DEMS/ELECTION/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court unleashed two political fights Tuesday [7-10-18]: one over his confirmation in a narrowly divided Senate, the other a broader battle to energize voters of both parties ahead of November’s midterm elections. In the Senate, where Judge Kavanaugh was meeting […]
Category: Senate
7/10/2018
NOMINATIONS/SENATE/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of the most watched Republicans in the Trump administration’s fight to confirm Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice, told CNN Tuesday [7-10-18] that her vetting of the nominee will take weeks, not days, and says all senators need to do their ‘due diligence’ before deciding how […]
7/10/2018
DEMS/ELECTIONS/GOP/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The drama surrounding this election-year Supreme Court nomination now fully swings from who the pick would be—it’s D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh—to which senators announce their support or opposition, and when. The margin for error for Republicans to get Mr. Trump’s pick confirmed is very thin, so in […]
7/10/2018
GOP/SENATE/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Informing the Republican Senators of my nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. #SCOTUS https://t.co/O5cAaVAtQt“ -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, July 10, 2018 9:49 am […]
7/9/2018
ELECTIONS/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Ben Sasse has so far been spared the public floggings that Donald Trump inflicted on two since-vanquished GOP critics in the Senate, Jeff Flake and Bob Corker. But that may soon change. As the ‘never Trump’ faction of the Republican Party dwindles to a lonely few, the Nebraska senator has shown little […]
7/7/2018
NOMINATIONS/SENATE/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, told President Trump this past week that Judges Raymond M. Kethledge and Thomas M. Hardiman presented the fewest obvious obstacles to being confirmed to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on the Supreme Court, according to Republican officials briefed on the conversation. While careful not to […]
7/4/2018
DEMS/ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Jerry Swick, an Army veteran who currently resides in this mountainous capital city, plans to vote this fall to keep Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in Congress. He just doesn’t know how he would tell that to President Donald Trump, for whom Mr. Swick voted in 2016. Mr. Trump will host a campaign […]
7/3/2018
2016 ELECTION/RUSSIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Breaking with their House Republican counterparts, the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday [7-3-18] that the intelligence community properly concluded in January of last year that Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to help Donald Trump when Moscow meddled in the 2016 election. The Senate panel released a summary Tuesday of its […]
6/28/2018
ABORTION/GOP/SENATE/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Sen. Susan Collins took a notable phone call Thursday [6-28-18] as she enters the eye of the Supreme Court confirmation storm: It was White House counsel Don McGahn, sounding out the moderate Maine Republican in what she called a ‘preliminary discussion’ of the high court vacancy. Republicans control the Senate by a […]
6/27/2018
DEMS/ELECTION/SENATE/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Senate Democrats are about to face their toughest political test yet of the Trump era: a Supreme Court confirmation battle that will play out as they scrap with the GOP for control of the chamber. The stakes are difficult to understate. The confirmation itself could reshape the court for a generation, […]
6/27/2018
CONGRESS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Heading to North Dakota to fully stand with and endorse Kevin Cramer for Senate. He is an extraordinary Congressman who will hopefully soon represent this great state as your Senator. He is tough on crime, strong on borders, loves our Military, and our Vets! #NDSen https://t.co/uP95m0sIRP“ -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, June 27, 2018 […]
6/22/2018
DEMS/ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate map for Democrats this fall is daunting. Republicans are only defending nine Senate seats up for reelection, while Democrats are defending 26 seats. Moreover, 10 of the Democratic-held seats are in states Donald Trump won in 2016 and five are in states he won by about 20 points or more. […]
6/22/2018
DEMS/IMMIGRATION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Even if we get 100% Republican votes in the Senate, we need 10 Democrat votes to get a much needed Immigration Bill – & the Dems are Obstructionists who won’t give votes for political reasons & because they don’t care about Crime coming from Border! So we need to elect more R’s!” […]
6/21/2018
DEMS/IMMIGRATION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “What is the purpose of the House doing good immigration bills when you need 9 votes by Democrats in the Senate, and the Dems are only looking to Obstruct (which they feel is good for them in the Mid-Terms). Republicans must get rid of the stupid Filibuster Rule-it is killing you!” -Donald […]
6/20/2018
BORDER/HOUSE OF REPS/IMMIGRATION/PAUL RYAN/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Wednesday [6-20-18] that the House would press ahead with a vote on a broad immigration bill that includes language to curb the Trump administration’s practice of separating families on the border…But doubts persisted about the bill’s chances of passage when it comes up for […]
6/20/2018
