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☆ Senate confirms Biden judicial nominee after Harris breaks deadlock
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Andrew Goudsward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - Vice President Kamala Harris broke a deadlock in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday to secure confirmation for a civil rights lawyer nominated to be a federal judge in New York. The final vote was 50-49, but Harris was needed to break a 50-50 tie in an earlier procedural vote on the nomination. The vote marked the fourth time in recent weeks that Manchin has opposed one of President Joe Biden’s judicial picks. Merle is the 100th district court nominee selected by Biden to secure Senate confirmation and is the latest in a string of civil rights lawyers to be confirmed to the federal bench this month. She previously served as a federal public defender in New York and worked on a fellowship for a New York law firm.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Natasha Merle, Harris, Joe Manchin, Merle, Manchin, Joe Biden’s, Biden, Kirsten Gillibrand, litigator ”, Mitch McConnell, “, ” McConnell, Andrew Goudsward Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Senate, NAACP Legal Defense, Educational Fund, U.S, Eastern, of, New York Democrat, Republican, New, Thomson Locations: U.S, New York, of New York, Brooklyn, West Virginia

☆ Opinion: Mitch McConnell’s confidence is being put to the test
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. Not to worry, said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a veteran of debt limit battles. McConnell’s reassurance that all will work out in the end is validated by history, but that doesn’t mean this time couldn’t be different. “If female voters are key to a Donald Trump victory in 2024, the former president should be in big trouble – but he doesn’t seem to care,” Jill Filipovic observed. “The town hall audience – selected on the basis of their intention to vote in the Republican primary in New Hampshire – appeared to be made up mostly of Trump fans.

☆ Top US Senate Republican backs Supreme Court chief amid calls for Thomas probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Katharine Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday expressed support for the Supreme Court's chief justice as Democrats urge him to investigate luxury trips taken by Justice Clarence Thomas that were paid for by a Republican donor. “I have total confidence in the Chief Justice of the United States to deal with these court internal issues,” McConnell told reporters. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, in a letter sent to Chief Justice John Roberts on April 10, said Thomas' conduct violated ethical standards. ProPublica reported on April 6 that Thomas accepted expensive trips from Republican donor and real estate magnate Harlan Crow over decades without disclosing them. Thomas defended the trips, saying he had been advised he was not required to report that type of "personal hospitality."

☆ Top US Senate Republican backs U.S. Supreme Court chief amid calls for Thomas probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Katharine Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Facing criticism from Democrats and frustration from Republicans, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has amended his controversial “Rescue America” plan that called for all federal legislation to sunset. The plan now lists “specific exceptions of Social Security, Medicare, national security, veterans benefits, and other essential services.”The previous language read: “All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.”The new language says: “All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years, with specific exceptions of Social Security, Medicare, national security, veterans benefits, and other essential services. Note to President Biden, Sen. Schumer, and Sen. McConnell — As you know, this was never intended to apply to Social Security, Medicare, or the US Navy” (bold included in plan). This isn’t the first time Scott has edited his controversial 12-point plan while under fire.

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy should lead the way on crafting a solution to the debt ceiling deadline so the United States can keep paying its bills. But Democratic leaders and President Joe Biden say they will not entertain cuts or other negotiations tied to the debt ceiling. While McConnell has negotiated past deals with Biden, including when he was vice president, McCarthy has little experience negotiating complicated deals with Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., agreed with McConnell that the onus is on McCarthy to move on the debt limit. The Treasury Department says it is using "extraordinary measures" to keep paying the country's bills after it hit the statutory debt ceiling last week.

☆ McConnell: U.S. debt limit solution must come from Biden, McCarthy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

“In this current situation, the debt ceiling fix – if there is one, or how it’s to be dealt with – will have to come out of the House,” McConnell told reporters. House Republicans want to exact spending cuts from Biden in exchange for a deal on the debt ceiling. “I can’t imagine any debt ceiling provision passed out of the Senate with 60 votes could actually pass this particular House,” he added. Biden and McCarthy have agreed to meet to talk about the debt ceiling and other issues. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called on Congress to move quickly to address the borrowing limit.

☆ Nebraska Gov. Pillen appoints former Gov. Pete Ricketts as Ben Sasse's Senate replacement
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Summer-Concepcion-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Ricketts, a Republican like Pillen and Sasse, will serve two years ahead of a 2024 special Senate election. Sasse, a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump and his supporters, officially resigned from the Senate on Sunday. Pillen said Ricketts was tapped for Sasse’s seat after more than 100 people applied and nine were interviewed. Following Pillen’s remarks, Ricketts thanked the governor, saying he was proud to support his campaign, and also thanked Sasse for his service. A top political ally of Pillen, Ricketts endorsed Pillen to succeed him and was a favorite to replace Sasse.

