Free Republic

Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) are urging President Biden not to nominate Jerome Powell to serve another term as chairman of the Federal Reserve, warning that his refusal to use the Fed to prepare the economy for the impact of climate change is a major problem. The Democratic senators join Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who are trying to steer Biden away from Powell, who was appointed chairman by President Trump, and toward picking Lael Brainard, the only Democrat on the central bank’s seven-member board. “Jerome Powell refuses to recognize climate change as an urgent and systemic economic...

Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has slowed down negotiations on a massive $1.75 trillion reconciliation package, says the “unbelievable” Republican victories in Virginia’s statewide races Tuesday validate his concerns about inflation and moving the Build Back Better Act too quickly through Congress. Manchin said that GOP gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin’s victory in a state that President Biden won by 10 points in 2020 also underscores the need for the House to pass the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which progressives are holding up. “It’s unbelievable to see what went on in Virginia and not just from the governor’s race...

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Monday refused to sign off on a $1.75 trillion social spending and climate measure at the heart of President Biden’s economic agenda, throwing a wrench into plans for a swift House vote this week.Manchin accused the Democratic authors of the ambitious framework of using “shell games and budget gimmicks” to mask “the real cost” of the legislation, which he said could wind up being “twice as high” as advertised if its programs are extended. He called media reports asserting that he privately supports the White House framework as “mischaracterizations” and warned that he would not...

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and a group of Republican conservatives have struck a deal to allow a Friday vote on a bill setting up a bipartisan Jan. 6 commission, which will let senators leave Washington for the Memorial Day recess early Friday afternoon. The deal, which was approved by the entire Senate after being hotlined, will postpone the final procedural votes and the final up-or-down vote on a bill to improve U.S. competitiveness with China until next month. But it means that Republicans won’t be able to delay consideration of the China bill into the holiday weekend, which...

Sen. Tim Scott’s 2024 prospects are on the rise following his rebuttal to President Biden JOE BIDEN Caitlyn Jenner on Hannity touts Trump: 'He was a disruptor' Argentina launches 'Green Mondays' campaign to cut greenhouse gases On The Money: Federal judge vacates CDC's eviction moratorium | Biden says he's open to compromise on corporate tax rate | Treasury unsure of how long it can stave off default without debt limit hike MORE ’s address to a joint session of Congress and emergence as the leading GOP voice on police reform efforts. The buzz surrounding the South Carolina Republican puts him...

GOP rallies around Trump after firing of Manhattan US attorney BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 06/22/20 08:05 PM EDT — GOP rallies around Trump after firing of Manhattan US attorney Senate Republicans on Monday largely defended President Trump following his controversial decision this week to fire Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said Trump was within his right to fire Berman, who was involved in a number of politically sensitive investigations that touched on Trump and his advisers. “It’s kind of like previous firings, I would say,” Thune said....

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) announced Monday evening that his panel will vote June 4 on a subpoena authorization to review documents and communications and solicit testimony from an array of senior Obama-era officials, including former FBI Director James Comey. Graham announced in a press release that the subpoena vote will take place as part of his panel’s investigation into “FISA abuse” and the FBI probe “Crossfire Hurricane,” which investigated contacts between Trump advisers and Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election. The subpoenas will cover “documents, communications and testimony from witnesses” including Comey, former FBI deputy director...

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says he will vote against a motion to subpoena Hunter Biden if a majority of colleagues agree next week that additional witnesses and documents need to be summoned for President Trump’s impeachment trial. If Republican colleagues introduce a motion to subpoena former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Graham said “I vote against it.” Graham’s opposition essentially kills the threat that Republicans have wielded in recent weeks that if Democrats win a motion to hear from additional witnesses such as former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says Republicans could subpoena Hunter Biden to testify about his business dealings with a Ukrainian gas company if Democrats insist on having witnesses such as former National Security Adviser John Bolton testify at the Senate impeachment trial. “We’ll be dealing with the witness issue at the appropriate time into the trial and I think it’s certainly appropriate to point out that both sides would want to call witnesses they wanted to hear from,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday when asked about GOP senators who want Biden, former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, to testify. “When...

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Friday introduced a resolution to block President Trump from further escalating hostilities with Iran. The resolution is privileged, which means Republicans cannot block it from reaching the floor, and comes the day after the surprise drone strike that killed Iraninan Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s elite Quds Force. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed “forceful revenge” against the U.S., and the Pentagon announced Friday that it will send 3,000 additional troops to the Middle East. Kaine’s resolution requires that...

