Senate

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Senate Blocks Funds for Gitmo Closure

(Newser) - In a major rebuke to President Obama, the Senate voted overwhelmingly today to block the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the United States and denied the administration the millions it sought to close the prison. The 90-6 Senate vote, paired with a similar House action last week, was a clear...

Senate Passes Credit-Card Bill
Senate Passes Credit-Card Bill
May 19, 2009 12:54 PM CDT

Senate Passes Credit-Card Bill

Measure to rein in rates, fees moves to House; Obama could get it by week's end

(Newser) - The Senate voted today to prohibit credit-card companies from arbitrarily raising an individual's interest rate and charging many of the exorbitant fees. The vote was 90-5. With the House on track to endorse the measure by week's end, President Obama could see a bill on his desk by the end...

Sen. Byrd Hospitalized With 'Minor Infection'

91-year-old 'responding well' to antibiotics

(Newser) - Sen. Robert Byrd, at 91 the Senate's oldest and longest-serving member, has been hospitalized with a temperature spike reportedly caused by a “minor infection,” his office said today. “He is being treated with antibiotics, responding well, and is expected to be released from the hospital in a...

Baucus Makes Dems Queasy on Health Care

Some think the Montana Dem is too bipartisan for comfort

(Newser) - The Democrats’ plan to reform health care rests largely in the hands of Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, and that’s making some Democrats more than a little queasy, Politico reports. Baucus’ zeal for bipartisanship has frustrated his party more than once. He’s been enthusiastic about health care—“...

Gay Marriage Is New GOP Litmus Test for Supremes

Same-sex unions replace abortion debate as heated issue

(Newser) - Abortion has long been the hot-button issue at Supreme Court confirmations—but this year, gay marriage is taking over, conservatives say.  Senate Republicans believe that questioning over the matter could be the new litmus test to help reveal a candidate's overall philosophy, reports the Washington Post. “It may...

Anti-Torture Memo May Embarrass Bush Camp
Anti-Torture Memo May Embarrass Bush Camp
analysis
May 13, 2009 4:52 PM CDT

Anti-Torture Memo May Embarrass Bush Camp

(Newser) - Probably the most newsworthy item out of today’s Senate hearing into alleged torture techniques is that a memo written by a former State Department counselor who questioned their legality has been located and may be released, writes Zachary Roth for Talking Points Memo. Philip Zelikow’s memo, which he...

GOP Blocks Obama Interior Dep't Pick
GOP Blocks Obama Interior Dep't Pick
May 13, 2009 11:31 AM CDT

GOP Blocks Obama Interior Dep't Pick

Rejection of top deputy marks first Republican KO of nominee

(Newser) - Republicans have blocked President Obama's pick for the No. 2 job at the Interior Department because of a flap over oil leases in Utah. In a 57-39 Senate vote, Democrats fell short of the 60 votes they would have needed to advance the nominee past GOP obstacles. It's the first...

GOP Blasts Pelosi as Dems Rip CIA Over Torture

(Newser) - Republicans are slamming Nancy Pelosi for saying she felt she had no recourse when informed of harsh interrogation tactics in 2003, Politico reports. “If she felt it was wrong, she should have acted,” John McCain said. Some critics suggest the House speaker could have written a letter or...

Crist to Kick Off Senate Run
 Crist to Kick Off Senate Run 
May 11, 2009 7:01 AM CDT

Crist to Kick Off Senate Run

(Newser) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is, indeed, planning to run for the Senate in 2010, the Miami Herald reports, and will announce his candidacy at a “low key” event tomorrow in Tallahassee. “He loves being governor,” says his former chief-of-staff, “but he also realizes that Florida’s...

Ridge Won't Challenge Specter for Seat

Former Pa. gov was encouraged to run for Senate by GOP brass

(Newser) - Former Pennsylvania governor and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge will not seek the Republican nomination for senator from that state, the Hill reports. Party leaders had urged him to run against newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter. Ridge was in a good position to run, polling just 3 points behind Specter....

