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WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego announced Monday he will run for the Arizona U.S. Senate seat currently held by centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December to become an independent. In his statement Monday, Gallego said: “The problem isn’t that Senator Sinema abandoned the Democratic Party — it’s that she’s abandoned Arizona. Karrin Taylor Robson, who narrowly lost to Lake in the 2022 primary after spending $20 million of her family’s money, is seriously considering a Senate run, a source close to her said. And Mark Lamb, the Pinal County sheriff, is also considering a Senate run in 2024, said an Arizona Republican source. A Gallego adviser said he's prepared for a two-way race if Sinema steps aside or a three-way race if she chooses to run.

☆ Ruben Gallego launches Senate bid, saying Kyrsten Sinema has 'abandoned Arizona' as he tees up rare three-way race
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego officially launched his Senate campaign in Arizona on Monday. He said Kyrsten Sinema "abandoned Arizona" and branded her as an advocate for the rich and powerful. His launch tees up a likely 3-way race between him, the newly-independent Sinema, and a Republican. Gallego is well-positioned to win the Democratic primary after fellow Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton opted not to run for Senate. If Sinema runs as an independent, Arizona is likely to see a three-way race in the general election — a relatively rare occurrence.

☆ Rep. Ruben Gallego launches bid for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's Arizona seat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Representative Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona, speaks during a House Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S, on Thursday, July 9, 2020. Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona on Monday launched a 2024 campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who recently left the Democratic Party and faces an uncertain political future. "I will be challenging Kyrsten Sinema for the United States Senate, and I need all of your support," the 43-year-old Gallego said in a video posted Monday morning. In an interview with the Associated Press, Gallego said Sinema "clearly has forgotten where she came from." Arizona was one of the battleground states that helped Biden secure his 2020 presidential win over former President Donald Trump.

☆ Debt Ceiling Looms Over Capitol as Congress Returns to Work
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Lindsay Wise | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A partisan fight over the debt limit is likely to get most of the attention on Capitol Hill. WASHINGTON—A deeply divided Congress will return to work this week, pushing ahead with partisan priorities in the Senate and House while also gearing up for a fight over how lawmakers will address raising the debt ceiling before a potential default later this year. The Senate, narrowly controlled by Democrats as it opens its new session, is expected to focus primarily on confirming President Biden’s executive and judicial nominees in the coming weeks. Immigration is emerging as one area of possible compromise after a group led by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I., Ariz.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas) co-hosted a bipartisan delegation of senators to the Texas and Arizona borders during the January recess.

☆ Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego expected to announce a bid for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's seat in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Haley Talbot | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is expected to announce Monday that he's running for Senate in Arizona in 2024, according to a source familiar with his planned rollout. Gallego, a progressive Democrat, is running for the seat held by Sinema, who decided in December to leave the Democratic Party and become an independent. If she does, and Gallego wins the Democratic nomination, they'd face each other in the general election. In December, after Sinema announced she was changing her party affiliation, Gallego signaled to NBC News he was likely to launch a Senate bid. Gallego went on to say he believes if Sinema runs, “it will almost ensure the fact that the Senate seat will stay in Democratic hands” because of the GOP’s struggles to hold its coalition together.

☆ Lawmakers call on 8 states to pass wealth taxes to help pay for childcare, affordable housing, and ending homelessness
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lawmakers and advocates are pushing to pass wealth taxes in eight states, after a federal plan failed to pass. The taxes would target both realized and unrealized capital gains, assets like stocks and bonds. "Funding our future means using the revenue generated from the Washington state wealth tax to expand access to affordable homes for working Washingtonians," Frame said. In California, a wealth tax on the unrealized capital gains of the top 0.1% would yield nearly $22 billion, according to California assembly member Alex Lee. Targeting capital gains and unrealized gains are not a new idea, but haven't been able to pick up the federal traction they need to be implemented across the country.

☆ Sinema and Manchin high-five over supporting the filibuster at World Economic Forum in Davos
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin high-fived over their support for the filibuster on Tuesday. The pair were speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Sinema said the 2022 election showed Democrats were wrong to oppose the Senate rule. "As we all know," Sinema, flanked by West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, said Tuesday, "the filibuster was not eliminated. At the end of her remarks, Manchin chimed in: "We still don't agree on getting rid of the filibuster."

