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Democrats are seething after news emerged on Sunday that eight members of their Senate caucus had collaborated with Republicans on crafting a compromise to end the longest government shutdown in US history, without winning any healthcare concessions that they had sought. But one name is coming in for more opprobrium than any other: Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader who had led the Democrats’ weeks-long stand against reopening the government without an extension of tax credits that lower premiums for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plans. If the results of the crucial Sunday vote are any indication, the outcome Democrats...

It's all over in the Senate, at least. The cave on Chuck Schumer's stupid and pointless gesture has come to its predictable conclusion. The vote for final passage, which only required a simple majority, is interesting. The same Senate Democrats who voted to break the filibuster also voted for the deal that will end the Schumer Shutdown:The Senate passed a bill to reopen the federal government Monday evening, taking the next step toward ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history.The chamber agreed to speed up the process to pass a bipartisan agreement struck over the weekend. The measure will now...

After nearly 40 days, the Schumer Shutdown is finally over. Enough Democrats are reportedly crossing over, abandoning their party’s intransigent stance, to allow the government to resume operations. From what has been reported, it doesn’t sound like the Republicans gave up anything significant. Based on the speeches by Chuck Schumer (bordering on the insane) and John Thune, it sounds like what tipped the balance was disruption to air travel. Important Democrats are not on food stamps, but they fly. A lot. So when a shutdown of air travel threatened, pressure on Democratic senators became irresistible. That is my reading of...

Eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus voted Sunday evening to proceed to a House-passed continuing resolution, taking a major step toward ending the 40-day shutdown. The Senate voted 60-40 to advance the House bill, which will serve as the legislative vehicle for a bipartisan deal to fund military construction, veterans’ affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch through Sept. 30 and the rest of government through Jan. 30. It sets the stage for the House to return to Washington later this week to vote on the bill in hope of getting to President Trump’s desk for his...

<p>The FBI’s Washington Field Office requested the senior officials’ authorization before looking into “an apparent effort to obstruct Congress’ certification of the Electoral College” and “fraudulent certificates of electors’ votes were submitted to the Archivist of the United States, purporting to represent the actual elector votes from the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin,” the files show.</p>

@RandPaul Tonight the process of opening the govt begins, less chaos is a good thing but hidden deep in the swamp speak of the Republican bill will be a waiver of PAYGO the long-standing law requiring new spending to be offset with cuts. And so it goes, a trillion here a trillion there. $38 trillion in debt and counting. A depressing outcome

In a long vote made longer by Texas Senator John Cornyn's absence from D.C. until late Sunday night, a new funding bill has passed the U.S. Senate and heads for the House of Representatives.The deal, which got support from eight Democrats, is part of a package meant to reopen the government, fund SNAP benefits, begin the appropriations process, and even secure a future vote for extending Affordable Care Act subsidies. The text of the bill can be found here.What's in the Deal?In exchange for their support of a bill to re-open the federal government, the seven Democrats were promised a...

* The Senate was on track to approve a deal that could end the federal government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1. * People familiar with the situation told CNBC that enough Democratic senators had agreed to vote for the deal to clear a 60-vote minimum threshold. The Senate was on track Sunday night to pass a deal that could end the federal government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1. People familiar with the situation told CNBC that enough Democratic senators had agreed to vote for the deal to clear a 60-vote minimum threshold. If passed, the deal would have...

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, walked off the Senate floor when being questioned about reopening the federal government during the longest shutdown in history. Schumer admitted to Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-OH, that he didn’t have a written proposal to fix the Affordable Care Act. “We can’t give you a counter in writing, but it’s very simple," Schumer said. "Because we have two sentences we would add to any proposal which would extend the ACA benefits for one year. Moreno exposed that the Affordable Care Act imposed no income caps, meaning people who make millions of dollars a year...

The Supreme Court's decision to allow the administration to pay only partial SNAP benefits during the shutdown gives Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress a clear road to victory in the shutdown fight now entering its 39th day. SCOTUS recognized that this is not a separation of powers constitutional issue. It's a political issue, and the Supreme Court tends to avoid intervening in political disputes. The ball is now firmly in the hands of the Democrats, who have gotten themselves into a no-win situation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried a delay gambit, offering to reopen the government if...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Nov. 7 proposed a new plan to end the record-breaking federal government shutdown, ahead of another possible vote on a Republican-backed bill to reopen the government. Schumer said on the Senate floor that his proposal would continue expiring premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, for a year, giving lawmakers time to work out a longer solution.They are slated to expire at the end of this year. Open enrollment for Obamacare, when prospective customers first got a look at potential new costs, began on Nov. 1. “That’s not a negotiation....

