Tag: Sen. McConnell

Recession warnings pile up as shutdown wraps up fourth week

Maryland resident Rosa Marquez displays her bills while standing near other furloughed security officers and custodians outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office. An extended shutdown could push first-quarter growth close to or even below zero. Credit: M. Scott Mahaskey, Politico

The impasse is triggering alarms about an already fragile economic environment.

The partial government shutdown was supposed to be a brief non-event for the economy. Now it’s starting to look like a serious crisis that could nudge the U.S. toward recession and threaten President Donald Trump’s economic message during his reelection campaign.

Across Wall Street, analysts are rushing out warnings that missed federal paychecks, dormant government contractors and shelved corporate stock offerings could push first-quarter growth close to or even below zero if the shutdown, which is wrapping up its fourth week, drags on much longer.

Their broader fear: The protracted impasse could convince consumers and businesses that the federal government will spend all of 2019 on the brink of crisis — whether on the border wall, trade with China or the debt limit. That could choke business investment and consumer spending, bringing an end to one of the longest economic expansions on record.

View the complete January 17 article by Ben White on the Politico website here.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Searches for Sen. Mitch McConnell

In an effort to move the GOP-controlled Senate to act on the government shutdown, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez searches the Capitol for Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Visit The Daily Mail website to view the video post here.

Rather than consider bills to reopen government, McConnell keeps Senate arguing about Israel

Mitch McConnell, R-KY., 2018. Credit: J. Scott Applewhite, AP

The GOP-controlled Senate may take its third vote on proceeding to a likely unconstitutional bill that won’t reopen government.

America’s longest-ever partial government shutdown gets longer and more harmful by the minute, but the one man with the power to bypass the president and resolve the situation is too busy focusing of arguing about Middle East politics to do anything.

Monday marks the 24th day of the government shutdown, making it the longest in U.S. history by three days. Trump’s refusal to fund large portions of the government unless Congress gives him billions of dollars to pay for a border wall he’d repeatedly promised would be funded entirely by Mexico has already cost the nation’s economy billions of dollars, left hundreds of thousands of federal workers struggling to make ends meet without paychecks, and left vital government services like food safety inspection effectively on pause.

The Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives (along with a dozen fed-up Republicans) has passed multiple bills to reopen all or parts of the government immediately. While these bills could become law with a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, notwithstanding any potential Trump veto, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has repeatedly blocked attempts to even give them a vote on the senate floor, calling them a waste of time.

View the complete January 14 article by Josh Israel on the ThinkProgress website here.

Mitch McConnell could end the shutdown. But he’s sitting this one out.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Jan. 10 blocked a motion by Senate Democrats to vote on House-passed bills to end the partial government shutdown. (The Washington Post)

President Trump is not the only person in Washington who could end this government shutdown now.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could bring a “clean” funding bill to the floor, free up his GOP caucus to support it and could quite possibly secure enough votes to override a presidential veto.

McConnell already did it once, when he believed he had Trump’s blessing. Before the holidays he allowed a vote to keep the government running until Feb. 8, to avoid a shutdown and buy more time to negotiate Trump’s demand for border wall funding. It passed easily.

View the complete January 11 article by Colby Itkowitz on The Washington Post website here.

McConnell 3x: All the Ways Republicans Will Cut Health Care, Medicare & Social Security

Repeatedly this week, Mitch McConnell made it very clear what Republicans plan to do if they pick up seats in the midterm elections. They will cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and gut the Affordable Care Act.

  1. McConnell said Republicans’ plan for addressing the skyrocketing budget deficit would be to go after Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

Washington Post: “In an interview with Bloomberg News on Tuesday, McConnell (R-Ky.) called the nation’s growing deficit and debt ‘very disturbing’ and argued that it’s being driven by Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.” Continue reading “McConnell 3x: All the Ways Republicans Will Cut Health Care, Medicare & Social Security”

GOP eyes another shot at ObamaCare repeal after McCain’s death

The following article by Alexander Bolton was posted on the Hill website August 29, 2018:

Senate Republicans say they would like Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) to appoint a successor to the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who, unlike McCain, would support GOP legislation to repeal ObamaCare.

