U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, speaks to a reporter in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 1, 2017. WASHINGTON – In a delegation packed with chairmen and some of the most bombastic members of Congress, one of the quieter Texas members this week took on one of the most daunting U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess , a Lewisville Republican, led his first hearings this week to unwind the Affordable Care Act, the Democrats’ 2010 health care overhaul.
Category: Democrat
Ap Explains: What is the Senate’s ‘nuclear option’?
Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch, center arrives for a meeting with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 in Washington. Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire walks with Gorsuch at left.
Civil rights opponent moves toward US Attorney General confirmation
Ari Berman posted a message on Twitter saying, ” Senate Judiciary Committee just voted to confirm Jeff Sessions, lifelong opponent of civil rights, on 1st day of Black History Month ” in what understatement allows us to call irony. Jefferson Beauregard “Jeff” Sessions III, the junior United States Senator from Alabama and President Donald Trump’s choice to be US attorney general, is .
Joe Biden Backs Tom Perez in Race for DNC Chair
Former Vice President Joe Biden has endorsed former Labor Secretary Tom Perez to lead the Democratic National Committee, Politico reports. “I’ve known Tom Perez for a long time.
GOP Pushes 2 Top Cabinet Picks Through to Full Senate
Republicans jammed two of President Donald Trump’s top Cabinet picks through the Senate Finance Committee with no Democrats in the room Wednesday after suspending a rule that would have otherwise barred them from taking the vote. The tactic seemed a warning shot that they might deploy brute political muscle in the upcoming fight over the Supreme Court vacancy.
Trump makes unannounced trip to honor fallen Navy SEAL
Assuming the somber duties of commander in chief, President Donald Trump made an unannounced trip Wednesday to honor the returning remains of a U.S. Navy SEAL killed in a weekend raid in Yemen. Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, a 36-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, was the first known U.S. combat casualty since Trump took office less than two weeks ago.
Why ‘cloture’ and ‘nuclear option’ are keys to Trump’s Supreme Court pick
President Trump’s impending announcement of a Supreme Court nominee is fueling speculation that Senate Republicans may use a procedure known as the “nuclear option” to ensure that they can confirm a new justice even if Democrats oppose Trump’s choice. Why ‘cloture’ and ‘nuclear option’ are keys to Trump’s Supreme Court pick President Trump’s impending announcement of a Supreme Court nominee is fueling speculation that Senate Republicans may use a procedure known as the “nuclear option” to ensure that they can confirm a new justice even if Democrats oppose Trump’s choice.
GOP changes the rules to back Price, Mnuchin
A Senate committee has approved President Donald Trump’s picks for Health and Treasury secretaries after majority Republicans suspended the panel’s rules. The rule they suspended requires at least one Democrat to be present for votes.
The Latest: Panel vote on budget director delayed
The top Democrat on a Senate panel responsible for advancing President Donald Trump’s pick to head the White House budget office says she needs time to examine the results of a routine FBI investigation before she can vote on Rep. Mick Mulvaney’s nomination. Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill says she gained access to Mulvaney’s FBI file just a half-hour before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee vote Wednesday morning.
GOP suspends Senate rule, muscles Trump picks through panel
Republicans muscled through committee approval of President Donald Trump’s nominees for Treasury and Health on Wednesday, suspending a key Senate rule in the latest escalation of partisan tensions in Congress. Democrats boycotted a Finance Committee meeting and Republicans responded by temporarily scuttling a rule requiring at least one Democrat to be present for votes.
Reeling left takes heart in anti-Trump protests
Democrats and progressives shell-shocked by President Trump’s election are taking heart from the surge in popular opposition to him. Rep. Sandy Levin, an 85-year-old Michigan Democrat, said he hasn’t seen a protest movement so animated in decades.
Pelosi caught on hot mic telling fellow Rep: ‘Tell them you’re a Muslim’
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was heard on a hot mic instructing a fellow representative to tell the crowd he is a Muslim. Pelosi, who was attending a protest of President Trump’s temporary immigration ban outside the Supreme Court, introduced Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind.
