Free Republic

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has declined to make a Shermanesque statement that would flatly rule out the possibility that he would appoint himself to fill the Senate seat of Democrat Senator Bob Menendez. Sen. Menendez is currently under federal trial, facing bribery and corruption charges. Should Menendez be removed from office or resign before Christie’s term ends on January 18, 2018, Christie would have the power to appoint his replacement. In a recorded interview aired on this today’s Morning Joe, New York Times reporter Nick Confessore said to Christie, “I’m looking for a Shermanesque statement here.” View the video...

A new poll shows former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore with a commanding lead over Luther Strange, the Washington establishment backed candidate, heading into the GOP primary runoff for the Alabama U.S. Senate seat left open this year. The poll from JMC Analytics provided to Breitbart News ahead of its public release shows Moore with 51 percent, a majority, supporting him, while Strange trails nearly 20 points behind with just 32 percent—and 17 percent are undecided. Moore’s commanding lead comes after he outperformed polls to finish around 39 percent in a multi-way primary this past Tuesday. Strange finished...

When Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey goes on trial on federal corruption charges in less than three weeks, far more than his own fate hinges on the outcome. If Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, is convicted and then expelled from the United States Senate by early January, his replacement would be picked by Gov. Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey and an ally of President Trump. That scenario — where Mr. Menendez’s interim replacement would more than likely be a Republican — would have immediate and far-reaching implications: The Republicans would be gifted a crucial extra vote just...

‘Repeal and Replace Obamacare’ never stood a chance of getting past Mitch "The Blocker" McConnell and is probably doomed this fall in spite of any further praiseworthy Trumpian efforts to help America's middle class escape a law which destroys our health and drains our bank accounts. After all, the Senate Majority Leader has some very close ties to special interest healthcare dollars. Add to that the fact that his wife, new US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao McConnell, “…received $50,000 in 2015 for a five-minute speech to the political wing of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, previously called a cult-like terrorist group" by the...

Wake up everyone, the 2018 off year election cycle begins Tuesday in Alabama, and unless you are clueless as to what is going on, the swamp is attempting to steal the first Senate seat up for grabs. Now is not the time to sit back and just watch what will happen next Tuesday. It's time to get as involved as you can to make sure the right man heads to Washington. We don't want anyone who will feel comfortable getting along with those living in the swamp. We want a man who will make the swamp dwellers feel so...

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore leads the crowded Republican primary field in the state's Senate race, according to a new poll. Moore has 30 percent support in the JMC Analytics and Polling survey. He is followed by Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.), with 22 percent, and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who had 19 percent. Another 17 percent are undecided. The poll found that 53 percent of respondents view Moore favorably, compared with 34 percent who have an unfavorable opinion of him. Just 35 percent have a favorable view of Strange and half of respondents see him unfavorably....

Alaskans - are you upset that your Republican senator pulled the rug out from under the repeal of ObamaCare? There's something you can do about it. A certain popular ex-governor is available and what she might lack in skills as an individual candidate, she certain has an eye for representing Alaskans first and foremost rather than the DC elites.

Republicans pretend that they are powerless to do more about the great ship Obamacare than to change the fuel on which it runs and rearrange its deck chairs — never mind to sink it. Because they lack 60 votes to stop “unlimited debate,” they claim to be unable to vote even on whether to allow health insurance to be sold across state lines. They pretend to believe that fidelity to unlimited debate in the Senate trumps the importance of our health care system. But the reason why they prop up Obamacare rather than tearing it down is that they are...

After years of fights with the Obama administration and the EPA, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is well positioned to take down Senator Joe Manchin in 2018. About a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily halted implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, and though the court didn’t know it at the time, this probably killed off the plan for good. [snip] If and when the Clean Power Plan is cast aside, it will be a major victory for Patrick Morrisey, currently the attorney general of West Virginia, chairman of the Republican Attorney Generals Association, and a strong...

Senate Democrats are planning an all-night talkathon Thursday over President Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Asked whether Democrats are planning to hold the floor all night, a spokeswoman for Sen. Tom Carper (Del.) — the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee — confirmed that "that's the plan." A spokesman for Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) directed questions to Carper's office but noted that Democrats aren't planning to yield back debate time. The late-night floor drama comes after senators voted to move forward with Scott Pruitt's nomination earlier Thursday in a 54-46 vote....

