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☆ Senate clears critical hurdle prior to final passage of $95 billion foreign aid bill
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Clare Foran | Ted | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Senate cleared a critical hurdle on Monday evening to advance a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill with assistance for Ukraine and Israel, setting the legislation on a glide path to final passage in the chamber this week, though it faces an uncertain future in the House. The Senate has continued to move forward on the bill as Trump has argued the US should not grant foreign aid unless it is a loan, signaling opposition to the legislation. A number of Senate Republicans either defended or downplayed Trump’s NATO comments on Monday. The foreign aid package includes billions of dollars to support Ukraine and for security assistance for Israel, as well as humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine. Lawmakers are moving forward with the foreign aid bill after Republicans blocked the broader bill that would have combined the foreign aid with a bipartisan border deal.

Persons: Mike Johnson, Trump, Johnson, ” Johnson, “, ” Sen, Tommy Tuberville, Putin, Roger Marshall of, Sen, Rand Paul, Paul, ”, ” Paul, … I’m, CNN’s Kate Sullivan Organizations: Republicans, Senate, NATO, Alabama Republican, Republican, Israel, West Bank, Russia, Lawmakers, Trump, House Republicans Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Kansas, Gaza

☆ Mitch McConnell warns GOP senators they’ll face ‘incoming’ if they back Hawley bill to limit corporate giving in campaigns
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Manu Raju | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

According to multiple sources familiar with the Tuesday lunch meeting, McConnell warned GOP senators that they could face “incoming” from the “center-right” if they signed onto Hawley’s bill. On that list of senators: Hawley himself, according to sources familiar with the matter. But there’s also no love lost between McConnell and Hawley, who has long criticized the GOP leader and has repeatedly called for new leadership atop their conference. In an interview, Hawley defended his bill and said that corporate influence should be limited in elections. “I think that’s wrong,” Hawley told CNN.

Persons: Mitch McConnell, Sen, Josh Hawley, McConnell, Hawley, there’s, ”, Chuck Schumer, ” Hawley, “, Chris Christie, Donald Trump, Mike Braun, Kevin Cramer of North, Marsha Blackburn of, Dan Sullivan, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Susan Collins of, Steve Daines, Thom Tillis, Lindsey Graham of, Katie Britt, Alabama, Lisa Murkowski, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Ted Budd of, JD Vance, Ohio, Ron Johnson Organizations: CNN, GOP, Kentucky Republican, Fund, McConnell, New, New York Democrat, Missouri Republican, Indiana Locations: New York, Ukraine, Israel, Colorado, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Montana, North Carolina, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Budd of North Carolina, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin

☆ Speaker Mike Johnson is screwing up Republicans' hopes of separating Israel and Ukraine aid — but they don't seem to mind
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Republicans have been trying to make sure that Israel and Ukraine aid are voted on separately. But Johnson's Israel bill is toxic for Democrats and increases the chance that the GOP gets jammed. AdvertisementAdvertisementMany Republicans really, really don't want to have to vote on a bill that includes both Israel and Ukraine aid. It would've been passed the House by an overwhelming bipartisan vote and applied significant pressure to senators who want to keep Israel aid linked with Ukraine aid. Nonetheless, Johnson's bill makes it only more likely that anti-Ukraine aid Republicans get rolled.

Persons: Johnson's, —, Biden, Republican Sen, Roger Marshall of, Marshall, would've, Mike Johnson, Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Johnson, Sen, Ted Cruz, Cruz, Josh Hawley, Missouri, Israel, JD Vance, Ohio, Vance, aren't, We've, Ron Johnson, it's Organizations: GOP, Service, Republicans, Republican, Israel, Democratic, Internal, Kentucky Republican, IRS, Democrats, Biden, today's GOP Locations: Israel, Ukraine, Johnson's Israel, Taiwan, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Ted Cruz of Texas, Wisconsin, today's

☆ Congress hands the crypto industry two wins and a loss before August recess
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The House Financial Services Committee advanced a measure Thursday to establish a clear regulatory framework for the issuance of payment stablecoins. The bills' approvals, after a roughly 14-month debate between committee Republicans and Democrats, can be viewed as wins for the crypto industry, whose reputation on Capitol Hill was battered by the failure of crypto giant FTX last fall. Late Thursday night, the Senate passed a massive defense funding bill that included several measures from different bills the digital-assets industry has opposed. Warren also highlighted the National Defense Authorization Act rider this week by reintroducing her bill, the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act. The House crypto bills would likely garner enough support to pass in the Republican-controlled House, but struggle to gain traction in the Democratic-controlled Senate

Persons: Elizabeth Warren, Patrick McHenry, Jim Himes, Josh Gottheimer, Crypto, Sen, Warren, Democratic Sen, Joe Manchin, Roger Marshall of, Lindsey Graham of Organizations: Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs Committee, WASHINGTON — Lawmakers, Capitol, Financial Services Committee, Financial Services, Connecticut, Republicans, Democrats, Treasury Department, Treasury, Defense, Money, Democratic, Senate, Republican Locations: Massachusetts, Washington , DC, R, New Jersey, crypto's, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina

☆ Don't say anti-gay: As GOP approval for same-sex relationships plummets, Republican senators insist they're only coming after trans rights, not gay rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

GOP senators insist they don't hear about it from their voters — and that trans issues are different. "You mentioned that eight years ago, the Obergefell decision created a constitutional right to same-sex marriage," said Graham. Since the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision, same-sex marriage has largely faded as an issue targeted by Republicans, at least at the national level. "To be honest, I don't hear a lot about that issue," Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, one of the more eager Republican culture warriors, said of same-sex marriage. Still, support for the legality of same-sex marriage remains broadly popular — it's not the potent wedge issue it once was, such as during the 2004 presidential campaign when President George W. Bush campaigned on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

