- McConnell opposes Alabama Republican’s blockade of military nominees over Pentagon abortion policy The Associated Press
- US defense secretary cites security concerns as senator holds promotions over abortion Yahoo News
- McConnell breaks with Tuberville over blanket hold on military nominees The Hill
- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin slams Sen. Tommy Tuberville for blocking military promotions USA TODAY
- SECDEF Austin: Tuberville’s ‘Unprecedented’ Hold on Pentagon Nominees Creates ‘Perilous Precedent’ – USNI News USNI News
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: McConnell
Biden and McConnell show off their bipartisan bonafides in Kentucky
CNN
—
A rare scene unfolded Wednesday in Covington, Kentucky: President Joe Biden stood alongside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, as the two men promoted a major bipartisan legislative accomplishment they achieved together.
The president’s visit to McConnell’s home state to herald the implementation of the massive $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that McConnell and 18 other Senate Republicans voted for, and that Biden signed into law in 2021, marked his first domestic trip of the new year. The trip was aimed at sending an unmistakable message as Biden kicks off the second half of his first term: Even in a newly divided Congress, the Biden White House still sees room for bipartisanship.
Biden thanked McConnell for working across the aisle on the law.
“It wouldn’t have happened without your hand. It just wouldn’t have gotten done and I want to thank you for that,” Biden said to McConnell during his remarks.
He added that while he and McConnell don’t agree on a lot, the Kentucky Republican is someone you can trust.
“He’s a man of his word. When he gives you his word, you can take it to the bank, you can count on it, and he’s willing to find common ground to get things done for the country. So thank you, Mitch. Thank you,” Biden said.
The scene was a stark message of bipartisanship and pragmatism sent by Biden and McConnell as the two old Senate colleagues came together at the same time that House Republicans found themselves falling further into divisive chaos over Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become speaker. As Biden spoke in Covington, McCarthy suffered a fourth defeat in his push to lead the House of Representatives.
The backdrop for Biden’s visit was the Brent Spence Bridge that connects Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, and is known to be one of the busiest freight routes in the country. Officials say the structure carries far more traffic than it is meant to support.
It’s also a bridge that Biden once promised he would overhaul: “We’re going to fix that damn bridge of yours going into Kentucky,” Biden said during a CNN town hall in Cincinnati in the summer of 2021, as the infrastructure bill appeared to be on the cusp of passage.
On Wednesday, the White House announced more than $2 billion from the infrastructure law would go towards upgrading the Brent Spence bridge and other “economically significant bridges” around the country.
Biden’s trip to the Ohio-Kentucky border on Wednesday will also feature Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and former Republican Sen. Rob Portman, as well as Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
White House officials say that the show of bipartisanship is aimed at sending a clear signal that as Republicans take control of the House, Biden remains convinced that there will still be opportunities for bipartisan legislative wins.
The White House made it clear on Wednesday that they had no intention of getting involved in the drama playing out in the House. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with the president that the Biden administration is “going to let the process play out.”
“It’s not my problem. I think it’s embarrassing the way it’s taking so long,” the president told reporters as he departed the White House Wednesday.
McConnell’s decision to appear with Biden on Wednesday also signals the GOP leader’s willingness to work alongside the president, even as many of his Republican colleagues in the House take a hardline stance against compromising with Democrats.
While White House officials regularly invite all congressional members to attend events Biden holds in their home states, Republicans frequently turn down the opportunity – making McConnell’s decision to join the president this week all the more notable.
Biden himself sought to downplay the importance of the pairing on Monday.
“We’ve been friends a long time. Everybody is talking about how significant it is. It has nothing to do about our relationship,” he said as he returned to the White House from his winter vacation in St. Croix. “It’s a giant bridge, man. It’s a lot of money. It’s important.”
McConnell, during his remarks ahead of the president, noted how the infrastructure law is an example of government working to solve problems for everyday Americans.
“If you look at the political alignment of everyone involved, it’s the government is working together to solve a major problem at a time when the country needs to see examples like this, of coming together and getting an outcome,” McConnell said.
A number of Cabinet officials also plan to travel later this week to promote the infrastructure law. Vice President Kamala Harris will stop in Chicago, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit New London, Connecticut, on Wednesday where they will each “discuss how the president’s economic plan is rebuilding our infrastructure, creating good-paying jobs – jobs that don’t require a four-year degree – and revitalizing communities left behind,” a White House official said.
Over the coming weeks, Biden is expected to reiterate his bipartisan achievements in stops around the country as the Republican majority in the House begins its work, culminating in his yearly State of the Union address. Biden’s aides have begun work on that speech and have made bipartisanship a central theme.
Brian Sicknick’s family explains snubbing McConnell and McCarthy: ‘This is an integrity issue’
CNN
—
The family of fallen US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick said Wednesday that snubbing GOP leaders during a congressional gold medal ceremony was not for partisan reasons, but an “integrity issue.”
“We were talking about saying something and then we said, ‘No, I think the best way is to just ignore them.’ And we had no idea it was going to blow up like this. We just – we really didn’t. And I’m glad it did because I think it made them think about what they do,” Gladys Sicknick, Brian’s mother, said on “CNN This Morning.”
“Just sitting in the senators’ offices and looking at the pictures of their families behind them and thinking, ‘You know, what do they do when they go home? What do they say to their children and their grandchildren when they go home? You know, what kind of country is this going to be? Do they really want them to live in a country of their making?’” Gladys Sicknick said.
Craig Sicknick, one of Brian’s brothers, said snubbing the lawmakers was not hard to do.
“I really do not hold respect for people who have no integrity. Which is what – this is not a partisan issue, this is an integrity issue. They took an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution. And when somebody challenges it, like Trump, they do nothing,” Craig Sicknick said. “Their silence is deafening. Or worse they keep perpetrating the same policies and lies that caused the insurrection to happen.”
On Tuesday, Brian Sicknick and other law enforcement with the US Capitol Police and the DC Metropolitan Police Department were honored with the Congressional Gold Medal – the highest honor Congress can bestow – for defending the US Capitol during the January 6 insurrection. Sicknick suffered strokes and died of natural causes one day after the insurrection and suffered strokes. When accepting the gold medal on his behalf, Sicknick’s family refused to shake hands with either Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell or House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Gladys Sicknick previously told CNN she didn’t shake their hands because, “They’re just two-faced.”
“I’m just tired of them standing there and saying how wonderful the Capitol Police is and then they turn around and … go down to Mar-a-Lago and kiss his ring and come back and stand here and sit with – it just, it just hurts,” she said, referring to former President Donald Trump.
McConnell in the past has criticized Trump and condemned him for actions during the January 6 insurrection, while McCarthy has visited the former president at his Mar-a-Lago estate several times.
The Senate minority leader was asked about the snub and told reporters after the ceremony on Tuesday, “I would respond by saying today we gave the gold medal to the heroes of January 6. We admire and respect them. They laid their lives on the line and that’s why we gave a gold medal today to the heroes of January 6.”
Asked if she had a message for McConnell and McCarthy, Gladys Sicknick told CNN on Wednesday, “I just don’t know how they can stand there and talk to the press, talk to the cameras and say what they do knowing what they’ve done in the past.”
Mitch McConnell wins secret-ballot election to continue leading Senate Republicans
CNN
—
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell has won a secret-ballot leadership election after days of finger-pointing over the Republican election losses, putting him on pace to become the longest-serving Senate party leader in US history.
McConnell defeated Florida Sen. Rick Scott, his first challenger in his 15 years atop his conference.
McConnell won the leadership vote 37-10-1, according to two senators. One senator voted present.
Senate Republican Conference chairman, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming formally announced the slate of GOP leadership positions following the elections, including that Republican Sen. John Thune would continue as whip.
Montana Sen. Steve Daines will replace Scott as the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign arm.
For Democrats, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that their caucus leadership elections will be December 8, according to a source familiar at the Senate Democrats’ lunch on Wednesday.
After a tense meeting Tuesday that lasted several hours – the first in-person meeting for the Republican conference since the midterms – Scott told reporters he planned to challenge McConnell for the top job.
“I’m running for leader,” the Florida Republican told reporters. “I’m not satisfied with the status quo and so I think we ought to have an option.”
He added: “I still think we ought to delay the election.”
Throughout this year, Scott and McConnell have had a long-simmering conflict over messaging, outlook and how to spend resources this election cycle. The two have disagreed over the quality of their candidates, whether to engage in GOP primaries, whether to put forward an agenda or keep the focus on President Joe Biden, and where to compete.