☆ U.S. officials privately huddle with allies, business leaders about Ukraine at Davos
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The closed-door meetings at the annual gathering of the wealthiest investors and most powerful world leaders in Davos, Switzerland come as attendees await Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who is one of President Joe Biden's closest allies in the Senate, told CNBC that he's talked with officials at Davos about the need to keep helping Ukraine. The U.S. has already sent some $50 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine; Congress approved another $44.9 billion in additional funding on Dec. 23. And it's not just Coons or members of Congress from the U.S. delegation that's privately addressing Russia invading Ukraine. The conversation made him think Ukrainian leaders hope to pick up more financial aid while they're at Davos, he said.

People communicate with each other at the Congress Center for the World Economic Forum WEF Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2023. DAVOS, Switzerland – U.S. lawmakers quietly took part in a private ritzy lunch atop the World Economic Forum on Monday featuring dozens of influential business leaders, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Chris Coons, D-Del., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. and a few members of the House of Representatives, these people explained. Coons, Manchin, Sinema and Kemp are among the U.S.-based officials scheduled to participate in panel sessions at this year's conference. These private events on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum often serve as meet-and-greets between CEOs, billionaires and government officials.

Through the end of business hours on Friday, GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy had lost 13 straight votes for speaker of the House. Vote after vote, hour after hour, the Democratic minority cast its ballots for the conference's leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York. And as a result, Jeffries won vote after vote for speaker, though McCarthy finally pulled ahead on Friday. Democrats can vote as a block from now till this Congress is over, but they simply didn't have the numbers to elect Jeffries as speaker. With every vote in the House this week, they’ve shown that criticism to be overstated.

And while it’s still possible that some other modest pieces of legislation can be brought to a vote and passed in the House, the political dynamics inside the House GOP will make even the most milquetoast bipartisan and nonideological issues difficult to pass. Just for context — it’s been 100 years since an incoming House has failed to elect a speaker on its first roll call. It’s one that may, in fact, match the former president in malevolency and outpace him in ineptitude. Just look at what has taken place over the last several weeks in the lead-up to this week as Freedom Caucus members have been jockeying for power. To win enough votes for speaker, McCarthy has been hard at work horse-trading with the extreme right wing of his party to secure his speakership.

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.

☆ Democrats will be defending a slim Senate majority in 2024. Here's an early look at the states that will likely be in play for both political parties.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The 2024 Senate elections — which will run concurrent with the presidential race — are approaching. In 2024, 34 senators will be up for reelection: 20 Democrats, 11 Republicans, and three Independents. But Sinema's election itself is another matter; she has not yet announced whether she will run for reelection in 2024. He has not yet decided if he will run in 2024, but Republicans have been eyeing his seat for years. But he has done it before, winning in 2018 despite Republicans going all-out to defeat him.

☆ Joe Biden's biggest successes and failures in his second year in office
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

His second year in office was marked by historic legislative achievements despite Democrats' razor-thin majority in Congress. Here are some of the highs and lows from Biden's second year:Success: UkrainePresident Joe Biden talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outside the White House. Conservative New York Times columnist Bret Stephens in September called the "staggering gains" by Ukrainian forces "a victory for Joe Biden, too." Universal pre-K was included in a sweeping spending plan passed by House Democrats until their Senate colleagues cut that out too. Failure: InflationPresident Joe Biden arrives for an event focused on inflation and the supply chain at the Port of Los Angeles in June.

☆ Internal memo reveals how Kyrsten Sinema instructed staffers to handle grocery runs and make sure she gets her Wi-Fi fixed: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Daily Beast has obtained a 37-page staffers' guide for Kyrsten Sinema. Staffers were instructed to ensure Sinema has groceries every week, per the Daily Beast. They also need to make sure Sinema gets a weekly massage, and that she has a "room temperature" bottle of water available at all times. The assistant must then contact Sinema's chief of staff to "make sure this is accomplished," the Daily Beast reported. Other instructions include making sure Sinema gets a weekly, one-hour massage, and that she has a "room temperature" bottle of water available at all times.

