The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website August 24, 2017:
THE BIG IDEA: Donald Trump is doing more damage to the public image of congressional Republican leaders than any Democratic operative could in their wildest dreams.
The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website August 24, 2017:
President tweets that the GOP leaders ignored his advice
Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Updated at 9:52 a.m. | President Donald Trump on Thursday criticized Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying they created a debt ceiling “mess” by refusing his advice.
After the White House and McConnell’s office on Wednesday denied a recent New York Times report about tensions — including a profanity-filled phone call — between the two, the president started Thursday by attacking the Senate leader.
The following article by Lindsey McPherson was posted on the Roll Call website August 23, 2017:
President threatens a shutdown, criticizes senators and their chamber’s rules
President Donald and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, pictured shaking hands after Trump’s address to Congress in February, are at odds over willingness to shutdown the government and change the Senate’s filibuster rules. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Here are seven ways in just that one speech that Trump said things that don’t bode well for his ability to work with Congress:
1. Shutdown threat
Little more than a month before the Sept. 30 deadline for funding the government into the next fiscal year, Trump threatened to shut down the government if Congress doesn’t agree to fund the border wall he repeatedly promised to build — and have Mexico pay for — during the campaign.
“The obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it, but believe me, if we have to close down our government, we’re building that wall,” he said.
The following article by Kelsey Snell filling in for James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website August 11, 2017:
THE BIG IDEA today is by Kelsey Snell. James will be back on Monday.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have a lot to do when Congress returns next month. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
August is supposed to be a time when Washington recharges, relaxes and refreshes. But just beyond that happy hour cocktail or beach blanket is a looming fiscal battle over funding the government and raising the debt limit.
Exciting, right? When Congress returns in September the House will have just 12 legislative days to raise the federal borrowing limit to avoid default — and the same amount of time to approve a spending deal to avert a government shutdown. Those things alone would make for a hefty lift under even the best political circumstances. But the high-stakes deadlines comes as GOP lawmakers are still bruised and angry over the dramatic failure of their most recent push to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Continue reading “Congress will have 12 working days to prevent a debt default and keep the government open.”
The following article by John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website April 14, 2017:
As Republicans struggle to craft a sweeping tax package — a process already rife with political land mines — they are preparing to add another volatile element to the mix: a provision that would end a six-decade-old ban on churches and other tax-exempt organizations supporting political candidates.
The following article by Michael D. Shear was posted on the New York Times website March 20, 2017:
James B. Comey, the director of the F.B.I., said the agency was investigating whether members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Republicans and Democrats put their own spin on his statements. By SHANE O’NEILL and SUSAN JOAN ARCHER. Photo by Eric Thayer for The New York Times.
WASHINGTON — The headline from Capitol Hill on Monday was bracing: confirmation of a criminal investigation into connections between associates of a sitting president and Russian operatives during a presidential election.
But the response from Republicans was almost as striking: During hours of testimony in which James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, acknowledged the inquiry, they shrugged off its implications and instead offered a coordinated effort to defend President Trump by demanding a focus on leaks to news organizations. Continue reading “What Investigation? G.O.P. Responds to F.B.I. Inquiry by Changing Subject”
The following article by Alexandra Rosemann was posted on the AlterNet website February 14, 2017:
Rand Paul needs to be heard to be believed.
Michael Flynn’s abrupt resignation from the National Security Council has reignited a controversy that has followed Donald Trump since he was elected president, with scores of Democrats calling for a special investigation into the administration’s possible ties to the Kremlin. But with a few notable exceptions, those calls have largely fallen on deaf ears with a Republican Party that has proven time and again it is willing to accomodate scandal and disgrace so long as it doesn’t impede its exercise of power. Senator Rand Paul even suggested the matter didn’t merit further inquiry, because it would require that Republicans investigate a fellow Republican.
The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website February 15, 2017:
In 2015 Republicans in Congress overwhelmingly passed a measure to repeal Obamacare. The repeal package, embedded in a budget reconciliation bill, never had a chance to become law as long as President Obama was in office and could veto it.
Now that Republicans have both chambers of the legislative branch and the executive branch, why don’t they simply roll out the same repeal package, that also defunded Planned Parenthood, and vote on it? It seems easy, doesn’t it? Continue reading “Obamacare”
The following article by Kelsey Snell, Paul Schwartzman, Steve Friess and David Weigel was posted on the Washington Post website February 10, 2017:
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Republicans in deep-red congressional districts spent the week navigating massive crowds and hostile questions at their town hall meetings — an early indication of how progressive opposition movements are mobilizing against the agenda of the GOP and President Trump.
Angry constituents swarmed events held by Reps. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), Diane Black (Tenn.), Justin Amash (Mich.) and Tom McClintock (Calif.). They filled the rooms that had been reserved for them; in Utah and Tennessee, scores of activists were locked out. Voters pressed members of Congress on their plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, on the still-controversial confirmation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and even on a low-profile vote to disband an election commission created after 2000. Continue reading “Swarming crowds and hostile questions are the new normal at GOP town halls”