Republican lawmakers say they won’t have time to hold another vote to repeal the law in 2018 but vow to try again next year if they manage to keep their Senate and House majorities.

“If we re-engage in that discussion in some point in the future, it would be nice to have members who enable us to pass it,” Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (S.D.) said when asked about the possibility of ObamaCare repeal legislation coming up for a future vote.

View the complete article here.

Abortion and Travel Ban Rulings Are Victory for GOP Tactics on Gorsuch Image

The following article by Elizabeth Dias and Sydney Ember was posted on the New York Times website June 26, 2018:

Justice Neil Gorsuch Credit: J. Scott Applewhite, AP

WASHINGTON — The consequences of President Trump’s nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court — and the Republican blockade of President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick B. Garland in 2016 for that seat — became powerfully clear on Tuesday after the court’s conservative majority handed down major decisions to uphold Mr. Trump’s travel ban and in favor of abortion rights opponents.

Social conservatives cheered the court’s ruling that a California lawrequiring “crisis pregnancy centers” to provide abortion information likely violates the First Amendment. Some conservatives also viewed the ruling — their latest win to advance their anti-abortion cause since Mr. Trump has taken office — as another opportunity to energize their base ahead of the November elections. Continue reading “Abortion and Travel Ban Rulings Are Victory for GOP Tactics on Gorsuch Image”

Desperate McConnell plots to stop red-state Democrats from campaigning

The following article by Matthew Chapman was posted on the ShareBlue.com website April 19, 2018:

Sources report McConnell is using a shady new strategy to keep his Senate majority: block red-state Democrats from going home to campaign.

Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is no longer confident he can keep his GOP majority this fall. It’s apparently so bad, he’s resorting a desperate Hail Mary tactic: keeping the Senate open so long that red-state Democrats will be trapped in Washington and unable to go home to campaign for re-election.

At least, that’s what sources tell the conservative Washington Examiner.

According to the new report, White House legislative liaison Marc Short told a private gathering of GOP donors that McConnell wants to extend the workweek so vulnerable Democratic senators in states Trump won are “tied up from campaigning.” Continue reading “Desperate McConnell plots to stop red-state Democrats from campaigning”

Senate Panel Tees Up Mueller Protection Bill Despite Headwinds

The following article by Todd Ruger was posted on the Roll Call website April 19, 2018:

McConnell indicates measure won’t reach Senate floor

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley and ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee say they want to act on a bill to protect Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III — even if Majority Leader Mitch McConnell essentially killed it by saying it won’t make it to the floor.

They then spoke to the natural follow-up question: Why bother?

“I answered this question I’ll bet about 10 times,” Chairman Charles E. Grassley told the committee Thursday. “The press is always trying to put us between me and the president, or me and the majority leader. I don’t care to be put in the middle of anything. Continue reading “Senate Panel Tees Up Mueller Protection Bill Despite Headwinds”

McConnell Makes It Clear That Republicans Won’t Do Anything to Protect Mueller from Trump

The following article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet website April 17, 2018:

“I’m the one who decides what we take to the floor.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dismissed calls on Tuesday for legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller, saying that he doesn’t think President Donald Trump will fire the lead investigator in charge of the Russia investigation.

“I don’t think he should fire Mueller, and I don’t think he’s going to, so this is a piece of legislation that is not necessary, in my judgment,” Mcconnell said on Fox News.

A growing number of Republican lawmakers have endorsed legislation to protect Mueller in recent days following the president’s fury over the federal raid on his attorney Michael Cohen. Neil Cavuto, the Fox News host who interviewed McConnell, pointed this fact out to the majority leader.

“But I’m the one who decides what we take to the floor,” McConnell said. “That’s my responsibility as the majority leader. And we will not be having this on the floor of the Senate.”

McConnell said he would be “shocked” if Trump does fire Mueller.

Watch the clip below:

Continue reading “McConnell Makes It Clear That Republicans Won’t Do Anything to Protect Mueller from Trump”