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Because of a rules change installed by the former Democratic Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, Presidential nominations cannot be filibustered. They no longer need 60 votes.
Category Archives: US Senate
Major Media Remain in Denial
Since Donald Trump's election, the major media have been trying to figure out what they did wrong, given their fawning coverage of Hillary Clinton and their anti-Donald Trump stories. Didn't they help twice elect Barack Obama? Why didn't the formula work this time? Mostly the media blame voters, talk radio and Fox News, never themselves.
Trump’s court nominee critical of president’s remarks on judges
President Donald Trump's extended criticism of the judiciary prompted a rebuke Wednesday from his nominee for the Supreme Court, who told a senator that the president's comments were "demoralizing and dishearte Trump's court nominee critical of president's remarks on judges President Donald Trump's extended criticism of the judiciary prompted a rebuke Wednesday from his nominee for the Supreme Court, who told a senator that the president's comments were "demoralizing and dishearte Check out this story on yorkdispatch.com: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's extended criticism of the judiciary prompted a rebuke Wednesday from his nominee for the Supreme Court, who told a senator that the president's comments were "demoralizing and disheartening."
Short Circuit: Bill Aims to Deep-Six 9th
How big is the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals? The San-Francisco-based circuit is so big that it represents nine states, including Nevada, 20 percent of the U.S. population and 40 percent of the nation's land mass. It's so big that Congress has looked at bills to split the circuit since 1941, and it's so big that none of those measures have succeeded.
Dem senator: Court pick calls Trump’s words ‘demoralizing’
WASHINGTON - Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee has said he found the president's attacks on the judiciary "disheartening" and "demoralizing," according to a Democratic senator. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut disclosed the comments from Judge Neil Gorsuch after meeting with the nominee Wednesday, as the candidate for the high court vacancy paid a series of courtesy visits to senators.
Elizabeth Warren speaks out after Senate rebuke over Sessions
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren had plenty to say on Wednesday after Republicans in the Senate silenced her from debating Jeff Sessions' confirmation to be attorney general. Nancy Cordes spoke with her.
The Latest: Senate confirms Sessions as attorney general
The 52-47 vote broke largely along party lines and capped weeks of divisive battles over Sessions, an early supporter of Donald Trump and one of the Senate's most conservative Republicans. Democrats laced into Sessions over his ties to Trump and his record on civil rights and immigration.
Jeff Sessions confirmed as attorney general
Sessions was elected U.S. Senator from Alabama in 1996 after serving two years as the state's attorney general. Sessions was among the first in Congress to support candidate Donald Trump and served as a top adviser in Trump's successful presidential campaign.
Senate confirms Jeff Sessions to be next attorney general
The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama as the next attorney general, surviving a vocal push by Democrats to derail his nomination. The 52-47 vote was mostly along party lines, though one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin, joined the Republicans to back their Alabama colleague.
What’s Next for the Dakota Access Pipeline?
Earlier this week the Army Corps of Engineers signaled that it would grant an easement on the Dakota Access pipeline, a move that could resume construction on the stalled and controversial project. But opponents of the pipeline believe the easement cannot be granted legally at this time.
Yes, Education Secretary DeVos made a bear joke while addressing department staff for the first time
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos addressed the staff at the U.S. Education Department for the first time on Wednesday, and during it made a joke about bears. "No need to pull any punches.
Who really cares if a married woman keeps her maiden name?
New research shows what a woman prefers to be called probably doesn't really matter, except to men who are less educated. Who really cares if a married woman keeps her maiden name? New research shows what a woman prefers to be called probably doesn't really matter, except to men who are less educated.
1902 fistfight gave rise to arcane rule that silenced Warren
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. reacts to being rebuked by the Senate leadership and accused of impugning a fellow senator, Attorney General-designate, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington Warren was barred from saying anything more on the Senate floor about Sessions after she quoted from an old letter from Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow about Sessions.
3 lessons from Republicans’ (failed) attempt to silence Elizabeth Warren
Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks to members of the media Wednesday in the Russell Senate Office Building rotunda in Washington. By a vote of 49 to 43, Senate Republicans on Tuesday night formally silenced Sen. Elizabeth Warren during the debate over the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions to be attorney general.
Spicer criticizes Dems on Sessions fight
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer criticized Senate Democrats for their ongoing debate on the confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general. Spicer criticizes Dems on Sessions fight White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer criticized Senate Democrats for their ongoing debate on the confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general.
Fort Worth hair salon owner is steamed after exchange with Bernie Sanders
Sen. Bernie Sanders is known for his disheveled hair, but he likely won't be calling LaRonda Hunter's salons in Fort Worth, Texas, for a shampoo appointment anytime soon. Hunter, a small-businesswoman who owns five Fantastic Sam's Salons in Fort Worth, questioned Sanders during Tuesday night's Obamacare debate with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a 90-minute-long substantive discussion by the two runners-up in the presidential primaries.
“The man behind the fiscal fiasco in Illinois”
As speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Michael Madigan has outlasted five governors and is now on his sixth. This year, the Chicago Democrat will become longest-serving state or federal House speaker in the United States since at least the early 1800s.
Warren Receives Support After GOP Formally Silences Her
Senator Elizabeth Warren voiced her opinion on Facebook late on Tuesday to end her speech that was formally silenced by Republicans on the Senate floor after she quoted Coretta Scott King while criticizing President Trump's attorney general nominee Senator Jeff Sessions. The drama unfolded when the Democrat from Massachusetts overstepped the arcane rules of the chamber by reading a letter dated three decades ago from the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King that dated to the failed judicial nomination of Senator Sessions nearly thirty years ago.
Senate GOP silences Elizabeth Warren over criticism of Jeff Sessions with words of Coretta Scott King
In this image from Senate Television, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks on the floor of the U.S. Senate in Washington, Feb. 6, 2017, about the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be Education Secretary. Warren was given a rare Senate rebuke Tuesday night for impugning a fellow senator, and she was barred from saying anything more on the Senate floor about attorney general nominee and current Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.
Stocks edge lower; Gilead Sciences drops 10%
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 46 points, or 0.2%, to 20,044. The Nasdaq composite declined 13 points, or 0.2%, to 5,661.