Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Many Republican lawmakers lie low when they have differences with President Trump. Sen. Rand Paul has taken the opposite approach. “Congress needs to grow a spine, and Congress needs to stand up for its prerogatives,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters, complaining that Trump relied on a national-emergency law to impose tariffs that Paul believes should be controlled by lawmakers. His comments came just days after he was one of only two GOP senators to vote against the party’s budget framework that is key to Trump’s tax cuts, saying it didn’t do enough to reduce the deficit. The libertarian...

WASHINGTON—In naming a set of unconventional nominees to run federal departments, Donald Trump this week also took steps to push for a broader goal: realigning the balance of power among Washington’s major institutions so that more authority flows from the White House. Trump has threatened to take steps that would undermine the Senate’s confirmation powers and Congress’s role in budgeting—the most essential powers of the two chambers. He has insisted that senators allow him to place some nominees directly in their jobs, bypassing the Senate’s public hearings and confirmation process. He has said he would move to impound—or decline to...

WASHINGTON—An effort by some Democrats to seek an alternative to President Biden as the party’s nominee appeared to flag on Tuesday, with lawmakers signaling no clear path forward after the president made clear he was dead set against stepping aside. House and Senate Democrats held conference meetings for the first time since Biden flopped at the first presidential debate, a debacle for the party that heightened concerns that the 81-year-old incumbent couldn’t beat former President Donald Trump and may not be fit enough for another four years even if he did win. Lawmakers aired their frustrations with their predicament but...

-snip- “As we’ve said for weeks, legislation that doesn’t include policy changes to secure our borders will not pass the Senate,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), who has been one of the most ardent supporters of Ukraine. Republicans and Democrats have been discussing a change to tighten the initial asylum screening standard, but GOP lawmakers have said that change alone isn’t enough. They have broadened their demands to include a massive expansion of immigration detention for asylum seekers, the ability to send asylum seekers to other countries the U.S. deems are safe and limits on an immigration...

House Democrats now have the votes to impeach President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported late Monday. The Wall Street Journal‘s Siobhan Hughes, Lindsay Wise, and Natalie Andrews wrote Monday evening: By Monday afternoon, at least 18 from the 31 Democratic-held districts that Mr. Trump won in the 2016 presidential race had announced they would support the abuse-of-power and obstruction of Congress charges, according to a Wall Street Journal survey, with two saying they are opposed. In other words, given the recent surge over the weekend into early this week of announcements of support for Articles...

Obama Sways Influential Jewish Lawmaker to Back Iran Deal Rep. Nadler’s endorsement capped a week in which president locked in support from several wavering Democrats By SIOBHAN HUGHES Aug. 21, 2015 WASHINGTON—Rep. Jerry Nadler on Friday endorsed the Iran nuclear deal, capping a week in which the Obama administration locked in support from several wavering Democrats before a critical vote next month on an agreement that could reshape the U.S. relationship with the Middle East. The Jewish Democrat from New York said that “for all its flaws,” the accord between Iran and six other nations “gives us the best chance...