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☆ The looming debt ceiling fight could be the messiest since 2011, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“To raise the debt limit next year, bipartisan support will be necessary but hard to achieve,” Goldman Sachs economists wrote in the report. Republican Senator John Thune of South Dakota told Bloomberg last week the debt ceiling could be a way to push through budget cuts. Goldman Sachs noted that the political environment next year will have “echoes of 1995 and 2011” — the two most tense standoffs over the debt limit in recent history. The good news is Washington appears to have plenty of time to reach a compromise on the debt ceiling before things get dicey. “Funds could run dry as soon as July and as late as October,” Goldman Sachs said.

Sen. Linsey Graham, a Trump ally, told reporters he voted "for change." "I welcome the contest," McConnell told reporters after Scott announced his bid. "I voted for change," he told reporters. Earlier this month during an interview with Fox News host Martha McCallum, Scott denied rumors spread by Trump that Scott "hates" McConnell. So we acquainted our members with the tools they have," McConnell told reporters at the US Capitol, adding, "I think that'll be used more often.

REUTERS/Mary F. CalvertPHOENIX, Ariz./BIRMINGHAM, Mich., Nov 8 (Reuters) - Senate incumbents including Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and senior Republican John Thune won re-election in Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections, on a day Republicans were expected to wrest control of Congress away from President Joe Biden's Democrats. Thirty-five Senate seats and all 435 House of Representatives seats are on the ballot. The final outcome, particularly control of the 50-50 Senate, is unlikely to be known any time soon. Democrats currently control that chamber through Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote. The Georgia race could end up in a Dec. 6 runoff to determine which party holds the Senate.

☆ Explainer: Crypto industry spends millions on U.S. midterm elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Hannah Lang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Crypto companies are eager to back industry-friendly political candidates. The election comes at a time of turmoil for the crypto industry. FTX's CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has far outspent all others in the crypto industry. WHAT IS THE CRYPTO INDUSTRY LOOKING TO GET IN RETURN? Crypto companies such as Circle want lawmakers to create a framework for stablecoins to help mature the industry and codify consumer protections.

☆ Republican Sen. John Thune faces off against Democrat Brian Bengs in South Dakota's US Senate election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. John Thune is running against Democrat Brian Bengs to represent South Dakota in the US Senate. Thune, who has more than $17 million in his coffers, will likely cruise to victory in the heavily conservative state. Before being elected to the Senate, Thune served three terms representing South Dakota's at-large congressional district in the US House. South Dakota is a ruby-red state; it only voted Democratic four times, most recently in 1964 when Lyndon B. Johnson handily defeated Barry Goldwater. The money raceAccording to OpenSecrets, Thune has raised $12.5 million, spent $6 million, and has $17.2 million cash on hand, as of October 19.

☆ Walmart's PAC has quietly donated nearly $1 million to campaigns ahead of the midterms. While the company has a ''don't rock the boat strategy,' it contributed to 41 election deniers.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Ben Tobin | Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

WALPAC donated almost 50-50 to Democratic and Republican federal candidates for the midterms. Walmart's PAC donated to 41 candidates who denied the 2020 presidential election results, ProPublica found. Of that, about 53% went to Republican candidates, and 47% went to Democrats. Some members of Congress, particularly among Democrats, also reject any corporate PAC contribution — WALPAC or otherwise — as a matter of practice. However, the company did donate a significant amount of money to candidates who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. “Thank you very much, Mr. vice president,” Pelosi says on the call. “Good news.”Trump privately knew he had lostPublicly, Trump insisted he was being robbed of an election he won. The president told chief of staff Mark Meadows “something to the effect of, 'I don’t want people to know we lost, Mark. “Claims that President Trump actually thought the election was stolen are not supported by fact and not a defense,” Cheney said.

☆ Jan. 6 committee shows video footage of congressional leaders pleading for help during attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Rebecca-Shabad-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Rebecca Shabad | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection presented previously unseen video Thursday of congressional leaders pleading for help from governors, the acting secretary of defense and the acting attorney general as rioters attacked the Capitol. The video montage began with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., walking through the Capitol flanked by security guards at 2:23 p.m. The video from Thursday's hearing shows Pelosi and other congressional leaders repeatedly asking for help from law enforcement. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Democratic Senate whip, appeared in another clip with leaders. "What we are being told very directly is it’s going to take days for the Capitol to be OK again," Pelosi told Pence.

Video showed Pelosi and Schumer, top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, and Republican Senator John Thune calling the Department of Defense asking for military backup to help clear the Capitol complex. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPelosi and Schumer also called acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen. The footage also showed Pelosi and top House Democrats being told that members of the House were pulling on gas masks. In the video, she said she planned to call Larry Hogan, governor of Maryland, about sending the National Guard from his state. Many of those present - including reporters and congressional staff - were in the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack.

☆ Pelosi, Schumer and McConnell huddled together in a secure location on January 6, calling Pence and Trump officials to help stop the violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Congressional leaders huddled together in a secure location on January 6, according to new footage. Pelosi, Schumer, McConnell and others had called Pence and national security officials for more support. Schumer, Pelosi, McConnell, and other congressional leaders also huddled to ask for help and updates from the Defense Department as the hours went by. And let me say, you can logistically get people there as you make the plan," Pelosi said on the phone. Other members of Congress seen in the footage include Republicans House Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Senate Minority Whip John Thune.

The Democratic-led Senate confirmed four new circuit court judges in the last two weeks, most recently U.S. District Judge Florence Pan to the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. By contrast, Trump had installed 69 judges at this point in his tenure. The most recent two-term presidents, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, each secured 325 Senate-confirmed judges for district courts, circuit courts and the Supreme Court over eight years. McConnell's allies say a GOP-run Senate would force Biden to pick judges who are acceptable to conservatives in order to get floor votes. Republicans ended the tradition for circuit judges in the Trump era and some liberals want to end it for district judges so that GOP senators in red states cannot block Biden’s nominees for vacancies.

"If your aim is to prevent future efforts to steal elections, I would respectfully suggest that conservatives should support this bill," Cheney said on the floor. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chairs the Jan. 6 committee, called GOP opposition to the bill “sad.”“I’m not surprised at anything they do. The Senate bill includes some differences. The House bill also allows candidates to sue in federal court to enforce the lawful certification, which numerous Senate Republicans say is a nonstarter. “I think once people get an opportunity to see what our bill encompasses versus the Senate bill, I think you’d see people moving to our side,” Thompson told reporters.

There’s no palpable hunger for a shutdown so close to the Nov. 8 midterm elections, so Congress must pass a bill by midnight Sept. 30 to avert a lapse in funding. “The cleaner the bill is, the more likely” it is to pass quickly, said Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D. He wants tens of billions for Covid, and he says the pandemic is over,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a physician. Cases, hospitalizations, deaths, mental health aspects of Covid, long Covid. But conservatives are rebelling, saying Congress should push the issue into 2023 in the hope that the GOP will seize the majority and write legislation to its liking.

☆ Lindsey Graham's abortion ban bill baffles some Republicans as Democrats sharpen attacks in key midterm races
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Graham's bill has virtually no chance of passing the current Congress, where Democrats hold slim majorities in the House and Senate. Some Republicans, including GOP candidates in pivotal Senate races, have backed Graham's new proposal. But other top Republicans either refused to back Graham's bill or expressed a belief that individual states should set their own abortion laws. "With regard to abortion, Democrats are clearly focused on abortion," he added. As Graham's bill brought a renewed focus to the issue, Democrats pounced.

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