BORDER/CHILDREN/GOP/IMMIGRATION/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “GOP Sen. Thom Tillis announced legislation from a group of Republican senators that would stop the separation of immigrant children from their parents, according to a statement from his office that came right as Trump signed an executive order reversing the practice. The bill would allow undocumented immigrant families to stay together during […]
6/20/2018
BUSINESS/CHINA/COMMERCE/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said on Wednesday [6-20-18] that he and lawmakers are working on addressing concerns over a deal between Washington and Beijing to save Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp. , which had been accused of repeated sanctions violations. Mr. Trump met with nearly two dozen lawmakers at the White House—many of […]
6/19/2018
COURT/FBI/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Attorneys for a former Senate staff member accused of lying to federal investigators said President Donald Trump’s remarks on the case were ‘highly prejudicial,’ and asked a judge to order him and other executive branch officials to keep quiet about the case in public. In federal district court in Washington, D.C., […]
6/19/2018
EPA/ETHICS/SCOTT PRUITT/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt will testify before the Senate’s environment committee in August, panel chairman Senator John Barrasso said on Tuesday [6-19-18], where he will face questions about spending and ethics controversies. Barrasso said previously that he would call Pruitt to testify about Pruitt’s spending on first class travel, […]
6/14/2018
ECONOMY/SENATE/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Two senators have asked President Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers to turn over an analysis that shows the administration’s tariffs would slow economic growth. The internal analysis, which was first reported by The New York Times last week, contradicts the public statements of several Trump administration officials who have said that Mr. […]
6/14/2018
NORTH KOREA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Republican Senate leaders on Thursday [6-14-18] voiced no objections to President Donald Trump’s apparent defense of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s strong-arm tactics, instead highlighting their hopes for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told CNN that Trump’s eyebrow-raising defense of Kim’s authoritarian tactics is fine […]
6/13/2018
ELECTION/GOP/RACISM/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Corey Stewart, the bombastic conservative who built his public image on championing Confederate symbols, won the Republican Senate nomination in Virginia. Stewart, a member of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, defeated state House member Nick Freitas and minister E.W. Jackson in Tuesday’s [6-12-18] primary. Freitas conceded the race Tuesday night, according […]
6/13/2018
BUSINESS/CHINA/SENATE/TECHNOLOGY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House moved to protect its deal with Beijing to rescue ZTE Corp, taking steps to head off a bipartisan effort to use a must-pass defense bill to reinstate a ban on sales of U.S. components to the Chinese telecommunication company. A senior White House official said Wednesday [6-13-18] that the […]
6/13/2018
ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Congratulations to @KevinCramer on his huge win in North Dakota. We need Kevin in the Senate, and I strongly endorse him. Heidi voted NO on our Tax Cuts, and always will vote no when we need her. Kevin is strong on Crime & Borders, big on Cutting Taxes!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, June 13,2018 […]
6/13/2018
ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Senate Republican campaign arm doesn’t plan to get behind the party’s newly nominated candidate in Virginia, the group’s leader said, after a Tuesday primary that threatens to put the party on the defensive in several key races in the state..Corey Stewart, who won Tuesday’s primary, has repelled GOP leaders over […]
6/13/2018
GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker ramped up his criticism of his Republican colleagues Wednesday [6-13-18], railing on GOP leadership for not wanting to take on President Donald Trump on core Republican issues like trade. ‘We’re in a strange place. It’s becoming a cultish thing, isn’t it?’ the Tennessee Republican told […]
6/13/2018
ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Congratulations to Corey Stewart for his great victory for Senator from Virginia. Now he runs against a total stiff, Tim Kaine, who is weak on crime and borders, and wants to raise your taxes through the roof. Don’t underestimate Corey, a major chance of winning!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, June 13, 2018 4:55 […]
6/12/2018
NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawmakers from both parties, deeply mistrustful of a leader who has brutalized his own country, greeted a joint agreement between the United States and North Korea coolly on Tuesday [6-12-18], with top Republicans warning President Trump that any final accord on Kim Jong-un’s nuclear program should be submitted to the Senate […]
6/8/2018
LEAKS/MEDIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump on Friday [6-8-18] praised the arrest of a former Senate Intelligence Committee aide who is accused of lying to investigators about his contacts with reporters in an inquiry into leaks of classified information. The president called the former Senate aide, James A. Wolfe, ‘a very important leaker.’ Mr. Wolfe, the […]
6/7/2018