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today attempted to pass three bills via unanimous consent that would have blocked pay to Members of Congress and restored pay to federal workers during the government shutdown on its 37th day. Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) objected and blocked the bills from passing unanimously. After Paul objected to Kennedy’s first bill, the No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act, Kennedy also attempted to pass his Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act. Paul objected, arguing that all federal employees who have worked through the shutdown should get paid.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., avoided answering whether he would support eliminating the filibuster, as he did under President Joe Biden on Wednesday. Raskin was asked by CNN’s Dana Bash about President Donald Trump’s recent comments regarding several Republican losses nationwide Tuesday night and the ongoing government shutdown. “One of the things that he has been talking about for the last couple of days more intensely is getting rid of the filibuster. That’s actually something that you wanted to do when Joe Biden was president. Things weren’t getting through the Senate. So is that an area where you agree with him?”...

Over one full term and less than a year of a second term, Trump has had confirmed: 3 justices of the Supreme Court (33%) 60 judges to the Circuit courts (34%) 187 judges to the district courts (28%) 29% of the judiciary overall Trump has filled all the existing vacancies on the Circuit courts this year. But there are five Circuit judges appointed by Reagan and four by HW Bush that should be retiring (they are all late 70's 80's and one who's 98). There are also several Clinton judges in their late 70's or 80's. There are currently twelve...

It’s unclear whether the measure will pass after administration officials tried to reassure Republicans who signaled they may support the effort.The Senate will vote Thursday on a bipartisan measure to block President Donald Trump from attacking Venezuelan territory in a new test of Republicans’ willingness to oppose his use of military force in Latin America. It is unclear whether the largely symbolic effort will attract enough GOP support to pass, or whether a recent push by the administration to walk back Trump’s repeated threats of escalation has reassured those lawmakers who have suggested they might join the effort. On Wednesday,...

The Senate on Thursday voted down an effort to block President Donald Trump from conducting strikes against alleged drug smugglers off the coast of Venezuela without congressional approval. The War Powers Resolution, introduced by Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, failed to pass the upper chamber 51 to 49, just a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth briefed top congressional members on the strikes — which some Democrats claimed lacked details on the operations. The resolution would have required Trump “to terminate the use of” U.S. armed forces “for hostilities within or against Venezuela,”...

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman noted Saturday night on Fox News Channel’s “My View with Lara Trump,” hosted by the president’s daughter-in-law, that he’ll “get grief” for sitting down with her. Still, he said, having conversations is “really important.” “We can’t ever collectively turn our back to others and people are increasingly forgetting to remember that we really need each other,” Fetterman said. Both Democrats and Republicans are feeling the effects of a federal government shutdown. Fetterman was one of three Democrats to side with a Republican bill that would’ve paid certain federal workers during the shutdown. “I’ve been really consistent...

The Schumer Shutdown has been going on for more than a month now. It started on October 1, and the Senate won't even be able to have another vote on it until Tuesday at the earliest. The extended shutdown is raising concerns, particularly about funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and how it may be impacting air travel. 🚨For those traveling in and out of Newark — expect significant delays. We HAVE to reduce flight volumes to MAINTAIN SAFETY 🚨This is exactly what @SenSchumer and @RepJeffries want — to inflict maximum pain on the American people!The moment they...

Someone needs to inform Jay Caspian Kang of the New Yorker that "dirtbag" is considered to be a pejorative, not a positive. Yet, Kang seems to think that he is somehow helping to restore the sinking candidacy of Democrat Graham Platner for the U.S. Senate from Maine by repeatedly referring to him as the "embodiment of the dirtbag left" as he did on Friday with "What Explains Graham Platner’s Popularity?"And Kang weirdly does his worst to help Graham's supposed popularity by emphasizing Platner as a "dirtbag" starting with the subtitle: "The U.S. Senate candidate from Maine seems like the embodiment...

Johnson's House Republicans passed the current "Clean" Continuing Resolution "on or about" Sept 19. It extends last year's 2024 Budget until 21 Nov. After that extension - which should not be needed anyway, but that is an editorial remark - the next budget was to be "discussed and voted upon" by both House and Senate, and life would continue under Trump's Big Beautiful Bill and its guidelines through the 2026 fiscal years. But. Johnson's House Committees have not been in Washington in regular session since that CR was passed. What is the status of their "continuing budget proposals and discussions?...