Tag: republicans

Justice Department ‘Should Take About 20 Years’ To Reschedule Marijuana, GOP Congressman Says

The Justice Department should “take about 20 years” to finish the marijuana rescheduling process, a GOP congressman who staunchly opposes cannabis reform tells Marijuana Moment.

With the proposal to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) still pending, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) is in no rush to have DOJ see the process through—despite President Donald Trump’s December executive order directing the attorney general to quickly finalize the rule.

“Last I looked, it hasn’t been rescheduled. The president said to look into it,” Harris said in an interview on Thursday, adding that he hasn’t directly communicated with the Justice Department about the issue but that “everybody understands what I want it to look like.”

“I don’t think I’ve been subtle about it,” Harris said. “All I know is every day that goes by and it’s not rescheduled is another good day.”

The prohibitionist congressman said he isn’t sure if internal disagreements within DOJ are to blame for the delayed rescheduling action, but “the wheels grind a little slowly around here sometimes.”

“On this one, they should take about 20 years to grind,” he said.

In December, Harris separately said Trump doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally reschedule marijuana via executive order. But while lawmakers could overrule any administrative move to enact the reform, it would be a “heavy lift” in the Republican-controlled Congress, he acknowledged.

For what it’s worth, the congressman may be at risk of being unseated in November due to redistricting in his state.

The Maryland House of Delegates earlier this month approved a congressional redistricting proposal that would leave anti-cannabis Harris especially vulnerable in the next election, according to analysts, giving Democrats an advantage in the state’s first congressional district for the first time since the last map was drawn in 2011. It remains to be seen whether the Senate will follow the House’s lead to pass the legislation, however.

Meanwhile, another GOP lawmaker on the other side of the debate, Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), recently told Marijuana Moment that while marijuana rescheduling might not be at the top of the agenda for the Justice Department or White House amid competing interests, he and bipartisan colleagues will be ready when “opportunity does present itself.”

Joyce separately said last month that he doesn’t think the attorney general would seek to undermine the president’s executive order to move marijuana to Schedule III despite any personal reservations she may have about the policy change.

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‘He was Created… He’s Not Organic’ — Rep. Tim Burchett Claims Barack Obama Was ‘Created by the Deep State’ — Alleges Jeffrey Epstein Operated Freely During Obama Years

Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett just went there.

In an explosive interview with Benny Johnson, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) didn’t hold back, tearing into Barack Obama’s sudden political rise and his administration’s alarming proximity to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

While the mainstream media continues to run cover for the Democrat elite, Burchett is asking the questions they refuse to touch: How did Jeffrey Epstein operate so freely while Obama was in the White House?

The conversation kicked off with breaking news regarding Kathryn Ruemmler, Obama’s former White House Counsel, who recently resigned from Goldman Sachs.

Ruemmler’s name has surfaced repeatedly in connection to Epstein, raising serious questions about the access the disgraced financier had to the highest levels of the Obama administration.

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Anna Paulina Luna Blows Up Disgusting RINO Lisa Murkowsky – Catches Her in an Outright Lie on Her Voting Rights Record

Senator Lisa Murkowski is as dishonest as she is two-faced, pro-choice, far-left, pro-choice senator from Alaska who runs as a Republican and votes with Democrats when it counts.

On Tuesday, Lisa Murkowski posted on X that she was against Democrats changing voter laws in 2021 and today she’s against Republicans changing voter laws in 2026.

Murkowski posted this on X:  “When Democrats attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed. Now, I’m seeing proposals such as the SAVE Act and MEGA that would effectively do just that. Once again, I do not support these efforts. Not only does the U.S. Constitution clearly provide states the authority to regulate the “times, places, and manner” of holding federal elections, but one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington, D.C., seldom work in places like Alaska.

Election Day is fast approaching. Imposing new federal requirements now, when states are deep into their preparations, would negatively impact election integrity by forcing election officials to scramble to adhere to new policies likely without the necessary resources. Ensuring public trust in our elections is at the core of our democracy, but federal overreach is not how we achieve this.