Dems Promised Me Seniority: Demoted Specter

(Newser) - Arlen Specter, demoted to junior spots on Senate committees after switching to the Democratic Party, thought things would be different, he told CNN today. Majority Leader Harry Reid “said that I would maintain my committee assignments,” Specter said, “and that my seniority would be established as if...

Coleman Gaffe Costs Specter Seniority on Senate Panels

Dems disappoint defector with junior slots after he speaks up for Coleman

(Newser) - Party-switcher Arlen Specter's comment that Republican Norm Coleman should be Minnesota's senator cost him seniority on Senate panels yesterday, a source told Politico. His gaffe was the final straw for Senate Dems already angry about the prospect of being bumped from senior positions by the 29-year senator. A resolution last...

How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played
How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played
Analysis
May 5, 2009 12:20 PM CDT

How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played

Prepare for a spectacle as the 3 branches, special interests collide

(Newser) - The process of replacing David Souter has begun in earnest, so get ready for “Washington at its best (or worst, depending on your perspective),” writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. All three branches of government, and a boatload of special interests and egos, will brawl it out...

Specter Enjoys 20-Point Lead Over Toomey

But Tom Ridge would be a stiffer challenge if he nabbed GOP nom

(Newser) - Arlen Specter beat Pat Toomey 53% to 33% in a Quinnipiac poll of Pennsylvanians’ preferred candidate for US senator. But against Tom Ridge, who may become the Republican candidate, Specter's lead grows more precarious—voters prefer Specter to Ridge by a margin of 46% to 43%, the Quinnipiac poll showed....

Porn Star Eyes Move on Vitter's Senate Seat

Stormy Daniels launches 'listening tour' across Louisiana

(Newser) - Louisiana Sen. David Vitter has been tied to the DC Madam, but an election challenger with an even more compelling sexual history is deciding whether to get serious in going after his Senate seat. Politico reports that Stormy Daniels, a porn star whose credits include Operation Desert Stormy, is launching...

Dems in a Snit Over Specter's Cozy Deal

Senate honchos fume as newbie prepares to leapfrog to top jobs

(Newser) - Some top Democratic senators are rebelling against the deal that brought Arlen Specter into the fold, the Hill reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told the aisle-crosser he could keep the 28 years of seniority he gained as a GOP senator, infuriating long-serving Democrats whom Specter will now likely leapfrog...

Congress OKs Budget Plan, Advances Health Reform

(Newser) - President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's health care system got a big boost today as the Senate followed the lead of the House and approved a $3.4 trillion budget plan, the Washington Post reports. The approval sets the stage for lawmakers to hammer out legislation over the summer...

Rendell Gets Machiavellian in Specter Switch
Rendell Gets Machiavellian in Specter Switch
Analysis
Apr 29, 2009 10:09 AM CDT

Rendell Gets Machiavellian in Specter Switch

Senate ambitions may have played role in governor's courtship

(Newser) - Arlen Specter’s party switch was a "seriously Machiavellian" move by Joe Biden and, particularly, Gov. Ed Rendell, writes Eleanor Clift of Newsweek. Biden’s self-interest in the matter is obvious: Specter represents the all-important 60th Senate vote. But the "gregarious, ambitious" Rendell, an even closer friend of...

Silver: Specter Will Shift Left, But Not Too Far
Silver: Specter Will Shift Left, But Not Too Far
analysis
Apr 28, 2009 9:46 PM CDT

Silver: Specter Will Shift Left, But Not Too Far

(Newser) - Now that Arlen Specter is flying the Democratic colors, his new party can expect a tangible—if modest—change in his voting behavior, writes Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com. "Democrats have ample reason to be pleased," writes Silver, who crunched the numbers of all previous congressional party-switchers. "...

Limbaugh to Specter: Take McCain Family, Too

(Newser) - Rush Limbaugh thinks erstwhile Republican Arlen Specter should take some “other people who aren't really Republicans” to the other side of the aisle, CNN reports. “Take McCain and his daughter with you,” a laughing Limbaugh said today. Though he said Specter's party switch was “ultimately good”...

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