Senate Democrats Amass Support For Gorsuch Filibuster
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats on Monday amassed enough support to block a U.S. Senate confirmation vote on President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, but Republicans vowed to change the Senate rules to ensure the conservative judge gets the lifetime job. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-9 along party lines to send Gorsuch’s […]
GOP Obamacare Replacement Bill Appears Dead On Arrival
Repealing Obamacare was Republicans’ biggest campaign pledge for years, but the long-awaited bill to repeal the landmark legislation faces fierce intra-party opposition from conservatives who say it doesn’t go far enough — and they have the votes to stop it in the Senate.
5 Trump Cabinet Members Who’ve Made False Statements To Congress
As most of the world knows by now, Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not tell the truth when he was asked during his confirmation hearings about contacts with Russian officials. But Sessions isn’t the only one.
11 Senators Call On Trump Team To Allow Sale Of Recreational Marijuana
The senators wrote a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, reminding him that President Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that the issue of legalization should be left up to states.
Republican-Friendly Audience To McConnell: ‘Do Your Job’
At one point, a frustrated audience member implored him: “Answer the question Mitch!” after he offered a curt answer to a woman asking about lost coal jobs in eastern Kentucky. As he began leaving the event, escorted by state and local law enforcement, a few in the crowd booed. Someone shouted “Do your job!”
The Supreme Court Wasn’t The Only Seat Stolen By Senate Republicans
Besides the open Supreme Court seat that Republicans refused to act on during Obama’s last year in office, there are currently 112 vacancies across the federal bench. Obama made 54 nominations to those seats that Republicans refused to confirm, including several dozen where they never held a final vote. In short, the GOP mounted a judicial coup.
In Congress, Republicans Are Starting To Fret
Until recently, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tolerated Trump’s turbulent debut because they agreed with the direction the White House was heading — or were confident they could nudge it in the desired one. But the newfound partnership is showing signs of serious strain.
Senators Register Alarm About White House Security
As an avalanche of security issues distracts the Trump administration in its third week, two ranking Democratic senators have sent letters of inquiry to the White House regarding the staff’s possession of private Republican National Committee email accounts; the president’s use of a personal, unsecured smartphone; and reports of mishandling sensitive documents during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Florida over the weekend.
Labor Nominee Puzder Faces Uncertainty As Confirmation Hearing Looms
Four Republican senators have not yet said whether they will support labor secretary nominee Andrew Puzder, raising suspense about whether he will survive an initial confirmation hearing this week. Puzder has faced staunch opposition from Democrats and protests from union-backed groups about policies at CKE’s food chains.
Ex-Goldman Banker Mnuchin Installed As Treasury Secretary
President Donald Trump swore in former Goldman Sachs banker and Hollywood financier, Steven Mnuchin, as Treasury secretary on Monday, putting him to work on tax reform, financial de-regulation, and economic diplomacy efforts. At a White House swearing-in ceremony, Trump said Mnuchin would be a “great champion” for U.S. citizens.
Mitch McConnell’s Crime Of Passion Against Elizabeth Warren
There’s no question that the decision to silence Warren backfired — badly. The furor gained the Massachusetts senator far more attention than her otherwise routine speech would have if it hadn’t been interrupted. The result: The majority leader turned the confirmation vote on Sessions, a loss for the Democrats, into a vehicle they could use to rally their partisan base.
Puzder Owes Millions To Bank Seeking Labor Department Waiver
Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Labor personally owes millions of dollars to a convicted bank that is relying on the same department to waive sanctions for its crimes. The ties between embattled appointee Andrew Puzder and the multinational bank UBS were listed in federal documents, but they were not explicitly acknowledged in Puzder’s ethics agreement with federal regulators.
The Biggest Loser: Trump Has Gotten Even Less Popular While In Office
President Trump, who won the presidency with a minority of the votes cast, has retained a strong hold on his core supporters. After a brief increase in popularity early in his transition, almost all public polls show a steep decline in Trump’s support, and he has quickly fallen into territory plumbed by Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter.
