Tag: GOP senate

Want to Know More About: The Kavanaugh Hearing (Part 2)

Terry Moran: “The Odds Are Long Against Democrats Today, They Tried To Fire Up Their Base, Grab The Public’s Attention So That In The Coming Days When They Go At Him Hammer And Tongs, They Can Show In Their View He’s Not Fit For The Court.” DAVID MUIR: “Terry, bottom line here, do Democrats have the power to stop this nomination for a judge that would really shift the court for a generation?” TERRY MORAN: “The odds are long against democrats today, they tried to fire up their base, grab the public’s attention so that in the coming days when they go at him hammer and tongs, they can show in their view he’s not fit for the court.” [World News Tonight, ABC, 9/4/18; VIDEO]

Jan Crawford: “The Battle Lines Were Drawn Early. The Democrats Said They Didn’t Even Have Enough Information To Have A Hearing.”  JAN CRAWFORD: “Yesterday, the battle lines were drawn early. The Democrats said they didn’t even have enough information to have a hearing. The Republicans said that is ridiculous. You’ve got half a million pages of documents on  Brett Kavanaugh. More than any other nominee. Right away you could see those divisions, and the main theme came clear.” [CBS This Morning, CBS, 9/5/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: The Kavanaugh Hearing (Part 2)”

Want to Know More About: The Kavanaugh Document Dump

Alisyn Camerota: “The George W. Bush Administration Turned Over 42,000 Pages Of Documents From Kavanaugh’s Time In The Bush White House But Democrats Are Angry About This Timing Because They Say That Doesn’t Give Them Enough Time To Read All Of Those Pages Before The Hearings.” ALISYN CAMEROTA: “While that drama is playing out, confirmation hearings begin in a few hours for president Trump’s supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Overnight, the George W. Bush administration turned over 42,000 pages of documents from Kavanaugh’s time in the Bush White House but Democrats are angry about this timing because they say that doesn’t give them enough time to read all of those pages before the hearings.” [New Day, CNN, 9/4/18; Video]

Sunlen Serfaty: “The Fight Over Kavanaugh’s Records Intensifying After The Trump White House Decided To Withhold More Than 100,000 Pages Of Documents.” SUNLEN SERFATY: “The fight over Kavanaugh’s records intensifying after the Trump White House decided to withhold more than 100,000 pages of documents over the weekend. citing constitutional privilege.” [New Day, CNN. 9/4/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: The Kavanaugh Document Dump”

Want to Know More About: The Kavanaugh Hearing

Jeffery Toobin: “You Know What, Donald Trump Was Right, Roe V. Wade Is Going To Be Overturned If Brett Kavanaugh Is Appointed.” JEFFERY TOOBIN: “But let’s remember how Brett Kavanaugh was picked and by whom. You know, Donald Trump said if I have two appointments to the supreme court, Roe V. Wade is going to be overturned. And You know what, Donald Trump was right, Roe V. Wade is going to be overturned if Brett Kavanaugh is appointed.” [New Day, CNN, 9/4/18; Video]

Jan Crawford: “Democrats Who Are Arguing, Among Other Things, That Kavanaugh On The Bench Means The Future Of Abortion Rights Is At Stake.” JAN CRAWFORD: “So, today you’re going it see lawmakers on both sides of the aisle try to frame the debate over Kavanaugh. Republicans say they want to have him confirmed to the bench by the time the supreme court returns that first Monday in October, so they’re going to have to kind of maintain a united front to fend off Democrats who are arguing, among other things, that Kavanaugh on the bench means the future of abortion rights is at stake.” [CBS This Morning, CBS, 9/4/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About: The Kavanaugh Hearing”

What’s at Stake with the Kavanaugh Hearing

There’s too much at stake to allow Brett Kavanaugh to be confirmed to the highest court in the land.

Thankfully, Senate Democrats are fighting for Americans by challenging Republicans’ historically-secretive hearing to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Senate Democrats are proud to have interrupted Sen. Grassley’s charade of a confirmation process this morning.  Kavanaugh is being considered for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land, and the American people deserve access to all his records.

