Senate Republicans

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GOP Foresees August Vote on Sotomayor

(Newser) - Republicans cleared the way today for a Senate vote next month to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, placing her firmly in line to become the first Hispanic justice. "I look forward to you getting that vote before we recess in August," said Jeff Sessions, the senior Republican...

Ensign Facing an Ethical Hot Potato, but no Legal Case (Yet)

Ex-lover would have to make accusation

(Newser) - The husband of John Ensign’s ex-mistress has accused the Republican senator of sexual harassment and wrongful termination—but there can be no legal case unless Cindy Hampton herself accuses Ensign of unwanted advances or creating a hostile work environment, experts tell Politico. Thus far, she’s the only one...

Ensign: I Won't Quit, and I'll Run Again

Disgraced senator says supporters don't want him to resign

(Newser) - Sen. John Ensign says he’ll stick with his job and run for reelection despite news of his affair and his parents’ $96,000 payment to his mistress’ family, the Las Vegas Sun reports. The Republican says his supporters are telling him he shouldn’t resign, and “I fully...

Reid Pulls Plug on GOP-Friendly Health Plan

(Newser) - Harry Reid yesterday pulled the plug on painstaking efforts to win bipartisan support for health care reform, telling Max Baucus to drop a proposal, aimed at wooing Republicans, that would tax health benefits and leave out a public insurance option. The Senate majority leader told Baucus, the Finance Committee chairman...

Forget Bipartisan Backing for Health Care Reform Bill

(Newser) - Barack Obama can keep up the bipartisan talk, but it looks like Democrat-sponsored health care reform legislation in Congress has very little chance of winning meaningful GOP support, per the New York Times. GOP lawmakers are balking en masse at the provision for a public plan to challenge private insurers,...

Thune Takes Ensign's GOP Leadership Post

Policy Committee slot is No. 4 in party's Senate hierarchy

(Newser) - Republicans today elected Sen. John Thune to the leadership post vacated by Sen. John Ensign, who stepped down after admitting last week to an extramarital affair with a campaign aide. Thune will lead the Senate Republican Policy Committee, the No. 4 position in the leadership, and play a role in...

GOP Meets Ensign Apology With 'Love and Kindness'

(Newser) - Disgraced Sen. John Ensign gave Republican colleagues a well-received apology today for “embarrassing the Senate” by having an affair, the Hill reports. One colleague said the apology was “very contrite, very sincere.” Sen. Orrin Hatch pointed out that “everybody has flaws,” and said “all...

Sotomayor Proves Poor Lightning Rod for GOP

Nominee fight doesn't boost fundraising

(Newser) - After nearly a month in the public eye, Sonia Sotomayor isn’t proving nearly as controversial as Republicans had hoped, Politico reports. “She doesn’t have the punch out there in terms of fundraising and recruiting, at least so far," said Republican congressman John Thune. Things could change...

Fox, Handed Ensign Affair, Commits Ugly Fumble
Fox, Handed Ensign Affair, Commits Ugly Fumble
ANALYSIS
Jun 19, 2009 5:31 PM CDT

Fox, Handed Ensign Affair, Commits Ugly Fumble

(Newser) - Fox News had the bombshell about Sen. John Ensign’s affair in its lap and didn’t do anything with it, Howard Kurtz writes in the Washington Post. A Fox producer tells the Huffington Post the network never received a letter Douglas Hampton, the husband of the Republican’s mistress,...

Senate OKs $106B for Wars
 Senate OKs $106B for Wars 
Jun 18, 2009 5:08 PM CDT

Senate OKs $106B for Wars

(Newser) - The Senate today overwhelmingly passed a bill authorizing $106 billion to fund the nation’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Hill reports. It now goes to President Obama for his expected signature. The vote had been delayed by wrangling over how to keep detainee abuse photos under wraps. Yesterday,...

