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Tag: sherrod brown
Bob Menendez

Growing Chorus Of Democratic Senators Demands Menendez Resignation

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is losing support as more of his Senate Democratic colleagues formally call on him to resign after he was indicted again, this time on federal bribery charges that included allegations of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold bars.

As of Tuesday morning, at least ten Democratic U.S. Senators have now called on the twice-indicted senior Democratic Senator from New Jersey to resign, as they cite the gravity of the charges against him.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was the first to call on Menendez to resign, on Monday. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Peter Welch (D-VT) followed later that day.

On Tuesday morning, Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Tester (D-MT), and Bob Casey (D-PA) all called on Sen. Menendez to resign. By 11 AM, Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) also called for him to resign.

Minutes later, Sen. Cory Booker, Menendez’s Democratic New Jersey colleague, also called for him to resign. The New York Times reported Booker’s decision “to condemn Senator Robert Menendez underscores the deepening crisis Mr. Menendez faces after his indictment.”

According to the Department of Justice, Menendez, along with his wife Nadine Menendez, not only are alleged to have received bribes, he is charged with doing so in a scheme “to use his official position to protect and enrich” those he allegedly accepted funds from, and “to benefit the Government of Egypt.”

“Among other things,” the DOJ alleged, Senator Menendez “agreed and sought to pressure a senior official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in an effort to protect a business monopoly granted to” a New Jersey businessman “by Egypt, disrupt a criminal case undertaken by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office related to associates of” another New Jersey businessman, “and disrupt a federal criminal prosecution brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey against” a third New Jersey businessman.

Former DOD Special Counsel Ryan Goodman on Sunday called Menendez “a walking national security threat.”

“Imagine US official charged with selling US secrets, embassy security, US defense policy – and showing up for work the next day,” he added.

“From a purely legal perspective, Menendez appears to be a dead man walking,” Goodman continued. “The kind of forensic and documentary evidence in the Indictment is exceptionally strong for these types of cases. It looks inevitable that he will be going to prison.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Abortion rights supporters

Ohio Voters Torch GOP Scheme To Kill Abortion Rights Amendment

Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected a Republican-backed measure called Issue 1, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have made it difficult to ever change the state's constitution again. The proposal was failing 62-38 with 36% of the estimated vote tallied when the Associated Press called the race. The result means that pro-choice advocates will need to win a simple majority on Nov. 7 in order to pass their own amendment to enshrine abortion rights into the state's governing document instead of the 60% supermajority that Issue 1 would have imposed.

The outcome also ensures that activists seeking to pass other amendments opposed by Ohio's GOP-dominated state government will not need to contend with the dramatically increased signature requirements that Issue 1 would have required in order to qualify measures for the ballot. (Republicans in numerous other states have also been trying to make it tougher to pass progressive ballot change at the ballot box, mostly without success.) That's good news for a 2024 effort to create an independent redistricting commission in place of a broken bipartisan board that tilts heavily to the GOP, as well as a campaign to raise the minimum wage from its current level of $10.10 per hour.

Both sides, however, chiefly viewed Tuesday's contest as a proxy fight over abortion rights, with Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose outright declaring in June, "This is 100 percent about keeping a radical, pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution." The "no" side ran a barrage of ads highlighting those comments from LaRose, who is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, warning that "[c]orrupt politicians and special interests" were "trying to rig the rules to lock in Ohio's extreme abortion ban and stop efforts to restore our rights."

Conservative groups, though, seem to have decided that abortion rights were too popular to directly attack in a state where, according to Civiqs, voters agree 55-40 that the procedure should be legal in all or most cases. The "yes" side instead resorted to transphobia by insisting, "Out-of-state special interests that put trans ideology in classrooms and encourage sex changes for kids are hiding behind slick ads." (Neither Issue 1 nor the abortion amendment has anything to do with any of these issues.)

Other right-wing ads insisted that Issue 1 was necessary to stop "radical groups" from "tak[ing] away parents' ability to be informed and to make decisions for their children," even though the November abortion amendment wouldn't impact the state's parental consent laws.

The pro-Issue 1 side further claimed it was trying to stop out-of-state interests from changing the state's governing document for their own ends, despite the fact that much of their money came from one out-of-state billionaire, Illinois megadonor Richard Uihlein. But Uihlein's deep pockets were not enough: AdImpact reports that the "no" side outspent its rivals $15.9 million to $10.7 million on TV and radio ads.

None of the GOP's messages helped avert defeat on Tuesday, but it remains to be seen whether conservatives will adopt different tactics heading into the fall. And another expensive battle looms: The groups backing abortion rights tell NBC they'll spend at least $35 million to pass their amendment, while their opponents at Protect Women Ohio say they've already booked $25 million in ad time.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

'Fix That Damn Bridge': Biden And McConnell Hail Bipartisan Rebuilding

'Fix That Damn Bridge': Biden And McConnell Hail Bipartisan Rebuilding

President Joe Biden, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and other bipartisan leaders gathered Wednesday in Cincinnati to tout recently passed infrastructure that will allocate $1.6 billion to help pay to replace the aging Brent Spence Bridge. The move comes after Biden vowed to “fix that damn bridge” during a town hall in July 2021. Biden is now delivering on that promise.

Built in 1963, the Brent Spence Bridge which connects Cincinnati to Kentucky has been considered “functionally obsolete” for years. It has become a symbol of the nation’s declining infrastructure, with several presidents vowing to not only work on it but create better roads and bridges across the country.

