The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted 51-44 to kill the “Right to IVF Act” which had previously failed in June.
Read More‘Right to IVF Act’ Fails in the Senate 51-44
Tag: U.S. Senate
College Students Lack ‘Rudimentary’ Knowledge of History, Civics: Survey
College students lack a “rudimentary grasp” of American history and government, as displayed in a civic literacy assessment recently conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.
The 35-question survey, “Losing America’s Memory 2.0,” asked more than 3,000 students from all 50 states questions about history and government, including Senate term lengths and a quote from the Gettysburg Address, according to ACTA. The survey was conducted in June by College Pulse.
Read MoreCommentary: Abortion Once Again at Forefront of Election
The prevailing belief in the Democratic Party is that abortion will again be a potent issue against Republicans in this year’s election cycle just as it was in 2022 – and that this time it will not just cost the GOP gaining the majority in the U.S. Senate, but also give Democrats the upper hand in retaining the presidency and winning back the House.
Abortion rights put the brakes on the Republicans’ chances in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion after almost 50 years; a decision that transformed American politics that year, benefiting Democrats who were on their way to a bruising midterm election defeat.
Read MoreU.S. Senate Passes $95 Billion Foreign Aid Bill to Ukraine, Israel
The U.S. Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after days of delay from Republicans who did not want to pass the funding without provisions to secure the southern border.
The legislation passed early Tuesday morning after a filibuster largely led by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., ended. Now the legislation goes to the House, where it remains unclear if they can get the votes.
Read MoreCommentary: Republicans Should Ally with the American People – Not Washington Democrats
No one should be surprised that conservatives are not supporting the U.S. Senate’s supposedly bipartisan border bill.
Every time Republicans reach out to Democrats to write a bipartisan bill, they inevitably sell out conservative values and accept liberal poison pills to get Democrats’ votes.
Read MoreSen. Hagerty Endorses Kari Lake for U.S. Senate
A U.S. senator from Tennessee on Friday endorsed Kari Lake, who is running for U.S. Senate in Arizona.
Read MoreFormer President Trump Endorses Kari Lake’s Bid for U.S. Senate
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Kari Lake’s campaign for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.
Read MoreU.S. Senate Joins House in Enacting Rail Contracts to Avert Strike
The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed legislation to avert a nationwide railroad workers’ strike, but an Illinois congressman says the government should not be negotiating private sector labor deals.
The legislation, which was approved by the U.S. House on Wednesday, enacts new contracts providing railroad workers with 24% pay increases over five years, immediate payouts averaging $11,000, and an extra day off.
Read MoreSenator Sounds Alarm for Same-Sex Marriage Bill as It Clears Another Hurdle with GOP Support, ‘Without Sufficient Protections for Religious Liberty’
A bill that would enshrine same-sex marriage in federal law progressed further in the Senate Monday evening with significant Republican support, but without sufficient religious liberty protections, and is now headed to a vote on Tuesday.
The Senate voted, 61-35, with four senators not voting, to end debate on the House-passed bill, dubbed the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA), that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act which defined marriage in federal law as between one man and one woman.
Read MoreMitch McConnell Backs Electoral Count Reform Bill Ted Cruz Warns All Republicans to Oppose
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Tuesday he will back legislation that intends to make it more difficult in the future to object to the results of presidential elections.
The Electoral Count Act and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022, a bill sponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and supported by other liberal-moderate Republicans, was dismissed, nevertheless, by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who said it is based on Democrats’ belief voter fraud “helps elect more Democrats.”
Read MoreCommentary: Keys to GOP’s Hispanic Outreach in Pennsylvania and Nationwide
After this month’s historic special election win in South Texas, Republican strategists nationwide are asking themselves: how can we replicate now-Congresswoman Mayra Flores’s success in flipping an 84% Hispanic district to the GOP? Meantime, Democrats are burying their heads in the South Texas sand as Hispanic voters flee their party.
It’s not rocket science to appeal to Hispanic voters and persuade them to vote Republican. My firm’s work with the Hispanic Republican Coalition of Pennsylvania shows how to do it.
Read MoreU.S. Senate Reaches Agreement on Gun Control Bill
The U.S. Senate voted late Tuesday to advance a gun control bill with 14 Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, joining Democrats to approve the measure.
The vote was reached after weeks of negotiating a bipartisan bill in response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in which a gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers.
Read MoreRepublican Senators Considering Voting for Gun Control Measures
In the U.S. Senate, some Republican senators appear open to signing off on Democrat-proposed efforts to increase gun control restrictions in the wake of several recent mass shootings.