Wednesday’s vote comes after Scott, as well as a handful of conservative senators, called for a delay in the leadership elections until after the Georgia runoff, underscoring Senate Republicans’ frustration with the outcome of the 2022 elections. That effort to push back the vote failed during the closed-door meeting, though 16 GOP senators voted to delay the GOP leadership elections, according to a source familiar.
And while Scott has little chance of succeeding in his bid to be leader, his declaration is seen as a protest vote. He’ll become the first challenger McConnell has faced in his time as GOP leader.
During the closed-door hearing with his Republican colleagues, Scott engaged in a tense back-and-forth with McConnell where they criticized each other.
“Sen. Scott disagrees with the approach that Mitch has taken in this election and for the last couple of years, and he made that clear and Sen. McConnell criticized Sen. Scott’s management of the NRSC,” Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri told reporters about the exchange.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said he was eager to get past the divisions with his Republican colleagues after emerging from the closed door meeting on Tuesday and hold the leadership elections.
He said he believed Republicans’ focus should be on helping Georgia Senate nominee Herschel Walker in his December 6 runoff against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.
“I think the best thing we can do is get this behind us,” Cornyn told CNN. “Because you guys will keep writing about it for the next three weeks and it will distract from the Georgia runoff, which I think should be our undivided focus.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
Some Republicans call for delaying Senate GOP leadership elections in challenge to McConnell
The narrowing path for Republican victory has stunned lawmakers from both parties, freezing plans for legislation and leadership maneuvers as they wait to see who takes control and learn the margins that will dictate which ideological factions wield power. Regardless of the outcome, the lack of a “red wave” marks a devastating outcome for Republicans, who believed they would cruise to a large governing majority in the House and possibly flip the Senate.
The GOP faces a small but real prospect that it may not reclaim the House majority despite high pre-election hopes based on the disapproval of President Biden, record inflation and traditional losses for the party that holds the White House. As of Friday, Democrats also were increasingly optimistic about holding on to their Senate seats in Arizona and Nevada — two states still counting votes — which would allow them to retain the majority.
House Democrats also were closely watching uncalled races in those states, as well races as Maine, Oregon, Washington and California, to determine whether they have a pathway to keep the majority. Even if they don’t, as many Democratic aides expect, there is a recognition from both parties that Democratic votes will be critical in a narrow House GOP majority.
“It’s an unworkable majority. Nothing meaningful will get passed,” a dejected aide to a senior House Republican said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss internal tensions.
‘Reality is going to be rough’
Outgoing Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) told The Washington Post he knew the evening of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that the GOP would have a difficult time proving to voters they should be in the majority in two years.
“By midnight on January 6, it was obvious that if we continued to sleepwalk down the path of crazy we’d face a rude awakening,” he said. “Instead of facing those facts, the GOP spent the last two years heading in the same direction and actively avoiding any internal reckoning. After Tuesday, we have no choice but to heed voters when they say that ‘the grass is green, the sky is blue, and by the way, you just got your ass handed to you.’ But waking up to that reality is going to be rough.”
House Republicans need to net only five seats to win back the majority, a seemingly easy goal that has proved surprisingly difficult. The National Republican Congressional Committee, which initially had projected winning as many as 30 seats, now sees their majority between 220 and 224 seats, according to three people familiar with the organization’s internal data. That sliver of control would hand GOP leaders what many see as the impossible task of corralling far-right-wing demands while balancing them with the desires of more moderate members.
The first hurdles for a slim House GOP majority are leadership elections and agreeing on conference rules, a showdown that is expected next week. The staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus is calling for a delay to those housekeeping efforts — especially if control of the House is not decided by then.
Members vying for leadership positions need to garner a plurality of votes behind closed doors Tuesday, a threshold McCarthy’s team and several GOP aides believe he will be able to cross to become speaker-in-waiting.
But his destiny is officially determined on Jan. 3, 2023, when he must garner 218 votes on the House floor to become speaker. Getting there has become much more perilous for McCarthy, as he has faced growing opposition from those on the far-right flank of the party.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) told reporters Thursday that McCarthy was not his first choice to lead the conference, echoing calls by Freedom Caucus members to bring forth a challenge to him. In a tweet Friday, Gaetz cited several perceived deficiencies with McCarthy, including his telling other GOP leaders that President Donald Trump should resign in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The Freedom Caucus has long had a list of demands to make of whoever leads the conference, but many members acknowledged earlier this year that their effort to push leaders for concessions would be determined by the margins of a majority. McCarthy had already heard them out on several requests, including returning more legislative power to committees, ending proxy voting, and considering adding a number of Freedom Caucus members to coveted committee assignments, including the influential Steering Committee.