Senate Democrats on Thursday slammed Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for not delaying a vote on President Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and some colleagues have repeatedly asked McConnell to delay the vote to confirm Scott Pruitt, currently Oklahoma’s attorney general, while Democrats and a liberal group wait for a public records requested more than two years ago. McConnell declined, Carper said, and the Senate voted 54-46 on Thursday — with all Republicans and two Democrats supporting — to move forward on Pruitt and line up a vote for Friday. “In my...

RUSH: I got an email during the break. “Rush, you confused me on this Rule 19 versus 60 votes. Could you go through this again?” Let me do it very quickly and then I’m gonna go at it the office direction. In the Senate, you need 60 votes for anything. The way it happens, it’s called a filibuster, but it really isn’t a filibuster. It’s just a Senate rule. It’s been around for a long time. Don’t ask why, what’s the logic. It just is. The Senate is supposed to slow down things. Passing laws was supposed to be hard...

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has announced the six candidates who are still in the running to replace U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions' seat. •U.S. Congressman, Robert Aderholt. •ADECA Director, Jim Byard. •Former State Representative, Perry Hooper Jr. •Senate President Pro Tem, Del Marsh. •Representative Connie Rowe. •Attorney General, Luther Strange. Governor Bentley interviewed 20 candidates for the potential vacancy, as Sessions has been tapped by President Donald Trump to become the next U.S. Attorney General. ... Senator Sessions still has to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before he becomes Attorney General, which is to be expected. He was approved by...

President Obama transmitted the controversial Arms Trade Treaty, which seeks to regulate the world’s annual exchange of $70 billion in conventional weaponry, to the Senate on Friday. In April 2013, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Arms Trade Treaty that aims to regulate the international trade in conventional weapons ranging from small arms to warships. The U.S. signed the treaty along with some 129 other countries but Congress has not ratified it. The Senate would have to pass the ATT with a two-thirds majority and at least 50 Senators went on record soon after Kerry’s action by sending...

Sen. Harry Reid warned his colleagues not to abuse the filibuster, asked for a return to pork-barrel spending and begged them to find a way to limit the power of interest groups to spend money in elections, saying Thursday that the fate of American democracy depends on it. The Nevada Democrat who led his party to political heights of a 60-vote majority, then watched as it slipped away over the last six years, delivered a pair of swan song speeches, regretting nothing from his hard-nosed approach to politics, while doling out advice to all who would listen. He is retiring...

<p>Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday that he would do whatever necessary — including joining a filibuster by Senate Democrats — to block confirmation of Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees if he taps someone like John R. Bolton or Rudolph W. Giuliani for secretary of state.</p>

The two major-party candidates running for Maryland's open U.S. Senate seat sparred Friday over their legislative records as well as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as they took part in the first debate in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski. ... Szeliga, a Baltimore County lawmaker and the minority whip in the Maryland House of Delegates, said she lived on the minimum wage as a "maid, a waitress, a dishwasher" before starting a contracting firm with her husband. Szeliga, who opposes raising the $7.25-an-hour minimum wage, said low-wage earners are more interested in a career than a...

President Obama on Monday said he has selected W. Neil Eggleston to become chief counsel, adding the expertise of a veteran attorney who was involved in some of the most heated legal battles of the Clinton administration. Eggleston, a white-collar defender who is now at Kirkland & Ellis, will replace departing White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler in mid-May. "Neil brings extraordinary expertise, credentials, and experience, to our team," Obama said in a statement. "He has a passion for public service, is renowned for his conscientiousness and foresight, and I look forward to working closely with him in the coming years."...

Republican U.S. Senate Nominee Darryl Glenn called for Donald Trump to step down Saturday after a video surfaced of the presidential nominee using vulgar, demeaning language to talk about women.

The Republican Senate candidate in Colorado has been trailing Sen. Michael Bennet in recent polls but he is hoping for some "Labor Day magic." Darryl Glenn has consistently lagged behind Bennet by double digits in one of the few competitive Senate seats that Democrats are defending this cycle. Glenn won his five-way primary race in June after the campaign of former state Rep. Jon Keyser imploded. “I’m just not sure what happened here,” veteran Republican communications consultant Sean Duffy told The Denver Post. “You would think that a gentleman with his oratorical skills and background … you would think there...