GOP lawmaker

Former special counsel Jack Smith is testifying publicly before the Senate Judiciary Committee as Republican lawmakers examine the Justice Department investigations he led into Donald Trump. The hearings, covered live by major outlets, are expected to focus on how the classified documents and election interference cases were conducted. The appearance marks a rare public account from Smith, who brought two federal criminal cases against Trump.

Donald Trump has posted a series of attacks targeting a Republican congresswoman after she criticised his immigration policies, according to multiple news outlets. The public feud within the GOP highlights continuing tensions over the party's immigration stance and Trump's dominance over it. Details of the congresswoman's remarks and Trump's specific responses are still being reported.

President Donald Trump shared more than 13 social media posts attacking Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida on Saturday, escalating a feud that began after she broke with his immigration crackdown earlier this month. The volume of posts underscored Trump's willingness to target members of his own party over dissent on immigration policy, drawing attention to tensions within the GOP.

A large-scale ICE enforcement operation has energised Republican efforts to permanently enshrine the Trump administration's immigration crackdown into federal law. GOP lawmakers are seeking to convert current enforcement policies into legislation so they survive beyond the present administration. The sweep has intensified the broader political debate over immigration enforcement in the United States.

A Republican lawmaker is calling for the United States to slow China's economic rise while ramping up America's own economy. The comment, made in remarks carried by Fox Business, frames economic policy in explicitly competitive terms with Beijing. It reflects a continued hardline consensus in the GOP on trade, industrial policy and competition with China.

Several Republican senators facing competitive re-election contests are publicly distancing themselves from former President Trump on immigration enforcement, calling for ICE to coordinate with local police departments. The push marks a rare public break within the party on a core issue, with the lawmakers seeking positions that appeal to moderate voters in their states. The story is being carried across multiple local US news outlets.

President Donald Trump has publicly attacked Representative María Elvira Salazar, a Miami-area Republican, in posts on his Truth Social platform, deepening an escalating rift within the Florida GOP. The exchange between the president and the second-term congresswoman is drawing attention as a test of Trump's influence over Republican lawmakers in South Florida, where Salazar has built her own political brand.

Immigration enforcement operations by ICE are creating political headaches for vulnerable Republicans facing tough reelection battles. Politico reports that the raids and heightened deportation activity are forcing at-risk GOP lawmakers to navigate between backing the administration's hardline agenda and responding to constituents alarmed by arrests in their communities, complicating their survival strategies heading into the next election cycle.

The US Supreme Court has blocked for the third time a Republican-drawn congressional map in Missouri, halting its use while litigation continues. The repeated interventions keep the state's district lines in flux heading into upcoming elections, and the ruling is drawing attention from voting-rights advocates and Republican lawmakers who spar over partisan gerrymandering and the court's role in election map disputes.

The US Supreme Court has once again blocked the use of a Republican-favored congressional map in Missouri, preventing the state from implementing new district boundaries that had been advanced by GOP lawmakers. The repeated intervention comes amid an ongoing legal fight over redistricting in the state, with courts weighing whether the map complies with constitutional and voting-rights requirements.

AlterNet reports that Republicans continue to defer to Donald Trump despite political costs, pointing to scientific research as offering an explanation for the pattern. The piece argues that psychological or social science findings can shed light on why GOP lawmakers so often backtrack or fall in line behind the former president, a dynamic that continues to shape American politics.

Iowa's Republican members of Congress are facing new disagreements, according to a regional political roundup syndicated across multiple US local news outlets. The segment examines internal splits within the Iowa GOP delegation, though the specific issues dividing the lawmakers are not detailed in the available coverage. The piece is part of a recurring 'Inside Iowa Politics' series tracking state political developments.