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During his first term as president, Donald Trump bitterly clashed with a long list of conservative Republicans who served in his administration — including those he chose for secretary of state (Rex Tillerson), national security adviser (John Bolton) and White House chief of staff (John F. Kelly). Trump fired his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, and his third White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, ended up giving Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris an enthusiastic endorsement at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

But President Trump, during his second term, is making a concerted effort to surround himself with MAGA loyalists.

"Paxton investigates Dallas for alleged sanctuary city policies" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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Several years ago, claims about children in public schools being allowed to use litterboxes were exposed as internet hoaxes — but one Texas Republican doesn't seem to have received that message.

Chron.com's Gwen Howerton flags a piece of legislation recently filed by Texas State Rep. Stan Gerdes that prohibits children from conducting activities typically associated with furries — people who dress up as and mimic the behaviors of animals — on school grounds.

President Donald Trump is bleeding support from his own voters, Aaron Blake wrote in an analysis for The Washington Post Thursday — in a pattern very similar to how he sunk himself in his first term.

Republicans, wrote Blake, "appear to not want to just come out and say they hate his tariffs, for instance, but they kind of say it without saying it. And a growing volume of polls this week gets at clear and substantial unease on the right with what Trump is doing. The combined lesson seems to be that Trump supporters and conservatives hold out hope for Trump’s presidency, but those hopes are being tested by his policy decisions and chaotic methods."

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) pledged to support a Republican spending bill even though he admitted it was "flawed."

"The only time we had any leverage … [was if] the Republican needed our votes in the House," Fetterman said, according to Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News. "The GOP delivered and that effectively iced us out and that forces us to say, are you gonna shut the government down? Or are you are gonna vote for a flawed CR? And now for me, I refuse to shut the government down."

U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE) is calling out House Republicans for their “weird” and “bizarre” fixation on culture war issues — and particularly their obsession with her. As the first openly transgender member of Congress and the highest-ranking transgender elected official in the U.S., McBride is urging Republican lawmakers to focus on governing instead of their divisive rhetoric and tactics.

Congresswoman McBride has been attacked by House Republicans since before she was sworn in to office in January, particularly by U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). But now some behavior has become so disruptive it is affecting the ability of Congress to do the people’s work.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) may have committed a "possible House rules violation" when she called for an investigation into protests against electric car manufacturer Tesla.

Forbes reports that Greene's call for the FBI and the Department of Justice to investigate the protests may run afoul of House ethics rules because she owns shares in the company.

President Donald Trump admitted that parts of Ukraine "would be lost" to Russia under a ceasefire deal that he is proposing.

During a Thursday Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump was asked about special envoy Steve Witkoff's negotiations in Moscow.

Secretary of state Marco Rubio and Elon Musk held a secret meeting late last month to hash out their differences before those spilled into view during a contentious cabinet meeting last week.

Politico Magazine reported the meeting was "cordial, some even say lighthearted" as the secretary of state and Donald Trump's billionaire adviser discussed the future of the State Department and what was left of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which Musk's team at the U.S. DOGE Service rapidly dismantled after Inauguration Day.

Legal analysts were shocked to see Judge William Alsup grow increasingly angry when facing Justice Department lawyers attempting to justify the mass firings of employees in their probationary period.

A "probationary employee" does not mean they're on probation for doing something wrong. President Donald Trump's administration removed any new employees who remained on probation. The length of time for probationary employees varies by department, but all probationary employees lack the same legal protections as civil servants.

Longtime journalist Kara Swisher appeared on "The View" Thursday, discussing her decades-long relationship with tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Among her comments was that Musk was upset when President Joe Biden's White House excluded him from a gathering of electric car manufacturers. This incident created his attraction to Trump from the beginning.