Tag: GOP congress

GOP angst grows amid Trump trade war

Republicans are growing more nervous about next year’s race for the Senate as President Trump ratchets up a trade war with China that increasingly threatens to cause pain to U.S. farmers.

To be sure, the 2020 elections remain more than a year off, the president is popular in farm country and voters in rural states largely have stuck with Trump through thick and thin as the economy has grown and the jobless rate has fallen.

But GOP senators say few expected the trade war to last as long as it has.

View the complete May 14 article by Alexander Bolton on The Hill website here.

GOP lawmakers mock Jared Kushner behind his back — and don’t take his ‘laughably simplistic’ ideas seriously: report

According to a report in Politico, presidential adviser Jared Kushner has asserted himself in the White House even more since the departure of former Chief of Staff John Kelly — and the results have not been good.

In an overview on President Donald Trump’s son-in-law taking on two monumental tasks — immigration reform and solving Middle East tensions — the report notes that Kushner appears to believe that he is being successful while lawmakers admit there is little progress.

In meetings with administration officials and lawmakers looking for direction from the White House, Kushner’s presentations are described as “simplistic” to Politico’s Eliana Johnson.

View the complete May 13 article by Tom Boggioni of Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

James Comey on why he isn’t Republican anymore: ‘You cannot have a president who is a chronic liar’

Former FBI director James Comey was on CNN Thursday night, doing a town hall event moderated by Anderson Cooper. Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of Comey’s firing by Donald Trump. Comey talked about a few topics that could be boiled down to one specific thing: Donald Trump is every bit the scumbag you think he is and should probably be charged with obstruction of justice. But one particularly poignant moment stood out. Asked by an audience member why he thought Trump’s personal flaws should be considered by voters in this upcoming 2020 election, Comey had this to say.

Comey: I wouldn’t frame it that way. I think we should start the way I always thought Republicans said we should start—with the nature and character of the leader, and his respect for or attacks on our values, truth and the rule of law among them. That’s the most important level of American politics. Then the level down from that is important policy questions. To my mind, this question at the top level is so obviously answered.

You cannot have a president who is a chronic liar. I don’t care what your passions about tax cuts, or regulations, or immigration—I respect difference there. But the President of the United States cannot be someone who lies constantly. I thought the Republicans agreed with that. It’s one of the reasons I am no longer a Republican.

View May 10 article by Walter Einenkel from Daily Kos on the AlterNet website here.

Republicans Again Oppose ‘Pre-Existing Conditions’ Safeguard

A majority of Republicans once again voted to let health insurance companies discriminate against people with preexisting conditions.

On Thursday afternoon, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act of 2019 by a vote of 230 to 183. Democrats unanimously supported the bill, joined by only four Republicans. Every single vote against the bill came from Republicans.

On the issue of preexisting conditions, most Republicans sided with Trump, who announced on Tuesday that he would veto the bill if it ever made it to his desk. The Trump administration “strongly opposes” the bill because it “runs counter to the President’s healthcare vision.”

View the complete May 9 article by Dan Desai Martin on the National Memo website here.

Trump pulls out rug from GOP on trade

Senate Republicans feel that President Trump has once again pulled the rug out from under them on trade, leaving GOP lawmakers frustrated over their inability to influence the White House’s policy on an issue that could have major economic and electoral ramifications. 

Days after a group of Republican senators relayed to Trump at a White House meeting their concerns about trade tensions with Canada, Mexico, Europe and China, Trump over the weekend threatened new tariffs on China, escalating a fight with Beijing and rattling markets. 

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said after the stock markets closed Monday that higher tariffs on China will take effect Friday, shortly after negotiations with a trade delegation from China are due to resume later this week. Lighthizer’s remarks are likely to rattle markets after they recovered most of their losses Monday afternoon as Wall Street strategists cautioned that Trump’s tough talk is a negotiating tactic and a deal with China is still possible.

View the complete May 7 article by Alexander Bolton on The Hill website here.

Dems see GOP effort to drive them to impeach Trump

House Democratic leaders facing liberal calls for impeaching President Trump are confronting increasing pressure from an unlikely faction: Republicans who appear eager to goad them into it.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her leadership team have repeatedly sought to defuse the appeals for impeachment hearings, deeming them premature, and some Democrats sense the Republicans are setting a political trap to boost their ally in the White House.

But recent stonewalling actions by the administration have only fueled the liberal push to oust the president, complicating leadership efforts to keep a lid on the campaign.

View the complete May 5 article by Mike Lillis and Cristina Marcos on The Hill website here.

Trump’s pursuit of infrastructure deal hits GOP roadblock

President Trump faces stiff opposition from Republicans in his desire for a massive infrastructure package.

GOP lawmakers say the president’s grand proposal for a $2 trillion deal is too ambitious and warn that they will oppose any measure that adds to the deficit.

Many Republicans also say they are against raising taxes to pay for an infrastructure initiative, a stance that would make it extremely difficult to find money to finance a package even half the size of Trump’s desired amount.

View the complete May 3 article by Alexander Bolton, JulieGrace Brufke and Scott Wong on The Hill website here.

GOP sets up firewall for Trump on Mueller

Senate Republicans are beginning to set up a firewall for President Trumpagainst special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, pushing back at a slew of Democratic attacks on the president’s conduct as described in the document.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Monday set the tone for his caucus’s rank and file, signaling the GOP will join the White House in casting Democratic attacks emanating from the Mueller report as being all about the 2020 campaign.

“If this were legitimate oversight, that would be one thing, but I think this is more like harassment and it’s all politics,” said Cornyn, formerly the No. 2 Republican in the Senate. “Obviously Democrats were very disappointed in the Mueller report and they’re not willing to accept the conclusions and move on.”

View the complete April 30 article by Alexander Bolton on The Hill website here.

Poll: Only 18 percent say they are paying less under Trump tax law

Less than one in five registered voters say they paid less in taxes during the first year of President Trump‘s landmark tax law, a Hill-HarrisX poll released Monday finds.

Only 18 percent of respondents say they are paying less in federal taxes for 2018 compared to 2017 in the survey, which was taken ahead of the April 15 tax deadline.

A majority said their 2018 tax bill was about the same or higher compared to 2017. Thirty-two percent said their federal taxes were higher under the Trump tax law. A plurality of respondents, 36 percent, said they owed about the same in federal taxes compared to the previous year. Fourteen percent said they were not sure whether they paid more or less.

View the complete April 15 article on The Hill website here.

Health-care law more popular despite Trump’s repeated attempts to destroy it

President Trump has begun a fresh assault on the Affordable Care Act, declaring his intent to come up with a new health-care plan and backing a state-led lawsuit to eliminate the entire law.

But Trump and Republicans face a major problem: The 2010 law known as Obamacare has become more popular and enmeshed in the country’s health-care system over time. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid — including more than a dozen run by Republicans — and 25 million more Americans are insured, with millions more enjoying coverage that is more comprehensive because of the law.

Even Republicans who furiously fought the creation of the law and won elections with the mantra of repeal and replace speak favorably of President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement.

View the complete April 13 article by Paige Winfield Cunningham on The Washington Post website here.