Is that what teachers and our political leaders really want for our society? Divide us because of our skin color? #CRT” The lawmaker intended for her comments to be an attack on critical race theory, or CRT, but her remarks were interpreted as racist by many on social media, who responded with mockery or anger....

Biden signed his American Rescue Plan on March 11, after it was passed by Congress through reconciliation. It garnered no support from Republicans in either chamber. Republicans had questioned aspects of spending within the bill, taking issue with the overall cost and bemoaning the partisan process through which it was passed. Gallup polling conducted March 15 to 21 asked respondents: “Do you approve or disapprove of the legislation Congress passed and President Biden signed into law on Thursday, March 11, that authorizes $1....

When announcing the program on Friday, Newsom said that 1.7 million of California’s 5.7 million seniors live alone. He hopes the program will help ensure that high-risk seniors and other adults stay at home to avoid potentially contracting the virus. Additionally, Newsom intends for the program to help “provide essential economic stimulus to local businesses and workers struggling to stay afloat during the Covid-19 crisis.” Restaurants can receive up to $16 for breakfasts, $17 for lunch and $28 for dinners....

A veteran federal prosecutor who left DOJ last year, Tamm worked at OIPR during a critical period in 2004 when senior Justice officials first strongly objected to the surveillance program. Those protests led to a crisis that March when, according to recent Senate testimony, then A.G. John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller and others threatened to resign, prompting Bush to scale the program back. Tamm, said one of the legal sources, had shared concerns about he program’s legality, but it was unclear whether he actively participated in the internal DOJ protest....

This could wind up as the highest number of officers indicted in connection with the protests sparked by George Floyd’s 2020 murder, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The 19 officers were indicted on aggravated assault charges, the Associated Press reported. The police did not immediately identify the officers. The jury reviewed the actions of 21 police officers during the protests, Austin’s KVUE-TV reported. The May 2020 protests drew tens of thousands of people to the city to demonstrate for over a week....

Lyoya’s death on April 4 and the outrage that followed the release of the video came after years of strained relations between Grand Rapids police and the city’s Black community. Even before the video’s release, Lyoya’s fatal shooting further escalated the tension. The New York Times reported that activists at a City Commission meeting on Tuesday spent hours expressing their grievances for what they said was complacency toward police problems by city leaders....