President Trump invited two of his biggest Senate Republican critics, Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), to the White House Thursday for an unspecified discussion. The invitation comes as impeachment hearings in the House continue. The House is widely expected to impeach Trump, which would create a trial in the Senate where Romney and Collins would be two of the most scrutinized GOP votes. Romney said before the meeting that he planned to talk about his own bill, the Trust Act, and the president’s plan for regulating vaping products. “If I’m asked for questions I want to talk...

Trump faces growing GOP revolt on Syria BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 10/09/19 06:00 AM EDT Trump faces growing GOP revolt on Syria Republicans are in a full-out revolt against President Trump over his decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria, a move broadly seen as putting the lives of Kurdish allies at risk. The overwhelming opposition from GOP lawmakers is putting increasing pressure on Trump to reverse course. And it comes at a time when Democrats are moving full steam ahead with an impeachment inquiry. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Trump’s loudest congressional supporters, on Tuesday demanded a senators-only...

GOP senators attack whistleblower's credibility GOP senators attack whistleblower's credibility BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 09/30/19 06:00 AM EDT 13,753 Republican senators scrambling to protect President Trump from a formal impeachment inquiry are attacking the credibility of the whistleblower who filed a complaint. GOP lawmakers are asserting the whistleblower did not have firsthand knowledge of the actions detailed in the complaint and question whether the person had a political agenda. “It doesn’t come from a person with personal knowledge. It’s like I heard these people say this, and now I’m reporting it. I think that is pretty bizarre,” said Sen. John...

TheHill.com Prospects for Trump gun deal grow dimmer BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 09/16/19 06:54 PM EDT Prospects for a bipartisan deal on gun control legislation have dimmed significantly as President Trump and Democratic leaders appear to be far apart on the key issue of expanding background checks. Republicans expect Trump to put forward a proposal addressing gun violence later this week, but Democrats predict it is likely to fall far short of what is needed and that they may not vote for it. Democrats are pressing Trump to agree to a gun control bill already approved by the House, but...

Prospects for a bipartisan deal on gun control legislation have dimmed significantly as President Trump and Democratic leaders appear to be far apart on the key issue of expanding background checks. Republicans expect Trump to put forward a proposal addressing gun violence later this week, but Democrats predict it is likely to fall far short of what is needed and that they may not vote for it. Democrats are pressing Trump to agree to a gun control bill already approved by the House, but the president has yet to even signal support for a scaled-down background check bill sponsored by...

Democrats are worried that if he doesn’t win the party’s presidential nomination himself, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will be a thorn in the side of the Democratic nominee for president — especially if it’s former Vice President Joe Biden. The Democrats worry that Sanders won’t be a team player if he loses, and that he and his supporters will be particularly problematic if Biden or another rival seen as out of step with progressives comes out on top. “I think Bernie will do everything in his power to elevate himself by pushing others down,” said one aide to a Democratic...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a close ally of President Trump who has supported the president’s desire to pull U.S. troops out of the Middle East, says national security adviser John Bolton is a “malign influence.” Paul, who believes the U.S. should reduce its military presence in Syria and Afghanistan, says he is alarmed by the recent mobilization of U.S. combat troops to counter what some Trump officials see as a rising threat posed by Iran. Asked about Bolton’s role in the recent deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group and an Air Force bomber task force, Paul said, “I fear...

Senate Republicans feel that President Trump has once again pulled the rug out from under them on trade, leaving GOP lawmakers frustrated over their inability to influence the White House’s policy on an issue that could have major economic and electoral ramifications. Days after a group of Republican senators relayed to Trump at a White House meeting their concerns about trade tensions with Canada, Mexico, Europe and China, Trump over the weekend threatened new tariffs on China, escalating a fight with Beijing and rattling markets. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said after the stock markets closed Monday that higher tariffs...

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned Republicans on Friday that voting for Chad Readler, President Trump’s nominee to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, is a vote against protecting with people with pre-existing conditions. Readler, who served until September as assistant attorney general for the civil division at the Department of Justice, filed a brief last year supporting a lawsuit filed by Texas and other states seeking to strike down the Affordable Care Act. “As Mr. Readler is the author of the Trump administration’s decision to side with Republican attorneys general suing to repeal our health care law, Senate...

Frustrated Republicans say it’s time for the Senate to reclaim more power over foreign policy and are planning to move a measure Thursday that would be a stunning rebuke to a president of their own party. GOP lawmakers are deeply concerned over President Trump’s reluctance to listen to his senior military and intelligence advisers, fearing it could erode national security. They say the Senate has lost too much of its constitutional power over shaping the nation’s foreign policy and argue that it’s time to begin clawing some of it back. “Power over foreign policy has shifted to the executive branch...