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A U.S. Senate committee passed a $716 billion defense policy bill on Thursday, including a measure to prevent Turkey from purchasing Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets.The amendment to the National Defense Authorisation Act, from Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Senator Thom Tillis, would remove Turkey from the F-35 program over its detention of U.S. citizen Andrew Brunson, Shaheen’s office said.Brunson, a Christian pastor who may be jailed for up to 35 years, has denied terrorism and spying charges in a Turkish court this month. He has been in pre-trial detention since 2016.It also faults NATO ally Turkey...

It would be unconstitutional for Congress to prevent President Trump from firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. I’m not saying that firing Mueller would be a wise move politically, nor am I urging the president to do so. That’s another issue. But under the Constitution, it is beyond the power of Congress to limit or impose conditions on any president’s authority to remove a political appointee within the Justice Department or any other department in the executive branch. Whether you think Donald Trump is an absolutely wonderful president or an absolutely...

A group of bipartisan senators is introducing new legislation to limit President Trump's ability to fire special counsel Robert Mueller. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Christopher Coons (D-Del.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) will introduce the legislation, the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, on Wednesday. The legislation would let Mueller, or any other special counsel, receive an "expedited judicial review" within 10 days of being fired to determine if it was for a "good cause." If it was determined it wasn't, he would be reinstated. It would also codify regulations that only a senior Justice Department official can...

Senate Republican leaders sharply warned President Trump not to fire Robert S. Mueller III on Tuesday — but they once again stopped short of embracing legislation to protect the special counsel. “I haven’t seen clear indication yet that we needed to pass something to keep him from being removed, because I don’t think that’s going to happen,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). McConnell did not elaborate on why he believed that. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), his top deputy, said he also didn’t believe Mueller would be removed. Asked why, he replied, “I think the consequences of doing so...

A near-final draft of the White House’s unlimited and forever amnesty bill says the administration wants $25 billion for a wall over the next five years, and will not cancel chain-migration or visa-lottery inflows until the last of the 4 million foreigners now in the pipeline have arrived in the 2030s. The amnesty is dubbed the Security, Enforcement, and Compassion United Reform Effort Act, or SECURE Act. It is based on the SUCCEED Act developed by Sen. Thom Tillis and Sen. James Lankford, and it offers amnesty to an unlimited number of people, without any ending date. Overall, the amnesty...

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Thursday that if Roy Moore is elected to the Senate next week, there should be an ethics investigation into the sexual assault and misconduct allegations against him. Tillis said on Buzzfeed's "AM to DM" Twitter morning show that he thinks an investigation should take place before the chamber moves to expel Moore or take other action.

With prospects dimming for a deal this year to prevent young immigrants brought the to U.S. as children from deportation, sympathetic groups are planning a big push over the next few weeks to force the issue back to the top of Washington’s agenda. Activists see their December bid as their last, best shot to save 800,000 young immigrants protected by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. They face a tough challenge, with the White House distracted by tax reform and Congress reluctant to act quickly to save the program. [SNIP] The multiple initiatives to save the...

A bipartisan pair of senators has introduced a bill aimed at protecting Robert Mueller, the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, should President Trump decide to fire him.

WASHINGTON — Two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are moving to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller's job, putting forth new legislation that aims to ensure the integrity of current and future independent investigations. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware plan to introduce the legislation Thursday. The bill would allow any special counsel for the Department of Justice to challenge his or her removal in court, with a review by a three-judge panel within 14 days of the challenge. The bill would apply retroactively to May 17, 2017 — the day Mueller...

The revelations from James O’Keefe’s videos about Brad Woodhouse and his group inspired one of my associates to make a comparison to the Carolina Rising affair of 2014 and 2015. You may remember that Dallas Woodhouse headed up something called Carolina Rising during the campaign of 2014 — prior to his ascension to the top staff position at NCGOP HQ. Carolina Rising was touted as a PAC aimed at promoting Republican fortunes in the state. The PAC earned itself some unwanted attention on Election Eve 2014 thanks to a TV interview involving Dallas. Dallas boasts on camera that he and...

