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Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said on Monday that he will buck party leadership and oppose a Democratic effort to block Neil Gorsuch's Supreme Court nomination. “I will oppose efforts to filibuster the nomination, and strongly encourage my colleagues not to use the nuclear option,” he said in a statement.

Republicans cheered Tuesday's historic confirmation vote for Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary — Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote — slamming Democrats as obstructionists and saying that President Donald Trump was entitled to his Cabinet picks. "President Trump has assembled a first-class team for his Cabinet, and obstructing all of these confirmation votes is only delaying the important work that needs to be done," Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said. "In my conversation with Betsy DeVos, I found her to have a deep appreciation for the value of public schools and a special concern for the needs of the...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has threatened to stonewall Donald Trump’s pick to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, telling MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Schumer said: “It’s hard for me to imagine a nominee that Donald Trump would choose that would get Republican support that we could support.” When Maddow asked, “You will do your best to hold the seat open?” Schumer replied, “Absolutely.” The fact is, Senate Democrats are powerless to stop Trump from appointing and confirming a rock-ribbed conservative to replace Scalia. Here is what Trump should tell Schumer in so uncertain terms: •As you know, I have put out a...

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) said Republicans should fight to get President Trump's coming Supreme Court nominee confirmed by any means necessary. Trump has said he will be announcing his choice to fill the late Antonin Scalia's seat on the bench next week. Republicans will need at least eight Democrats to support Trump's nominee to overcome the 60-vote filibuster hurdle. But Cruz suggested the GOP shouldn't rule out the so-called "nuclear option" to reduce the threshold to a majority. The move would be a gamble, setting a precedent that could weaken the GOP's position if Democrats come back into power....

OK, so I understand that the Republicans in the Senate passed a vote on the Zike virus legislation 52 to 48, but that "because it was a procedural vote, it required 60 to pass. Thus, the Democrats blocked it (for various reasons I don't need to get into). Just what does it mean for it to be a "procedural vote"? I don't understand.

Former Secretary of State and current presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear before the House Select Committee on Benghazi on October 22, 2015. For those of you expecting anything near the truth to be outed during this hearing, guess again. The whole structure of the congressional committee hearings is to give the members of Congress an opportunity to bloviate, obfuscate and create campaign sound bites. Nothing is geared toward finding the truth.

Democrats clinched the crucial Senate votes Tuesday to block passage of a disapproval resolution against the Iran nuclear accord, an outcome that would be a major victory for President Barack Obama against united Republican opposition. But amid fast-paced developments as lawmakers returned to Washington from their five-week summer recess, supporters of the deal stopped short of declaring victory. That was because it remained uncertain whether all 41 Democratic and independent senators now on record in favor of the deal would also support a filibuster to block a final vote on the disapproval resolution.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Thursday that his absence during last week’s confirmation of Attorney General Loretta Lynch was the same as voting against her. “There was no significance to the final vote, and I had a scheduling conflict,” Cruz said, according to media reports. “Under the Senate rules, absence is the equivalent of a no vote,” the 2016 GOP presidential candidate added. “It is identical procedurally.” Senators confirmed Lynch as the nation’s new attorney general on April 23 in a 56-43 vote. Cruz, a notable opponent of her nomination, said Thursday he abstained because a majority of Republicans had...

The subtweet: It’s how everyone from your neighbors’ kid to Justin Bieber chucks insults and criticism online without directly naming their target.Add Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-Texas) to the list of subtweeters.On Saturday morning, the Hill noted that Cornyn seemed to be lashing out at fellow Texas Republican — and presidential candidate — Sen. Ted Cruz with the tweet below. FYI: Cloture ends debate only. It does not confirm a nominee. Otherwise a subsequent vote on whether to confirm a nominee is meaningless.— JohnCornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 25, 2015 “FYI: Cloture ends debate only,” Cornyn wrote. “It does not confirm a nominee....

If some (i.e. Harry Reid) in the Senate seek unanimous consent to go straight to a vote on Cronybus, but Cruz (and others who may wish to join him) delay this move by forcing Reid to hold a cloture vote - and thus stall the vote in the Senate on Cronybus by 30 hours - would you support this if it led to a short-term funding measure? While this move may upset Boehner, who has now bent his will to Obama's desire, would you support Cruz (or whomever may wish to do this - Warren?) doing this?