What are Senate Republicans hiding about Brett Kavanaugh? Continue reading “What’s at Stake with the Kavanaugh Hearing”

Republicans Dump 42,000 Pages Hours Before Kavanaugh’s Hearing

Unprecedented secrecy. Just hours before Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, Senate Republicans dumped 42,000 pages of documents that were pre-screened by a Republican lawyer who used to work for Kavanaugh.

Washington Post: “Hours before the start of hearings on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, the lawyer for former president George W. Bush turned over 42,000 pages of documents from the nominee’s service in the Bush White House, angering Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, who issued what is certain to be a futile call to delay the proceedings.”

Continue reading “Republicans Dump 42,000 Pages Hours Before Kavanaugh’s Hearing”

McCain’s death marks decline of Trump’s GOP Senate critics

The following article by Jordain Carney was posted on the Hill website August 28, 2018:

Sen. John McCain, R-AZ. at the Capitol Credit: Bill O’Leary, Washington Post)

Senate Republicans willing to counter President Trump on defense and national security are becoming a rarity on Capitol Hill.

The death of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) marks the start of the waning of an already small group of GOP senators willing to act as a counterweight to Trump as the president breaks with decades-long Republican policies.

McCain, despite being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in July 2017, remained a vocal critic of U.S. foreign policy and national security under the Trump administration with his outspoken opposition to Gina Haspel’s nomination to lead the CIA and his support of tougher sanctions against Russia.

View the complete article here.

Republicans Have Reviewed Very Little Of Kavanaugh’s Records

They Haven’t Seen Any Of His Staff Secretary Records

Senate Republicans are trying to rush through the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh by holding his hearing before the Senate is able to review the full subset of records that Senator Grassley has requested.

In fact, the Senate has reviewed less than half of the subset of records that Grassley requested, and Republicans still refuse to release any of the records from Kavanaugh’s time as White House staff secretary. What are Republicans trying to hide?

  • Senator Grassley said his staff has reviewed 430,000 pages of Kavanaugh’s records ahead of his hearing next week.
  • That is less than half of the more than 900,000 pages Senator Grassley requested. The rest won’t be made available before Kavanaugh’s hearing.
  • The few records that have been turned over were pre-screened by a Republican lawyer who used to work for Kavanaugh. The Senate will likely see zero records from the National Archives before Kavanaugh’s hearing.
  • Senate Republicans still refuse to release 560,000 documents from Kavanaugh’s time as White House staff secretary.

Republicans admit they’ll slash Medicare, Social Security to pay for their tax cuts

The following article by Rebekah Entralgo was posted on the ThinkProgress website August 21, 2018:

“I do think we need to deal with some of our spending.”

Republicans who supported the trillion dollar Trump tax bill are revealing their true motivations: Slashing Medicare and Social Ssecurity. Credit: Getty Images

Slowly but surely, Republicans that supported the trillion dollar Trump tax bill are revealing their true motivations: slashing Medicare and Social Security.

During a Sunday interview with CNBC’s John Harwood, Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) urged entitlement reform as the deficit continues to balloon as a result of the GOP tax cuts.

“I do think we need to deal with some of our spending,” Stivers said. “We’ve got try to figure out how to spend less.”

View the complete article here.

Senate, After One Day Back at the Capitol, Packs It In for the Week

The following article by Niels Lesniewski was posted on the Roll Call website August 16, 2018:

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., runs in the Senate subway basement on Thursday, shortly before senators cast their last votes of the week. Credit: Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call

Senators didn’t exactly extend themselves with the floor schedule for their first week back in session in August, though they did confirm another pair of President Donald Trump’s nominees to be judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. and Julius Ness Richardson.

Quattlebaum was confirmed Thursday on a 62-28 vote, while Richardson got by on an 81-8 vote.

The heavier lift will come next week.

NEW POLL: Kavanaugh Least Popular Supreme Court Nominee In 30 Years

A new poll released today shows that Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Kavanaugh, has the lowest public support of any Supreme Court candidate since 1987, and “receives a cooler public reception than nearly every nominee for the last four administrations.”

Kavanaugh is historically unpopular:

  • A plurality of Americans say the Senate should not vote to confirm Kavanaugh, and his support is the lowest of any nominee in the past thirty years.

  • Only 28 percent of women say Kavanaugh should be confirmed.

  • A plurality of Americans say Republicans should turn over more documents from Kavanaugh’s career before a confirmation vote.