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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is expanding his network with plans to campaign for his fellow Republicans in this years midterm elections.

Kristin Davison, senior adviser for Youngkins political activity, confirmed to The Hill on Thursday that the governor launched two organizations to support his work in politics that can accept contributions. There is no maximum donation size.

One of the groups is a 527 political action committee dubbed Spirit of Virginia, and the other is Americas Spirit, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. The latter will be required to disclose who is contributing funds, and there are some regulations regarding how the money is used.

Davison told Politico, which first reported on Youngkins plans for campaigning, that the two new organizations will expand on the themes Youngkin spoke about during his own campaign for the governor.

Looking to 2022, Gov. Youngkin will continue to grow that movement and help other candidates win, especially those that will turn blue states red, just as he did in Virginia last year, Davison said.

Spirit of Virginia has already started running advertisements, one of which focuses on passing a budget that helps all Virginians. The video specifically advocates for eliminating the grocery tax, cutting taxes for veterans and returning a tax surplus to Richmond lawmakers.

Youngkin won Virginias gubernatorial race in November, besting former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) to become the first Republican to win a statewide election in the commonwealth since 2009.

He sought to campaign in a way that walked a fine line regarding former President Trump he said he was honored to be endorsed by the ex-president, but the two did not appear together on the trail.

His campaign focused largely on issues of education, especially parents influence over school boards, which some Republicans are looking to embrace going forward.

Thirty-six states will head to the polls this year to elect a new governor, though it remains unclear which contests Youngkin is going to campaign in.

Youngkin, who before winning the governorship was the CEO of a private equity firm, will only serve one term as chief of the Old Dominion because of the commonwealths constitution.

Asked during an interview with CNBCs Squawk Box last week if he has political ambitions greater than the governorship, Youngkin said Ive got a new job in Virginia and Im extremely excited to be doing it, according to WMAL.

Julia Manchester contributed to this report.

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Youngkin to campaign for Republicans in 2022 - The Hill

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), chair of the House GOP conference, talks about inflation more than any other member of Congress more than once a day, according to new data compiled by Quorum.

Why it matters: Since Jan. 1, 2022, Republican lawmakers have mentioned inflation six times more than their Democratic counterparts. They're focusing on it as President Biden gets hammered in the polls and vulnerable Democrats fear getting sunk in the November midterms.

Driving the news: While digging through the data, Axios learned Republican lawmakers are using the historically high price hikes to attack Biden specifically, rather than Democrats as a whole.

What they're saying: "Joe Biden and House Democrats are woefully out of touch and have shredded any and all credibility on this issue when they embarrassingly claimed that inflation is 'transitory,' and now condescendingly attempt to convince the American people to blame Putin for Bidenflation," Stefanik told Axios in a statement.

Top 10 Republicans who discuss inflation the most:

Top 10 Democrats:

Inflation has not only become a major flashpoint in domestic politics but the biggest and most prominent line of attack from Republicans ahead of this fall's midterms. They've also leaned heavily on the monthly release of the Consumer Price Index to further fuel their inflationary messaging.

By the numbers: Since Jan. 1, Republicans have mentioned "inflation" on their official Twitter accounts and Facebook, through press releases, in floor statements and in newsletters to constituents 8,158 times, Quorum found.

Editors note: This story, first published on April 17, has been updated with new reporting showing the lawmakers that discuss inflation the most.

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Republicans shouting from the rooftops about inflation - Axios

A proposal by House Republicans to add term limits for committee chairs and ranking members to House rules if they win back control of the chamber is getting some enthusiastic support from GOP lawmakers with a side of hesitation.

Punchbowl News reported Monday that the House GOP is considering such a change, which would block several senior Democrats from keeping their top committee spots next year and force other Democrats out of coveted top slots.

The House Republican Conference already has a longtime internal rule that prohibits members from serving more than three consecutive terms as a ranking member or chair of a committee, but the House Democratic Caucus does not limit how long a lawmaker may serve in those roles on a panel.