In Tuesday’s elections, Republicans won control of the Senate and expanded their majority in the House. In the coming weeks and months, Republicans in Congress must focus on developing and pursuing a winning agenda over the next two years — an agenda that will help elect a Republican president in November 2016 and provide that president with a governing majority in Congress. But a small cadre of current and former Senate staffers is instead pressing Republican senators on what strikes me as a profoundly foolish and destructive diversion: reinstating the filibuster — more precisely, the 60-vote cloture threshold — for...

United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., issued the following statement today after her vote to invoke cloture on the DREAM Act. The cloture motion was defeated by a vote of 55-41. Sen. Landrieu said: "America is a land of enormous opportunity that is strengthened, not weakened, by the immeasurable contributions of people from different backgrounds. There are 2.1 million young people in this country who were brought to America by their parents as children. They are undocumented, yet they know no other home than the United States of America. I believe these young adults deserve a chance to earn...

A total 11 Senate Republicans—including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)—crossed the aisle to vote to advance Senate Democrats' border spending bill. Two vulnerable Democrats up for reelection, Sens. Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA), joined 31 Republicans in voting no. 50 Democrats voted yes. The 11 Republicans who voted with almost all the Democrats are: Rubio and Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Corker (R-TN), John Cornyn (R-TX), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dean Heller (R-NV), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

Legislation to aid Ukraine and punish Russia will never become law if it includes reforms to the International Monetary Fund, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday. McConnell supported a procedural vote to advance the Senate’s bill aiding Ukraine on Monday evening, but he said it is fruitless to proceed any further without Democrats relenting on IMF language requested by President Barack Obama. Continue Reading Text Size - + reset Advertisement Latest on POLITICO Boehner: Reid 'sacrificing' Dems Perry, Haley back Web gaming ban Panel: Redefine 'women's issues' Perry: Equal pay 'nonsense' in Texas Willimon lauds 'incredible' Clinton Paul on...

Senator Bill Kintner Medicaid expansion has been stopped when the proponents failed to get the necessary 33 votes to invoke cloture. The vote was 27-21 -1. Krist was a not voting. This is a huge win for the citizens of Nebraska for all the reasons I have previously covered. Thank you to all the people that called and wrote the senators.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, facing a field of GOP primary candidates running at him mainly from the right, set the bar low for next Tuesday’s election, telling Texas reporters that his main goal is to avoid a runoff. “My goal is to win the election without a runoff, and I think we’ll achieve that goal,” he said in a phone conference Wednesday. He added: “I realize runoffs are a unique animal unto themselves, and my goal is to win without a runoff, and of course I’ll enjoy every vote I get above that.” Cornyn reminded the press corps that he’s...

The campaign for Dwayne Stovall, Texas candidate for U.S. Senate, brings attention to the voting record of Sen. John Cornyn. Sen. Cornyn votes for unconstitutional legislation and then attempts to mislead Texans about his votes. This is part of an ongoing series of press releases exposing the Congressional Record of Senator Cornyn. Stovall said in a statement, “Senator Cornyn betrays the trust of Texans who sent him to Washington. He voted ‘YEA’ on the FY 2013 FUNDING BILL (March 23, 2013) that gave the Obama Administration the money needed to implement Obamacare. Subsequently, he also voted ‘YEA’ on ‘CLOTURE’ (September...

The financial future of Estacado High School students looks much brighter. Senator, John Cornyn, was on hand for the showcase of a financial literacy program. The curriculum uses video, animations, gaming and social networking to teach students money management principles. Cornyn said the program, Ever-Fi, teaches the basics of how to have a productive and functional life. "Learning these tools will prepare students to go to the college of their choice and to make sure they don't get in trouble by incurring debt that they can't repay," he said.

On the Thursday edition of The Chad Hasty Show, U.S. Senate candidate Ken Cope spoke with Chad Hasty about his campaign for Senate and why he decided to challenge incumbent Senator John Cornyn. Cope had some harsh criticism for Senator Cornyn, calling him a “seatwarmer” and arguing that he is not the big conservative fighter he claims to be. Cope added that many people are rightfully angry at Cornyn, and that the Senator had become disconnected from the people of Texas and has turned into another career politician. “[Cornyn] has done nothing on immigration. He’s done nothing about tax reform....

A new Gravis Marketing poll (conducted Feb. 10 – 12; sampling 729 likely Texas Republican primary voters) may be a harbinger of trouble for establishment Republican Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). He faces Rep. Steve Stockman, Tea Party favorite Dwayne Stovall, and five others in a March 4 Republican primary election. If no candidate receives an absolute majority (50 percent plus one vote), the top two will face off in a May 27 run-off contest. The eventual Republican nominee will be a prohibitive favorite in the 2014 general election. The run-off system is designed to ensure that the winning candidate receives...