They’re coming for your home. Right now. I suggest you save it. I can guide you, but you must do exactly as I say. Except, this isn’t The Matrix. You’re no actor, like Keanu Reeves, playing a distraught programmer-hacker named “Neo.” Nor am I an actor, like Laurence Fishburne, playing your guide “Morpheus.” This is real life, baby. Your home or apartment—and the neighborhood in which you live—is under siege. “Agents”—sans black glasses and black business suits—who work for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have written a new regulation called “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” (AFFH) that...

What he said sounds much worse in The Hill’s account of his comments than the actual audio does. The remarks from the North Carolina Republican are the first crack in GOP unity since Saturday's stunning news of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's death, whose passing has put the tilt of the court in question. Scalia's successor seems likely to determine whether its majority will lean liberal or conservative…"I think we fall into the trap, if we just simply say sight unseen -- we fall into the trap of being obstructionist," he said in comments first noted by Think Progress,...

SenateJudiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, didn't rule out confirmation hearings and a vote by his panel on an Obama selection. "I would wait until the nominee is made before I would make any decision," Mr. Grassley said Tuesday in a conference call with Iowa radio reporters. "In other words, take it a step at a time." Asked whether he thought the controversy over filling the court vacancy might endanger his re-election chances this fall, Mr. Grassley said, "I think I have a responsibility to perform, and I can't worry about the election. I've got to do my job...

Kay Hagan, defeated senator from North Carolina, may be gearing up to make a run at Senior Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) in 2016. She narrowly defeated Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), and in turn was herself narrowly defeated by Thom Tillis (R) in 2014 in what wiki called “one of the toughest re-election bids in the country.” (2) The Hagan-Ruthven family combine of real estate development and solar energy projects in central Florida and NC, just keeps finding ways to feed at the public trough! After serving in the NC state senate, Hagan launched herself into the national political arena where...

Former North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan won’t run for Senate in 2016, disappointing Democrats counting on her to unseat Republican Richard Burr in what will be a major swing state race. Hagan was unseated by Republican Thom Tillis in 2014 after one term in the Senate, and has struggled in the polls since, but was the obvious pick to challenge Burr. She’s been calling donors and supporters to inform them she won’t run, reported Roll Call. Hagan performed relatively well in an election where Republicans secured big majorities in the House and Senate, and supporters figured she could unseat Burr...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) applauds the passage of the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on Thursday after a week of debate and consideration by both parties. Sen. Cruz introduced or cosponsored more than a dozen amendments that were successfully adopted by the committee. “Congress’ first priority is to provide for the national defense and ensure our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have everything they need to defend our freedom,” said Sen. Cruz. “I am grateful for the committee’s support for my amendments, including measures that will ensure...

Forty-seven Senate Republicans are signaling in an open letter to Iran and the White House that a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program will be at risk once President Obama leaves office. “It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system,” the senators wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Bloomberg. “Thus, we are writing to bring to your attention two features of our Constitution — the power to make binding international agreements and the different character of federal offices — which you should seriously...

A record number of rogue Christian pastors are endorsing candidates from the pulpit this election cycle, using Sunday sermons to defiantly flout tax rules. Their message to the IRS: Sue me. But the tax agency is doing anything but. Although the IRS was sued itself for not enforcing the law and admitted about 100 churches may be breaking the rules, the pastors and their critics alike say the agency is looking the other way. The agency refuses to say if it is acting. At the same time, the number of pastors endorsing candidates in what they call Pulpit Freedom Sunday...

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Another question some of you may have had about Tuesday's election:What role did Libertarian candidate Sean Haugh play in the Senate race results? The answer may depend on who you ask. UNCG political science professor Thom Little said Haugh didn't make much of an impact. He told our Ben Briscoe the polls he looked at showed Haugh took more votes from Thom Tillis than he did Kay Hagan. But Elon university professor Kenneth Fernandez said the voters that supported Haugh did play a role in Hagan's loss. In a recent online experiment, researchers found two-thirds of Haugh's...

Despite the New York Time's prediction that Tillis will lose, Pundit Press projects that Thom Tillis will be the next Senator of North Carolina! With 94% of the vote in, Tillis holds a 48,000 vote lead over Hagan. Hagan's problem is that Wake County and Cumberland County, two heavily populated and heavily pro-Hagan counties, are 100% in. Hagan simply cannot make up that margin. On top of that, pro-Tillis counties, such as Cleveland and Davidson are under-reporting thus far. Hagan may gain a few votes, but Tillis should win by 20,000 votes or more.