Category: US Senate

Trump looms over Senate’s anti-Asian hate crimes battle

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Ninety-two senators voted last week to advance an Asian American hate crimes bill. But its passage likely depends on Democrats agreeing to soften language that Republicans say ties hate crimes too narrowly to the characterization of COVID-19 as the “China virus.”

Even Republicans who voted to advance the hate crimes legislation sponsored by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) see it as a jab at President Trump. The bill links his characterization of COVID-19 as the “China virus” to racist and hateful acts.

Republicans also see language in the bill as opening the door to politically correct thought-police squads. Specifically, they are critical of a provision that instructs Attorney General Merrick Garland and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to issue guidance on “best practices” for language describing the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading.

Senators in the dark on parliamentarian’s decision

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A parliamentarian ruling touted as a breakthrough for the Democratic agenda is putting the Senate in uncharted territory and sparking confusion.

More than a week after Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough signaled that Democrats could have more than just two shots this year at using budget rules to bypass the 60-vote filibuster legislation normally must clear to become law, senators say they are largely in the dark about its ramifications. 

Democrats say they haven’t seen the formal guidance, don’t totally understand the mechanics and that it hasn’t really been discussed by members beyond a surface level.  Continue reading.

The GOP’s gradual descent into ‘replacement theory’ and ‘nativist dog whistles’

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If there’s one surprise in the conservative movement’s increasing embrace of “replacement theory,” it might be that it didn’t happen sooner.

President Donald Trump made skepticism of immigrants and refugees his calling card beginning with the launch of his 2016 presidential campaign, accusing countries of sending “rapists” and “murderers” to the border. But it’s taken until Trump was out of office for the idea that immigrants are “replacing” and thus diluting other American voters — an idea that has been popular with white supremacists and white nationalists — to begin to take hold.

It’s a reflection of the lasting impact Trump has had on the movement, even now that he’s out of office, as well as a commentary on just how ripe the party was for such a shift. The shift just took time. Continue reading.

Republicans who backed Trump impeachment see fundraising boost

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The majority of House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump in January saw fundraising gains in the first three months of the year despite intense backlash from members of their own party, according to new financial disclosures.

Most of the Republicans who publicly went against Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol saw their 2021 first quarter hauls increase from their 2019 hauls during the same period. Two of Trump’s most high-profile critics in the House received a major financial boost in particular: House GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (Wyo.) raised $1.5 million at the start of 2021 compared to $321,000 during the same period in 2019, while Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) brought in $1.2 million during the first three months of the year compared to $326,000 in 2019. 

The fundraising hauls come amid a growing divide within the party, as Trump and his allies threaten to support primary challengers against those who voted to impeach him — some of whom are also raking in money. Continue reading.

Everything Republicans Oppose, They Now Call ’Socialist’

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Republicans have devised a new definition for the term socialism: anything we don’t support.

According to Merriam-Webster, socialism is defined principally as “any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.”

But congressional Republicans accused their Democratic colleagues and President Joe Biden this week of being socialists for considering reforms to the Supreme Court.

“Biden is dead set on packing the Supreme Court with activist justices who will rubber stamp the Socialists’ anti-America agenda,” tweeted Rep Mo. Brooks of Alabama on Wednesday. Biden has not endorsed any changes to the court, but signed an executive order on April 9 to create a commission to study various proposals for reforming it. Continue reading.

How the Jan. 6 riot is affecting campaign fundraising

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Small donors buoy Republicans who saw PAC funding drop

Industry PAC contributions to House Republicans who voted against certifying Electoral College results in January fell during the first quarter of the year, but many made up for it with an influx of contributions from small donors.

Meanwhile, Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting insurrection also saw their fundraising grow, including from PACs, as they prepared for primary challenges.

Political action committees of many companies and lobbying groups said they would pause some or all contributions after rioters broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6 to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential win. Continue reading.

How the G.O.P. Lost Its Clear Voice on Foreign Policy

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After four years of Donald J. Trump’s America-first mantra, Republican views on foreign intervention, long a signature part of the party’s brand, have splintered.

For decades, Senator Lindsey Graham traveled the world with his friend John McCain, visiting war zones and meeting with foreign allies and adversaries, before returning home to promote the Republican gospel of an internationalist, hawkish foreign policy.

But this week, after President Biden announced that troops would leave Afghanistan no later than Sept. 11, Mr. Graham took the podium in the Senate press gallery and hinted that spreading the party’s message had become a bit lonely.

“I miss John McCain a lot but probably no more than today,” Mr. Graham said. “If John were with us, I’d be speaking second.”

Mr. McCain, the onetime prisoner of war in Vietnam, in many ways embodied a distinctive Republican worldview: a commitment to internationalism — and confrontation when necessary — that stemmed from the Cold War and endured through the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush before evolving after the Sept. 11 attacks to account for the threat of global terrorism. Continue reading.

17 requests for backup in 78 minutes


A reconstruction shows how failures of planning and preparation
left police at the Capitol severely disadvantaged on Jan. 6

Schumer lays groundwork for future filibuster reform

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Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is asking Democrats to look for GOP dance partners, both as a defense for attacks next year that his party is unwilling to work with Republicans, and as a step toward possibly limiting the filibuster.

The initial reason for seeking bipartisan opportunities is next year’s midterms.

Democrats want to bolster their defenses for the coming GOP attacks that voters should deliver a GOP majority in the House or Senate as a check on President Biden, and to punish Democrats for not working on a bipartisan basis. Continue reading.

Watchdog: Capitol Police need ‘culture change’

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The Capitol Police’s internal watchdog will testify before lawmakers Thursday about how the police force failed to prepare for the mob attack on Jan. 6 despite warnings ahead of time of possible violence. 

The report from the Capitol Police’s inspector general, Michael Bolton, paints a picture of a police force that failed to disseminate critical warnings about the insurrection to top leaders and even take basic measures to properly maintain equipment that could have helped protect officers from the violent mob.

Bolton is expected to tell lawmakers on the House Administration Committee that the Capitol Police needs a fundamental “culture change” to adequately protect the seat of American democracy and prevent another deadly attack. Continue reading.