Tag: Senate GOP

GOP senators: More relief needed now

The Hill logoSenate Republican support for moving the next coronavirus relief bill as soon as next month is growing after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned lawmakers this week that the economic damage caused by the pandemic could last for years.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has put the brakes on further coronavirus relief negotiations, citing the budgetary impact of trillions of dollars in unanticipated spending.

But a growing group of GOP senators, which includes some of the conference’s most vulnerable members in this year’s elections, say they shouldn’t let another month pass without significant progress on another economic relief package. Continue reading.

Trump’s new bombshell in the ‘Obamagate’ farce turns out to be another bust

AlterNet logoIn an apparent Senate and Team Trump effort to something something a new Trump-demanded Obama “scandal,” the Trump administration has declassified an additional portion of a previously disclosed email from Ambassador Susan Rice to herself documenting an Obama meeting with FBI Director James Comey and other top officials over the potential national security threat posed by Trump transition member Michael Flynn’s “frequent” private contacts with the Russian ambassador.

What’s the new disclosure show, then? That intelligence leaders were extremely alarmed by Flynn’s behavior, with Comey informing Obama that Flynn “potentially” represented a security risk severe enough that the Obama administration should avoid passing him sensitive information. While Obama wanted law enforcement and intelligence communities to handle their concerns “by the book,” Obama told Comey to “inform him” if anything came up that “should affect how we share classified information with the incoming team.”

The declassified portion can be found at Politico: Continue reading.

Senate Republicans issue first subpoena in Biden-Burisma probe

The Hill logoSenate Republicans issued their first subpoena on Wednesday as part of wide-ranging investigations tied to the Obama administration, deepening a battle in Congress with implications for this fall’s presidential race.

The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted along party lines to issue a subpoena for Blue Star Strategies, a firm with ties to Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the chairman of the panel, has homed in on the U.S. firm as he probes Hunter Biden‘s work for Burisma Holdings, where Biden — the son of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden— was a member of the board until he stepped down in 2019. Continue reading.

McConnell’s GOP takes Trump’s election-year cues

Senate Republicans are embracing the president’s most explosive attacks after previously sidestepping them.

Mitch McConnell can’t afford any tension with President Donald Trump. So he’s doing everything he can to keep his fragile majority in sync with Trump and his explosive election-year playbook.

Just three days after Trump berated McConnell on Twitter to “get tough” with Democrats and probe the 2016 Russia investigation that ensnared Trump’s campaign, the Senate majority leader took to the floor to echo the president’s misgivings in a way he declined to do last week. Trump’s campaign “was treated like a hostile foreign power by our own law enforcement,” McConnell said Tuesday, subject to “wild theories of Russian collusion.”

In the days to come and with McConnell’s public blessing, GOP committee chairmen plan to follow Trump’s lead and approve a series of subpoenas for documents and testimony that could hit some of Trump’s favorite targets, including Hunter Biden and dozens of Obama administration officials. Continue reading.

Susan Rice calls for Flynn-Kislyak transcripts to be released

The Hill logoFormer Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice has called for the Trump administration to release transcripts of phone calls between Michael Flynn, her successor under President Trump, and then-Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.

Rice, through a spokeswoman, renewed her call for the transcripts to be publicly released after acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell declassified an email Rice sent to herself documenting a meeting in January 2017 about Flynn’s contacts with Kislyak.

“In the interest of transparency, Ambassador Rice again calls upon the Director of National Intelligence to release the unredacted transcripts of all Kislyak-Flynn calls,” spokeswoman Erin Pelton said in a statement on behalf of Rice. “The American people deserve the full transcripts so they can judge for themselves Michael Flynn’s conduct.” Continue reading.

Trump cites ‘Obamagate’ in urging GOP to get ‘tough’ on Democrats

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Tuesday urged Senate Republicans to get “tough” with Democrats heading into election season and referenced what he alleges was an effort by Democrats to sabotage his 2016 campaign and presidency.

Trump, speaking during a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill, touted his poll numbers and the outlook for Senate GOP candidates in battleground states. He also called on Republican lawmakers to stay unified in the weeks and months ahead.

“He pretty regularly reminds us that we’re not as tough as [Democrats] are. That they play more for keeps, that they stick together better,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who attended the meeting. Continue reading.

Trump to attend Senate GOP lunch on Tuesday

The Hill logoPresident Trump will travel to the Capitol on Tuesday to attend a caucus lunch with Senate Republicans, two sources confirmed to The Hill.

The closed-door powwow comes just before the Senate is expected to leave town at the end of the week for a Memorial Day recess, and will be the first time the president has traveled to the Capitol amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Vice President Pence and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) earlier on Tuesday to discuss the response to the virus.  Continue reading.

Senate Republicans demand answers from Trump on IG firing

The Hill logoSenate Republicans are demanding a fuller explanation from President Trump about his firing of State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, the fourth inspector general to be removed or targeted for removal by the president in the past three months.  

Republicans on Monday expressed concerns about the need to protect inspectors general, especially after Congress passed nearly $3 trillion of coronavirus legislation in recent months.

“I’m concerned that our inspectors general be allowed to do the job that they have been hired to do, whether it’s Mr. Linick or others,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Continue reading.

Burr to step down as Senate Intelligence chair amid insider trading probe

Axios logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Thursday that Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is stepping down from his position as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee pending an investigation into possible insider trading.

Why it matters: The news comes one day after reports that the FBI seized Burr’s phone as part of the investigation. Burr, who had access to classified briefings about the coronavirus, dumped between $582,029 and $1.56 million in March just prior to the market crash. He has denied wrongdoing.

What they’re saying:

  • McConnell: “Senator Burr contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the pendency of the investigation. We agreed that this decision would be in the best interests of the committee and will be effective at the end of the day tomorrow.” Continue reading.

Senate votes to allow FBI to access your browsing history without a warrant

The US Senate yesterday voted – by a single vote – to allow government agencies like the FBI and CIA to access your browsing history without a warrant.

This means they would not need to show probable cause for believing you have committed a crime before requiring your ISP to hand over its records on your web browsing and search histories …

The Senate is being asked to reauthorize the Patriot Act, which gives government agencies powers to carry out mass electronic surveillance of US citizens. Three amendments were put forward, one of which would have prevented accessing web browsing history without a warrant. Continue reading.