There’s only one thing wrong with Murkowsky’s statement. The Alaskan senator DID VOTE for the Democrat Party’s attempt to pass open elections and remove safeguards from our national elections! She was the ONLY Republican to do so! She just lied about that too!

Rep. Anna Paulina called out Murkowsky’s cute trick, saying “Just gonna leave this here Lisa.”

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Trump Pushes To End Senate ‘Blue Slips’ As GOP Confirms Judges At Record Pace

In just the past week, the Senate confirmed half a dozen of Trump’s judicial nominees, continuing a streak that’s left Democrats visibly frustrated.

Since the start of Trump’s second term, 33 judges have sailed through confirmation — already eclipsing his entire first-term total. By comparison, during Trump’s first year in office, the Senate confirmed 19 Article III judges, including Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. 

While Senate Republicans are moving fast and confirming judges at a blistering pace, there are mounting calls to scrap one of the Senate’s oldest customs — the “blue slip.” 

The century-old practice has long allowed home-state senators to weigh in on judicial nominations before they advance, but Democrats have been abusing it, turning it into a de facto veto on nominees they don’t like.

Trump has wanted the tradition gone because of the way Democrats have abused it.

Last year, he reportedly told Senate Republicans to “get rid of blue slips, because, as a Republican President, I am unable to put anybody in office having to do with U.S. attorneys or having to do with judges.”

Some Republicans sympathize with Trump’s view, seeing the blue slip as an outdated relic that slows confirmations.

But others see danger in dismantling another institutional guardrail.

“Nuking the blue slip would be a huge mistake,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told Fox News Digital, joining several colleagues warning that a short-term rules victory could backfire the next time Democrats control the Senate.

For them, the issue isn’t about speed — it’s about reciprocity.

They argue the GOP will one day need the same courtesy they’re now being pressured to destroy.

While that is certainly true, like the filibuster, it is likely to be nuked by Democrats the next time they’re in power if they feel this guardrail hampers their ability to get what they want. In fact, that’s exactly why the blue slip started to get abused in the first place. In 2017, Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley was forced to reshape the practice after Democrats used it as a veto on Trump’s judicial nominees during his first term. 

Grassley noted at the time that the blue slip began as a “courtesy to get insights on federal court nominees from home-state senators in an era when such information was hard to come by.” It was never, he argued, meant to give senators “veto power over the president’s judicial nominations.” Grassley also reminded Democrats that their predicament was self-inflicted. “Democratic senators’ recent calls for an ahistorical interpretation of the blue slip courtesy stem from a decision they made in 2013 to end the 60-vote filibuster for lower court nominees. This move, often referred to as the ‘nuclear option,’ effectively silenced half of the Senate during confirmation votes.

At the time, many Democratic senators argued it was unfair for a minority of senators to block nominees with majority support.” he wrote.

“Now that they are in the minority, Democrats are scrambling to cope with the fallout from their decision.”

That history lesson seems lost on much of Washington. For now, the tension within the GOP shows no signs of easing, and despite his earlier move, Grassley remains a proponent of blue slips in theory.

“Because it’s a question of 110 years, and everybody in the Senate wants to maintain the blue slip,” Grassley said.

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House passes GOP’s SAVE America Act

he House of Representatives on Wednesday night passed the new Republican-led Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which requires individuals to present proof of citizenship to register to vote and requires Americans to show ID when voting.

The House passed the legislation, which combined two bills, in a 218-213 vote. The bill saw little support from House Democrats, with Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar being the sole Democrat to join Republicans in passing the legislation. 

“It’s just common sense,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters of the legislation. “Americans need an ID to drive, to open a bank account, to buy cold medicine, to file government assistance. So why would voting be any different than that?”

The legislation will now head to the Senate for passage before it can be signed by President Donald Trump.

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Top GOP official is arrested over claims he ‘WATERBOARDED’ his terrified 16-year-old daughter

A GOP leader in Utah was arrested on Tuesday after his 16-year-old daughter accused him of ‘waterboarding’ her as a punishment for not cleaning her room.

David Nephi Johnson, the chair of the Republican Party in Wasatch County, has been charged with aggravated child abuse for the alleged drowning incident in January.

