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☆ Ron DeSantis' past views could come back to bite him in Iowa, a critical state for any GOP challenger to Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ron DeSantis' potential bid to dethrone former President Donald Trump could hit a critical snag in Iowa, home to the first-in-the-nation caucuses. "If you come to Iowa, you're going to talk about agriculture," Monte Shaw, the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, told Insider. DeSantis won't be alone in facing questionsTrump's own administration was hammered over its handling of the renewable fuel standard. Like Iowa's senators, he was also deeply frustrated by how Trump's EPA enforced the renewable fuel standard. Chris Carlson/APTexas Sen. Ted Cruz was hammered for months on the campaign trail for wanting to phase out the Renewable Fuel Standard.

☆ Several big-name GOP lawmakers won't go to CPAC this year amid chairman Matt Schlapp's sexual assault scandal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

CPAC is typically a major opportunity for GOP politicians to boost their profile and give red-meat speeches. But many aren't going this year as chairman Matt Schlapp faces a $9.4 million sexual assault lawsuit. Nikki Haley, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and Sen. Rick Scott of Florida — are still scheduled to speak later this week. Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, also not attending, visibly cringed when asked about CPAC.

☆ A 'financial disaster for millions of Americans' could arise if the Supreme Court strikes down Biden's student-loan forgiveness, Elizabeth Warren details in a new report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The cases that challenged Biden's debt relief are headed to the Supreme Court on Tuesday. "If the Supreme Court sides with the extremist judges, millions of Americans' monthly costs will rise significantly when student loan payments resume later this year," the report said. Still, Republican lawmakers have been adamant that canceling student debt broadly is unfair to those who already paid off their loans or did not borrow for college. Lawsuits are causing 'financial anxiety for vulnerable borrowers'Failing to implement debt relief would put a strain on younger and older borrowers alike. Now, all eyes turn to the Supreme Court, which is expected to hand down rulings in the two cases before the end of its term, typically in late June or early July.

☆ Biden and Republican senators join forces in attack on Big Tech at Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | David Ingram | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

A person walks in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building during rainy weather, in Washington, U.S. January 17, 2023. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and some of his most prominent Republican adversaries in Congress have become allies, of sorts, in an upcoming Supreme Court showdown between Big Tech and its critics. Biden took a shot at tech companies in his State of the Union address earlier this month, although he did not mention Section 230. "I think this is an opportunity for the Supreme Court to disentangle some of the knots that the courts themselves have woven here into the law," he said in an interview. "The rhetoric is that these are bad powerful tech companies that are harming ordinary people and causing a lot of harm and injustice," Rathi said.

☆ U.S. senators question rail oversight after toxic Ohio derailment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Two Republican senators sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday questioning U.S. freight rail system oversight in the aftermath of a toxic train derailment in Ohio on Feb. 3. Vance questioned Buttigieg about railroad safety, saying "it is not unreasonable to ask whether a crew of two rail workers, plus one trainee, is able to effectively monitor 150 cars." The Department of Transportation (USDOT) did not immediately comment but Buttigieg addressed the criticism in a series of tweets. Buttigieg responded to Cruz on Twitter that "we could start by discussing immediate steps Congress could take to address rail safety & reduce constraints on USDOT in this area. After railroad crews drained and burned off a toxic chemical from five tanker cars, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Feb. 8 said that residents could return to their homes.

☆ Republican senators want Mitch McConnell and Rick Scott to stop their 'petty bickering': 'Can't we all just get along?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mitch McConnell and Rick Scott are feuding over the Florida Republican's "12 point plan" yet again. "I don't think we need petty bickering within the Republican conference," said Sen. Cruz of Texas. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images"They're good at that," observed Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, referring to Biden's use of the plan. mused Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah on Twitter over the weekend. "If you want to go out and say that you want to change Social Security and Medicare, go right ahead," said Hawley.

☆ Republican lawmakers urge Supreme Court to overturn Biden's student loan forgiveness plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky at the U.S. Capitol Building on Feb. 13, 2023. Dozens of Republican members of Congress have filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan should be ruled unlawful. "Congress authorized the forgiveness of federal student loan debt only in specific, narrow circumstances," argued the brief filed by more than 40 GOP senators, among them Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. They say that "petitioners' assertion of power to forgive everyfederal student loan in the country, potentially even a decade after the Covid-19 pandemic ends, raises significant separation of powers concerns." The briefs were filed this month, as the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments, scheduled for Feb. 28, on the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan.

☆ Republican senators seek to reverse U.S. heavy-duty truck emissions rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - A group of 34 Republican senators said on Thursday they would seek to overturn U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that aim to drastically cut smog- and soot-forming emissions from heavy-duty trucks. Under the Congressional Review Act, a simple majority vote in both chambers of Congress can reverse recently finalized rules. The new EPA rules target heavy-duty truck and engine manufacturers by tightening yearly emissions limits and changing key provisions of existing rules to ensure emissions reductions in long-term road use. Separately, the EPA plans to propose by next month "Phase 3" greenhouse gas (GHG) standards for heavy-duty vehicles and new emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles. Transportation is the largest source of U.S. GHG emissions, making up 29%, and heavy-duty vehicles are the second-largest contributor at 23%.

