Tag: Senate GOP

Strategist shares prediction about the GOP’s future if Trump isn’t convicted in the Senate

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A Republican strategist is warning about the dangerous path the Republican Party could be embarking on if they do not convict Trump for inciting the deadly insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. 

According to the Huffington Post, Sarah Longwell, a Republican strategist and founder of the organization Republican Voters Against Trump, on Thursday, Jan. 28, discussed the long-term repercussions that may come if Senate Republicans do not hold former President Donald Trump accountable for his actions. Longwell also stressed that the best course of action would be to end Trump’s political future now or he could be a heavy influence on the party for the next decade. 

“This is their best chance to put a stake through Donald Trump’s political future,” she said. “If they don’t take it, Donald Trump is going to control this party for the next 10 years.”

Longwell also noted the dangers Trumpism poses to not only the Republican Party but the entire country. Continue reading.

Republicans Insist On Preserving Filibuster (Except When They Don’t)

Senate Republicans are mounting an aggressive campaign to keep their power to block nearly all of the new Democratic majority’s legislative proposals.

But while they now defend the Senate’s filibuster rule as vital for “bipartisanship,” they unanimously voted to eliminate it for Supreme Court nominations less than four years ago.

While it only takes a simple majority in the 100-member U.S. Senate to pass legislation, with few exceptions it takes a three-fifths supermajority — 60 votes — to end debate and actually hold a vote. Segregationists long used those cloture rules to block civil rights legislation and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell used them a record-breaking number of times to obstruct President Barack Obama’s agenda.

Senate rules would allow just 51 senators to change that 60-vote threshold. After Democrats retook a narrow majority in the chamber on Wednesday, McConnell (R-KY) and his colleagues began demandingDemocrats agree in advance not to do so. Continue reading.

Impeachment trial tests Trump’s grip on Senate GOP

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President Trump’s relationship with Senate Republicans is facing its biggest test at its lowest point.

Many Republicans blame Trump for their loss of the Senate majority, and are furious that he put their lives in danger after an angry mob filled with people who believed his conspiracy theories about the election stormed the Capitol last week.

Now those Republicans have a chance to vote to convict Trump in an impeachment trial — if they choose to do it. They could also vote to permanently ban him from holding public office.  Continue reading.

Republican senators now regret not doing more to contain Trump

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Republican senators say they feel a sense of growing regret over not standing up to President Trump sooner — a day after a violent mob ransacked the Capitol building in one of the darkest and most humiliating days in U.S. history.

One Republican senator who requested anonymity to discuss his conversations with GOP colleagues acknowledged GOP lawmakers should have served as a stronger check on the president over the past four years.

“We should have done more to push back, both against his rhetoric and some of the things he did legislatively,” said the lawmaker. “The mistake we made is that we always thought he was going to get better. We thought that once he got the nomination and then once he got a Cabinet, he was going to get better, he was going to be more presidential.” Continue reading.

GOP signals no support for relief ‘down payment’

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Senate Democrats are justifying their support for a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill as a “down payment” on a larger relief bill they hope to pass next year.

The dilemma from their perspective is that Republicans are signaling they don’t want to pass another measure to stimulate the economy after President-elect Joe Biden takes office — and the GOP may continue to hold the Senate majority in January.

“I don’t see it that way,” said Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) when asked about the Democrats’ characterization of the emerging $900 billion deal as a down payment. Continue reading.

Top GOP senator warns of potential for brief shutdown

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Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) warned on Thursday that the government could briefly shut down over the weekend as talks over a sweeping deal to pass funding and provide coronavirus relief drag on.

Asked about needing a days-long continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded past Friday night as talks continue, Thune indicated senators could block that from happening if leaders don’t have a larger deal in hand.

“I mean I’ve already — I know people who are gonna object to that, that want to keep pressure on the process until we get a deal,” he said. Continue reading.

Rand Paul gets hammered after making bogus claim that the election ‘was stolen’

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During a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and fellow Republican Christopher Krebs — who formerly led a cybersecurity office at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — expressed very different views on the security of the 2020 presidential election. Krebs, during his testimony, emphasized that the election was quite secure, while Paul echoed the baseless claims of widespread voter fraud that President Donald Trump’s campaign and legal team have been promoting. And Paul’s comments are getting a lot of reactions on Twitter.

Paul told Krebs and senators on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, “If you’re saying that it’s the safest election based on no dead people voted…. no people broke the absentee rules, I think that’s false. And I think that’s what’s upset a lot of people on our side — is that they’re taking your statement to mean, ‘Oh well, there was no problems in the elections.’ I don’t think that you’ve examined any of the problems that we’ve heard here.”

Paul insisted, “The fraud happened. The election, in many ways, was stolen.” Continue reading.

Mitch McConnell Warns Republicans Not to Fight Biden’s Electoral College Win

WASHINGTON — Fending off a messy fight that could damage Republicans ahead of Georgia Senate runoffs, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned fellow GOP senators on Tuesday not to join President Donald Trump’s extended assault on the Electoral College results.

In public remarks and private warnings, McConnell worked to push ahead to the Biden era and unite a fractured Republican Party ahead of the runoff elections that will determine Senate control.

First, the Republican leader heaped praise on Trump’s “endless” accomplishments as he congratulated President-elect Joe Biden during a morning Senate speech. Then he pivoted, privately warning Republican senators away from disputing the Electoral College tally when Congress convenes in a joint session Jan. 6 to confirm the results. Continue reading.

Senate GOP brushes off long-shot attempt to fight Biden win

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Senate Republicans are shooting down a long shot effort to challenge the Electoral College vote early next year. 

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, grabbed headlines when he announced that he would challenge the votes when Congress officially certifies President-elect Joe Biden‘s victory on Jan. 6.

But GOP senators are dismissing the effort, even as President Trump publicly praised Brooks. Continue reading.

Republican senators urge Trump to dodge pardon controversies

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Republican senators say President Trump should proceed cautiously in granting pardons during his final weeks in office.

They want him to follow federal procedures, which give the Office of the Pardon Attorney a role in vetting pardon requests. While GOP senators recognize that Trump has broad pardon authority, they’re hoping to avoid a political uproar over last-minute pardons of figures within his inner circle — such as members of his family, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former advisers or wealthy donors.

Trump has discussed potential pardons for his three oldest children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, as well as his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Giuliani, according to The New York Times. Continue reading.