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Republicans face a health care backlash in Georgia as subsidies set to expire

(Politico) Republicans across the country are in a bind of President Donald Trump’s making: After voting to end the 43-day federal shutdown, they have yet to articulate a plan to tackle the upcoming spike in health care premiums. That conundrum is coming into sharp relief in Georgia, a state with an especially high reliance on the Affordable Care Act, where Republicans have one of their best opportunities to pick up a Senate seat as they fight to maintain their grip on Congress.

Kelly: 'We've heard very little' from Republicans since Trump's sedition posts

(The Hill) Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) on Sunday called on Republicans in Congress to denounce President Trump’s threats against him and five other Democratic lawmakers who said that service members can disobey illegal orders. “We’ve heard very little, basically crickets, from Republicans in the United States Congress about what the president has said about hanging members of Congress,” Kelly told host Margaret Brennan on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Big changes to the agency charged with securing elections lead to midterm worries

(AP) Since it was created in 2018, the federal government’s cybersecurity agency has helped warn state and local election officials about potential threats from foreign governments, showed officials how to protect polling places from attacks and gamed out how to respond to the unexpected, such as an Election Day bomb threat or sudden disinformation campaign. The agency was largely absent from that space for elections this month in several states, a potential preview for the 2026 midterms.

Trump calls for disgraced election official linked to his 'Big Lie' to be freed - as Colorado officials dig their heels

(The Independent) The battle over the fate of Tina Peters, a disgraced Colorado elections official who was convicted of felonies related to efforts to interfere with the 2020 election on Donald Trump’s behalf, grew thornier on Sunday with the intervention of the president himself. This past week the state’s Department of Corrections received a request from the U.S. Justice Department to transfer Peters into federal custody. The reasoning for the request was not explained, nor clear: Peters is not convicted of any federal crimes, as her case was adjudicated at the state level. Now, it seems the intent of that request is clear: Trump, on Sunday, called for Peters to be freed immediately.

Turning Point leader, former GOP Rep pleads guilty to attempted election fraud

(AZ Mirror) Former Republican state legislator Austin Smith pleaded guilty Monday to what he previously called “ludicrous” charges that he personally forged more than 100 signatures on his petitions for reelection last year. The Republican from Surprise was a member of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, which has a history of spreading false claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election and pushed for election law changes in the state legislature.

How the U.S. Public and Politicians Feel About Potential War With Venezuela

(Time) The U.S. is set to launch new operations against Venezuela and its President Nicolás Maduro, Reuters reported over the weekend, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s Administration escalates what increasingly looks like a war against the Latin American nation over its alleged role in the international narcotics trade. Since Sept. 2, U.S. military strikes on alleged drug boats have reportedly killed at least 83 people in the Caribbean, raising questions about the legality of such operations and whether Trump is seeking a fight elsewhere to ease political pressures at home.

Monday News Cartoons

Kash Patel and Kristi Noem take a joyride in life-size pink Lego Cadillac as backlash mounts

(Irish Star) Before Saturday's Las Vegas Grand Prix, FBI Director Kash Patel was spotted behind the wheel of a pink Lego Cadillac as scrutiny intensified over his personal travel arrangements and expenditure of taxpayer dollars. Prior to the race, Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared on the red carpet alongside Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali and posed in the full-scale Lego vehicle, Reuters reported.

"Quite frankly I was pissed off!" Growing online page chronicles Justice Dept. resignation letters

(CBS News) One letter said, "It became clear that it was time for me to go." Another read, "I cannot continue to serve in such a hostile and toxic work environment." Amid a growing wave of firings, resignations and retirements from the Justice Department, some former agency officials are curating a public online display of the farewell messages of ousted employees. Some of the letters from purged non-political career Justice Department attorneys warn of a threat to democracy and a crumbling of the norms and standards in federal prosecutions.

Musk's DOGE Quietly Killed Off After Delivering Almost Nothing

(Daily Beast) Less than a year after Elon Musk took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, brandishing a bedazzled chainsaw to showcase the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-cutting spree, the most significant cut was the agency itself. Donald Trump’s DOGE disbanded eight months earlier than scheduled, Reuters first reported on Sunday.