The proposal won praise from Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who backs legislation to amend the Constitution to impose term limits on all members of Congress.

Putting term limits on committee leadership ensures were putting the best players in these powerful positions every single term, Burchett said. Republicans have been doing this for years, but Democrats have been content to hand these roles to whichever members have been in Washington the longest.

A GOP lawmaker who did not want to be identified heard about the proposal for the first time on Monday morning and said that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has not discussed the idea with the conference yet.

My own view, and I suspect the view of many rank-and-file members, is that it would be a very good idea. As a general premise, we (conservatives) believe in merit-based leadership appointments, and not seniority, the lawmaker said.

If adopted, such a rule would prompt a wave of committee leadership turnover among Democrats, some of whom have served as their partys top leaders on powerful panels for decades.

Rep. Nydia Velzquez (N.Y) has led Democrats on the House Small Business Committee since 1998, while House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) has held his partys top spot on that panel since 2005. Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.) rose to being the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee in 2005.

But some are not convinced that such a move is in the best interest of the GOP conference.

Its a good way to get back at bad actors like Bennie Thompson, who definitely earned it. But I dont see why wed want less stale and overbearing Democrat leadership. The rule mismatch is one reason GOP leaders are younger and more responsive, one House GOP aide told The Hill.

Younger and newer House Democrats have long expressed discontent about a lack of term limits for the partys top officials on committees, arguing that the current system provides few opportunities for advancement and prevents new ideas from being injected into policymaking.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in 2018 that she was sympathetic to those concerns.

Its a good rule. We dont want Democrats to have better rules, the GOP aide said.

A rule change could also be a way for Republicans to play hardball with Democrats in response to stripping Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) of their committee assignments.

Greene was kicked off the House Budget and Education and Labor committees over her past incendiary remarks and social media activity that appeared to endorse violence against Democrats that included liking a comment calling for Pelosis assassination.

Gosar was removed after he posted an animated video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

When the Democrats voted to remove Republican members from committees, they pierced the veil and justified Republican members who want to make sure everybodys abiding by the same rules next year, Burchett said.

McCarthy has previously pledged to block some Democratic members from certain committee assignments as payback for Democrats removing the GOP members, including blocking Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) from the House Intelligence Committee over being targeted by an alleged Chinese spy. McCarthy also has his eye on stripping Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) of her spot on the House Foreign Affairs Committee over remarks that were seen as antisemitic.

Top Republicans have had doubts in the past about the conferences three-term rule for chairs and ranking members. In the last congressional cycle, the GOPs term limit rule was seen as a factor that contributed to a wave of House Republican retirements from top committee members who would have been blocked from another term.

House Republicans should allow Chairs of Committees to remain for longer than 6 years, former President Trump tweeted in September 2019. It forces great people, and real leaders, to leave after serving. The Dems have unlimited terms. While that has its own problems, it is a better way to go. Fewer people, in the end, will leave!

Shortly after that, McCarthy reportedly floated the idea of easing the conferences term limit requirement, which might have included not counting a term as ranking member to the three-term limit. The change was ultimately not made.

Making such a change to House rules could also directly impact Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.), who has reportedly been lobbying for a waiver to the term limit rule from House GOP leaders to stay the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee for a fourth term next year.

House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Kevin Brady (Texas), the only other Republican who would need a waiver to the rule to stay in his top committee slot next year, is retiring from Congress at the end of this year.

McCarthys office did not respond to a request for comment.

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Republicans hail proposal to impose committee term limits on both parties - The Hill

Republican activists seek drivers attention as they work to register voters to their party at a gas station in Garden Grove. REUTERS/Mike Blake

A half-dozen mostly young Republican activists stood gamely outside of a Chevron station at a busy Orange Countyintersection, jumping up and down and holding a big sign reading, Gastoo high? Register Republican.

The demonstration in Garden Grove this week drew beeps of support, and was successful in getting a few motorists to pull over to talk aboutgasprices.

The Republican Party says the SouthernCaliforniavoter registration effort is one of many it is holding outsidegasstations across the country to woo frustrated independents and voters who supported President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the 2020 elections.

