Tag: Chuck Schumer

Trump, Pelosi infrastructure talks invite skepticism

K Street sees Tuesday’s meeting between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Trump as a last-chance bid to move on a bipartisan infrastructure deal this year.

At the beginning of the Congress, advocates expressed hope that infrastructure was one of the few issues where House Democrats were likely to work with Trump. But there has been frustration that both sides have made little public progress toward a deal.

Those who spoke to The Hill hoped the Tuesday meeting would give the issue new momentum.

View the complete April 29 article by Alex Gangitano on The Hill website here.

Senate effort to block Russia sanctions relief comes up short

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., fell short of 60 votes on his Russia sanctions measure. Credit: Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call file photo

Clear majority of senators supported attempt to maintain sanctions on three Russian firms, but not 60 of them

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer came up just short in his effort to get legislation through the chamber blocking the Treasury Department from easing sanctions on a trio of Russian companies.

Less than 24 hours after securing 57 votes to support a motion to proceed to the joint resolution disapproving of Treasury’s move to lift sanctions on three Russian firms that have been controlled by sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska, the same number of senators voted to limit debate — but that was three short of the 60 needed to cut off debate and get the measure to a final passage vote.

Schumer had been bullish Tuesday night about his chances of getting 60 votes.

View the complete January 16 article by Niels Lesniewski on The Roll Call website here.

Fact-checking Trump’s rowdy powwow with Pelosi and Schumer

President Trump hosted House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) in the Oval Office on Dec. 11. Fireworks ensued.

Trump called on the Democrats to support $5 billion for a border wall as part of a spending package that would keep the government open past Dec. 21. Democrats instead offered to support $1.67 billion for other enhancements to border security. None of that is new. So the meeting played out like a ping-pong match — much of it in front of TV cameras and reporters — over which side would be blamed for a government shutdown.

Making his case for the wall, Trump made several faulty claims, some old and some new, which we’ve rounded up below. He also posted some Pinocchio-worthy tweets in the lead-up to the meeting. We threw them in as well.

View the complete December 12 article by Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly on The Washington Post website here.

Trump, Democrats battle over wall in Oval Office spat

President Trump on Tuesday engaged in an extraordinary argument with Democratic congressional leaders over government funding, threatening a partial shutdown if his demands for border wall money are not met.

“I am proud to shut down the government for border security,” Trump told House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) during a contentious, 17-minute exchange inside the Oval Office.

“I will take the mantle,” the president added. “I will be the one to shut it down, I’m not going to blame you for it.” 

View the complete December 11 article by Jordan Fabian on The Hill website here.

Politically Wounded Trump Complicates Border Talks With Pelosi, Schumer

President Donald Trump arrives back at the White House on Friday evening without taking reporters’ questions. Credit: Mark Wilson, Getty Images file photo

‘When he feels challenged … he pulls back to his base’

Another wild weekend — with federal prosecutors appearing to implicate Donald Trump in a pair of federal crimes and his second chief of staff leaving soon — has only complicated the president’s coming talks with Democratic leaders to avert a partial government shutdown over the holidays.

Trump is scheduled to meet in the Oval Office on Tuesday morning with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer less than two weeks before a deadline to pass legislation to keep the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies funded and open beyond 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 21.

White House officials on Monday said Trump wants to have a back-and-forth with the Democratic leaders rather than just expressing his demands in a mostly one-way conversation.

Schumer gets ready to go on the offensive

After spending the past two years trying to protect 10 incumbent Democrats in pro-Trump states, the Senate minority leader is ready to put Republicans on the defensive, knowing the GOP will have a tougher electoral map to defend in 2020.

Republicans will have a bigger Senate majority next year — 53 seats compared to 51 seats now — but will also have more seats that Democrats are looking to pick off in the next election cycle.

Schumer has started flexing his muscles in the lame-duck session of Congress. He’s pushing Republicans to add measures such as protecting special counsel Robert Mueller and eliminating a question about citizenship from the U.S. census to a year-end spending package.

He has also dismissed the possibility of reviving an immigration deal he offered to President Trump earlier this year that would fully fund the proposed border wall in exchange for protections for immigrants who came to the country illegally at a young age.

View the complete December 6 article by Alexander Bolton on The Hill website here.

Trump’s obstruction backfires as Google searches for “Democratic memo” skyrocket

The following article by Caroline Orr was posted on the Shareblue website February 10, 2018:

The longer Trump drags out his fight to block the Democratic memo, the more people will question why he is trying so hard to conceal it.

Credit:Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post

The White House’s announcement on Friday that it would block the release of a Democratic rebuttal to the GOP memo it declassified last week was met with suspicion, as many lawmakers questioned what Trump may be trying to hide by keeping the memo out of public view.

If Trump is, indeed, trying to hide something, then his plan appears to have backfired spectacularly.

Almost immediately after the White House made its announcement on Friday evening, Google searches for the phrase “Democratic memo” spiked to a new high, reflecting a surge of interest in the topic. Continue reading “Trump’s obstruction backfires as Google searches for “Democratic memo” skyrocket”

Sanctioned Russian spy official met with counterparts in US

The following article by Deb Riechmann of the Associated Press was posted on the Washington Post website January 30, 2018:

Sergey Naryshkin Credit: Wikipedia

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration let a top Russian spy official visit the United States last week for meetings with U.S. intelligence officials even though there are sanctions against him that typically prohibit such visits, officials said Tuesday.

The Russian ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, said on Russian state TV that Sergei Naryshkin, head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, met with his U.S. counterparts about the fight against terrorism.

The visit came less than a week before President Donald Trump decided not to issue any new sanctions against Russian politicians and oligarchs over Russian meddling in the U.S. election.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a frequent critic of Trump’s treatment of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government, said the timing of the trip was suspicious. Continue reading “Sanctioned Russian spy official met with counterparts in US”

Border Wall ‘Off the Table,’ Schumer Says, as Immigration Progress Unravels

The following article by Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Maggie Haberman was posted on the New York Times website January 23, 2018:

<em“The wall offer’s off the table,” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday.CreditEric Thayer for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Senate negotiators found themselves back at Square 1 on immigration on Tuesday, as the Senate Democratic leader withdrew the biggest gesture he had made to strike a deal: an offer to fully fund President Trump’s proposed wall at the Mexican border.

“The wall offer’s off the table,” the leader, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, told reporters at the Capitol a day after senators overcame an impasseto end a three-day government shutdown. Continue reading “Border Wall ‘Off the Table,’ Schumer Says, as Immigration Progress Unravels”

‘Negotiating with Jell-O’: How Trump’s shifting positions fueled the rush to a shutdown

The following article y Ashley Parker, Josh Dawsey and Ed O’Keefe was posted on the Washington Post website January 20, 2018:

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) faulted President Trump and Senate Republicans for the government shutdown. (U.S. Senate)

In a remarkable, televised 55-minute meeting with about two dozen Democratic and Republican lawmakers earlier this month, President Trump twice proclaimed that any immigration deal would need to be “a bill of love” — setting an optimistic tone for averting a government shutdown with a bipartisan solution.

After the president ordered cameras out of the Cabinet Room that day, the group delved into the details. Kirstjen Nielsen, Trump’s homeland security secretary, and her staff passed out a four-page document on the administration’s “must haves” for any immigration bill — a hard-line list that included $18 billion for Trump’s promised border wall, eliminating the diversity visa lottery program and ending “extended family chain migration,” according to the document, which was obtained by The Washington Post. Continue reading “‘Negotiating with Jell-O’: How Trump’s shifting positions fueled the rush to a shutdown”