(The Center Square) – A group that advocates for American energy independence is applauding President Donald Trump’s recent cabinet selections, including Saturday’s nomination of Chris Wright as secretary of the Department of Energy. Environmental advocates, on the other hand, criticized the selection. Wright is founder, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of Liberty Read More…
President-elect Donald Trump has announced his selection of Brendan Carr as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a move that is expected to reshape the agency’s direction on telecom policies. Carr, 45, currently serves as the top Republican on the FCC, the independent agency responsible for regulating telecommunications in the U.S. Carr has been Read More…
Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States, completing an extraordinary political comeback. With his victory in Wisconsin, Trump secured the 270 electoral votes needed to reclaim the White House, just four years after losing to Joe Biden. The former president’s return to power marks a stunning reversal after his 2020 Read More…
Republican Tim Sheehy has won Montana’s high-stakes U.S. Senate race, defeating three-term Democratic incumbent Jon Tester in a contest that saw record-breaking spending and national attention. Sheehy’s victory bolsters the GOP’s newly acquired majority in the Senate and signals a continued shift toward Republican dominance in Montana. The 38-year-old Sheehy, a former U.S. Navy SEAL Read More…
(The Center Square) – A Minnesota Congressman who ran a longshot bid for the Democratic presidential nomination against President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign. U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., thanked his supporters and endorsed Biden for the Democratic nomination. “To all who supported my effort, thank you,” he wrote on Read More…
(The Center Square) – As President Joe Biden prepares to deliver his State of the Union Address Thursday night, two new polls show a majority of Americans think he is not mentally fit to be president and is too old. Biden’s address to the nation comes just two days after his 2020 opponent, former President Read More…
(The Center Square) – The majority of Republican state representatives who voted to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and ran for reelection won their primary races on Tuesday. Sixty House Republicans voted to impeach Paxton last May, passing 20 articles of impeachment with four articles held in abeyance. Paxton was the first attorney general Read More…
(The Center Square) — Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso will not say whether he’ll run for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s position next year. As the Senate Republican Conference chair, he is widely speculated to run. “That election doesn’t occur until later in November. To me, the key election is the one earlier in November. Read More…
(The Center Square) – A bill that would allow the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission to supersede city and county decisions on pipelines passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday after a lengthy debate. Senate Bill 201 states the PUC can overrule local jurisdictions if “such rules, or regulation, or ordinances, as applied to the Read More…
Donald Trump is aiming for a decisive victory on “Super Tuesday” as 15 states hold Republican contests in the primary season’s biggest voting day. Trump, despite facing numerous criminal charges, has dominated the Republican campaign, leaving Nikki Haley as his lone challenger. With a string of victories in early nominating contests, Trump has narrowed down Read More…
(The Center Square) – California lawmakers are pushing for new exemptions to the state’s fast food minimum wage as controversy erupted over the state’s reported exemption for Panera Bread. California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved an exemption to the state’s $20 per hour minimum wage for fast-food employees to national fast-food chains with bakeries that sell Read More…
(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden signed a temporary funding measure Friday that will keep the government open roughly one more week while lawmakers work to broker a longer-term deal. As The Center Square previously reported, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Continuing Resolution with a vote 320-99, sending it to the Senate, Read More…
(The Center Square) – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said Wednesday that Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller has his complete support in her bid to take his place. Burgum announced last month he would not seek a third term. Voters approved a ballot measure in 2022 limiting governors to two four-year terms but grandfathered in current Read More…
(The Center Square) – Over two-thirds of voters in Mountain West states say they are worried about land, water and wildlife in the region, according to a recent poll. The Conservation in the West Poll, by the State of the Rockies Projects at Colorado College, found 67% of voters expressed worry about “about the future of nature, meaning Read More…
(The Center Square) – With rumblings that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, plans to table and not even hold an impeachment hearing to try Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Republican senators are demanding that the U.S. Constitution be followed and a trial be held. Mayorkas was the first sitting cabinet Read More…