BUSINESS/CHINA/SANCTIONS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. senators planned legislation on Thursday [6-7-18] that would roll back an agreement President Donald Trump’s administration announced to ease sanctions on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday the U.S. government had reached a deal with ZTE that reverses a ban on it buying parts from […]
6/7/2018
GOP/SENATE/TARIFFS/TRADE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake hit Donald Trump on trade Thursday [7-6-18], slamming the President for ‘acting on a whim to punish this country or that one,’ through trade tariffs…Flake joined Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, and a bipartisan group of senators Wednesday [6-6-18] sponsoring legislation that […]
6/7/2018
ARIZONA/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “How could Jeff Flake, who is setting record low polling numbers in Arizona and was therefore humiliatingly forced out of his own Senate seat without even a fight (and who doesn’t have a clue), think about running for office, even a lower one, again? Let’s face it, he’s a Flake!” -Donald Trump, […]
6/6/2018
DEMS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VA: “President Donald Trump’s vendetta against Sen. Jon Tester took a snippy turn today when the Democratic senator from Montana was left off the invite list for a White House signing of a VA bill that he had co-written. Although the VA Mission Act passed 92-5 in the Senate and 347-70 in the […]
6/5/2018
DEMS/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) canceled much of the Senate’s August recess on Tuesday [6-5-18], saying the chamber would remain in session to work on spending bills and confirming nominees. The move is an unusual one during a midterm election year, when lawmakers typically spend more time in their home states […]
6/5/2018
DEMS/GOP/MITCH MCCONNELL/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday [6-5-18] he was cancelling most of the Senate’s August recess to give lawmakers time to pass spending bills before a Sept. 30 deadline and to confirm more of President Donald Trump’s appointees. A senior Senate Democratic aide said the move had less to […]
6/4/2018
CHUCK SCHUMER/DEMS/NORTH KOREA/SANCTIONS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Top Senate Democrats on Monday [6-4-18] told President Donald Trump not to make a deal that leaves North Korea with nuclear weapons, and threatened to maintain or toughen sanctions on Pyongyang if that condition is not met. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and ranking Democrats from national security committees released […]
6/4/2018
GOP/SENATE/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Senate Republicans return to Washington Monday [6-4-18] and face a choice: Are they willing to take action on trade against the President from their own party? The Trump administration shocked lawmakers last week when it announced it would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from US allies in the European […]
6/4/2018
DEMS/NORTH KOREA/SANCTIONS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Top Senate Democrats on Monday [6-4-18] told President Donald Trump not to make a deal that leaves North Korea with nuclear weapons, and threatened to maintain or toughen sanctions on Pyongyang if that condition is not met. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and ranking Democrats from national security committees released a […]
5/29/2018
DEMS/ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VA: “U.S. Sen. Jon Tester’s campaign increased its spending after President Donald Trump vowed in April to make the Montana Democrat pay politically for sinking his nominee to head the Department of Veterans Affairs. Tester’s campaign spent about $790,000 on television and internet advertising in the two weeks following Trump’s comments, according to […]
5/29/2018
ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump is planning to focus his midterm campaigning this summer on red states with competitive Senate races where he has a deep reservoir of support and can bring a message devised to stoke partisan outrage. The strategy is intended to take advantage of his star power among core Republican supporters while […]
5/29/2018
GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Utah US Senate candidate Mitt Romney said he would not point to his party’s leader, President Donald Trump, as a role model for his grandchildren, citing his “personal style…’ Walking a political tightrope with his answer, Romney went to say, ‘I believe his policies have been by and large a good deal […]
5/25/2018
AGRICULTURE/ENTITLEMENTS/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said the Senate needs to pass a farm bill even if it doesn’t include the tighter work requirements around food stamps that have become a flashpoint in the House. While Mr. McConnell said he personally favored beefing up the work requirements for food-stamp recipients, he made […]
5/24/2018
BANKING/FDIC/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday [5-24-18] to confirm former banker Jelena McWilliams to serve as chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), completing President Donald Trump’s team of key banking regulators. Her appointment nearly 18 months into Trump’s administration will allow financial regulators to accelerate efforts to fulfill his pledge to […]
5/24/2018
DEMS/GOP/INTELLIGENCE/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Top Senate and House party leaders and Intelligence Committee leaders from both parties will be briefed Thursday [5-24-18] on whether an informant was embedded in President Donald Trump’s campaign, according to a person familiar with the matter. The briefing comes after complaints from Senate Democrats and some Republicans about the adminstration’s […]
