Tag: McConnell as corrupt as Trump

Trump lost, but the Senate keeps confirming his nominees

Lame-duck presidents usually don’t get this treatment

Less than two months remain in the Trump administration, and Senate Republicans are doing something not seen in a century — confirming judges and other nominees after their party lost the White House. That norm-breaking rush to get GOP-approved picks through could get tricky, though, if lawmakers continue missing time because of COVID-19.

With only one exception, post-election confirmations of judges nominated to lifetime appointments by a president whose party has lost the White House hasn’t happened since the election of 1896 when William McKinley was elected and the Senate confirmed Grover Cleveland’s picks.

So far in this lame-duck session, the Senate has confirmed six nominees to U.S. district courts and one to the Court of International Trade, starting on Nov. 10 and before leaving town on Nov. 18. Continue reading.

McConnell’s push to confirm judges may mean another tradition is deadMcConnell’s push to confirm judges may mean another tradition is dead

The Thurmond Rule that previously cut off confirmations likely a relic

A ghost from the old Senate that haunts the chamber’s judicial confirmation fights seems to be disappearing from the floor this year — and might be fading away for good.

At about this time during presidential election years, senators have invoked the so-called Thurmond Rule, an unwritten agreement that calls for the chamber to stop approving circuit court nominations in the few months before Election Day.

Named after the late South Carolina Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond, senators from both sides have used it to block action on a president’s appeals court picks. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for instance, cited the rule on June 13, 2012, as reason to halt judicial nominations at the end of President Barack Obama’s first term. McConnell was minority leader at the time. Continue reading.

A New Message For Mitch: No More Red-State Bailouts

As of 48 hours ago, few people knew that Kentucky was the nation’s leading recipient of federal largess, and certainly had no clue just how much the state received compared to the rest of the country. Then, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican from Kentucky, started whining about “Blue state bailouts,” and the shit has hit the fan.

Looks like it’s time to reexamine Kentucky’s privileged status.

Blue states have been happy to carry the burden of funding red states for … kinda forever. California, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, in particular, have pumped untold hundreds of billions over the last several decades into mostly rural red states. Continue reading.

McConnell Got Pandemic Funds For Kentucky — But Opposes ‘Blue State Bailouts’

Last month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked the federal government for emergency funding to help his state of Kentucky combat the coronavirus.

“As of March 24, 2020, Kentucky has confirmed 124 cases of COVID-19 and 4 fatalities,” McConnell and the other members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation wrote to Donald Trump.

When the White House approved funding, McConnell thanked Trump for the federal government’s aid to Kentucky. Continue reading.