Politico is reporting that Gov. Rick Perry of Texas will enter the Republican primary race, and will make the announcement during a speech in South Carolina on Saturday. Perrys announcement steals some of the thunder from the Iowa straw poll in Ames which most of the other candidates have been focusing on in recent weeks. Some of the candidates, namely Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, are not focusing on the event in Ames, giving an opportunity to the other hopefuls.
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Though the primary is more than a year away, the Republican contest to take on U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012 shows signs of heating up. On Monday one candidate scored a major endorsement, another went on the attack.
Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, who is running in the Republican primary, unveiled the support of Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi.
Antitrust concerns may have moved to the back burner with news that Energy Transfer Equity is moving closer to a purchase of the natural-gas pipeline company serving Florida.
The Texas-based ETE said it expects to acquire Southern Union Co. in the first quarter of 2012, pending shareholder approval and certain other regulatory approvals.
ETE last week announced that a federally required waiting period had cleared, thereby satisfying a key regulatory condition to the consummation of the proposed merger.
U.S. Rep. John Mica is defending his efforts to ground an airport subsidy program whose costs have ballooned 300 percent in the past decade.
The Orlando Republican who chairs the House Transportation Committee was blamed by Democrats and the media for holding up approval of the Federal Aviation Administration budget.
But Mica says he was simply trying to chip away at a program that pays government subsidies of up to $3,700 per airline ticket at rural airports.
While most eyes in Washington were focused on the stalemate and finally the agreement to raise the federal debt ceiling, another story was developing. After almost four years of wrangling, it appears that the U.S. Senate and Congress will be ready to pass pending free-trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. It looks like the measures will be passed when Congress returns to Washington in September.
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Following on the heels of their credit rating downgrade for the U.S. government late Friday, Standard and Poor's on Monday downgraded government-backed mortgage financers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from AAA to AA+, CNN reports.
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With all eyes on Saturday's presidential straw poll in Ames, a poll from Rasmussen Reports unveiled Monday morning reveals that five of the Republican presidential hopefuls are pulling in double digits.
Former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, who is now running in the Republican primary to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012, unveiled a major endorsement on Monday from Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi.
"George is a solid conservative who served the people of Florida well in the U.S. Senate. I am happy to lend my support to his campaign, said Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) who some Republicans were hoping would enter the 2012 presidential race.
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About 20 percent of Congress is heading to Israel this summer, courtesy of the annual America-Israel Public Affairs Committee program.
The 81-member delegation -- 55 Republicans and 26 Democrats -- is a bit bigger than usual because of the large freshman class elected in 2010, said an AIPAC spokesman, who declined to be identified.
The spokesman also would not divulge which, if any, Florida congressmen were traveling. "We do not provide that information, as a courtesy to the members," he said.
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