The vice chair of county GOP, Patty Sprunt, told KSL News Radio that she had only ever observed a healthy relationship between Johnson and his family. She said people should not jump to conclusions.

The investigation into Johnson, 54, began on January 21, when the Herber City Police Department was informed that a teenager had been interviewed by the Utah Division of Child and Family Services.

The girl told authorities that her father, Johnson, got upset with her about two weeks earlier because she went out with her friends before making sure her bedroom was ‘spotless to his expectations’, according to a police affidavit.

When she got home, Johnson allegedly grabbed her by the back of her neck and ‘took her into the bathroom while the sink was filling with water,’ the affidavit stated.

Johnson ‘dunked her head under, brought it out, splashed water in her face, then dunked the victim’s head under again,’ the affidavit stated.

The girl couldn’t recall how long she had been under water but claimed she wasn’t able to breathe for ’20 to 30 seconds,’ according to the affidavit.

Though the girl described what her father allegedly did to her as waterboarding, there was no claim that her father carried out waterboarding in the strict sense of the torture method, which involves covering someone’s mouth with a cloth and pouring water through the cloth and into the mouth.

The teen said that after she was allegedly attacked, her immediate thought was that she was at fault and that she should have cleaned her room, according to the affidavit. She also reported having trouble breathing afterwards and feeling sick.

She told investigators that Johnson abused her and her siblings on other occasions, according to police.

‘The victim described one incident a few years prior involving her now 8-year-old brother, stating that after a minor argument, David became upset, grabbed her brother by the neck, took him into the bathroom, and forced his head under the water,’ the affidavit stated. 

‘The victim stated that David removed her brother from the water, splashed water on his face and nose, knocked him down, and repeated the act multiple times. Following the incident, the now 8-year-old sibling ran upstairs to his bedroom, crying,’ it continued.

Additionally, the girl recalled a time when Johnson allegedly ‘backhanded her on the torso because she wasn’t compliant to do something’, according to the affidavit.

Johson was then accused of making fun of her for crying,’ the affidavit alleged.

‘I don’t feel very safe. When I go to bed, I feel like I can’t sleep because I don’t feel safe. When my dad’s not home, I feel fine. But when he’s home, I never feel safe because I feel like something is going to happen,’ the girl said to investigators.

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This GOP Governor Just Shot Down a Bill That Would Have Banned Biological Males From Womens’ Spaces

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte has once again vetoed a bill that would prevent biological males from using women’s restrooms and locker rooms.

Ayotte refused to sign the bill, arguing that it would be too hard to enforce, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte vetoed Senate Bill 268 Friday, a bill to allow transgender people to be excluded from restrooms, locker rooms, jails, and other spaces that don’t match their sex at birth.

“I vetoed a nearly identical bill to this one last year,” Ayotte, a Republican, said in a statement announcing the veto. “I made it clear this issue needed to be addressed in a thoughtful, narrow way that protects the privacy, safety, and rights of all Granite Staters. Unfortunately, there is minimal difference between Senate Bill 268 and the bill I vetoed last year, which Governor Sununu vetoed the year prior.”

Like 2025’s House Bill 148 and 2024’s House Bill 396, the Republican-backed SB 268 sought to create exceptions to the state’s antidiscrimination law, which was enacted in 2018 and protects people from discrimination on the basis of “gender identity” and other characteristics. In addition to allowing businesses and organizations to separate restrooms, locker rooms, and jails by sex at birth rather than self-expressed gender identity, the bills would’ve allowed schools to keep transgender girls off boys sports teams and vice versa.

In 2025, Ayotte endorsed some of the conservative lawmakers’ goals, but ultimately vetoed the legislation on the grounds that it was impractical.

“I believe there are important and legitimate privacy and safety concerns raised by biological males using places such as female locker rooms and being placed in female correctional facilities,” Ayotte wrote at the time. “At the same time, I see that House Bill 148 is overly broad and impractical to enforce, potentially creating an exclusionary environment for some of our citizens.”

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Republicans Introduce OMAR Act to Deal With Corruption in Congress

Republican members of Congress introduced legislation at the end of last month meant to target colleagues suspected of using campaign funds for personal and familial benefit.