5/24/2018
MIKE POMPEO/NORTH KOREA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested on Thursday [5-24-18] new sanctions could be in the works for North Korea, even as he expressed hope the country would return to the negotiating table for direct talks following President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel the summit with Kim Jong Un that had […]
5/22/2018
HOUSE OF REPS/PRISONS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The House of Representatives on Tuesday [5-22-18] passed a bill backed by the White House aimed at improving federal prisons that faces steep opposition in the Senate and among advocates of criminal justice revisions. The First Step Act, sponsored by Georgia’s GOP Rep. Doug Collins and New York’s Democratic Rep. […]
5/22/2018
ELECTION/GOP/MITCH MCCONNELL/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump saw an opportunity to influence his party’s Senate primary in West Virginia earlier this month, but first he called to check in with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The president, known for one of the quickest Twitter fingers in all of politics, wanted to make sure he and […]
5/17/2018
CIA/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. Senate confirmed Gina Haspel on Thursday [5-17-18] to be director of the CIA, ending a bruising confirmation fight centered on her ties to the spy agency’s past use of waterboarding and other brutal interrogation techniques. Haspel, who will be the first woman to lead the CIA, is a 33-year veteran at […]
5/16/2018
2016 ELECTION/GOP/RUSSIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Republican at the helm of the Senate’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election backed on Wednesday the assessment by American intelligence agencies that Moscow favored Donald J. Trump in the race, contradicting both the president and fellow Republicans in the House. Senator Richard M. Burr of North […]
5/16/2018
2016 ELECTION/GOP/ROBERT MUELLER/SENATE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A GOP-led Senate committee backed U.S. intelligence agencies’ finding that Moscow tried to boost Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign by hacking and spreading misinformation, a bipartisan conclusion that breaks with a House panel’s position and the president’s rejection of the notion that Russia wanted him to win. The Senate Intelligence […]
5/16/2018
DEMS/ELECTION/PENNSYLVANIA/SENATE/TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “…and voted against the massive Tax Cut Bill. He’s also weak on borders and crime. Sadly, our great Military and Vets mean nothing to Bobby Jr. Lou Barletta will win! #MAGA” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 16, 2018 1:40 pm […]
5/16/2018
DEMS/ELECTION/PENNSYLVANIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lou Barletta will be a great Senator for Pennsylvania but his opponent, Bob Casey, has been a do-nothing Senator who only shows up at election time. He votes along the Nancy Pelosi, Elizabeth Warren lines, loves sanctuary cities, bad and expensive healthcare…” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 16, 2018 1:40 pm […]
5/16/2018
GOP/RUSSIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A Republican-led Senate committee backed U.S. intelligence agencies’ finding that Moscow attempted to boost Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, breaking with a GOP-led House panel that examined the same material. The conclusion on the January 2017 intelligence finding was part of the committee’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which […]
5/16/2018
2016 ELECTION/DONALD JR/RUSSIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Donald Trump Jr. struck an unapologetic tone during hours of congressional questioning last year, saying he didn’t think there was anything wrong with meeting a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower ahead of the 2016 presidential election or that the get-together might have been part of a Russian government effort to […]
5/16/2018
ELECTION/PENNSYLVANIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Congratulations to Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania. He will be a great Senator and will represent his people well – like they haven’t been represented in many years. Lou is a friend of mine and a special guy, he will very much help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 16, 2018 […]
5/16/2018
HILLARY CLINTON/RUSSIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday [5-16-18] released hundreds of pages of transcripts and other details from its investigation of a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 with Russians who claimed to have damaging information about Hillary Clinton, President Donald Trump’s Democratic rival for the presidency. The Senate Judiciary Committee, […]
5/15/2018
CIA/GOP/JOHN MCCAIN/NORTH KOREA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Last fall, when President Donald Trump headed to Capitol Hill for the Senate Republican lunch, he was feuding with the powerful chair of the foreign relations panel and tweeted that the man couldn’t get elected dog catcher. On Tuesday [5-15-18], he dropped in on the weekly GOP lunch entangled in […]
5/14/2018
CIA/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee will vote on Wednesday [5-16-18] morning on President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the new director of the CIA, Gina Haspel, a committee aide said on Monday [5-14-18]. The vote will take place behind closed doors, as is customary for the intelligence panel. Haspel was grilled by lawmakers […]
5/13/2018
ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: There was not an overabundance of enthusiasm for Senator Dean Heller when the Nevada Republican Men’s Club gathered for its monthly luncheon at the Bali Hai Golf Club here. Karl Johnson, a precinct director for the Clark County Republican Party, wrinkled his nose and raised his eyebrows when asked about Mr. Heller’s prospects […]
5/12/2018
BORDER/SENATE/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Donald Trump said Saturday [5-12-18] that the Senate should approve a government spending package that includes funding for border security and a wall before the August break or not go on recess. Congress passed a $1.3 trillion spending bill in March that will fund the government through the end of September. […]
5/12/2018
BORDER/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “The Senate should get funding done before the August break, or NOT GO HOME. Wall and Border Security should be included. Also waiting for approval of almost 300 nominations, worst in history. Democrats are doing everything possible to obstruct, all they know how to do. STAY!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 12, 2018 […]
5/11/2018
ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “After days of high-stakes negotiations with foreign governments, President Trump traveled to a rally here Thursday [5-10-18] night, briefly swapping his role as grim-faced statesman for one that comes more naturally to him: campaign trail firebrand. In a visit meant to bolster Mike Braun, a wealthy former state legislator who won […]
5/11/2018
DEMS/JOHN MCCAIN/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A Democratic senator called on President Donald Trump Friday [5-11-18] to repudiate a White House aide’s comment about ‘dying’ Republican Sen. John McCain, who has brain cancer…White House aide Kelly Sadler had responded to McCain’s opposition to Gina Haspel’s nomination for CIA director by attempting to joke Thursday [5-10-18] morning that ‘he’s […]
5/11/2018
2016 ELECTION/JAMES COMEY/RUSSIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former FBI Director James Comey is skipping a closed-door Senate hearing next week to discuss the intelligence community’s findings about Russian interference in the 2016 elections…Comey was among four former intelligence community leaders invited to attend the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. The other three, former National Intelligence Director James Clapper, […]
5/10/2018
NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TREASURY/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Adam Lerrick has withdrawn as President Donald Trump’s nominee for assistant Treasury secretary for international finance, after languishing for more than a year without Senate confirmation. Lerrick, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a former investment banker, has extensive experience in dealing with sovereign debt crises in countries like Greece, […]
5/9/2018
ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump connected by phone on Wednesday [5-9-18] with Don Blankenship, the former coal baron and ex-con whose Senate candidacy he helped sink. Trump and Blankenship spoke briefly, according to three people familiar with the discussion. The conversation was described as straightforward, polite and cordial, with the president calling to […]
5/8/2018
CIA/DEMS/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Sen. Jon Tester said Tuesday [5-8-18] he is not voting for Gina Haspel’s nomination to be the next CIA director, the first Democrat from a red state to openly oppose her…The White House has rallied behind Haspel for the position, even though questions over her past in the CIA are likely to come […]
5/8/2018
ELECTIONS/GOP/HOUSE OF REP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Bitter Republican U.S. Senate races in West Virginia and Indiana featuring candidates who have fought to prove their loyalty to President Donald Trump will highlight a slate of high-stakes party primaries in four states on Tuesday [5-8-18]. Voters in Ohio and North Carolina also pick candidates on Tuesday for November’s congressional […]
5/7/2018
ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump inserted himself into Tuesday’s [5-8-18] Republican Senate primary in West Virginia, urging voters to reject a scandal-scarred former coal executive whose apparent polling strength is stirring fears that he could cost the party a chance to pick up a seat from Democrats. In a tweet Monday [5-7-18], Mr. Trump said […]
5/7/2018
ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald J. Trump intervened Monday [5-7-18] in the West Virginia Republican Senate primary, pleading with voters a day before the election to oppose the former mine operator Don Blankenship, and suggesting that Mr. Blankenship’s nomination would lead to a replay of the party’s embarrassing loss last year in Alabama. Mr. Trump’s decision […]
5/7/2018
ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “To the great people of West Virginia we have, together, a really great chance to keep making a big difference. Problem is, Don Blankenship, currently running for Senate, can’t win the General Election in your State…No way! Remember Alabama. Vote Rep. Jenkins or A.G. Morrisey!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 7, 2018 5:53 […]
5/3/2018
COURTS/DEMS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Democrats learned the hard way in 2016 that the right is much more animated by judicial fights after Republicans’ refusal to consider the Supreme Court nomination of Merrick B. Garland helped rally conservative voters behind Donald J. Trump so he could fill a vacancy held open for nearly a year. Now a […]
5/3/2018
ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Luke Messer says President Donald Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. Todd Rokita is introducing a resolution to end special counsel Robert Mueller’s ‘witch hunt’ into Trump’s campaign. Mike Braun wants Indiana voters to know he’s a convention-busting businessman — ‘just like President Trump.’ The bloody Republican primary in one of […]
4/30/2018
POLLS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VA: “It makes all the sense in the world that President Donald Trump would personally go after Sen. Jon Tester. Mysteriously and without any proof, Trump said he knows things that could sink the Montana Democrat’s re-election bid. We assume this is a specious claim from a master conspiracy theorist until we see […]
4/30/2018
SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VA: “The chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee refused Monday [4-30-18] to agree with President Donald Trump’s criticism of the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, nor the President’s call for the Montana Democrat to resign in the wake of the Dr. Ronny Jackson scandal. ‘I’m not in the critiquing […]
4/28/2018
DEMS/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/VA:: “Secret Service has just informed me that Senator Jon Tester’s statements on Admiral Jackson are not true. There were no such findings. A horrible thing that we in D.C. must live with, just like phony Russian Collusion. Tester should lose race in Montana. Very dishonest and sick!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, April 28, 2018 […]
4/26/2018
DEMS/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “When it comes to presidential nominations, the clock is working against the Trump administration and Senate Republicans in more ways than one. Frustrated over Democrats slow-walking many executive and judicial branch nominees and chewing up Senate floor time in the bargain, Republicans moved on Wednesday [4-25-18] toward shortening stringent time requirements that can […]
4/26/2018
DONALD JR/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/SENATE: “Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said this week that he is eager to release transcripts of interviews with Donald Trump Jr. and other participants in a 2016 Trump Tower meeting that included a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer. Grassley first announced plans to release the transcripts in January, one day after two […]
4/26/2018
ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT; “A Senate panel on [4-26-18] Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired without cause, in a bipartisan show of support for the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Serious political and legal hurdles stand in the way of it becoming […]
4/25/2018
CHINA/ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Don Blankenship, the coal executive recently released from federal prison and now running for US Senate in West Virginia, this week accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of having conflicts of interest in foreign relations because his father-in-law is ‘a wealthy Chinaperson.’ Blankenship, one of three GOP leading candidates in the May 8 […]
4/24/2018
DEMS/ROBERT MUELLER/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday [4-24-18] she will oppose legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller if an amendment from Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is added to the bill. Feinstein told CNN she has three concerns about the amendment Grassley plans […]
4/24/2018
ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “.@JimRenacci has worked so hard on Tax Reductions, Illegal Immigration, the Border and Crime. I need Jim very badly to help our agenda and to keep MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! He will be a fantastic Senator for the Great State of Ohio, and has my full endorsement!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, April […]
4/24/2018
ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “.@JimRenacci has worked so hard on Tax Reductions, Illegal Immigration, the Border and Crime. I need Jim very badly to help our agenda and to keep MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! He will be a fantastic Senator for the Great State of Ohio, and has my full endorsement!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, April […]
4/23/2018
DEMS/ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In Trump’s Washington, traditions are frail and civility a novelty. But one custom that is hanging on — tattered and tenuously — is an unwritten rule: Don’t work too hard to inflict political harm on your Senate colleagues. This election season is testing lawmakers’ commitment to the fading courtesy. As many Democrats […]
4/19/2018
DEMS/MIKE POMPEO/SENATE/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Mike Pompeo came close on Thursday [4-19-18] to clinching confirmation as the nation’s 70th secretary of state when Senator Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat of North Dakota, announced her support. But before that triumph, he is expected to face a historic rebuke from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which most likely will not recommend […]
4/19/2018
MIKE POMPEO/NOMINATIONS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Mike Pompeo is outstanding. First in his class at West Point. A top student at Harvard Law School. A success at whatever he has done. We need the Senate to approve Mike ASAP. He will be a great Secretary of State!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, April 19, 2018 3:31 pm […]
4/19/2018