While several issues have vied to gain bipartisan support, infrastructure bills and bridge projects bridge the political divide, with Congress approving the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

"I believe it sends a message, an important message, to the entire country," Biden said, referring to the law that made the bridge project possible, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. "We can work together. We can get things done. We can move the nation forward."

"After years of politics being so divisive, there are bright spots across the country," Biden added. "The Brent Spence Bridge is one of them."

According to The Enquirer, the $1.6 billion in federal grants will help repair the Brent Spence Bridge and build a new bridge adjacent to it.

“It connects Michigan and Florida,” former Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said in 2021 of the bridge, according to NBC News. “It's one of the most-traveled highways in the country. And if we're gonna be competitive with China and other countries, we've got to have vibrant, working infrastructure.”

According to WLWT, the project is expected to begin by 2023, but additional details (outside of the project expecting to last until 2030) are unknown at this time.

“I am thrilled that the President is choosing to visit Ohio and Kentucky to highlight how our economy and infrastructure continues to grow stronger because of his work,” Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said in a statement regarding the visit.

“The historic amount of money going towards this project is proof of what can be accomplished through strong regional, bipartisan collaboration. This is just the beginning.”

While several people also questioned whether Biden’s stop in Kentucky was about highlighting his relationship with Mitch McConnell, who was one of 19 Senate Republicans to support the infrastructure law, Biden and McConnell dismissed such claims.

“This is a bridge that has been a major national issue for 25 years, my top transportation project for decades. And it’s going to be fully funded by the infrastructure bill, which I supported," McConnell told reporters Tuesday according to the Associated Press. “It's important for me to be there.”

The Brent Spence Bridge isn’t the only one Biden’s administration is planning to work on. According to the Federal Highway Administration, $400 million of the $1 trillion federal infrastructure package approved in 2021 has been allocated to the Golden Gate Bridge, in order to complete the third and final phase of the seismic upgrades that will allow it to withstand earthquakes.

"This project is as important as any transportation infrastructure project you can find in America," said Rep. Jared Huffman of San Rafael.

"Can you imagine the calamity and the damage if a major earthquake hit and the Golden Gate Bridge was seriously damaged or destroyed?" he continued. "That's the scenario you have to think about and plan for."

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Biden Names 'Progressive Hero' To Top Financial Regulatory Post

Biden Names 'Progressive Hero' To Top Financial Regulatory Post

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said he would nominate former Treasury official Michael Barr to be the Federal Reserve's top regulatory official, replacing Sarah Bloom Raskin who withdrew in March after failing to win the backing of moderate Democrats.

Barr, currently a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, was a central figure at the Treasury under President Barack Obama when Congress passed the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law in the wake of the 2007-09 financial crisis, and helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

"Michael brings the expertise and experience necessary for this important position at a critical time for our economy and families across the country," Biden said in a statement.

The Fed vice chair for supervision is responsible for overseeing the biggest banks, determining proper capital ratios, and represents the United States in cross-border negotiations over international banking standards.

As Treasury assistant secretary for financial institutions, Barr helped shape the Wall Street post-crisis overhaul, Biden said, adding that Barr had strong support across the political spectrum. He noted that Barr had been confirmed on a bipartisan basis for the Treasury post in 2009.

However, Patrick Toomey, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, criticized Barr's support of the Dodd Frank law, which Toomey said enshrined taxpayer bank bailouts. He also said the CFPB was "unaccountable" and "unconstitutional."

"For these and other reasons, I have concerns about his nomination, but I look forward to meeting and discussing these and other matters," Toomey said in a Friday statement.

The president said he would work closely with the Senate Banking Committee to move Barr's nomination forward quickly, and called on the Senate - which is evenly split with Democrats holding the tie-breaker vote - to swiftly confirm his four other Fed nominees, including Jerome Powell for a second term as chair and Fed Governor Lael Brainard for vice chair.

A vote is expected on Powell, Brainard and economists Philip Jefferson and Lisa Cook, both nominated to fill vacant Fed board seats, after the Senate returns from the Easter break.

'This Job Is Vital'

Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown said he would support Barr's nomination and strongly urged his Republican colleagues to avoid personal attacks and back him as well.

"At a time when working families are dealing with rising prices while corporate profits continue to soar, this job is vital to ensuring the economy works for everyone," Brown said.

If confirmed Barr, who would have a vote on monetary policy issues, would arrive at the Fed as it is confronting the highest inflation in 40 years, with officials promising an aggressive series of rate hikes this year to rein in prices. The central bank is also planning to cull its $9 trillion balance sheet.

Barr will also have a lengthy to-do list on the regulatory front, including pushing ahead with climate risk tests for Wall Street banks, implementing new capital rules, and drafting new rules for cryptocurrencies and community lending.

Barr's name had been floated for another bank regulatory post, heading up the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, but some progressives objected, citing his work with some fintech firms after leaving government.

Biden said Barr had spent his career protecting consumers, and played a critical role in creating both the CFPB and the Fed post for which he was now being nominated. He also served at the National Economic Council in the White House.

Former CFPB Director Richard Cordray has described Barr as "a progressive champion," while Senator Elizabeth Warren has called him "a hero" for his work on Dodd-Frank.

"He was instrumental in the passage of Dodd-Frank, to ensure a future financial crisis would not create devastating economic hardship for working families," Biden said.

Raskin withdrew from consideration for the top regulatory post at the Fed on March 15, a day after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and moderate Republicans said they would not back her, leaving no path to confirmation by the full Senate.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; additional reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Leslie Adler and Franklin Paul)