☆ U.S. Congress says F-16 sale to Turkey depends on NATO approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress cannot support the $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey until Ankara ratifies the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland, a bipartisan group of senators said on Thursday. "Once the NATO accession protocols are ratified by Türkiye, Congress can consider the sale of F-16 fighter jets. A failure to do so, however, would call into question this pending sale," the senators wrote. It was the first time Congress explicitly and directly linked the F-16 sale to Turkey with the NATO accession bids of the two Nordic countries. Turkey requested in October 2021 to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.

☆ Republicans are lashing out at DirecTV for supposedly ‘censoring’ conservative voices. Here’s what’s really going on
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Several Republican senators unleashed on the satellite carrier Wednesday over its move to drop the right-wing channel Newsmax from its lineup, adding to mounting pressure DirecTV has faced over the matter. The senators suggested DirecTV’s move was all part of a nefarious plot to “censor” conservative viewpoints. DirecTV also balked at paying for the same content that streams to users for free on other platforms, such as Roku. But the right-wing channel, led by Chris Ruddy, who is well-connected in GOP circles, has sought to leverage its political power to pressure DirecTV into paying up. Last week, it added to its lineup the right-wing channel The First, which features hosts such as Bill O’Reilly, Dana Loesch, Liz Wheeler, and Jesse Kelly.

☆ Mitt Romney could face a 'divisive' re-election campaign in 2024 after backing both Trump impeachments and breaking with conservatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Mitt Romney is perhaps the most anti-Trump Republican senator and has often broken with the GOP. Romney voted to convict the former president during both of his impeachments, first on abuse of power charges in 2020 and then incitement of an insurrection in 2021. If Romney chooses to run again, he'll have to explain all of that to Republican primary voters back home. The Utah senator told Insider at the Capitol last month that he had not yet decided whether to run, but was "keeping my options open." In Washington, Romney can count on the backing of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who told Politico that it's "important for the Republican Party and the country" that the Utah Republican seek re-election.

☆ Kellyanne Conway says it's 'ridiculous' that voters could cast ballots 'nearly two months before Election Day' in 2020, but argues that Republicans need to 'invest' in early voting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kellyanne Conway in a new essay wrote that a 2024 Trump White House campaign shouldn't be dismissed. Conway in her New York Times piece also emphasized that GOP leaders needed to embrace early voting. "Republicans must ... invest in and be vocal about early voting," Conway wrote in the essay. "Republicans must ... invest in and be vocal about early voting," Conway wrote in the essay. I don't like it because it's not Election Day, it's election season, election trimester.

☆ Former Nebraska Governor Ricketts to become U.S. senator
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Katharine Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Nebraska's former Republican Governor Pete Ricketts is due to become a U.S. senator after being appointed on Thursday to fill the seat left vacant by Republican Senator Ben Sasse. In an anticipated move, Nebraska's Republican Governor Jim Pillen announced the appointment of his predecessor at the state Capitol on Thursday morning. Ricketts, 58, served two terms as Nebraska's governor, wrapping up his second term last week. The senator was one of seven Republican senators who voted to impeach then-president Donald Trump. Ricketts' appointment will not alter the balance of power in the Senate.

Companies are increasingly working together to cut greenhouse-gas emissions but such collaboration faces the threat of antitrust action demanded by politicians who say it violates competition rules. There are now more than 150 business climate collaborations, according to research by Harvard Business Review. “There are a lot of ways to stay on the right side of antitrust laws,” says Justin Stewart-Teitelbaum, antitrust partner at Freshfields. Traditionally, in most jurisdictions, antitrust officials weigh whether the benefits of cooperation outweigh any economic harm caused by it. The anti-ESG movement in the U.S. bases its antitrust threats partly on an assertion that climate action provides little societal benefit to outweigh any economic harm of cooperation.

The exact contours of the Democrats' majority is in flux after Senator Kyrsten Sinema switched her party affiliation from Democrat to independent. But either she caucuses with Democrats and gives the party a 51-49 majority or she does not, leaving Democrats with a 50-49 edge. But in a 50-50 Senate where Democrats and Republicans had an even number of seats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, several civil rights lawyers and nominees supported by progressive advocates stalled with deadlocked votes. And in a 50-50 Senate, occasionally Vice President Kamala Harris was needed to cast a tie-breaking vote. Assuming they are renominated, their path to confirmation could be smoothed, as the Judiciary Committee under Durbin's leadership will now have a majority of Democrats.