Joaquin Castro still talking Senate
Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro said Wednesday he’s considering challenging Republican Ted Cruz in the 2018 Texas Senate race and that he will decide by this spring. “I said that I’ll take a look at it and I will,” Castro said.
Morning Spin: Bring your own bag because Chicago’s bag tax starts today
Shoppers carry plastic bags from Walgreens on Nov. 16, 2016, in the Loop. The drugstore chain has said it will revert to thinner bags in 2017, when the city’s 7-cent disposable bag tax takes effect.
Democratic ‘outs’ sound thirsty for a tea party of their own
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Democrats running Tea Party playbook against Trump
Senate Democrats are dispensing with talk of cooperation and preparing to fight President Trump across the board, delaying his nominees where possible and filibustering his Supreme Court pick if necessary. Despite their minority status in the Senate, Democrats are under increasing pressure from their progressive base to stand up to a president they consider authoritarian and illegitimate.
Today in History
On Feb. 1, 1942, during World War II, the Voice of America broadcast its first program to Europe, relaying it through the facilities of the British Broadcasting Corp. in London.
Today in History
On Feb. 1, 1942, during World War II, the Voice of America broadcast its first program to Europe, relaying it through the facilities of the British Broadcasting Corp. in London.
Today in History
On Feb. 1, 1942, during World War II, the Voice of America broadcast its first program to Europe, relaying it through the facilities of the British Broadcasting Corp. in London.
Today in History
On Feb. 1, 1942, during World War II, the Voice of America broadcast its first program to Europe, relaying it through the facilities of the British Broadcasting Corp. in London.
Disclosure Push Threatens Non-Profit Donors’ First Amendment Protections
California elected officials are leading a courtroom charge to bulldoze the 1958 NAACP v. Alabama Supreme Court decision that guarantees anonymity for non-profit donors who might otherwise be subjected to death threats and other forms of intimidation.
Murphy, Blumenthal concerned about Gorsuch pick
Judge Neil Gorsuch delivers brief remarks after being nominated by President Donald Trump to the Supreme Court during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday. Judge Neil Gorsuch delivers brief remarks after being nominated by President Donald Trump to the Supreme Court during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday.
Catholic Priest Urges Trump Protesters to Commit Suicide
A Catholic priest who posted a meme suggesting those protesting President Donald Trump’s actions should commit suicide said the controversial message was meant to be funny. Rev. Philip Pizzo, of the largely immigrant St. Benedict Joseph Labre Roman Catholic Church in Queens, New York, shared a social media post that said those against Trump should jump off a building, the New York Post reported .
Florida leaders, elected officials to respond to President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
If he picks as extreme of a nominee as we are expecting, Florida leaders and elected officials will call on Sen. Nelson and Sen. Rubio to stand up for the Constitution and reject the nominee.
House Dem Chairman Crowley: ‘Trump Is a Coward’
Democratic lawmakers are launching personal attacks against President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration from several predominantly Muslim countries, The Hill reports. “Immigrants are the best, the brightest and the bravest coming to our nation,” Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., told reporters after a private caucus meeting.
Navy SEAL killed in al-Qaida raid remembered as hero
A decorated U.S. Navy SEAL from Illinois who was killed during a raid against al-Qaida in Yemen is being remembered as a hero by elected officials and those who knew him as a high school student. A friend from Illinois Valley Central High School, Cody Jackson, said Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens was doing exactly what he wanted with his life when the 36-year-old Peoria man was killed in a firefight in a raid that left 30 others dead, including an estimated 14 militants.
Cruz: Trump Supreme Court Pick Will Get Confirmed
Sen. Ted Cruz says Democrats will not be able to block President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nomination, even if Republicans have to find a different way around them, Politico reports. “The Democrats are not going to succeed in filibustering the Supreme Court nominee,” Cruz said Tuesday during an interview with Politico.
