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When Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearings next month, he will face a united front of Democratic opposition. He may face no more blistering set of questions than those posed by the senator who sits all the way to the left of the dais, Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). ADVERTISEMENT A year and a half into her first term in office, the Judiciary Committee’s most junior member is already seen as a potential presidential front-runner. She has used her perch to insert herself into the debate over major national issues like President Trump’s decision to...

In a conference call with reporters, Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill just disclosed that she failed to pay $287,000 in property taxes related to her co-ownership of a private aircraft. This scandal comes quickly on the heels of recent revelations that McCaskill improperly billed taxpayers for use of the same private aircraft, for which McCaskill reimbursed the Treasury $88,000:

"I think what's happened is Fareed, in the last six months I think there was an article even in the paper this week about people no longer blaming Bush. They're beginning to target this White House. That's a natural course of events as you go through any administration, but I don't think it is fair to the President," Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said on CNN. "The story hasn't been sufficiently told," Kerry added.

Howie thread for the week starting with his Sunday Herald column

A Department of Revenue spokesman said Kerry would be liable for Massachusetts taxes if he berthed the boat in the Bay State within six months of its purchase. If the Isabel were brought to Massachusetts after that period, the state would have to decide if it wanted to pursue the taxes. Massachusetts, like most other states, has been grappling with plunging tax revenues. Last year's budget deficit was $600 million, and officials are bracing for a $1 billion deficit this year. The Republicans of Massachusetts spoke out meekly to criticize Kerry's cost saving measures. "While we can fault the...

Kerry irritated by yacht questions By: Andy Barr July 27, 2010 01:02 PM EDT Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) seemed to grow frustrated on Monday by ongoing questions of whether he paid the proper taxes on his $7 million yacht. “There is nothing more to say about it,” Kerry curtly told a gaggle of Massachusetts reporters as he tried to get into a car on Monday. A video of the interaction was posted online by Boston-area WBZ-TV. The yacht became a local issue over the weekend after the Boston Herald reported on Friday that Kerry was docking his new family boat...

The Washington Post Sunday edition had the headline, “Battle Looms on Tax Breaks: Bush-Era Cuts for Rich at Issue.” There is definitely a fight brewing on Capitol Hill as the Bush Tax Cuts near an end and the Obama administration is looking at sticking it to the rich with tax hikes. You would think that the Bush Tax cuts were only for the rich as you listen to the debate. What I propose is that the rich and powerful actually pay their taxes and stop using loopholes, shelters, and deceit. Senator John Kerry is docking his built in New Zealand...

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Senator John Kerry found himself answering questions Monday about his new $7 million yacht and the controversy about where he's docking it. "There's nothing more to say about it," he told reporters at an event at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station Monday. The "Isabel" is docked in Rhode Island rather than at Kerry's summer home on Nantucket or in Boston Harbor. That means he avoids paying nearly $500,000 in taxes to Massachusetts and he doesn't have to pay a $70,000-a-year excise tax. Rhode Island repealed those taxes in 1993. That has made the state something...

<p>BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is docking his family's new $7 million yacht in neighboring Rhode Island, allowing him to avoid paying roughly $500,000 in taxes to his cash-strapped home state.</p> <p>If the Isabel were kept at the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee's summer vacation home on Nantucket or in Boston Harbor near his city residence, he would be liable for $437,500 in one-time sales tax. He would also have to pay $70,000 in annual excise taxes.</p>