(The Center Square) – Sweeping a fourth consecutive primary by double digits, former President Donald Trump left South Carolina victorious on Saturday and on a roll heading into Michigan on Tuesday. Nikki Haley, two-term governor of South Carolina and a former United Nations ambassador in Trump’s administration, was overwhelmed in unofficial totals. The race was Read More…
(The Center Square) – More states are taking preemptive steps against the policy of universal basic income. The South Dakota House State Affairs Committee recommended approval of a bill Friday prohibiting cities and counties from creating guaranteed income programs as other states consider similar measures. Senate Bill 115 defines guaranteed income as “a plan funded Read More…
In a recent SurveyUSA poll commissioned by NonStop Local, the results show that Governor Greg Gianforte is currently in the lead with a 22-point advantage over Democrat candidate Ryan Busse. According to the poll, 52% of Montanans expressed their intent to vote for Governor Gianforte, while only 30% favored Busse. The remaining 18% either remain Read More…
(The Center Square) – A Congressional watchdog said Friday that it was again unable to determine if the federal government’s consolidated financial statements were reliable. The U.S. Government Accountability Office, which is Congress’s research arm, said it was hampered by “serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense,” problems in accounting for transactions between Read More…
(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden is facing the fallout of a last-minute, messy press conference late Thursday where he attempted to defend his mental fitness but appeared to only amplify concerns. Biden called the press conference after the Special Counsel tasked with looking into his handling of classified documents announced Biden had committed Read More…
(The Center Square) – Former President Donald Trump said Friday he’d never limit gun rights for Americans amid surging crime, border insecurity and global instability – all side effects of a Democratic administration he deems corrupt and immoral. “Now I stand before you with a very simple promise – your Second Amendment will always be Read More…
Former Montana Governor Marc Racicot has joined a court filing aimed at preventing former President Donald Trump from appearing on the 2024 ballot. Racicot, alongside former governors Bill Weld of Massachusetts and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey, submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is deliberating on whether Colorado can exclude Read More…
(The Center Square) – Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case involving former President Donald Trump’s removal from the 2024 Colorado Republican presidential primary ballot. The brief comes after Griswold recently petitioned the court to argue her side of the case along with attorneys for Trump Read More…
(The Center Square) – A new California bill could allow for city and county-approved public drinking zones as some counties decline to enforce anti-public intoxication. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who introduced the bill, says these new “entertainment zones” could “give bars and restaurants and the surrounding businesses a much-needed boost.” In Los Angeles Read More…
By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor (The Center Square) – After nearly a year of investigations and hearings, the U.S. House Committee of Homeland Security is preparing to impeach U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Committee chairman Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., has led the charge for impeachment, arguing Mayorkas is derelict Read More…
By Brett Rowland | The Center Square (The Center Square) – House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a letter Friday that the House will soon vote to make Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas the second Cabinet secretary in history to be impeached. “When we return next week, by necessity, the House Homeland Security Committee will move Read More…
By Casey Harper | The Center Square (The Center Square) – A group of lawmakers is calling out U.S. Health and Human Services, arguing the federal agency is bucking Congressional oversight, especially when it comes to the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chair Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen spearheaded a coalition urging the Biden administration to maintain the operations of a significant commercial ammunition manufacturing plant. This call to action was prompted by requests from Democrat attorneys general to investigate the plant, a move that could disrupt production, diminish ammunition supply, and compromise national security. In a letter Read More…
A collective statement was issued by 25 Republican governors, expressing solidarity with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and affirming Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense. This unified declaration coincides with ongoing criticism from the Biden Administration towards Texas, coupled with a lack of action or acknowledgment of responsibility for the challenges at the Southern border. “President Biden Read More…
