Free Republic

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...

In a suspenseful vote, the Senate agreed to advance legislation that would lift the debt ceiling into 2015. The procedural hurdle was full of drama as Republicans were reluctant to provide the five votes needed to move forward with the bill. Ultimately, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) — both of whom are up for reelection this year and face primary challengers — voted to advance the debt hike measure. The procedural vote will almost certainly be fodder in their reelection races. The chamber ultimately passed the bill 55-43 in a vote that only required a...

Republicans in the Senate are struggling to come up with the five votes they'd need to ensure passage on Wednesday of a House bill raising the debt ceiling. The measure is likely to win support from the upper chamber's 53 Democrats and the two Independents that caucus with Democrats. But only one Republican, Sen. Mark Kirk (Ill.), has so far said he would back the bill. The measure needs 60 votes because Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is filibustering the bill over the lack of spending reforms attached to it. Kirk told The Hill the vote would be close. “I think...