Category: US Senate

White House to Congress: Russia sanctions not needed now

The following article by Elana Schor was posted on the politico website January 29, 2018:

The Trump administration informed lawmakers Monday that new Russia sanctions called for in a bipartisan bill passed last year are not necessary yet because the measure is already “serving as a deterrent.”

The announcement came as lawmakers in both parties nudged the administration to implement sanctions legislation that passed overwhelmingly in July — with only five no votes in both the House and Senate. The sanctions bill requires the imposition of penalties by Monday against entities doing “significant” business with Moscow’s defense and intelligence sectors, unless Congress is notified that prospective targets are “substantially reducing” that business. Continue reading “White House to Congress: Russia sanctions not needed now”

Sen. Klobuchar: Infrastructure: the bipartisan job creator rural America needs

The following commentary by Sen. Amy Klobuchar was posted on the Brainerd Dispatch website January 29, 2018:

Infrastructure is one of the smartest investments we can make in our country. It allows businesses to grow and compete. It keep us safe. It creates millions of jobs—good paying jobs that cannot be outsourced overseas. And, it’s bipartisan. It’s one of the first things President Trump said he wanted to get done after he was elected.

The time has come to work together to get this done, and get it done right. We cannot let another year go by without action.

The good news is, there are bipartisan solutions already on the table. As a member of the Commerce and Agriculture committees, I have long supported leveraging direct funding and public-private partnerships to rebuild and reinvest in our infrastructure. One bipartisan idea I’ve been working on is to create an infrastructure bank that would help increase private sector infrastructure spending. It would also direct funding to projects in rural areas so that smaller communities can make much-needed infrastructure improvements. This type of innovative financing tool could jumpstart critical projects in Minnesota and across the country. Continue reading “Sen. Klobuchar: Infrastructure: the bipartisan job creator rural America needs”

How Trump may end up expanding Medicaid, whether he means to or not

The following article by Jeff Stein was posted on the Washington Post website January 28, 2018:

The Trump administration is calling Medicaid work requirements a positive “incentive” for beneficiaries, but critics say they’re a harmful double standard. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Republican lawmakers in a half-dozen states are launching fresh efforts to expand Medicaid, the nation’s health insurance program for the poor, as party holdouts who had blocked the expansion say they’re now open to it because of Trump administration guidelines allowing states to impose new requirements that program recipients work to get benefits.

In Utah, a Republican legislator working with the GOP governor says he hopes to pass a Medicaid expansion plan with work requirements within the year. In Idaho, a conservative lawmaker who steadfastly opposed Medicaid expansion in the past says the new requirements make him more open to the idea. And in Wyoming, a Republican senator who previously opposed expansion — a key part of President Barack Obama’s health-care law — says he’s ready to take another look at fellow Republicans’ expansion efforts in his state. Continue reading “How Trump may end up expanding Medicaid, whether he means to or not”

Republicans in Congress divided over protecting Mueller from being ousted by Trump

The following article by Sean Sullivan was posted on the Washington Post website January 28, 2018:

Lawmakers of both parties doubled down in their support for Mueller, but split on the need for protections after reports say Trump ordered his firing. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

Republicans in Congress were divided Sunday over protecting special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, with two senators embracing plans to make it more difficult for President Trump to have him fired but a top House lawmaker declaring them unnecessary.

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) highlighted his proposal to check Trump’s power over Mueller, while Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said it wouldn’t hurt to pass legislation along those lines. Continue reading “Republicans in Congress divided over protecting Mueller from being ousted by Trump”

Duckworth: Trump has no right to question others’ support for military

The following article by Brett Samuels was posted on the Hill website January 28, 2018:

© Greg Nash

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Sunday doubled down on her criticism of President Trump’s rhetoric about the military, saying his history of avoiding military service prevents him from criticizing those who have served.