Ensign Quits Senate GOP Leadership Post

Resigns as chair of Policy Committee after admitting affair

(Newser) - Sen. John Ensign has stepped down from his leadership post a day after admitting an affair with a woman who was on his campaign staff. He conveyed his decision in a phone call with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said he had accepted the resignation. Ensign was chairman of...

Cornyn, Schumer Travel in High Style
Cornyn, Schumer Travel in High Style
investigation
Jun 11, 2009 11:10 AM CDT

Cornyn, Schumer Travel in High Style

Senators use more taxpayer dollars than any other lawmakers

(Newser) - Senators John Cornyn and Chuck Schumer have done a lot of jet-setting on the company dime, Politico reports. Each has spent more than $140,000 on travel this year alone, as much as 10 times what some colleagues spend. Cornyn, a Republican, racked up the biggest bill, which included the...

Sotomayor Will Likely Get Some GOP Votes
Sotomayor Will Likely Get Some GOP Votes
ANALYSIS
Jun 1, 2009 10:55 AM CDT

Sotomayor Will Likely Get Some GOP Votes

Limbaugh, Gingrich posturing belies thin Senate opposition

(Newser) - Despite loud opposition from the likes of Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh, many Republican senators may vote for Sonia Sotomayor, the New York Times reports. Strategists on both sides suspect that at least a third of the upper house’s 40 Republicans will back the Supreme Court nominee, including the...

Sotomayor Vote Carries Risks for These Senators
Sotomayor Vote Carries Risks for These Senators
Analysis
May 28, 2009 9:02 AM CDT

Sotomayor Vote Carries Risks for These Senators

Judiciary committee members share spotlight with nominee

(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation looks likely, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some drama between here and there. Politico runs down which senators have the most to win—and the most to lose:  
  • Patrick Leahy: Facing his first nominee as judiciary chairman, Leahy’s eager to
...

GOP: Dems Buddying Up to Big Business
GOP: Dems Buddying Up to Big Business
May 20, 2009 12:13 PM CDT

GOP: Dems Buddying Up to Big Business

Irony-proof party employs new strategy to battle climate bill

(Newser) - Senate Republicans are turning the tables on Democrats as the GOP battles a bill to fight climate change, Politico reports. A strategy memo says Republicans should paint the opposition as the party of big business, suggesting Dems are cozying up to “Wall Street traders,” “polluters,” and...

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...

Specter to Dem Donors: Show Me the Money
Specter to Dem Donors: Show Me the Money
ANALYSIS
May 12, 2009 9:18 AM CDT

Specter to Dem Donors: Show Me the Money

Senator's election-cycle party switch creates fundraising issues

(Newser) - Arlen Specter may have brought his years of experience in the Senate across the aisle with him, but that doesn’t mean all his donors will follow. And the timing—it’s 2010 campaign season—complicates matters, Jeanne Cummings notes for Politico. “He’s not the world’s most...

Biden Wooed Specter for Years
 Biden Wooed Specter for Years 
Apr 29, 2009 10:49 AM CDT

Biden Wooed Specter for Years

(Newser) - Joe Biden is the Democrat perhaps most responsible for Arlen Specter’s defection, Politico reports. The VP told a crowd yesterday that he had been trying to convince the Pennsylvania Republican “that he is really a Democrat” for more than 20 years. Specter's onetime Senate colleague recently stepped up...

Specter: I'm Not 'Automatic 60th Vote' for Dems

GOP colleagues 'stunned,' angered by senator's party switch

(Newser) - Newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter said he will not blindly toe the party line, Politico reports. “I will not be an automatic 60th vote,” the veteran Pennsylvania senator said, pointing out recent opposition to a unionization bill. “If the Democratic Party asks too much, I will not...

Specter Defects to Democrats
 Specter Defects to Democrats 
Apr 28, 2009 11:38 AM CDT

Specter Defects to Democrats

(Newser) - Arlen Specter is jumping to the Democrats, leaving the party excruciatingly close to a filibuster-proof Senate majority, reports Politico. Sources say VP Joe Biden was key to the effort to recruit the Pennsylvania senator. “Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party...

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