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Republican Party of Florida general counsel Jason Gonzalez said Wednesday ousted Chairman Jim Greer received at least $125,000 through the secret fundraising contract he and Delmar Johnson, the man he named the party’s executive director, signed with each other. Gonzalez is at the center of the civil suit Greer has filed in Seminole County Circuit Court, alleging that party leaders are trying to disgrace him for taking sides in the Charlie Crist-Marco Rubio U.S. Senate race and not paying him... Read Full Story

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has pledged to bring new campaign finance legislation to the Senate floor before July 4, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday. Schumer said the new Disclose Act was designed to affect this fall’s midterm elections as much as possible. “Leader Reid has pledged this bill will be on the floor before July 4,” Schumer said Thursday, setting a timeline for the bill’s movement through the Senate. The legislation is a response to a Supreme Court... Read Full Story

Gov. Charlie Crist, a pariah in the Republican Party that has been vital to his success, will launch a risky political career today as a “people’s candidate” for the U.S. Senate with no party affiliation. Wednesday, Crist began telling campaign donors of his decision, which he will announce at 5 p.m. at Straub Park in downtown St. Petersburg, surrounded by family members, friends, local supporters and an army of media personnel. It will be an extraordinary event in Florida’s colorful... Read Full Story

For all the money that has moved back and forth between Wall Street and Washington in recent years, what’s most striking is how little each understands, still, about the other. When young executives from Goldman Sachs appeared before a Senate panel Tuesday, members were taken aback by what they viewed as an arrogant and condescending tone; “smart asses,” said one conservative Republican. Yet by afternoon, there were flashes of sympathy for Goldman chief Lloyd Blankfein as he tried to get... Read Full Story

Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) said the Pentagon needs to establish a uniform system to detect and prevent counterfeit parts from ending up in weapons. “This problem must be addressed now,” said Brown, the chairman of the Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy. “The people committing this fraud should be held accountable for endangering lives and threatening critical missions.” Apart from disrupting supply chains and delaying missions, counterfeit parts have the... Read Full Story

The Obama administration Thursday escalated its response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as administration officials said for the first time that the disaster could prompt a rethink of President Barack Obama’s recently announced plan to allow expanded offshore oil and gas drilling. Administration officials outlined their stepped up response to the oil spill as a giant oil slick headed for a landfall as early as Friday evening Read Full Story

Republicans closed ranks Monday to block Democrats’ overhaul of financial regulation, a standoff that throws the sweeping legislation into a period of uncertainty. On a 57-41 vote, Democrats fell short of the 60 votes they needed to begin debate, even losing one of their own. The vote dramatized how politicized the debate has become on an issue once thought to be a ripe for cross-party cooperation. The legislation is intended to help prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, both the... Read Full Story

The Florida Senate is poised to pass a long-championed ban on texting while driving in what traffic advocates predicted would be a banner year for driver safety, but there is barely a whimper of hope that the legislation will become law. Although 23 states have similar statutes on their books and the bill has wide support, it has been parked in a House committee for more than a month, with no chance of moving forward. “It’s not stalled,” said Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale... Read Full Story

President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court shortlist is jampacked with women, but on Capitol Hill many women are still struggling to obtain elite staff positions in congressional offices. In general, women have no problem getting hired on the Hill: data show that in House offices women are filling entry-level positions, such as staff assistant and scheduler, in droves. But in influential management and legislative positions, their numbers plummet. Read Full Story

Four Democratic senators expressed concern Tuesday that Facebook is not being careful to protect the privacy of its users. New York’s Charles Schumer, Colorado’s Michael Bennet, Alaska’s Mark Begich and Minnesota’s Al Franken have sent a letter to Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg detailing their worries. “While Facebook provides a valuable service to users by keeping them connected with friends and family and reconnecting them with long-lost friends and colleagues, the expansion of... Read Full Story