Politico reports that the negotiations are being led on the Republican side by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas). Cornyn has already briefed Republican leadership on what he has discussed with other senators over last week’s recess, and recently held a meeting with Democrats Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to move talks forward.
Read MoreStill Teflon: The Trump Comeback No One’s Talking About
Former President Donald Trump now enjoys the highest favorability rating among the seven U.S. political leaders tracked in the RealClearPolitics (RCP) polling average, marking a striking political transformation from where he was 15 months ago while leaving office.
Trump has a favorability rating of 45.8%, more than three points higher than President Joe Biden’s rating of 42.6%, according to the RCP average.
Read MorePressure from Lawmakers Grows As IRS Begins New Tax Season with ‘Continued Confusion’
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pressuring the Internal Revenue Service over ongoing problems and unaddressed issues from last year’s filing season even as this year’s season is in full swing.
A bipartisan group of more than 100 lawmakers from the U.S. House and Senate sent a letter to the IRS raising concerns about “continued confusion” and “numerous problems” with the agency.
Read MoreOklahoma’s Inhofe Leaving U.S. Senate
U.S Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., is stepping down from his Senate seat.
The senator said in a letter to Oklahoma Secretary of State Brian Bingman he and his wife, Kay, felt like it was time to “stand aside and support the next generation of Oklahoma leaders.”
Read MoreSenate Caps History-Making Day by Rejecting Filibuster Change
The Senate late Thursday rejected a Democratic effort to alter the filibuster in order to pass their long-sought voting bills over unanimous Republican opposition, capping one of the most consequential days in the history of the chamber.
The vote failed 48-52 after Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema voted as they said they would for months, joining a unanimous Republican caucus in opposition and denying their party the necessary support for the change to take effect. The change, had it been adopted, would have established a “talking filibuster” pertaining to the voting bills only, allowing any senator to speak for or against them for as long as they wanted but lowering the 60-vote threshold for passage to a simple majority.
Read MoreRepublican Members of Congress Oppose Kevin McCarthy’s Proposal to Limit Insider Trading
After House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) proposed possible new legislation to limit the practice of insider stock trading among members of Congress, even some within his own ranks have anonymously voiced their opposition to such a plan.
As reported by the New York Post, McCarthy first made the suggestion to Punchbowl News, suggesting such a bill as one of many things he would want to see introduced if the GOP retakes the majority in November. Among other things, his proposal would restrict members to only holding professionally managed funds, as well as prohibit lawmakers from owning stocks in companies that are overseen by committees they serve on.
McCarthy pointed to the example of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has a net worth of over $100 million, and whose husband was found to have traded millions more worth of tech stocks. “I just think if you’re the Speaker of the House, you control what comes to the floor, what goes through committee, you have all the power to do everything you want,” McCarthy said on Tuesday. “You can’t be trading millions of dollars.”
Read MoreSenate Votes to Raise Debt Ceiling by $2.5 Trillion
The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to raise the debt ceiling $2.5 trillion, a move that would avoid a default on the nation’s debt payments likely until 2023, beyond the midterm elections.
The 50-49 vote along party lines now sends the measure to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Read MoreU.S. Senate Votes to Repeal Biden’s Private Sector Vaccine Mandate
The U.S. Senate Wednesday night sent the Biden administration a message: Congress’ upper chamber does not support the president’s vaccine mandate on private businesses.
With two Democratic senators joining all 50 Republicans, the Senate voted 52-48 to repeal President Joe Biden’s executive mandate requiring that private-sector employers with 100 or more workers ensure their employees are vaccinated against COVID-19 or face weekly testing. Businesses that didn’t follow the directive were to face stiff fines.
Read MoreBiden-Appointed U.S. Attorney Plays Race Card in Expletive Filled Rant
A recently-appointed U.S. Attorney who has been praised for her commitment to fixing the “injustices” in the criminal justice system launched into an expletive laden rant when approached by reporters.
Wednesday, Rachael Rollins was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. She was appointed by President Joe Biden.
Read MoreFederally Funded Critical Race Theory Program Removes ‘Critical Race Theory’ from Description
Five years ago, the U.S. Department of Education approved a grant application for a summer research program whose “core feature” was introducing student fellows to “critical race theory.”
The feds approved a five-year extension of the original grant for the Research Institute for Scholars of Equity (RISE) this year, with one notable and unexplained omission: the term “critical race theory.”
