Tag: GOP congress

The GOP Knows The End Is Near

The following article by Michelangelo Signorile was posted on the Huffington Post website December 21, 2017:

Republicans are looting the store, taking everything they can grab off the shelves, anticipating the demise of Donald Trump as progressive energy explodes.

Senator Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, speaks to members of the media on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. The feud between President Donald Trump and Corker flared up again Tuesday when the Republican senator said the president should stay out of the tax-overhaul effort, expressing concern that the White House has been making it harder for Congress to craft legislation. Photographer: Olivier Douliery/Bloomberg

Republicans in Congress, as well as people surrounding Donald Trump’s inner circle in the White House, clearly know something. They’re trying to get everything they can, looting the store, taking everything off the shelves like it’s the end times. The walls are closing in as the special counsel investigation continues unabated ― causing some in the GOP to to try to damage it ― and as the Resistance becomes supercharged, expanding the Democrats’ chances of making big wins in 2018.

The GOP has even lost its last fig leaf of moderation―Maine senator Susan Collins―who’s been having a meltdown in the past few days after being exposed in much of the media, having voted for the Trump tax scam and not received in return promised votes on shoring up Obamacare markets. (Now GOP leaders are telling her they will come in 2018…sure.) Collins, who voted for Trump’s most misogynistic judicial nominees, hostile to a woman’s right to choose, has devolved into claiming she’s now a victim of an “unbelievably sexist” media, sounding every bit like what the alt-right would call a whiny snowflake. Continue reading “The GOP Knows The End Is Near”

Ivanka Trump Goofs Up On Tax Law In Her Televised Boast

The following article by Mary Papenfuss was posted on the Huffington Post website December 21, 2017:

We’ll be filling out our tax returns next year on a postcard — not.

Ivanka Trump’s victory boast on “Fox & Friends” about her dad’s new tax measure included a couple of gaffes.

She spoke Thursday about Americans filing under the new law in April. In fact, the new law won’t kick in until 2018, and taxes for that year will be due in April 2019. Continue reading “Ivanka Trump Goofs Up On Tax Law In Her Televised Boast”

Republicans Are Taking Voter Concerns About The Tax Bill Too Literally

The following article by Nate Silver was posted on the FiveThirtyEight website December 21, 2017:

President Trump celebrates with Vice President Pence and congressional Republicans outside the White House on Wednesday after Congress passed a sweeping tax overhaul. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

In reading coverage of the Republican tax bill, which passed the House on Wednesday and is ready for President Trump’s signature, I was reminded of this famous clip of the 1992 “town hall” presidential debate between Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush,1 in which a voter asked the candidates a question about the “national debt” and how it had “personally affected” their lives. Continue reading “Republicans Are Taking Voter Concerns About The Tax Bill Too Literally”

States to Congress: You’ve Still Left Us a Children’s Health Care Mess

The following article by Gideon Resnick was posted on the Daily Beast websited December 22, 2017:

Lawmakers passed a short-term fix to CHIP. But some states say it won’t prevent them from having to plan for draconian measures.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ELIZABETH BROCKWAY/THE DAILY BEAST

Nearly three months after a reauthorization deadline for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) came and went, Congress voted on Thursday to provide piecemeal funding for the program before they left for the holidays.

But the legislation passed did little to resolve the burgeoning crisis. And some state officials say that they are still planning to proceed as if the health care program for poor children will be fully out of funds in the near future. Continue reading “States to Congress: You’ve Still Left Us a Children’s Health Care Mess”

Ignoring the Will of the People

The following article by Susan Milligan, Senior Writer, was posted on the U.S. News and World Report website December 2, 2017:

Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The $1.5 trillion tax bill, hailed with glee and relief by Republicans eager to appease donors and desperate for the year’s first major legislative win, is the most unpopular major piece of legislation to pass in decades.

That may sound remarkable, but it’s not the only case where public opinion – exhaustively collected, analyzed and reported by pollsters, interest groups and political parties – appears to have had little impact on a matter of public interest. President Barack Obama’s Deferred Access for Childhood Arrivals program to allow certain young immigrants to stay in the country is also overwhelmingly approved of by the electorate. But Congress failed to codify that program as it prepared to wind up for the year. Background checks for gun buyers, too, enjoys widespread public approval, polls consistently show – but that idea, too, never manages to get enough votes for passage. Continue reading “Ignoring the Will of the People”

Tax Cuts Buoy Republicans, but They’re Swimming Against an Undertow

The following article by Jonathan Martin was posted on the New York Times website December 21, 2017:

President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, the House speaker Paul Ryan and the Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell at the White House yesterday. Credit Al Drago for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The sweeping tax overhaul approved by Congress this week hands Republicans a long-sought achievement they believe will bolster their defenses in next year’s midterm campaign, but party officials concede the measure may only mitigate their losses in what is shaping up to be a punishing election year.

While the tax legislation is broadly unpopular as it reaches President Trump’s desk, the bill offers Republicans the sort of signature accomplishment they have been lacking to galvanize their demoralized donors and many of their voters. Continue reading “Tax Cuts Buoy Republicans, but They’re Swimming Against an Undertow”

Republicans Leave Town Without Addressing the Priorities of the American People

MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP

Yesterday, Republicans left town after once again kicking the can down the road and failing to address the priorities of the American people. Republicans have now gone home for the holidays without a plan to responsibly fund government for the remainder of the fiscal year or to address critical issues, such as a bipartisan, long-term reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program; protections for DREAMers; reauthorizing important national security tools; or taking measures to strengthen the Affordable Care Act. Instead, Republicans wasted the first session of the 115th Congress attempting to take health care away from millions of Americans; raising taxes on middle class families; and rolling back consumer, worker and environmental protections. Continue reading “Republicans Leave Town Without Addressing the Priorities of the American People”

The GOP is Anxious to Be Productive: 4 Takeaways From the 2018 Congressional Calendar

The following article by David Hawkings was posted on the Roll Call website December 20, 2017:

Roll Call Decoder with David Hawkings: wonky explainers from a Capitol Hill expert

Senior editor David Hawkings takes a look at the 2018 congressional calendar for a sneak peek at what to expect from the House and Senate come the new year.

View the post here.

Trump notches first big legislative win with tax cut bill — but it’s far from his populist promises

The following article by Noah Bierman and Brian Bennett was posted on the Los Angeles Times website December 20, 2017:

President Donald Trump discusses Congress’ final approval of the tax bill. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

After 11 months in office, President Trump on Wednesday got to celebrate one of the things he’s coveted most — a major legislative achievement — and on his party’s signature issue, tax cuts.

For a president who loves to tally wins and loathes losses, Congress’ final approval of the tax bill hours earlier was an essential capstone to a year in which Trump rolled back scores of regulations, sharply limited a refugee program, seated a conservative Supreme Court justice and opened vast new areas for oil exploration. Continue reading “Trump notches first big legislative win with tax cut bill — but it’s far from his populist promises”

Top Democrat warns Trump not to fire Mueller or interfere with his investigation

The following article by Chris Megerian was posted on the Los Angeles Times website December 20, 2017:

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, one of the top Democrats involved in the congressional inquiries into Russian interference in last year’s election, said Wednesday that any attempt by President Trump to interfere with the separate criminal investigation would be a “gross abuse of power.”

Warner, who is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, delivered his warning from the Senate floor as Republicans escalate their criticism of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and his team of prosecutors and FBI agents. Continue reading “Top Democrat warns Trump not to fire Mueller or interfere with his investigation”