The bill is known as the Oversight for Members And Relatives Act — also known as the OMAR Act — and was filed by Reps. Tom Tiffany and Tony Wied, both Republicans from Wisconsin.

The OMAR Act would prevent campaign funds from benefiting spouses of lawmakers and require that candidates disclose any payments made to immediate family.

Blaze Media, which broke the news of the bill, noted that Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, reportedly shelled out $2.8 million to a political consulting firm owned by her husband during the 2019-2020 campaign season.

That payment was almost 70 percent of her disbursement for the quarter.

“Public office should never be used to pad a family’s bank account,” Tiffany told Blaze Media.

“For years, members of both parties have blurred ethical lines by paying their spouses with campaign funds and labeling it ‘campaign work.’”

The OMAR Act would meanwhile end the practice and return “integrity to a system that’s been abused for far too long.”

Wied added to Blaze Media that “members of Congress are sent to Washington to represent the interests of their constituents — not to line their spouses’ pockets with campaign funds.”

“We’ve seen far too many egregious examples of politicians exploiting loopholes for personal gain, and the American people are sick of it,” he continued.

“I’m proud to stand with Rep. Tiffany to introduce the OMAR Act and put a stop to these shady practices once and for all.”

Omar has provoked controversy for her net worth surging while in office — a development related to her husband’s private-sector work, according to a report from Fox News.

eStCru LLC, a winery in California, surged from between $15,000 and $50,000 in 2023 to between $1 million and $5 million in 2024.

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Republican bill aims to give Americans in Israeli military same benefits as US soldiers

Two Republican congressmen have introduced legislation that would provide the same employment and economic protections to Americans serving in the Israeli military as US citizens who get deployed to serve in the US military.

The protections sought by the two lawmakers, Guy Reschenthaler and Max Miller, come in stark contrast to how other countries have been called upon to treat their citizens who have gone to serve in Israel’s military.

“Over 20,000 American citizens are currently defending Israel from Hamas terrorists, risking their lives for the betterment of our ally,” Reschenthaler said in a statement.

“This legislation will ensure we do everything possible to support these heroes who are standing with Israel, fighting for freedom, and combating terrorism in the Middle East.”

By introducing this legislation last Friday, the lawmakers want Americans serving in a foreign military to be treated in the “same manner as service in the uniformed services”.

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GOP senator excoriates NY Times for bad reporting on Arctic Frost, IDs reporters by name

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Thursday slammed the New York Times over its reporting on whistleblowers, which he claimed intended to discredit real whistleblowers who were shedding light on misconduct.

Grassley said the series of reports, which were done by New York Times reporters Glenn Thrush, Alan Feuer and Adam Goldman, date back to 2023 when Goldman wrote a report that was “designed to undermine my exposure of former FBI agent [Timothy] Thibault’s political conduct.”

“Goldman wrote his article before knowing all the facts,” Grassley claimed during floor remarks. “For one, Thibault was found to have violated the Hatch Act for anti-Trump political conduct at work. Second, Goldman’s article didn’t account for emails I released last year showing Thibault violated the FBI’s rules in opening and advancing Arctic Frost.”

Grassley said another article from last year attempted to dismiss Arctic Frost concerns by stating the FBI “took normal bureaucratic steps and precautions” when looking into the case. 

“Was this supposed to be an opinion piece on behalf of terminated FBI agents or a real news article?” Grassley questioned. “Normal steps weren’t taken.”

The senator admitted that the House and Senate are now receiving oversight documents they requested years ago, but that the production was because of cooperation from the Trump administration.

“To Attorney General [Pam] Bondi and [FBI] Director [Kash] Patel’s credit, they’ve done better in that regard than any of their predecessors,” Grassley said. “Am I fully satisfied? Of course not. But Bondi and Patel deserve credit, and if the Biden administration had done the same, I’d give them credit, too.”

Grassley also slammed the New York Times for its coverage of the Mar-a-Lago raid, accusing the outlet of mischaracterizing his post that the raid was a “miscarriage of justice,” because it did not include his full comment.

The senator additionally claimed the outlet accused his trusted whistleblowers of violating the law by disclosing subpoenas from Jack Smith, which they shared with Congress and not the media. 

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