Republicans are widely expected to gain a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and perhaps even in the Senate in midterm congressional elections in November. Voter displeasure at highgasprices might help get them there.

In addition to turning out its deeply conservative base, the party wants to win back moderates who fled the dramatic turns and right-wing nationalism of former President Donald Trump, as well as gain new supporters.

But the response at the busy intersection in Garden Grove, which is in a highly competitive Republican-leaning congressional district, shows it is not an easy trick to pull off.

Four people stopped to fill out forms at the groups table. One said he was homeless but could use his parents address. Three were already registered as Republicans, while one was an independent.

Thegasis so high because of Biden and the Biden administration, said Ernie Nueva, 69, who pulled over when he saw the group.

Nueva says it now costs $100 to fill the tank on his Nissan Titan V8 truck up from $60 before the latest spike drove fuel prices to nearly $7 per gallon in parts ofCalifornia. A lifelong Democrat, he voted twice for Trump and last year changed his voter registration to Republican.

David Wakefield also blames Biden for high gas prices, saying that the United States needs to become more self-sufficient, producing more fuel. He is considering canceling a planned driving vacation later this month to see friends and family in NorthernCalifornia, Idaho and Utah.

But he also is already a reliable Republican voter.

Its a great issue in the short run, but its not clear how its going to hold up in November, said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at theCal State Los Angeles.

In recent years, U.S. voters have been driven to the polls more by cultural and social division, rather than other public policy issues, Sonenshein said. While the highgasprices are certainly not good for Democrats, they may not prove powerful enough to drive turnout or lead voters to switch parties.

The cost of fuel might also come back down before the election, weakening Republicans argument, he said.

Economists say prices started to rise as travel and economic activity picked up after pandemic lockdowns eased, both in the United States and worldwide leading to fears of tighter global oil supply.

Those trends worsened when Russias invasion of Ukraine shook world petroleum markets. But the party in power generally is blamed for economic woes, and Biden and the Democrats are already becoming the focus of anger by some consumers.

The Republican National Committee has conducted similar registration drives at service stations inCaliforniaand other states, including Arizona, North Carolina and Florida.

RNC spokesperson Mike Joyce said the registration drives atgasstations had been successful, drawing in voters of all political stripes who are angry aboutgasoline prices.

The RNC did not give data showing how many new voters had signed up during these events, except to say that the number was in the thousands.Majorities are won in the margins and with every new voter registered, we are one step closer to finally retiring Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer for good, said RNC Spokesperson Emma Vaughn, referring to the Democratic U.S. House speaker and Senate majority leader.

At the Chevron in Orange County, scores of motorists loudly honked their support for the tiny group during the nearly four-hour demonstration.

David Duprat, 38, a passenger in a car that wasgassing up, feels every penny of the increase ingasprices. He drives to the construction sites where he works and lives on a tight budget while also trying to help his mother.

He doesnt blame Biden for highgasprices, but overall, he feels that Democratic policies have contributed to the high cost of living inCalifornia. He has never voted before, but plans to do so in November as a Republican.

I really, really want to make sure my voice is heard, he said.

Motorist Benjamin Kohn, a liberal Democrat, is also feeling the rise ingasprices. But he thinks both parties are pushing black-and-white interpretations of events that are more nuanced.

He has no intention of switching sides over gas prices, and on his way out of the Chevron he honked his horn like many of the other passing motorists. Then he stuck his head out the window of his minivan.

Its complicated, he yelled, and drove away.

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At OC Gas Station Republicans Woo Voters Angry Over High Gas Price - Times of San Diego

On Thursday, in a dim conference room in the bowels of a Washington, D.C., hotel, about 150 conservatives gathered for a day of group therapy. They had all been traumatized by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which had left them questioning their assumptions about the world. But Vladimir Putins war of aggression wasnt what confounded them most; for these conservatives, a mix of D.C. professionals and college students leavened with a handful of older cranks, the hawkish response to Russian aggression by most elected Republicans was the real problem.