“I don’t think that he has the right to question other people’s support for our military, especially those of us who have served,” Duckworth said on CBS’s “Face The Nation.” Continue reading “Duckworth: Trump has no right to question others’ support for military”

As Gridlock Deepens in Congress, Only Gloom Is Bipartisan

The following article by Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Nicholas Fandos was posted on the New York Times website January 27, 2018:

If tensions between Republicans and Democrats in Congress do not cool, the parties might careen toward another fiscal showdown in February. Credit Eric Thayer for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — As lawmakers recover from a dispiriting government shutdown and prepare for President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, Capitol Hill is absorbed with concern that Mr. Trump’s presidency has pushed an already dysfunctional Congress into a near-permanent state of gridlock that threatens to diminish American democracy itself.

The sense of gloom is bipartisan. A group of Republicans in the House and the Senate are warning of a secret plot in the F.B.I. to overthrow the Trump government. Democrats speak of corruption and creeping authoritarianism, unchecked by a Congress that has turned into an adjunct of the executive. Continue reading “As Gridlock Deepens in Congress, Only Gloom Is Bipartisan”

Focus is on an audience of one — Trump — to prevail with House GOP

The following article by Paul Kane was posted on the Washington Post website January 27, 2018:

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington. Credit: Zach Gibson/Bloomberg

The “Hastert Rule” is on its way out. It’s been replaced by the “Trump Rule.”

Several times last year, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) articulated this subtle but important shift. The much maligned, often misunderstood practice of requiring majority support among House Republicans to advance most legislation has evolved with this Republican president.

It used to be the political assumption that if Ryan brought a bill to the floor that did not have the support of the Republican majority, he risked an internal uprising that threatened his speakership. But now, there’s a corollary to the Hastert Rule, named after disgraced former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert. Continue reading “Focus is on an audience of one — Trump — to prevail with House GOP”

Republicans redefine morality as whatever Trump does

The following commentary by Dana Milbanks was posted on the Washington Post website January 26, 2018:

President Trump leaves the stage Friday after addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (Laurent Gillieron/Associated Press)

Someday, likely three years from now, perhaps sooner, perhaps — gulp — later, President Trump will depart the stage.

But what will be left of us?

New evidence suggests that the damage he is doing to the culture is bigger than the man. A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday found that two-thirds of Americans say Trump is not a good role model for children. Every component of society feels that way — men and women, old and young, black and white, highly educated or not — except for one: Republicans. By 72 to 22 percent, they say Trump is a good role model. Continue reading “Republicans redefine morality as whatever Trump does”

Shall we protect Robert Mueller now, Mr. McConnell?

The following commentary by the Editorial Board of the Washington Post website January 26, 2018:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

“I DON’T HEAR much pressure to pass anything,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in November when asked about bills that would protect special counsel Robert S. Mueller III should President Trump try to fire him. “There’s been no indication that the president or the White House are not cooperating with the special counsel,” Mr. McConnell explained.

Now there is an indication, and a pretty strong one. The New York Times reported and The Post quickly confirmed Thursday that the president moved to fire Mr. Mueller in June, shortly after the special counsel’s appointment. Mr. Trump pulled back only after White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn threatened to resign. Continue reading “Shall we protect Robert Mueller now, Mr. McConnell?”

Even now, Republicans are ignoring the storm clouds

The following commentary by Joe Scarborough was posted on the Washington Post website January 26, 2018:

Joe Scarborough
Credit: NBC/Today

We learned this week that President Trump in June ordered the firing of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, but few Republicans on Capitol Hill bothered to raise an eyebrow. In more settled times, this kind of presidential assault on an independent investigation would have stirred grave concerns throughout the halls of Congress. But Trump’s corrupted coalition has instead trotted out one twisted conspiracy theory after another, all designed to distract the president’s most fevered fans and concoct a case against Mueller’s investigation.

Wild tales of secret societies, Obama wiretaps and “deep-state” conspiracies flow freely from the tongues of Trump apparatchiks. Those preposterous narratives are then spread across cable news networks and inside Capitol Hill cloakrooms. Continue reading “Even now, Republicans are ignoring the storm clouds”