There are other outstanding requests that may appease some, but not all, within the group. Those include putting more members in committee chair positions and having McCarthy publicly back Rep. Jim Banks (Ind.), a staunch Trump ally, as majority whip. But as the expected majority grows slimmer, such demands could irritate more-moderate members, who also hold sway.
McCarthy’s team is confident he will be able to maintain support, citing how he has worked to create relationships with many of his detractors, including members of the Freedom Caucus. McCarthy is seen as open to conversations with his detractors but there are demands he is unlikely to bargain away, including changing the rules to make it much easier to remove the speaker from his or her post.
McCarthy left the Capitol on Friday evening without addressing questions from reporters about his negotiations.
Even if McCarthy exhausts all his bargaining chips, some Republicans acknowledge that the most-fringe members may still vote against him on the floor in January.
Rep. Chip Roy (Tex.) has said “no one currently has 218” votes — the number needed to win the speakership in the full chamber. Moreover, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.) have declined to say whether they would support McCarthy.
“There are people who swear upon firstborn children that they’ll never vote for McCarthy,” another aide to a senior Republican lawmaker said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to relay private conversations.
Jason Miller, a former Trump White House and campaign official, said Friday that if McCarthy “wants a chance of being speaker, he needs to be much more declarative of supporting President Trump.”
“It’s going to be a MAGA-centric caucus,” he said on Stephen K. Bannon’s “War Room” podcast. “We need leadership to match.”
But without an alternative, McCarthy’s allies believe he may be able to hold on. The most credible potential alternatives, such as Minority Whip Steve Scalise (La.), Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Banks, remain supportive of McCarthy.
Moreover, past speakers have benefited from missed attendance and members voting “present” to lower the majority threshold of 218 to help them clinch the top spot.
A senior Republican Party official, who criticized McCarthy for overhyping election expectations, said that a House Republican majority was a win at the end of the day — no matter the margin of victory. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations, added that the party doesn’t need McCarthy to govern an unruly House GOP conference majority or pass any legislation, but needs him to simply unite the conference as a firewall against the Biden administration’s agenda to be a successful speaker.
Senate Republicans want election delay
A group of Senate Republicans on Friday also called for a delay in GOP leadership elections after the party’s failure so far to claim the majority — a move that poses a direct challenge to McConnell.
Six senators — Marco Rubio (Fla.) Rick Scott (Fla.,) Josh Hawley (Mo.), Mike Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Cynthia M. Lummis (Wyo.) — have called for delaying the vote, scheduled for Wednesday, in which McConnell was expected to be reelected in a secret ballot. Hawley suggested waiting until after the Dec. 6 Senate runoff in Georgia, a delay of weeks.
“Holding leadership elections without hearing from the candidates as to how they will perform their leadership duties and before we know whether we will be in the majority or even who all our members are violates the most basic principles of a democratic process,” Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and Lee wrote in a letter they circulated to their GOP colleagues, according to Politico.
A Rubio adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the internal dynamics of the caucus, said Republicans are “frustrated” by their lackluster midterms performance, after they hoped to decisively win back the majority on Tuesday. Rubio, who won his race in Florida by a large margin, wants Senate Republicans to figure out “what in the world happened” before they elect their next leaders, the person said.
The Rubio adviser did not rule out that Rubio himself would seek a leadership spot, but said the senator’s focus was on getting Republicans to focus on their policy priorities before deciding who should lead them.
Rubio wrote on Twitter on Friday that the caucus needs someone “genuinely committed” to “fighting for the priorities & values of the working Americans (of every background) who gave us big wins in states like #Florida.”
Hawley quickly endorsed the idea, writing on Twitter, “I don’t know why Senate GOP would hold a leadership vote for the next Congress before this election is finished.” In addition to the Georgia runoff, ballots are still being counted in Arizona and Nevada.
Spokesmen for McConnell and Scott declined to comment. Email and telephone messages for Lee were not immediately returned.
The rebellion represents the most serious challenge to McConnell’s lengthy leadership tenure and comes after Republicans spent millions of dollars on losing Senate races in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, along with saving GOP candidates in Republican-leaning states like Ohio.
The Senate Leadership Fund PAC, closely associated with McConnell, spent more than $230 million this cycle backing Republicans in races across the country.
In the Senate, McConnell faced criticism from some Republicans in August when he played down the party’s chances of winning control, citing “candidate quality.”
Trump also has repeatedly mocked and criticized McConnell, while pressing Republicans to oust the GOP leader. McConnell recognized Biden’s win in December 2020, angering Trump, and then blamed the former president for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Leadership elections had been set for Wednesday and, so far, no Republican senator has formally announced they would run against McConnell. On Friday, Sen. John Barrasso (Wyo.), a close ally of McConnell, sent a message to senators directly saying elections are still on for Wednesday.
The Republican Senate leadership votes are done behind closed doors and by secret ballot. McConnell would need only a simple majority to win and he has said he has the votes he needs. If he does win, McConnell will surpass Mike Mansfield’s record for longest stint as party leader in the Senate.
In their letter, Scott and Lee also wrote, “We are all disappointed that a Red Wave failed to materialize, and there are multiple reasons it did not,” according to Politico. “We need to have serious discussions within our conference as to why and what we can do to improve our chances in 2024.”
In an interview published Friday, Hawley told RealClearPolitics, “I’m not going to support the current leadership in the party,” citing gun control and climate-change legislation. “We surrendered when we should’ve fought.”
Paul Kane and John Wagner contributed to this report.
Donald Trump escalates attacks on Mitch McConnell with ‘DEATH WISH’ post
The post marked a further escalation in an increasingly strained relationship between the two Republican leaders. Trump has repeatedly impugned McConnell’s negotiating positions and called on GOP senators to replace him as their leader. They often had a tense working relationship during Trump’s presidency and fell out in the aftermath of the 2020 election, when Trump refused to concede and tried to overturn the results, and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
McConnell’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.
A Trump spokesman said it was “absurd” to interpret the post as a threat or call for violence, suggesting the reference to a death wish was “political” rather than literal.
“Mitch McConnell is killing the Republican Party through weakness and cowardice,” spokesman Taylor Budowich wrote in a statement. “He obviously has a political death wish for himself and Republican Party, but President Trump and the America First champions in Congress will save the Republican Party and our nation.”
Incendiary statements from Trump have repeatedly inspired his supporters to turn to violence. Jan. 6 rioters, in the moment and in court proceedings, have said they believed they were acting on Trump’s wishes. Lawmakers of both parties have faced increasing threats after crossing Trump.
More recently, following Trump’s attacks on the FBI in response to a search of his Mar-a-Lago resort, a gunman tried to breach the bureau’s Cincinnati office while posting about it on Truth Social. He was later killed by police.
“He knows exactly what he’s doing, and his recklessness knows no bounds,” prominent Republican lawyer Robert Kelner wrote on Twitter, responding to Trump’s latest post about McConnell. “Despicable.”
Chao resigned from Trump’s Cabinet shortly after the Jan. 6 attack, saying the assault “deeply troubled me in a way I simply cannot set aside.” McConnell, in a speech after the following month’s impeachment trial, condemned Trump as “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day,” although he did not vote to convict.
In this year’s primaries, McConnell tried unsuccessfully to recruit moderate Republican governors such as Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Larry Hogan of Maryland and Doug Ducey of Arizona to run for the Senate. McConnell’s allies intervened in some races to oppose pro-Trump candidates, such as Eric Greitens in Missouri and Don Bolduc in New Hampshire, but did not weigh in against Trump-endorsed candidates such as Blake Masters in Arizona and Herschel Walker in Georgia. McConnell has publicly lamented that some of the party’s nominees are making it harder to win back control of the chamber, although he has lately expressed more confidence in the party’s chances.
McConnell, Schumer back bill to prevent efforts to subvert presidential election results
The Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), would amend the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and reaffirm that the vice president has only a ministerial role at the joint session of Congress to count electoral votes, as well as raise the threshold necessary for members of Congress to object to a state’s electors.
Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon, McConnell said there was a need to make “modest” updates to the Electoral Count Act.
“Congress’s process for counting their presidential electors’ votes was written 135 years ago. The chaos that came to a head on January 6th of last year certainly underscored the need for an update,” McConnell said. “The Electoral Count Act ultimately produced the right conclusion … but it’s clear the country needs a more predictable path.”
In a statement, Schumer said, “Make no mistake: as our country continues to face the threat of the anti-democracy MAGA Republican movement — propelled by many GOP leaders who either refused to take a stand or actively stoked the flames of division in our country — reforming the Electoral Count Act ought to be the bare minimum of action the Congress takes.”
The Senate Rules Committee, of which Schumer and McConnell are both members, later voted to advance the bill. Schumer voted yes by proxy, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) was the lone no vote. Speaking minutes after McConnell had expressed his support for the legislation in committee, Cruz went against his party leader and blasted the bill as “bad policy and … bad for democracy.”
“I understand why Democrats are supporting this bill,” Cruz said. “What I don’t understand is why Republicans are.”
The bill already enjoyed strong bipartisan support, with 11 Democratic and 11 Republican senators signing on to co-sponsor it before Tuesday.
“We are pleased that bipartisan support continues to grow for these sensible and much-needed reforms to the Electoral Count Act of 1887,” Collins and Manchin said in a joint statement last week. “Our bill is backed by election law experts and organizations across the ideological spectrum. We will keep working to increase bipartisan support for our legislation that would correct the flaws in this archaic and ambiguous law.”
Later Tuesday evening in the Capitol, Collins passed Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the ranking member of Rules, in the hallway. She stopped, put her hand on his shoulder and said: “Thank you. Good job. Thank you. Thank you.”
After the 2020 election, Trump had falsely told his supporters that Vice President Mike Pence had the power to reject electoral votes already certified by the states. Pence did not do so — and has repeatedly emphasized that the Constitution provides the vice president with no such authority. But on Jan. 6, many in the mob that overran the Capitol began chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!” on the mistaken belief that the vice president could have stopped Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.
The House last week passed the similar Presidential Election Reform Act, written by Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), on a 229-203 vote. Cheney and Lofgren argued that the risk of another effort to steal a presidential election remains high, as Trump continues to spread baseless claims of widespread election fraud, and as pro-Trump candidates in state and local elections around the country have embraced those falsehoods.
The Senate and House bills differ chiefly in how much they would change the threshold necessary for members of both chambers to object to a state’s results. Currently, only one member each from the House and Senate are required to object to a state’s electors. The House electoral reform bill would raise that threshold to at least one-third of the members of both the House and Senate, while the Senate version would raise that threshold to at least one-fifth of the members of both the House and Senate.
Schumer had withheld his support because he preferred Democrats’ sweeping voting bill that also addressed access to the polls. But after that bill failed in the Senate because of a lack of Republican support this year, the bipartisan working group forged ahead on a narrower bill that would implement guardrails and clarifications regarding how presidential electors are appointed, submitted and approved.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Rules panel who had worked on his own electoral bill, said Monday that it was “critical” they pass legislation as soon as possible.
“This isn’t comprehensive voting rights reforms, but it is important because of the danger that we experienced on January 6th,” King told The Washington Post. “It’s critical we do this before next year when we are in the throes of the presidential election.”
Unlike the Senate bill, the House bill saw little support from GOP lawmakers. Only nine Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the measure, and none of those nine will be members of Congress next year — either because they lost their primaries or chose to retire. Several of the Republicans who opposed the bill, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), criticized it as unconstitutional.
On Tuesday, McConnell called the House bill a “non-starter” because of its lack of support from GOP lawmakers.
“It’s clear that only a bipartisan compromise originating in the Senate can actually become law,” he said. “One party going it alone would be a non-starter. In my view, the House bill is a non-starter. We have one shot to get this right.”
The Biden administration issued a statement last week in support of the House bill, calling it another step in “critically needed reform of the 135-year-old Electoral Count Act.”
“Americans deserve greater clarity in the process by which their votes will result in the election of a President and Vice President,” the Office of Management and Budget said. “As [the Presidential Election Reform Act] proceeds through the legislative process, the Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to ensure lasting reform consistent with Congress’ constitutional authority to protect voting rights, tally electoral votes, and strengthen our democracy.”
The Senate is widely expected to vote on the measure in a lame-duck session in December.
Leigh Ann Caldwell contributed to this report.
McConnell endorses bill to prevent efforts to subvert presidential election results
The Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), would amend the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and reaffirm that the vice president has only a ministerial role at the joint session of Congress to count electoral votes, as well as raise the threshold necessary for members of Congress to object to a state’s electors.
Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon, McConnell said he would “strongly support” the legislation, saying it did not “rashly replace current law with something untested.”
“Congress’s process for counting their presidential electors votes was written 135 ago. The chaos that came to a head on Jan. 6 of last year certainly underscored the need for an update,” McConnell said. “The Electoral Count Act ultimately produced the right conclusion … but it’s clear the country needs a more predictable path.”
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) is also likely to back the bill. Both Schumer and McConnell sit on the Senate Rules Committee, which will meet Tuesday afternoon to vote on the legislation.
Their votes would all but cement the bill’s likelihood of passing the Senate. The bill already enjoyed strong bipartisan support, with 11 Democratic and 11 Republican senators signing on to co-sponsor it last week.
“We are pleased that bipartisan support continues to grow for these sensible and much-needed reforms to the Electoral Count Act of 1887,” Collins and Manchin said in a joint statement last week. “Our bill is backed by election law experts and organizations across the ideological spectrum. We will keep working to increase bipartisan support for our legislation that would correct the flaws in this archaic and ambiguous law.”
After the 2020 election, President Donald Trump had falsely told his supporters that Vice President Mike Pence had the power to reject electoral votes already certified by the states. Pence did not do so — and has repeatedly emphasized that the Constitution provides the vice president with no such authority. But on Jan. 6, many in the pro-Trump mob that overran the Capitol began chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!” on the misguided belief that the vice president could have stopped Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.
The House last week passed the similar Presidential Election Reform Act, written by Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), on a 229-203 vote. Cheney and Lofgren argued that the risk of another effort to steal a presidential election remains high, as Trump continues to spread baseless claims of widespread election fraud, and as pro-Trump candidates in state and local elections around the country have embraced those falsehoods.
The Senate and House bills differ chiefly in how much they would change the threshold necessary for members of both chambers to object to a state’s results. Currently only one member each from the House and Senate are required to object to a state’s electors. The House electoral reform bill would raise that threshold to at least one-third of the members of both the House and the Senate, while the Senate version would raise that threshold to at least one-fifth of the members of both the House and the Senate.
Schumer had withheld his support because he preferred Democrats’ sweeping voting bill that also addressed access to the polls. But after that bill failed in the Senate due to a lack of Republican support earlier this year, the bipartisan working group forged ahead on a narrower bill that would implement guardrails and clarifications regarding how presidential electors are appointed, submitted and approved.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Rules panel who worked on his own electoral bill, said Monday that it was “critical” they pass legislation as soon as possible.
“This isn’t comprehensive voting rights reforms but it is important because of the danger that we experienced on Jan. 6,” King told The Washington Post. “It’s critical we do this before next year when we are in the throes of the presidential election.”
Unlike the Senate bill, the House bill saw little support from GOP lawmakers. Only nine Republicans broke ranks and joined Democrats in supporting the measure, and none of those nine will be members of Congress next year — either because they lost their primaries or chose to retire. Several of the House Republicans who opposed the bill, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), criticized it as unconstitutional.
The Biden administration issued a statement last week in support of the House bill, calling it another step in “critically needed reform of the 135-year-old Electoral Count Act.”
“Americans deserve greater clarity in the process by which their votes will result in the election of a President and Vice President,” the Office of Management and Budget said. “As [the Presidential Election Reform Act] proceeds through the legislative process, the Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to ensure lasting reform consistent with Congress’ constitutional authority to protect voting rights, tally electoral votes, and strengthen our democracy.”
Leigh Ann Caldwell contributed to this report.
Sinema in speech at McConnell Center says 60-vote Senate threshold should be restored
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Monday said the Senate should reinstate the 60-vote threshold for all judicial and executive branch nominees.
Sinema made the comments during a Q&A session following a speech at the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) introduced the Arizona moderate at the event.
“Not only am I committed to the 60-vote threshold, I have an incredibly unpopular view. I actually think we should restore the 60-vote threshold for the areas in which it has been eliminated already. We should restore it,” Sinema said to cheers from some attendees.
“Not everyone likes that,” Sinema continued to laughs, “because it would make it harder for us to confirm judges and it would make it harder for us to confirm executive appointments in each administration, but I believe that if we did restore it, we would see more of that middle ground in all parts of our governance, which is what, I believe, our forefathers intended.”
The 60-vote threshold for non-Supreme Court judicial nominations and executive branch nominees was ended when then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Democrats invoked the so-called “nuclear option” in 2013. McConnell and Republicans went a step further and did so for Supreme Court nominees in 2017 during the confirmation process of Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Sinema pointed to the volatility of the House, specifically, and the frequency with which both chambers flip control as part of why the filibuster should remain in place.
“It’s likely to change again in just a few weeks,” she said, pointing to the November elections.
“While it is frustrating as a member of the minority in the United States Senate — and equally as frustrating in the majority, because you must have 60 votes to move forward, that frustration represents solely the short-term angst of not getting what you want,” Sinema said. “We shouldn’t get everything we want in the moment because later, upon cooler reflection, you recognize that it has probably gone too far.”
Sinema’s remarks come nine months after she declined to jump on board with President Biden and Senate Democrats in a push to overturn the legislative filibuster to deal with voting rights. The Arizona Democrat also staked out a similar stance in 2019, having told Politico that she wanted to restore the Senate’s supermajority.
While the remarks are not new, the timing is notable.
They come only three months after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which Democrats have sought to codify into law without success. They also come amid the Democratic stretch run to keep hold of the party’s Senate majority and potentially break the current 50-50 split.
Sinema is also staring down a likely primary challenge in 2024, potentially by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), as the progressive wing of the party has grown increasingly frustrated with her in recent years.
On top of her refusal to nix the legislative filibuster in January, Sinema declined to support the original Build Back Better proposal before Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said in December that he could not back it. Sinema ended up voting for the Inflation Reduction Act in August.
–Updated at 11:44 a.m.
Donald Trump says Mitch McConnell should do more to help Republicans get elected: ‘Broken down political hack’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Former President Donald Trump went after Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., over social media for expressing skepticism around Republicans’ chances of retaking congressional majorities in the November midterms.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump called the Senate minority leader a “broken down political hack” and challenged his party loyalty.
“Why do Republicans Senators allow a broken down hack politician, Mitch McConnell, to openly disparage hard working Republican candidates for the United States Senate,” Trump asked.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Hilton Anatole on August 06, 2022, in Dallas, Texas.
(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
He added: “This is such an affront to honor and to leadership. He should spend more time (and money!) helping them get elected, and less time helping his crazy wife and family get rich on China!”
TRUMP CLAIMS PROTESTING GEORGIA ELECTION PUTS ‘YOU IN JAIL’ WHILE MURDERERS ARE ‘QUICKLY’ SET FREE
The comment comes as McConnell suggested Thursday that he did not think Republicans would retake the Senate, as “candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome.” He said his party may fare better in reclaiming the U.S. House.
“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate,” the minority leader told the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. “Senate races are just different, they’re statewide. Candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome.”
“Right now, we have a 50-50 Senate and a 50-50 country, but I think when all is said and done this fall, we’re likely to have an extremely close Senate. Either our side up slightly or their side up slightly,” he added.
The comment was widely criticized by conservatives, including Fox News host Sean Hannity.
“Democrats are painting Republican Senate candidates in upcoming elections and midterms as cruel and out of touch,” Hannity said during his Friday show. “Well, apparently Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is content to leave them out to dry and fend for themselves.”
MCCONNELL MAKES GRIM PREDICTION ABOUT REPUBLICANS IN SENATE RACES, REFERENCES ‘CANDIDATE QUALITY’
“Listen to these comments, they’re very encouraging,” he added, before playing a clip of McConnell’s comments.
Hannity continued: “How about you get out there, Mitch, and fight for your team? What’s your agenda, Mitch, or would you rather just sit by and watch helplessly as Democrats lie to your face, pass another $500 billion green energy boondoggle?”
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
The Fox News host concluded: “His term as a leader needs to come to an end.”
McConnell’s shaky optimism comes as Republican senatorial candidates Blake Masters of Arizona, Herschel Walker of Georgia, and Mehemt Oz of Pennsylvania are trailing in their respective races. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-WI, also trails in his re-election effort.