(The Center Square) – Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, defeated by former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire on Tuesday, has vowed to continue her quest for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election. The voters in the state she once led may be the last remaining hope. While Nevada is next for Republicans, Read More…
(The Center Square) – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said Monday he would not seek a third term. Burgum’s current term expires in December. He was first elected in 2016. “We’ve made incredible progress these past seven years, from record tax relief and historic investments in infrastructure, education and other priorities, to guiding our state Read More…
(The Center Square) – A bill providing educational savings accounts for school choice failed last year to gain traction in the Idaho Legislature. Boise State University’s Eighth Annual Public Policy Survey indicates that might change in 2024. Idaho spends about $8,000 per student on K-12 education. The question posed by BSU to a representative sample Read More…
(The Center Square) — Maine’s highest court has declined to take up an appeal of a ruling over a move to take former President Donald Trump’s name off the state’s GOP primary ballot. In a decision issued Wednesday, the Supreme Judicial Court dismissed an appeal by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, asking justices to overturn a lower Read More…
By Brett Rowland | The Center Square (The Center Square) – A new poll shows that Democrats and Republicans are concerned more about inflation than other potential crises, but voters from the two parties don’t see eye to eye on other concerns, including the potential of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil or potential chaos Read More…
Donald Trump expressed deep gratitude for Ron DeSantis’ endorsement after the Florida governor suspended his presidential campaign just days before the New Hampshire primary. In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Trump said, “Very honored to have his endorsement. I look forward to working together with him to beat Joe Biden, who is the Read More…
Despite being characterized by various media outlets as a key moderate figure, Senator Jon Tester of Montana demonstrated strong support for President Joe Biden’s positions on legislation and nominees, aligning with them over 99% of the time during the 117th Congress, as per a scrutiny of his voting record. Tester, facing a challenging re-election bid, Read More…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office has rejected a proposed ballot measure aimed at safeguarding access to abortion in the Montana Constitution. The ruling, issued this week, deems the proposed amendment legally insufficient, citing a violation of Montana’s requirement that unrelated constitutional changes be voted on separately. Advocated by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, the measure Read More…
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has revealed plans to invest tens of millions in the re-election campaigns of Senators Jon Tester of Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio. The strategic move aims to fortify the Democratic Party’s slim majority in the upcoming November elections. The DSCC intends to allocate substantial funding, in the form Read More…
Fresh from securing the national college football championship, University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh passionately advocated for the right to life in the nation’s capital on Friday. Addressing a massive gathering at the annual “March for Life” rally on the National Mall, Harbaugh introduced former NFL tight end Benjamin Watson. In the midst of Read More…
Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz is set to join Representative Matt Rosendale in the state next week for campaign events ahead of a potential Senate bid, as reported by national media outlets. The duo will participate in campaign activities in Bozeman, Townsend, and Helena on Friday and Saturday. Rosendale is considering challenging Democratic Senator Jon Read More…
Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester’s reelection campaign has received substantial donations from two Chinese conglomerates that own U.S. farmland, despite Tester’s publicly expressed opposition to the sale of land to foreign adversaries. The campaign’s contradiction was highlighted when it launched a television advertisement in November, denouncing Chinese companies’ acquisition of American farmland and promoting Tester’s Read More…
(The Center Square) – With presidential primary season under way, the majority of Americans disapprove of the job President Joe Biden is doing as president, according to a new poll. The Center Square’s Voter’s Voice Poll found that 59% of likely voters disapprove of the job Biden is doing as president, while 39% say they Read More…
(The Center Square) – Money from Seattle’s tax on sweetened beverages is still below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, and city officials say they’ll push for a new revenue stream. In 2022, sweetened beverage tax revenues increased by about 11% [$2 million] from 2021 levels to approximately $21 million. The pandemic caused the tax revenue to drop Read More…
(The Center Square) – The South Dakota House Taxation Committee recommended that tax cuts enacted last year become permanent. The Legislature cut the sales tax from 4.5% to 4.2%, with the reduction expiring in four years, a move added by the Senate, according to Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, the bill’s sponsor. Karr cited a Read More…