Category: Republican

Inauguration in Sight, Trump Continues Twitter Assault

His inauguration days away, President-elect Donald Trump is continuing to lash out at critics in the intelligence community and Democrats in Congress who are vowing to skip his swearing-in ceremony. The tough-talking Republican questioned whether the CIA director himself was “the leaker of fake news” in a Sunday night tweet.

More

Attorneys generals from six states, including New York’s Eric Schneiderman, have sent a letter urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general. Attorneys generals from six states, including New York’s Eric Schneiderman, have sent a letter urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general.

Maine pulp and paper trade group dissolves after half a century

In what appears to be a sign of the times, the Maine Pulp and Paper Association has announced that it is disbanding effective immediately. Conna Cassese, the association’s chair, sent an email on Friday informing members that in the wake of ongoing mill closures, the 50-year-old trade organization no longer had enough support to continue its mission of representing the state’s pulp and papermaking companies, according to an online post by Maine Environmental News.

Rand Paul discusses Obamacare replacement plans

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday unveiled the broad strokes of his Obamacare replacement package, a measure he again said Republicans must pass “on the same day as we do repeal.” “We’ve had six years to complain and we have complained – I’ve been one of those complaining about Obamacare,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

Rand Paul previews Obamacare replacement plan

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday unveiled the broad strokes of his Obamacare replacement package, a measure he again said Republicans must pass “on the same day as we do repeal.” “We’ve had six years to complain and we have complained — I’ve been one of those complaining about Obamacare,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

Rep. John Lewis’ books sell out following Donald Trump’s attacks

Rep. John Lewis asks questions during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 11, 2017. Rep. John Lewis asks questions during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 11, 2017.

A president from Facebook? Vanity Fair makes a case

Nick Bilton of Vanity Fair writes of indications that Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg will run for president of the U.S. someday. Among the lesser bits of circumstantial evidence: Zuckerberg, who has a habit of posting his annual New Year’s resolution on his Facebook page, declared that after conquering the previous challenges of learning Mandarin, and building an artificial-intelligence butler for his home, this year he was going to meet “people in every state in the US.”

GOP leaders pledge vape law overhaul, subject of FBI probe

Republican legislative leaders say they want to unwind stiff regulations they imposed on Indiana’s vaping industry, which created a stranglehold on the burgeoning market for one company and prompted an FBI investigation. The law, which is subject to a legal challenge, was passed in 2015 ostensibly to ensure that the nicotine-laced liquid consumed through vaping met safety standards.

Toyota’s line into Trump: Mike Pence

Broadsided by this month’s Trump tweet targeting Toyota, the Japanese carmaker’s president, Akio Toyoda, is wasting no time in appealing to the new administration. On day one of the Detroit auto show, Toyoda ballyhooed the company’s plan to invest $10 billion in the U.S. over the next five years.

Jeff Sadow: Medicaid expansion becomes an obsession

If you agree with the agenda of Medicaid reformers taking power in Washington, Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards and his intemperate chief health bureaucrat say you’re the bad guy. With a mixture of conceit and high dudgeon, Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Rebekah Gee declared efforts to repeal Medicaid expansion “irresponsible, inhumane and ill-advised.”

Christopher Steele, the ex-MI6 agent behind the Trump dossier

The building housing the offices of Orbis Buiness Intelligence where former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele works, is in central London. Christopher Steele, who wrote reports on compromising material Russian operatives allegedly had collected on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, is a former officer in Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, according to people familiar with his career.

Missouri senators renew effort to get Delta Queen cruising

Missouri’s U.S. senators are renewing efforts to get the legendary riverboat the Delta Queen cruising again on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Legislation filed this past week by Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Roy Blunt would reinstate an exemption for the Delta Queen to a federal law that prohibits overnight excursions on wooden vessels.

GOP lawmaker says Capitol pig painting coming down

In this Jan. 5, 2017, photo, a painting by David Pulphus hangs in a hallway displaying paintings by high school students selected by their member of congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. A GOP congressman reported Jan. 13 that a painting stirring controversy on Capitol Hill will be taken down on Tuesday as a result of a review by the agency responsible for maintaining the Capitol complex determined it violated rules for a student arts competition.

‘This experiment has failed’: House charts course to repeal health law

The House cleared the way Friday for speedy action to repeal the Affordable Care Act, putting Congress on track to undo the most significant health care law in a half-century. With a near party-line vote of 227-198, the House overcame the opposition of Democrats and the anxieties of some Republicans to approve a budget blueprint that allows Republicans to end major provisions of President Barack Obama’s health care law without the threat of a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.

EPA says it can’t pay economic damages from mine spill

In this Aug. 6, 2015 file photo, Dan Bender, with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, takes a water sample from the Animas River near Durango, Colo. after the accidental release of an estimated 3 million gallons of waste from the Gold King Mine by a crew led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Here are all the lawmakers boycotting Trump’s inauguration

It looks like A-list celebrity performers may not be the only ones skipping President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. While several political figures, including George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton will be in attendance when Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on January 20, a number of lawmakers who oppose Trump are refusing to show up.

Mike Pence Shops for Ice Cream

Vice president-elect Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence embrace at Republican president-elect Donald Trump’s election night event. Soon-to-be Vice President Mike Pence makes emergency ice cream runs just like the rest of us — except for the gang of Secret Service agents trailing him, of course.

Betsy DeVos omitted $125,000 anti-union political donation from Senate disclosure form

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team acknowledged Friday that Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary, omitted a $125,000 political donation from disclosures she submitted to a Senate committee in advance of her confirmation hearing, which is scheduled for Tuesday. “We appreciate this being called to our attention and we will be updating our committee submission,” a transition team spokeswoman said Friday.

Reviewing the other night’s travesties

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan reads from a list of states with increasing health insurance premiums during his weekly news conference in the Capitol Visitors Center at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. Yesterday, January 12, was a shameful day for us in Colorado.

Sen. Markey to vote against Trump attorney general nominee

Sen. Edward Markey says he’ll vote against President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama. The Massachusetts Democrat said Friday that a review of Sessions’ record “demonstrates anything but the type of commitment to the equal and impartial administration of justice that we must demand from the nation’s top law enforcement officer.”