Read MoreLaw Professor Accuses University of Violating Federal Trade Commission Rules with Mask Mandate
A business law professor who has been put on paid leave for refusing to wear a mask in class is defending his actions with an unexpected authority: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
“[B]y requiring employees to wear a mask, you are promoting the idea that the mask can prevent or treat a disease, which is an illegal deceptive practice,” David Clements, who teaches consumer law at New Mexico State University (NMSU), told provost Carol Parker in a Sept. 13 letter.
Read MoreU.S. Senate Confirms Controversial DOJ Nominee Who Once Wrote Black Supremacist Essay
On Tuesday, the United States Senate confirmed one of Joe Biden’s most controversial federal nominees, Kristen Clarke, to a key leadership post in the Department of Justice, as reported by the Daily Caller.
Clarke was confirmed as head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division with 51 votes, when Republican Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) sided with the chamber’s 50 Democrats to confirm her nomination. As previously reported, her nomination originally stalled in the Judiciary Committee after the committee vote to advance her nomination ended in a tie, before Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) brought the motion to a full floor vote to advance it out of the committee.
Read MoreTrump Antagonist Opposes Arizona Election Audit as Justice Department Official
A foe of former President Donald Trump is leading the Biden Justice Department’s push to discredit or halt an election audit in Arizona’s largest county—an issue that is heating up this week.
Pamela S. Karlan, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, warned the leader of the Arizona state Senate that the audit of Maricopa County’s election results in November could run afoul of federal law regarding security of voter information and voter intimidation.
President Joe Biden, who appointed Karlan, narrowly defeated Trump in Arizona, where Maricopa County was a crucial battleground.
Read MoreMinnesota Democrats Respond to ‘Incredibly Harmful’ Voter ID Bill, Call for Permanent Mail-in Voting
Minnesota Senate Democrats announced a sweeping elections platform Monday and attacked their Republican colleagues for introducing “incredibly harmful” voter ID legislation.
“Over the past year, we watched as Republican leaders across the country and here in Minnesota helped spread the big lie that our elections are not fair,” Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent, DFL-Woodbury, said at a Monday press conference, accusing Republicans of participating in a “voter suppression” campaign.
Read MoreOmar: ‘We’re Sending Money to Less People than Trump’
Rep. Ilhan Omar said she is disappointed that Democrats are “ultimately sending money to less people than the Trump administration.”
The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package passed Saturday by the U.S. Senate includes $1,400 stimulus checks for individuals making up to $75,000 and married couples with a joint income of up to $150,000. Unlike the two previous relief bills — which included $600 and $1,200 stimulus payments — higher-income earners won’t receive partial checks.
“I see it as a really disappointing development. We obviously are now ultimately sending money to less people than the Trump administration and the Senate majority Republicans,” Omar told CNN Friday night.
Read MoreStill No Chain of Custody Documents Produced in Georgia for 76 Percent of Absentee Ballots Cast in Drop Boxes Two Months Ago in Presidential Election
Two months after the November 3 presidential election, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office and county officials in the state have failed to produce chain of custody documents known as ballot transfer forms that tracked the movement of 76 percent of the estimated 600,000 absentee ballots deposited in 300 drop boxes around the state and subsequently delivered to county registrars responsible for accurately and honestly counting those votes in that election.
Read MoreSenate Votes to Advance Barrett; Confirmation Expected Monday
Senate Republicans voted overwhelmingly Sunday to advance Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett toward final confirmation despite Democratic objections, just over a week before the presidential election.
Barrett’s confirmation on Monday was hardly in doubt, with majority Republicans mostly united in support behind President Donald Trump’s pick. But Democrats were poised to keep the Senate in session into the night in attempts to stall, arguing that the Nov. 3 election winner should choose the nominee to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Read MoreHouse Democrats Block Congressman Stauber’s Police Reform Bill Again
House Democrats blocked discussion of a police reform bill sponsored by Congressman Pete Stauber (R-MN-08). Democratic leaders argued that the more important issue at hand is the “postal crisis.”
Stauber criticized the focus of their session.
Read MoreJason Lewis Says Parents Should Be Refunded for Property Taxes If Schools Don’t Reopen
Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis said parents should be refunded for property tax payments and tuition if schools aren’t allowed to reopen in the fall.
“The more we learn about COVID, the more it becomes apparent that we have done a huge disservice to our children in the way we have handled this virus. Research has proven that COVID presents minimal risks to young people. But what isn’t minimal is the toll this prolonged lockdown and social isolation has on our kids’ social, mental, and physical well-being,” Lewis said in a statement released Wednesday.