DeVos may have used official’s remarks without attribution
Education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos appears to have used quotes from an Obama administration official without attribution in her written responses to questions from Democrats considering her nomination. In response to a question on LGBT rights, DeVos wrote to Sen. Patty Murray, the committee’s top Democrat, “Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment where they can learn, thrive, and grow.”
Connecticut lawmakers move to cut funding for Trump’s…
Protesters crowd into Bradley Airport to demonstrate against President Donald Trump executive action stopping people from many Muslim Countries from traveling into the USA, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017, in Windsor Locks, Conn. less Protesters crowd into Bradley Airport to demonstrate against President Donald Trump executive action stopping people from many Muslim Countries from traveling into the USA, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017, in Windsor … more Sen. Chris Murphy and Sen. Elizabeth Warren during a confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary, before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 31, 2017.
Mike DeWine and Jon Husted tie for fundraising lead as race for Ohio governor enters early phase
We have some early hints about the fundraising strength of several Ohio gubernatorial prospects and others considering bids for statewide office in 2018. Campaign finance reports submitted before a Tuesday afternoon deadline show that Attorney General Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Jon Husted — two top-tier Republicans preparing to run for governor — each entered 2017 with about $2.5 million on hand.
Sen. Leahy mocks Trumpa s voter fraud…
The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday President Trump’s claims of rampant voter fraud in the 2016 election have been debunked, but said he still expects the ridiculous claims to continue. “The next thing we are going to hear is that unicorns voted,” Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said during a committee hearing where lawmakers were scheduled to vote on Mr. Trump’s nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions to be attorney general.
5 Potential Trump Supreme Court Picks
President Donald Trump plans to announce his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court to the nation on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST. Conservatives are hoping for someone who can replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, considered to be a strong constitutionalist guided by the original intent of the Founders.
Trump’s talk about Muslims led acting attorney general to defy refugee ban
Sally Yates speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, June 28, 2016. Yates, a holdover from the Obama administration, was fired Monday after she ordered the Justice Department not to defend President Trump’s executive order on immigration in court.
Immigration order playing well to Trump’s fans around nation
President Donald Trump’s order temporarily banning refugees and immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries is playing well in Trump Country, those places that propelled him to the White House. The New York businessman and reality TV star promised to put America first during the campaign, his supporters say, and he’s doing it.
As opposition outcry grows, Trump defends immigration order
Defiant in the face of an international backlash, President Donald Trump pressed into his second week in office defending his sweeping immigration ban. Protests persisted at major airports, and concern mounted from U.S. diplomats and members of his own party.
Hawaii pushes back against presidential immigration order
Hawaii’s native Middle-Eastern and Muslim populations represent only a small faction of its overall demographic, but President Donald Trump’s Executive Order on immigration has inspired backlash among politicians, lawyers and residents of the state – both from those who identify as Muslim and those who don’t. The order, signed by the president Friday afternoon, blocked any citizen of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for a period of 90 days.
Bob Ferguson, Jay Inslee Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson,…
Washington became the first state to sue the Trump administration with a filing Monday over the president’s executive order restricting refugees and immigration. It likely will not be standing alone for long.
It s Tough When Your Base is Crazy
Sometimes you wonder why Democratic politicians are so crazed. But then you see stories like this that make it clear: Protesters shouted down Rhode Island Democratic U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse during a community event as they protested his vote in favor of President Donald Trump’s nominee for CIA director and pushed him to vote against other nominees.
India IT stocks slip amid worries about stricter H-1B visas
The shares of top Indian IT companies sank Tuesday in response to news of proposed U.S. legislation that would require salaries for H-1B visa holders to be doubled. The aim: to make it harder for companies to replace American workers with those from countries like India.
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Top House Republicans say their outline for replacing President Barack Obama’s health care law is a pathway to greater flexibility and lower costs for consumers. Democrats see a road to ruin for millions who’d face lost coverage and higher medical expenses, particularly the poor.