CABINET/DEMS/MIKE POMPEO/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo has been one of the few cabinet members to thrive in President Donald Trump’s administration. He recently had a successful meeting, by the White House’s accounting, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. His next task: winning over Senate Democrats to become secretary of state. […]
4/19/2018
ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The leader of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said on Thursday 4[19-18] the committee would vote on a bill to protect Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, despite objections by the chamber’s Republican leadership.Senator Chuck Grassley, the Judiciary Committee’s Republican chairman, said […]
4/19/2018
ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said Thursday [4-19-18] morning that it’s too early to say whether he’ll support a re-election bid for Donald Trump in 2020, adding to a growing list of conservatives on Capitol Hill who are holding out their endorsements for their party’s President…Johnson called the prompt for Trump’s endorsement […]
4/19/2018
ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A wide array of House and Senate Republicans are not yet ready to endorse President Donald Trump’s bid for a second term, a reflection of the deep uncertainty on Capitol Hill over his political standing amid growing problems at home and abroad. In interviews with a cross-section of more than two dozen […]
4/18/2018
CONSUMER PROTECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate on Wednesday [4-18-18] moved to eliminate a 2013 consumer protection measure intended to combat discrimination in auto lending, marking an expansive new use of its power to kill federal regulations. The lawmakers voted 51-47 to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau‘s guidance, which Republicans attacked as harmful to auto […]
4/18/2018
IRAN/MILITARY/RUSSIA/SENATE/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawmakers emerged from a classified administration briefing on Tuesday [4-17-18] expressing concern about administration policy on Syria and the legal justification for last week’s military strikes against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. ‘I am very unnerved by what I’m hearing and seeing,’ said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican… The administration […]
4/18/2018
BUSINESS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/USPS: “Three nominees to the board that oversees the U.S. Postal Service pledged Wednesday [4-18-18] to take an impartial look at President Donald Trump’s claims that Amazon is ripping off the agency — but stopped short of directly contradicting him. In a hearing, Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill asked Trump’s nominees to the USPS […]
4/18/2018
GOP/SENATE/TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A senior U.S. Republican senator said on Wednesday [4-18-18] he would strongly oppose any plan to make permanent the temporary individual tax cuts that are included in a tax overhaul recently passed by Congress…Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress are moving forward with a plan to vote, before the 2018 midterm elections, […]
4/17/2018
ELECTION/GOP/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senate Republicans are escalating their attacks on West Virginia Senate GOP candidate Don Blankenship, increasingly worried that the coal baron and ex-prisoner will blow a winnable race against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. Republicans see West Virginia as a prime pickup opportunity in November, given President Donald Trump’s huge popularity there. But they say […]
4/17/2018
CIA/MIKE POMPEO/SENATE/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Nominees to lead the State Department and Central Intelligence Agency are encountering resistance in the Senate, where critics of President Donald Trump’s are prepared to make their confirmation battles a referendum on his foreign-policy positions. Mike Pompeo, the current CIA director and Mr. Trump’s pick to be the next secretary of state, […]
4/17/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Republican chairman of a Senate oversight committee is pressing the head of the Environmental Protection Agency to provide details about his use of multiple government email addresses. Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso issued a letter asking EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to disclose all his email addresses and affirm […]
4/17/2018
GOP/ROBERT MUELLER/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he won’t be holding a vote on legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired by President Donald Trump, essentially killing the bipartisan bill. McConnell tells Fox News that the measure’s ‘not necessary’ despite a push by Republican and Democratic senators to bring […]
4/13/2018
MIKE POMPEO/SENATE/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “It’s starting to look like Mike Pompeo might not get a favorable vote from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to support his nomination as secretary of state, after three Democrats (and at least one Republican) on the panel have signaled they’ll vote against the current CIA director. Nominations can advance to full […]
4/12/2018
EPA/SCOTT PRUITT/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Senate on Thursday [4-12-18] is widely expected to confirm the Environmental Protection Agency’s second-in-command, Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist who not only shares the deregulatory zeal of Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. chief, but also his doubtful view of climate science. More notable, however, are the differences between the two men. […]