Persons: —, Sen, Lindsey Graham of, Graham, Hodges, Josh Hawley, Hawley, George W, Bush, Cynthia Lummis, Ron DeSantis, Lummis, Drew Angerer, Thom Tillis, Republican Sen, you've, JD Vance, Ohio, Vance, it's, Anita Bryant's, Biden, Dr, Roger Marshall, Roger Marshall of, Marshall, I've Organizations: Pride, Service, Republican, Republicans, Gallup, Gov, Getty, Rights, House Locations: Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Wyoming, Florida, North Carolina, United States, statehouses, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Kansas

☆ Senate confirms Eric Garcetti as U.S. ambassador to India
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sahil Kapur | Frank Thorp V | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate voted 52-42 on Wednesday to confirm former Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti to be the next U.S. ambassador to India. The long-delayed Garcetti nomination grew unusually contentious and sparked some last-minute drama. Several Democrats voted against advancing his nomination, but enough Republicans backed Garcetti to give the U.S. its first permanent ambassador to India under President Joe Biden, more than two years into his term. "The United States-India relationship is extremely important, and it's a very good thing we now have an ambassador," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. But a group of Republicans voted yes and helped secure the necessary support, including Sens.

☆ A growing group of lawmakers think TikTok is 'digital fentanyl' and want to ban it. Many others remain skeptical.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Some members of Congress have begun pushing to ban TikTok in the US. "I'm a little less enthusiastic about an all-out ban of it," said Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. "I'm an incrementalist on a lot of things, and I would be on this as well," said Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on social media and the internet's impact on children. Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, another committee member, said she's most concerned about how social media platforms are impacting kids.

☆ Elizabeth Warren unveils bipartisan bill to crack down on crypto money laundering
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —As federal prosecutors seek to imprison former crypto darling Sam Bankman-Fried, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is attempting to push through Congress a bipartisan crackdown on money laundering in the crypto industry. Due to time constraints, the Warren-Marshall crypto legislation has little chance of getting through this Congress. The new bill, called the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, would attack money laundering by attempting to bring the digital asset ecosystem into compliance with the existing system of anti-money laundering in the worldwide financial system. The Treasury Department warned earlier this year that ransomware hackers, drug traffickers and fraudsters are using digital assets to launder illicit proceeds. - Cracking down on digital asset ATMs by making sure operators and administrators submit and update the physical addresses of their kiosks.

☆ Lawmakers Want Answers From Silvergate About FTX Transfers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( David Benoit | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lawmakers are demanding information from Silvergate Capital Corp. about transfers of customer funds between Sam Bankman-Fried ‘s collapsed trading firm, Alameda Research, and his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. In a letter to the bank Monday, Republican Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana and Roger Marshall of Kansas, along with Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, said an Alameda depository account at Silvergate “appears to be at the center” of the transfer of FTX customer funds to the trading firm. Failure to detect this “scheme,” the senators said, could mean the bank broke anti-money-laundering laws.

☆ Sen. Warren demands answers from Silvergate Bank about its business dealings with FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | Gretchen Morgenson Is The Senior Financial Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. A Former Stockbroker | She Won The Pulitzer Prize In For Her | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +13 min

“Life as a crypto firm can be divided up into before Silvergate and after Silvergate,” Bankman-Fried gushed in a testimonial featured recently, and prominently, on Silvergate Bank’s website. But in a conversation with an investment manager, a former top FTX employee said Silvergate was FTX’s primary banking partner. As a regulated bank, Silvergate has a duty to monitor clients’ accounts for suspicious activities that could signal fraud, money laundering or tax evasion, the filings note. FTX frequently used the Silvergate Exchange Network, according to the former FTX employee with direct knowledge of the transactions. A Silvergate spokeswoman said the change reflected a shift in functions taken on by a new president at the bank.

☆ Rick Scott launches his Trump-backed challenge of Mitch McConnell to become Senate GOP leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sen. Rick Scott is challenging Mitch McConnell to become the top Senate Republican. Scott's challenge comes as former President Donald Trump and some Senate Republicans blame McConnell for a lackluster midterm election. As Politico broke the news of Scott's challenge, McConnell's allies lashed out. As the leader of Senate Republicans' campaign arm, Scott played a key role in shaping his party's strategy. Unlike McConnell, Scott did not want the GOP to aggressively intervene in contested primaries, which led to Trump-backed challengers like Dr. Mehmet Oz and Don Bolduc emerging in key races in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, respectively.

☆ Senate Republicans to Force Vote on Ending Covid-19 Emergency Declaration
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Natalie Andrews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—A Republican senator is moving to force a vote on ending the yearslong national emergency declaration on Covid-19, pointing to recent comments by President Biden that the pandemic is over. With just over a month to go until the midterm elections, Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas on Thursday introduced a privileged resolution that calls for a vote to end the emergency declaration first declared in March 2020 by then-President Trump. Declaring an emergency allows the White House to use the National Emergencies Act to activate special executive powers.

☆ Walmart and Target push to lower credit card fees
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

A pair of bipartisan bills in Congress aim to lower the swipe fees, also known as interchange fees, that retailers pay every time a customer makes a purchase with their card. Visa V Mastercard MA anddominate more than 80% of the US credit card market. Proponents of these bills say they would generate more competition in the credit card network market and break Visa and Mastercard's hold over the industry. "Credit card swipe fees inflate the prices that consumers pay for groceries and gas," Durbin said in July. "Bringing real competition to credit card networks will help reduce swipe fees and hold down costs for Main Street merchants and their customers."

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