☆ House passes $1.7 trillion spending bill that rewrites U.S. election law, sending it to Biden to sign
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | Sahil Kapur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — The House on Friday voted to finalize a massive $1.7 trillion government funding bill, sending it to President Joe Biden and marking the end of two years of Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress. It overhauls federal election law by revising the Electoral Count Act of 1887 to try to prevent another Jan. 6. The bill funds a swath of domestic programs as well, averting a shutdown and keeping the government funded through next fall. “We have a big bill here, because we have big needs for our country,” outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on the floor. The measure was negotiated by Democratic leaders and top Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

He promises not to let that happen again, insisting he will “actively look for quality candidates” to promote in the 2024 primaries. “In the other states, Trump’s support was so significant — we could have spent a lot of money, maybe trying to come up with a different candidate and maybe not succeeding,” he said. And yet, it's Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — not McConnell — who's radiating confidence about winning the majority in 2024. He also spent large parts of 2022 feuding over strategy with Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the GOP Senate campaign chief. Then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and then President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol, on Oct. 24, 2017.

So yeah, I’m proud of it,” McConnell said, hailing it as an “extremely important” win for conservatives. He said it’ll mean they no longer “pay a ransom on the domestic side” in order to secure hefty military spending. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.. said he’s “disappointed” in the unequal spending levels but argued that the Kentucky Republican was using his leverage. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks alongside Sens. Democrats say McConnell was pushing for deals due to the rising support in the Democratic Party in recent years to end the filibuster.

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, beaming with confidence after having proved his doubters wrong and expanded his majority in the midterm elections, vowed without hesitation that the Democratic Party will keep control again in two years. Democrats are defending three seats in the Republican-leaning states of West Virginia, Montana and Ohio. To get there, Schumer promised that Democrats will govern and campaign over the next two years as pragmatists, not ideologues. Schumer pointed to the newly conservative Supreme Court, which rolled back abortion rights and expanded the right to carry guns this year. Instead, Democrats expanded their Senate majority from 50 to 51 seats.

CNN —Top congressional negotiators announced Tuesday evening that an agreement had been reached for a framework that should allow lawmakers to complete a sweeping full-year government funding package. The comments from McCarthy may even add more urgency to the effort to reach a deal before the new Congress convenes. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin warned about the prospects of the government funding fight moving into next year. If a broader bipartisan deal does come together, it would be poised to pass both chambers. The lawmakers are hoping to include the provision in the government spending bill that Congress is scrambling to craft.

The NDAA is expected to get a vote in the Senate this week and be approved with bipartisan support. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has told reporters the two sides are roughly $26 billion apart. Or it could extend the shutdown deadline into the next Congress, which will convene on January 3, and when Republicans take control of the House. That change in majority in the House would dramatically alter the dynamic for negotiations and likely make it far harder to reach a broader funding deal. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, outlined the argument for his party in his own floor remarks on Thursday.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took an emotional victory lap on Wednesday after Democrats won the Georgia runoff and secured an outright majority with a 51st Senate seat. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at a press conference at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Last month, after a poor general election showing and before the Georgia runoff, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans failed with moderate voters. The majority leader, who is slated to keep his post for at least two more years, admitted he initially wanted someone else to run in Georgia. “Four years ago, I began recruiting candidates in Georgia,” Schumer said.

WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was re-elected as Republican leader on Wednesday, defeating a challenge from Sen. Rick Scott of Florida that reflects growing angst within the party after it underperformed in the midterm elections. It is the most serious challenge McConnell has faced for his position after leading the Republican caucus for 15 years. “I welcome the contest.”McConnell is now on track to become the longest-serving Senate caucus leader in history. “That option is represented by Rick Scott currently.”Scott's challenge has rankled some in the Republican caucus, who attribute the 2022 defeats to his handling of the NRSC. “Rick Scott must really love to lose,” griped one Senate GOP aide.

☆ Former Kentucky appeals court judge dies in house fire after helping wife escape
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

EDMONTON, Ky. — Tom Emberton, once a Republican candidate for Kentucky governor and later chief judge of the state Court of Appeals, died Thursday in a house fire, officials said. Emberton helped get his wife away from the home but then he went back inside and didn’t make it out, Wilson said. Kentucky Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. announced Emberton’s death during his State of the Judiciary, spokesperson Leigh Anne Hiatt said. Emberton, a lawyer from Metcalfe County, ran for governor in 1971 and was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 1987. ”Emberton is also survived by his children, Laura Emberton Owens and Tom Emberton Jr.

☆ Biden to press for donor transparency bill, Schumer pledges action this week
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Summer Concepcion | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden will deliver remarks Tuesday afternoon on legislation to require the disclosure of donors to dark money groups that raise huge sums of money to influence elections. The remarks come after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday that he plans to hold a vote on the Democratic bill this week. “This bill would fight the cancer of dark money in our elections and require dark money groups to report campaign contributions,” Schumer said in a statement. The legislation requires disclosures of donors giving $10,000 or more to a super PAC or 501(c)(4) group in an election cycle. Schumer’s announcement comes months after he said the bill would receive a vote in the full chamber.

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