Read MoreRepublican Pete Stauber, Former Law Enforcement Officer, Carries Police Reform Bill in the House
Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN-08), a former law enforcement officer of more than 20 years, announced last week that he will carry police reform legislation in the U.S. House.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced on Wednesday the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act, a Republican-backed police reform bill that was set in motion after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Read More‘Absolute Lie’: DFL Chairman Falsely Claims Jason Lewis ‘Denouncing Need for Police Reform’
Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin falsely claimed that Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis is “denouncing the need for police reform.”
Lewis, a former congressman who’s running against Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), hosted a press conference Monday outside the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct to express his support for the “good men and women of law enforcement,” and condemn Democratic efforts to abolish the police.
Read MoreLewis Says Any Politician Who Purports to Represent the People Can’t ‘Deny Them Their God-Given Right to Earn a Living’
There’s no “pandemic exception” to the Bill of Rights, Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis told The Minnesota Sun in a recent interview. That’s the same argument U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr made in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. “We have three branches of government, and allowing the…
Read MoreJason Lewis Running for ‘Forgotten Man and Woman,’ Calls Opponent ‘Poster Child’ of the Elite
Republican Jason Lewis, a former conservative radio host turned congressman, said his campaign for the U.S. Senate will be about the “forgotten man and woman in Minnesota.” His opponent, Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), on the other hand, has become “the poster child for how the DFL has left behind…
Read MoreSenate Candidate Jason Lewis: ‘China Is Responsible for This Pandemic’
Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis placed the blame for the coronavirus pandemic squarely on China’s shoulders in a new commercial released Monday.
Read MorePresident Trump to Declare National Emergency in Response to Coronavirus
President Donald Trump will declare a national emergency Friday afternoon in response to the coronavirus outbreak, various reports claimed.
Read MoreKlobuchar Ranked One of the Most Liberal in the Senate Despite Moderate Image
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) was recently ranked one of the most liberal members of the U.S. Senate despite the moderate image she projects on the campaign trail.
Read MoreCommentary: President Trump and the Republicans’ Lasting Legacy in the Judiciary
One of the effects of the Senate impeachment’s abrupt conclusion in President Donald Trump’s favor is that the Republican Senate can get right on with the business of confirming constitutionalists to federal court, of which Trump recently touted 191 having been confirmed.
Read MoreDFL Steps Up Attacks on Jason Lewis for Supporting Trump
The Minnesota DFL Party said Monday that Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis would “push an uncompromising partisan agenda” if he were sent back to Washington.
Read MoreJason Lewis Announces Candidacy for U.S. Senate at Minnesota State Fair: ‘I’m Going to Fight Back’
Jason Lewis, a former congressman from Minnesota’s Second Congressional District and popular conservative radio host, announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate Thursday.
Read MoreProminent Democrats Regret Calling for Al Franken’s Resignation
Former Sen. Al Franken recently sat down with The New Yorker for one of his first major interviews since resigning from office in late 2017. The piece, written by Jane Mayer, reviews the sexual misconduct allegations against Franken and offers a window into Franken’s post-office life. “It was a…
Read MoreGregory Watson Commentary: U.S. House of Representatives’ Quiet Procedural Snub of President Trump’s 2019 SOTU Address
When any American President formally speaks before a joint session of the two houses of the U.S. Congress, it is considered a matter of great importance to our nation — and certainly ought to be viewed as quite significant by members of Congress. The State-of-the-Union (SOTU) address — regardless of…
Read MoreSenators Give Up On Effort to Rename Senate Office Building in Honor of John McCain
by Molly Prince The effort to rename a Senate office building after the late Republican Sen. John McCain has seemingly gone to the wayside as months pass without any further action. Following McCain’s death in August, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to introduce a resolution that would change…
Read MoreMartha McSally Will be Appointed to John McCain’s Seat
by Henry Rodgers Arizona Republican Rep. Martha McSally will be appointed to John McCain’s former Senate seat after Republican Sen. Jon Kyl announced he is resigning from the U.S. Senate at the end of December. Gov. Doug Ducey, announced in a Tuesday statement that McSally will be taking the seat.…
Read MoreAnti-Kavanaugh Protesters Refuse to Comment on Ellison Allegations
A group of protesters recently gathered at the U.S. Senate to protest the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, but refused to answer questions regarding the allegations against Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN-05). The Daily Caller’s Stephanie Hamill went to the Senate to interview protesters, who are opposing…
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