by Ja'han Jones | Sep 15, 2026 | Congress, Opinion, Sports
Saturday’s college football game between Ohio State and Texas began, as usual, with the home fans singing “The Eyes of Texas,” a song introduced by white students at a minstrel show in 1903. And remarkably, things got more racist from there.
After the Longhorns erased a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter en route to a wild comeback win, the fans in Austin erupted with glee, as normal people tend to do when their team wins. Yet the scene had some prominent figures in the MAGA movement angrily typing and posting about images of nonwhite fans sharing in the joy.
This, to be clear, is an insane way for anyone to experience sports. And the abject racism that has been unleashed by these posts is fueling infighting among Republicans as they reckon with the bigotry festering within their own party.
Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas railroad commissioner, set things off with several racist posts bemoaning nonwhite fans, and the idea of what he called “foreigners” on campus. These posts on X were promoted and defended by conservative influencers and activists, but they received pushback from some on the right as well, including a warning from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
“This is the Republican nominee for statewide office,” Cornyn wrote about French. “Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized. This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad.”
This is the Republican nominee for statewide office. Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized. This is how great
by Erum Salam | Sep 15, 2026 | Congress, News
Sen. Mitch McConnell returned to the Capitol on Monday, saying he would cast his first vote since a June fall that left him hospitalized for weeks and sidelined for nearly three months.
“Today, I’ll cast my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June,” McConnell, 84, wrote in an X post. “I’m really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY @SenMcConnell) returns to the Senate to vote for the first time since June 11. pic.twitter.com/S2SZrM1M1N— CSPAN (@cspan) September 14, 2026
The Kentucky Republican’s return follows months of speculation about his health and his ability to serve out his term. He was admitted to the hospital on June 14, and his office released few details about his condition or when he might come back, disclosing only that he had fallen at home and developed “a mild case of pneumonia.” In a July 12 statement, he denied that he had suffered a heart attack, stroke, tumors or hemorrhages. He returned home in August after completing rehabilitation at a separate facility.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, repeatedly called on McConnell to be more transparent about his health or step down if he couldn’t demonstrate his fitness for office.
McConnell acknowledged Monday that he is not fully recovered. “My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier,” he wrote. “I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be
by Andra Gillespie | Aug 18, 2026 | Congress, Opinion, Politics
In the spring, the big news concerning Florida’s 20th Congressional District was the announcement from Luther Campbell (more popularly known as Uncle Luke from the rap group 2 Live Crew) that he would be challenging embattled Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick in a Democratic primary. But after the incumbent resigned under indictment (it should be noted that she is running again in the primary), and the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais ruling gave Florida Republicans permission to redraw district lines to benefit their party, the biggest news is the decision by Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a white woman, to run in the state’s only plurality-Black district. Her candidacy there highlights the tensions between descriptive and substantive representation and the strategic risks that emerge when a large field of candidates run for the same seat.
After the Callais ruling, Florida redistributed Black voters out of the original 20th District and put 22-year incumbent Wasserman Schultz, who represented the nearby 23rd District, into a mostly Republican district. The Constitution only requires members of Congress to live in the state (not the district) they will represent, so Wasserman Schultz chose to run in Florida’s 20th District against multiple Black candidates, including Campbell, former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness and progressive favorite Elijah Manley.
Her candidacy highlights the tensions between descriptive and substantive representation and the strategic risks that emerge when a large field of candidates run for the same seat.
Political scientist David Mayhew noted decades ago that members of Congress are almost single-mindedly focused on winning re-election, so it is not surprising that Wasserman Schultz would choose to run in a district more favorable for her
by Hayes Brown | Aug 18, 2026 | Congress, Opinion, White House
Attorney General Todd Blanche was confirmed to lead the Justice Department based on the flimsiest of promises. The former personal lawyer for President Donald Trump told holdout Republican senators that he would rescind an order setting up a slush fund for MAGA allies and not move to revive it.
But Senate Democrats are now wondering whether Blanche already has a work-around in mind — and they’re right to be skeptical, given how much money has already flowed into Trump allies’ pockets.
The so-called anti-weaponization fund was novel in its blatant corruption but tapped into a surprisingly mundane source of funding.
The 10 Democrats who sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent Blanche a letter last week questioning just what he has in store for the future, given his easily reversible pledge. In particular, the senators noted that the documents released ahead of his confirmation “make no assurance you will not use other mechanisms, including quietly settling administrative claims brought against the government, to compensate President Trump’s political allies, effectively accomplishing the goals of the Anti-Weaponization Fund.” Instead, they argued that the documents “create a clear avenue” for benefiting Trump’s supporters using the same loophole that Blanche had previously attempted to exploit.
The so-called anti-weaponization fund was novel in its blatant corruption but tapped into a surprisingly mundane source of funding. As originally designed in the shady settlement agreement, the $1.8 billion to be doled out to supposed victims of Democratic “lawfare.” All those funds were to be drawn from the Judgment Fund, an unlimited wellspring of money meant to prevent Congress from needing to appropriate individual sums every time the federal government loses a civil
by Erum Salam | Aug 16, 2026 | Congress, News, White House
Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, declined on Sunday to vow independence from White House control.
When asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if he could pledge to always act independently of Trump and the White House, Blanche replied, “No, I’m not going to pledge that. And no attorney general should ever pledge that.”
“There’s a big difference between saying we will always do our job and investigate any case and act independently of the White House,” Blanche said.
The newly confirmed attorney general insisted Trump has never asked him to act unethically or illegally. “The president will never ask me to do something unethical or illegal. He never has, he never will,” Blanche said.
“There is this extraordinarily false narrative that the president wakes up in the morning and calls me and says, ‘Todd, go prosecute X or Y.’ He does not do that,” Blanche added. “He has never done that. He will never do that.”
The Justice Department under Blanche and his predecessor, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, has repeatedly sought to prosecute Trump’s perceived political enemies, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, often under direct pressure from the president.
During Blanche’s tense confirmation process, Democratic and Republican senators alike expressed concerns about whether the nominee could further erode the Justice Department’s independence.
His Senate confirmation vote was delayed until he provided proof to key GOP senators that he had rescinded an order creating a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund for alleged victims of wrongful prosecution under the Biden administration. They also sought written assurances to limit a tax immunity deal for Trump
by Chris Jansing | Aug 14, 2026 | Congress, elections, News
James Talarico is betting that Texans’ growing backlash against data centers can help him do something Democrats have struggled to achieve for decades: compete for rural and suburban voters.
The Democratic Senate candidate is making opposition to the state’s booming data center industry a central part of his pitch to voters, pointing out that facilities are descending on Texas with little input from neighboring communities, all while hiking up utility bills for residents. Zillow, an online real estate marketplace, projected rent has increased by $825 in data center hub Abilene, Texas, compared to last August.
It’s a potent issue for Talarico, given opposition cuts across party lines and is strongest among the rural and suburban voters who have largely remained out of reach for Democrats.
A University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll from June found that 56% of Texans oppose the construction of data centers in their communities. That opposition rises to 60% among suburban voters and 62% among rural voters. Independents are particularly hostile to the development, with 62% opposing local data center construction, compared to just 17% who support it. Republicans are more divided with 44% percent opposing.
For Talarico, the numbers offer an opportunity to compete on an issue where the state’s familiar partisan loyalties are less entrenched. And he has moved quickly to claim it, especially as Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton has remained mostly silent.
At a roundtable on data centers in ruby-red Abilene on Thursday, Talarico heard from 11 residents from across the political spectrum who say data centers in the area — including the most expensive facility in the country, the Stargate Project — have spurred a housing