The conference, Up From Chaos, was a summit of all the wings of the right that would prefer a more hands-off American response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The organizers were The American Conservative, the paleoconservative publication founded by Pat Buchanan; and American Moment, a newer organization that tries to sell the next generation of the right on its version of national conservatism. We were acutely worried that the seven years of foreign-policy gains that we made [since Donald Trump launched his campaign] were going to go away, Saurabh Sharma, one of the conferences organizers, told me.

Anne Applebaum: Ukraine must win

The event wasnt a Putin apologia like those found in some corners of the right. Instead, the phrase of the day seemed to be Putin is bad, but The attendees, who included paleocons, libertarians, and hard-core MAGA acolytes, offered variations on that tune according to their policy preferences: Putin is bad, but we dont want a nuclear war. Putin is bad, but why should we trust the American foreign-policy establishment? Putin is bad, but the media is in thrall to the U.S. intelligence apparatus. The broad consensus: Putin is bad, but why is that our problem?

This is not an ism-based movement. There is a specific policy outcome motivating the type of factions we brought here today, which is that we dont want another war, Sharma said. And people have their own isms that they bring to the table. The result was a conference of the right where Tulsi Gabbard was invited but figures such as Ted Cruz were absent.

In fact, Cruz was the target of a jab onstage from a fellow Republican senator, Rand Paul, who suggested that the Texans advocacy for sanctions on Russian energy was simply intended to boost the bottom line of the energy industry in his home state. President Joe Biden, though, received some praise for his comparatively restrained response to the crisis. Saagar Enjeti, a conservative pundit and podcaster, went so far as to say that Bidens 79-year-old ailing heart may be the only thing standing in between us and World War III.

The most common object of the attendees ire was not the Democrats, but instead the traditional enemy of the isolationist right, neoconservatives. Time and time again, speakers mocked foreign-policy hawks and criticized Republicans who had supported the Iraq War. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was the target of repeated scorn. Perhaps the biggest applause line of the entire conference was delivered by the Ohio Senate candidate J. D. Vance, who mocked the intelligence of Bill Kristol, the neoconservative pundit and Never Trumper. Donald Trumps greatest foreign-policy triumph was not so much any of his decisions, but rather that he broke the neocon Republican orthodoxy, Dan Bishop, a second-term representative from North Carolina, told the crowd.

Still, a sense that neocons and foreign-policy elites were winning seemed to permeate the room. For a D.C. conclave, the gathering featured few boldface names. Of the four elected officials who spoke, Rand Paul and Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky are best known for being libertarian gadflies, while Bishop and Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana are backbenchers who are relatively new to Washington. Vance, who hasnt even been elected to any office and may never be, gave what might have been the most high-profile speech. (Unusually for a speaker at a Washington conference, Vance hung around as an attendee after his speech, sitting quietly in the back as the fellow Peter Thiel ally David Sacks, a wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur, addressed the crowd).

Tom Nichols: The moral collapse of J. D. Vance

The first time that Ive ever actually had donors push back against all the crazy things that I say over the course of my Senate campaign is on this Russia-Ukraine thing, Vance said. The craziest idea Ive had in the last year and a half is that we should not be involved in a nuclear war with Russia.

Sharma framed skepticism of the U.S. response as a test of political courage for the few on the right who were still willing to stand up for a more sober foreign policy where the rubber meets the road. It is a test that few on the right are passing so far. Even Trump has expressed openness toward more aggressive action against Russia in some public statements about the conflict. (He has also praised Putin as a genius.)

The challenge for the isolationist wing of the right is finding more allies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is one of the most popular political figures in the United States, and the Russian army is falling back from the outskirts of Kiev. It seems, at least for the time being, that the hawkish response to the invasion of Ukraine has succeeded. The war in Europe, and the fight over the future of the Republican Partys foreign policy, are likely to be long. But for now, the rights isolationists are on their own.

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The 'Putin Is Bad, But' Republicans - The Atlantic