The banishment of transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from Montana’s House floor has showcased the rising power of hard-line conservatives who are leveraging divisive social issues to gain political influence.

Republicans upset with Donald Trump’s indictment are escalating their war on the prosecutor who charged him.

Six GOP members-elect remain opposed to Rep. Kevin McCarthy going into a late-night vote to determine the next speaker of the House.

As Republicans struggled for a second day to elect a House speaker, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida emerged as the choice of conservative holdouts who are refusing to support Kevin McCarthy’s bid.

The Republicans opposing Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become the next House speaker generally have made their mark as part of the GOP’s ultra conservative wing.

The House will convene Wednesday as Republicans try again to elect a speaker for the new Congress.

The House will convene Tuesday to elect a speaker for the new Congress.

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack has referred Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and three other GOP lawmakers to undergo an ethics investigation for their refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas.

The congressional committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection has asked three more House Republicans to voluntarily testify about their involvement in the effort to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.

Conservative lawmakers want to boot Republican Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger out of the House GOP.

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2020 file photo Freedom Caucus chairman Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Biggs has been castigated by his two brothers over his efforts to cast doubt about President Joe Biden's victory. “Political ambition, peer pressure and fealty to Trump proved to be too strong a drug to resist," William Biggs and Daniel Biggs wrote to The Arizona Republic. A spokesman for Andy Biggs, Daniel Stefanski, did not respond to an email request for comment about the letter by the Biggs brothers to the newspaper. “It just seemed like saying nothing just felt like tacit approval of the things that he’s done,” William Biggs told The Republic.

WASHINGTON – The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):9:55 p.m.President-elect Joe Biden says it is important that President Donald Trump attend his inauguration only in the sense that it would demonstrate the nation’s commitment to a peaceful transfer of power between political rivals. ___8:45 p.m.Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have made a fresh push for President-elect Joe Biden to nominate New Mexico Gov. But $207.5 million came in after Election Day as Trump repeatedly – and falsely – claimed President-elect Joe Biden won due to voter fraud. Gina Raimondo has knocked down talk that she is in the running for President-elect Joe Biden’s secretary of health and human services. ___12:25 p.m.President-elect Joe Biden has tapped former Obama administration senior economic adviser Brian Deese to be director of the National Economic Council.