☆ Trump once again stirs rumors that he could run as a third-party candidate and split the Republican vote if party turns on him
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump shared an article calling on him to abandon Republican Party if it doesn't back him in 2024. The article said Trump could run as a third-party candidate, a move that would split the GOP vote. Trump is facing rising opposition to his 2024 bid from some quarters of the Republican Party. It is a move that would split the Republican Party vote and likely doom the party's 2024 ambitions. He said that a Trump third-party candidacy could have a similar result, but that a Republican loss would teach the "corrupt gravy-train" a lesson.

☆ Trump blasts Mitch McConnell over passage of government funding bill, claiming 'Democrats must have something really big' on him
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump blasted McConnell over Congress' recent passage of a government funding bill. The House and Senate last week approved the nearly $1.7 trillion bill to avert a government shutdown before the holiday recess. "If Senate Republicans controlled this chamber, we would have handled the appropriations process differently from top to bottom," McConnell said last week. Only nine House Republicans voted for it. "Just another win for the Democrats, Mitch, that wouldn't have happened if 'Trump' were President!"

He voted against the Puerto Rico Status Act on the floor last week, calling for "letting a full and robust legislative process take place." One of the bill’s main negotiators, Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, is confident about more congressional hearings on Puerto Rico's territorial status in the new year. That’s intentional, said Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, a Republican nonvoting member of Congress representing Puerto Rico who favors statehood and helped negotiate the Puerto Rico Status Act. What’s next for Puerto Rico’s territorial status? Excluding Puerto Rico’s territorial status also gives Wicker and others pause.

☆ Here are the 14 Republican senators who may have doomed their bills in the new GOP House by voting for a major spending bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kevin McCarthy even vowed to block House consideration of bills sponsored by GOP senators who voted for it. But a slew of GOP senators voted for it anyway, including 4 who are retiring and 14 who will remain. "Kevin's in a tough spot," Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, a former House Republican and an opponent of the omnibus himself, told CNN's Manu Raju. "Statements like that... is the very reason that some Senate Republicans feel they probably should spare them from the burden of having to govern." Additionally, four Republican senators who voted for the bill are retiring, making the threat meaningless to them.

☆ Republican senators propose overhaul of Federal Reserve amid concerns about politics
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Michael S. Derby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Among its provisions, the bill would also shrink the 12 regional Fed banks to five. Regional Fed leaders contribute to monetary policy debates, gather local economic intelligence and vote on interest rate decisions on a rotating basis. The structure of regional Fed banks has long made reformers, both on the left and right, uncomfortable. Leaders of these regional Fed boards are chosen by their private boards, although they must be approved by the board in Washington before taking office. In contrast, the Fed in Washington, which oversees the regional Fed banks, is explicitly part of the government.

☆ Ahead of Zelenskiy address, U.S. Senate backs new ambassador to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. Washington has been sending a steady supply of weapons and economic assistance to Zelenskiy's government as Ukraine fights Russian troops. Moscow has an ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov.

☆ Veterans accuse Congress of abandoning Afghan allies after help for refugees is left out of spending bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Dan De Luce | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julie-Tsirkin-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Refugee advocates and veterans accused Congress of abandoning Afghans who fled to the U.S. after a bill designed to resolve the legal status of tens of thousands of Afghan refugees was left out of a year-end spending bill. The Afghan refugees were granted a two-year temporary “humanitarian parole,” which has left them in legal limbo and unable to work. The bill would have granted Afghan refugees a pathway to permanent legal residency before their parole expires. To address concerns raised by some Republican lawmakers, sponsors of the bill added language to ensure the Afghan refugees undergo thorough security vetting by U.S. authorities. But the proposal failed to win support from 10 Republican senators needed to add it to the omnibus spending package.

The Senate voted 70-25 to proceed to debate of the bill, with some Republican senators hoping to offer amendments. A handful of conservative Senate Republicans on Tuesday said they objected to the bill, but would not try to stop its passage. Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell said most of his caucus supports it: "We're moving toward completing the business for the year. And I think in a highly productive way from the point of view of the vast majority of Senate Republicans." Among the most significant add-ons to the spending bill is the bipartisan Electoral Count Act, which overhauls and clarifies Congress' certification process for presidential elections.

☆ Ahead of Zelenskyy address, U.S. Senate backs new ambassador to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during her confirmation hearing to be the next ambassador to Russia in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on November 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. Washington has been sending a steady supply of weapons and economic assistance to Zelenskyy's government as Ukraine fights Russian troops.

☆ Mitch McConnell says the 'entire nation knows' who is responsible for the Capitol riot after the January 6 panel asked the DOJ to prosecute Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mitch McConnell hit out at Donald Trump after the latter was referred to the DOJ for prosecution. In a statement, McConnell said that "entire nation knows who is responsible" for the Capitol riot, without directly naming Trump. The January 6 panel on Monday asked the DOJ to prosecute Trump on four charges linked to the riot. McConnell's statement came after the House panel investigating the Capitol riot on Monday asked the Justice Department to prosecute Trump on four charges. "There is no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day," McConnell said of Trump at the time.

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