☆ Internal memo reveals how Kyrsten Sinema instructed staffers to handle grocery runs and make sure she gets her WiFi fixed: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Daily Beast obtained a 37-page staffers' guide for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Staffers were instructed to ensure Sinema had groceries every week, per The Daily Beast. The assistant would need to then contact Sinema's chief of staff to "make sure this is accomplished," The Daily Beast reported. The document obtained by The Daily Beast also includes tidbits about how the senator shouldn't be disturbed outside office hours if possible. The Daily Beast reported that it had seen the document in its entirety and caveated that it could be a few years old.

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.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer brought up two rival amendments related to preserving the Title 42 immigration rule. WASHINGTON—Senators closed in on passing a $1.65 trillion spending bill just ahead of the Christmas holiday and a looming winter storm, after breaking an impasse related to immigration policy. In a compromise, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) brought up two rival amendments related to preserving the Title 42 immigration rule, after Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah) insisted on a vote for his bill as a condition for moving ahead. Both the Lee amendment and one from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I., Ariz.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D., Mont.)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asked lawmakers to stay close to the Senate floor so that they could vote quickly. WASHINGTON—Senators broke an immigration-related impasse Thursday morning, reaching a deal on amendments that clears the way to pass a $1.65 trillion spending bill just ahead of the Christmas holiday and a looming winter storm. “We will vote on all of the amendments in order and then vote on final passage,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said on the Senate floor Thursday. Mr. Schumer said that an immigration amendment from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I., Ariz.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D., Mont.) would be added to the list of amendment votes ahead of final passage, alongside one by Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah) that had frozen Senate business as Senate Democrats scrambled to keep it from passing.

☆ Divided America will unite under economic duress
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

That will happen when a new term begins in 2023, making it difficult for American legislators to accomplish goals. But one thing needs to happen: Congress must raise the debt ceiling so the U.S. government can continue to chug along. The debt ceiling, currently at $31.4 trillion, needs to go higher for government employees to get paid and welfare checks to be delivered, among other things. If only because they are all vying for a win in the presidential election in 2024, Congress could unite under high inflation and economic duress. Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives in 2023, making a bipartisan solution necessary to lifting the limit.

☆ Republicans boost outgoing Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey as a potential challenger to Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Republicans hope that outgoing Arizona Gov. "I hope that he'll get in," Utah Sen. Mitt Romney told The Hill of a potential Ducey candidacy. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, told The Hill that Ducey would be "excellent candidate." This year, Arizona Republicans nominated venture capitalist Blake Masters as their Senate nominee, but he went on to lose to Kelly by 5 points last month. "He's not our only chance, but he's probably our best chance," an Arizona-based Republican operative told The Hill of Ducey.

☆ Dem. Senator Joe Manchin dodges question on whether he plans to change parties: 'I'll let you know later what I decide to do'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Joe Manchin dodged questions about whether he will remain in the Democratic party. "I'll let you know later what I decide to do," Manchin told Margaret Brennan on CBS "Face the Nation." Brennan then asked Manchin if he saw any value in becoming an Independent and not being affiliated with a political party. "Now, I'll let you know later what I decide to do. Manchin's comments follow Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's announcement earlier this month that she will leave the Democratic Party and register as an independent.

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.

REUTERS/Tom BrennerWASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Over 200 advocates from around the United States converged on Capitol Hill this week with an 11th-hour mission: persuade lawmakers to provide citizenship to "Dreamer" immigrants who illegally entered the United States as children. Addinelly Moreno Soto, a 31-year-old communications aide who came to the United States from Mexico at age 3, trekked to the Capitol from San Antonio with her husband hoping to meet with her state's U.S. Senator John Cornyn, an influential Republican whose support could help advance a deal that has eluded Congress for more than a decade. The end-of-year push comes as a window is closing for Congress to find a compromise to protect "Dreamers", many of whom speak English and have jobs, families and children in the United States but lack permanent status. Tillis himself has been skeptical about whether Congress will have time to pass the legislation before the year’s end.

☆ Kyrsten Sinema Files Paperwork for 2024 Senate Candidacy as Independent
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Eliza Collins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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