Democrats inject chaos into Brett Kavanaugh hearing with delay demands
Senate Democrats repeatedly interrupted the opening of Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination hearing Tuesday morning in a failed bid to delay proceedings.
Senate
Capitol Hill probes on Trump, elections may factor in November vote
Congress returns this week from its August recess and while the House Intelligence Committee has wrapped up its probe, lawmakers still face big questions regarding the Russian-meddling scandal, threats to the U.S. electoral system, the uses and abuses of social media sites and fresh clashes between the White House and the Department of Justice.
With Kavanaugh on track for confirmation, Democrats regret triggering ‘nuclear option’
With attempts to attack Brett M. Kavanaugh’s record failing, Democrats over the weekend mounted a last-ditch bid to derail his confirmation to the Supreme Court by claiming that the vetting process is so bad that it demands a do-over.
Senate confirms seven more of Trump’s judges
The Senate confirmed seven of President Trump’s district court nominees on Tuesday after Republicans struck a deal with Democrats to shorten the usual vote times.
Trump announces 17th wave of judicial nominees, tabs two women for circuit courts
President Trump on Monday announced two new appeals court nominees and two more picks for district court judges, continuing to fulfill his promise of reshaping the federal bench with a conservative bent.
Michael Cohen told Senate intel committee he saw no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen emphatically stated a year ago that he saw no evidence that the president colluded with Russia during the campaign.
$675 billion Pentagon spending bill approved by the Senate
The Senate passed its version of a $675 billion appropriations bill Thursday to fund the Pentagon in fiscal 2019, setting up negotiations with the House on a final spending plan.
GOP blocks Rand Paul’s bid to defund Planned Parenthood
Republican leaders in the Senate stepped in Wednesday to block Sen. Rand Paul’s latest effort to defund Planned Parenthood, an issue popular with the GOP base that some say could help energize voters for the midterm elections.
GOP has ‘record-shattering’ 30 million voter contacts, 20,000-member outreach team
The Republican National Committee’s program to out-do former President Obama’s grassroots organizing has gone into warp speed and already made a record-breaking 30 million voter contacts in its goal of keeping the House and Senate in GOP hands.
‘Violating Freedom’: CA Lawmakers Vote Again to Stop Churches from Helping Gays
The California Senate has passed a bill that would inhibit the church’s ability to teach on sexuality and anyone seeking counseling to change their same-sex attraction. It does that by outlawing sexual orientation change efforts.
Fueled by Swing With Independents, Plurality Supports Kavanaugh’s Confirmation to Supreme Court
A new Quinnipiac poll shows increased public support for Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, fueled by an eight-point swing in his favor by independents.
W.Va. House votes to impeach 3 Supreme Court judges
West Virginia’s House of Delegates voted to impeach three Supreme Court of Appeals judges Monday on allegations they wasted more than $3 million in taxpayer funds.
Republicans to press ahead with Kavanaugh conformation despite National Archives delay
The National Archives says it will take months to process the records Republicans have asked to see from Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s previous government work, throwing a curveball at the GOP, which had hoped to review the documents, hold hearings and confirm him to the Supreme Court before October.
Lawmakers defuse Trump’s shutdown threat by passing partial spending bills ahead of deadline
Congress is taking big strides to defuse President Trump’s shutdown threat, working to pass as many spending bills as possible before next month’s deadline so most of the government will remain open no matter what Mr. Trump demands on border security.
‘You Always Have a Friend at the White House’: Trump Sits Down With Faith Leaders
President Donald Trump met with inner city pastors Wednesday to discuss prison reform, workforce development and partnering with the faith-based community.
US Senate passes huge defense bill including $550 million for Israel
The US Senate easily passed a $716.3 billion defense authorization bill Wednesday that includes funding for Israel to defend itself against Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as ramping up military spending and bolstering America’s posture against Russia while avoiding policy changes that would have antagonized US President Donald Trump.
Proposed Trump-Putin meeting at White House is put off
The Trump administration sought to fend off accusations the president is too soft on Russia, putting off a proposed second summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and declaring the U.S. will never recognize Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
North Korea Is Still Producing ‘Fissile Material’ Despite a Pledge to Denuclearize, Mike Pompeo Says
North Korea has continued producing fuel for nuclear weapons despite leader Kim Jong Un’s support for denuclearization at a summit with President Donald Trump last month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a Senate hearing Wednesday.
Congress blocks F-35 fighter shipments to Turkey
Congressional defense lawmakers officially barred deliveries of the fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Turkish forces, inserting the ban into the final version of the Pentagon’s budget blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year.
Powell backs more rate hikes as economy growing ‘considerably stronger’
The U.S. economy is running at a fast enough pace to justify continued interest rate increases, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday.