Tag: bipartisanship

Rep. Dean Phillips’ bipartisanship tested by congressional realities

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His ambition faces fresh test with GOP challenges on infrastructure, voting rights. 

WASHINGTON – Rep. Dean Phillips has his limits, a sense of where he draws the line.

Well into his second term holding a Minnesota congressional seat coveted by Republicans, the idea of bipartisanship in a polarized Washington is crucial for the Democrat. It is a lofty ambition with grim odds, and an ideology facing a fresh test with legislative challenges on infrastructure and voting rights. Shadowing it all are the emotional aftershocks of the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and former President Donald Trump’s strong influence over the Republican Party that continues to strain those reaching for middle ground.

“The members who I believe bear responsibility for January 6, I will not work with because I believe they are dangerous, plain and simple,” said Phillips, whose district includes large swaths of western Minneapolis suburbs. “And by the way, I don’t think they’d work with me. But that means there are 429 others with whom I’m happy to work with.” Continue reading.

Never mind impeachment, this bipartisan committee is going forward

House modernization panel prepares for its second year

Amid the partisan polarization of impeachment, the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress began examining possible changes Thursday to the chamber’s rules and procedures, seeking out ideas to make the legislative branch function better.

The panel, a temporary and bipartisan project to revamp Congress for the modern era, is tasked with offering recommendations about how to update technological savvy on Capitol Hill and how to improve the quality of work for lawmakers and staff. It began earlier this year as a one-year effort but will now carry on through next year with a fresh infusion of funds, and through the divisive 2020 elections.

Perhaps as a tangible example of some lawmakers’ job dissatisfaction, the hearing came just hours after the committee’s top Republican, Tom Graves of Georgia, announced he would not seek re-election in 2020.

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Why Trump and Republicans are suddenly talking up bipartisanship

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website January 8, 2018:

President Trump spoke about his legislative priorities and answered reporters’ questions at a news conference at Camp David, Md., on Jan. 6. (The Washington Post)

THE BIG IDEA: Since the day they enacted the biggest overhaul of the tax code in a generation without a single Democratic vote, Republicans have been talking a big game about their supposed desire to work across the aisle.

“We hope that 2018 will be a year of more bipartisan cooperation,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters at Camp David on Saturday, dubiously predicting that “a significant number of Democrats” will want to support President Trump’s agenda. Continue reading “Why Trump and Republicans are suddenly talking up bipartisanship”