How Democrats Can Hold GOP Accountable For Healthcare Fix
In the Senate, Democrats could propose amendments to a replacement bill that would set specific goals of access, cost, and quality—essentially requiring Trump to take responsibility for his promises that the healthcare replacement will be, in his words, “insurance for everybody.”
Senators Question Goldman Sachs On Its Role In Trump Banking Policy
In a letter to Goldman Sachs’ CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin asked for details on “lobbying” activities in the bank related to review of the Dodd-Frank Act and the Obama-era fiduciary rule on financial advice.
DeVos Sees Public Education As A Biblical Battlefield
Betsy DeVos is a doctrinaire right-winger who means to destroy public education, replacing it with a system of religious schools that serve the middle class and the wealthy. Implacably hostile to the public commons, she would rip apart a core asset of our democracy.
Senate Confirms Obamacare Opponent As Health Secretary
The Senate voted 52-47 on Friday to confirm Representative Tom Price as the top U.S. healthcare official, putting a determined opponent of Obamacare in position to help President Donald Trump dismantle the healthcare law. Price, in his new job, will have authority to rewrite rules implementing the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
Dear Time Travelers: Welcome To 2017
I first noticed this influx of visitors from the past — men, mostly — shortly after the election. Filling my email inbox. Trolling my Twitter and Facebook feeds. Offering one unsolicited directive after another about how women should be conducting themselves. Lately, I’m wondering whether time travel isn’t contagious. Spreads like a syndrome maybe.
Sessions Confirmed As Attorney General After Fierce Battle With Democrats
Jeff Sessions who has served two decades in the Senate from Alabama, was confirmed by a 52-47 vote after strong pushback from Democrats concerned about his record on civil rights. In a rare move for a senator recently confirmed to a Cabinet position, Sessions took to the floor of the chamber and called for members of Congress to have some “latitude” in their relationships with members of the other party.
Senate Panel Finally Receives Ethics Filings For Labor Nominee Puzder
Tentative plans for Puzder’s hearing have been repeatedly postponed amid delays with a review by the Office of Government Ethics. Those stem from the complexities surrounding how Puzder will divest himself from CKE Restaurants, which is owned by private equity firm Roark Capital Group.
If Republicans Won’t Take A Stand On Incompetent DeVos, What Will They Take A Stand On?
Surely there are more than two Republican senators who are smart enough to realize that Betsy DeVos is underqualified and incompetent to lead the Department of Education. A few heads should be hanging with shame in the Senate. If they were unable to show basic guts in such a clear-cut matter, Americans can expect no courage from them in the worrisome years to come.
Try As They Might, Senate Republicans Cannot Silence Elizabeth Warren
Silenced on the Senate floor by Republican colleagues, Elizabeth Warren took her criticism of Trump’s attorney general nominee out to the hallway — and found much larger platform. The action prompted a tide of support on Facebook for Warren under a hashtag #LetLizSpeak after she went outside the chamber and read the letter in a video posted on the site that drew more than 5 million views.
Democrats Insist New Details Warrant SEC Probe Into Tom Price’s Stock Trades
Price testified before the Senate health committee that he had purchased the stock at the same price that was available to all other investors. But the Senate Democrats noted that new reports indicate Price had purchased discounted shares in two separate private placements offered to fewer than 20 U.S. investors.
In Rural America, DeVos’ Confirmation Could Spell Doom For Public Schools
DeVos’s free-market principles are on full display in Detroit, where for-profit charter school operators have sowed chaos without creating any educational gains. Detroit’s miserable educational outcomes are some of the worst in the nation, and liberals have pointed to them frequently in their objections to DeVos.
While We Are Distracted By Tweets, Trump Is Building A Corporate State
The destructive toll of Donald Trump’s presidency is beginning to emerge, foreshadowing what’s likely to come as the White House and congressional Republicans begin to reverse, repeal, and replace federal laws and regulations. While Trump’s red-state supporters may be cheering now, they’ll soon feel the consequences.