Ted Cruz’s wildfire relief reversal sparks accusations of hypocrisy
Cruz voted against a 2021 effort to help farmers impacted by wildfires
By Jesse Valentine - May 10, 2024U.S. Senate
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) let loose on Donald Trump in a jaw-dropping interview Sunday evening, just hours after he referred to the White House as an “adult day care.” Corker told the New York Times that Trump is treating the presidency like “a reality show” and that he acts “like he’s doing ‘The Apprentice’ or something.” […]
By Caroline Orr - October 08, 2017There is no single reason why the National Rifle Association has a death grip over the debate on gun regulation in the United States. Much of its power comes from its cult-like cultural propaganda videos to NRA membership, which galvanizes them to relentlessly call members of Congress. But another source of the NRA’s power lies in […]
By Matthew Chapman - October 03, 2017On Monday, America woke up to news of a gruesome mass shooting at a country music concert near Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas. According to reports, this is the deadliest shooting massacre in modern U.S. history. But we have been here many times before, and everyone knows how the story will play out. And […]
By Matthew Chapman - October 02, 2017There is no question that Arizona Republican Jeff Flake is one of the most vulnerable senators, from either party, up for reelection in 2018. And polls show that he is in massive trouble just as a promising Democratic challenger is stepping up. Rep. Krysten Sinema, an Ironman triathlon winner who represents Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 28, 2017Fresh from his humiliation over health care this week, Donald Trump has been dealt another blow in Alabama, where the election to fill Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat is in full swing. The GOP runoff came down to Luther Strange, the incumbent appointed to the Senate by Alabama’s ex-governor under corrupt circumstances, and Roy Moore, a […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 26, 2017Time after time, Republicans in Congress have spitefully tried to take away health care from millions of the most vulnerable and sick, and time and time again, they have been smacked down by the American people. Now, the latest attempt, the Graham-Cassidy bill, has officially died without a vote. Sen Roberts leaves GOP luncheon saying […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 26, 2017Republicans’ prospects of passing their universally loathed health care bill are cratering, and at a CNN policy forum, one of its chief authors, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, did nothing to improve the bill’s outlook. Joined by co-author Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 26, 2017Senate Republicans are still not quite at the required 50 votes to pass their disastrous, massively unpopular Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill. But rather than try to find broad compromise or consensus, GOP leadership is instead making narrow tweaks to the bill that make it even harsher, to specifically target the votes of hard-right male senators […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 25, 2017From the outset, the latest Republican health care repeal bill was the worst of all the Obamacare repeal proposals introduced this year in the Senate. The so-called Graham-Cassidy bill is now less popular than Vladimir Putin, with only 20 percent support from voters and all major doctor, patient, and insurer groups opposed. Less than half of […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 25, 2017The Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill is still just shy of the 50 votes it needs to pass the Senate, and Republicans are getting desperate as the September 30 deadline gets nearer. One of their main targets is Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has solidly voted against previous GOP repeal bills, but who has publicly […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 21, 2017GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona has long been a wildcard in Senate Republicans’ on-again, off-again attempts to repeal Obamacare. In July, McCain flew to the Capitol while undergoing treatment for brain cancer to cast the deciding vote to begin debate on Obamacare repeal, even as he condemned the lack of “regular order.” Days later, […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 21, 2017GOP Rep. Todd Rokita of Indiana, who hopes to challenge Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly in 2018, has a reputation that precedes him. An unapologetic Trump supporter who once took to the air to warn immigrant children might be carrying Ebola, Rokita is better known on Capitol Hill as a ruthless taskmaster. He once forced an aide […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 20, 2017One the most appalling features of the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill that Senate Republicans are trying to ram through without debate is its impact on sick people. The bill would totally wipe out all Obamacare protections, and let insurers jack up prices based on pre-existing illness. According to the Center for American Progress, asthma would […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 20, 2017For the second time this year, Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada has been faced with protecting the health care of his constituents or protecting his own Senate seat from a Trump-fueled primary opponent. For the second time this year, Heller has chosen to protect himself and hang his constituents out to dry. And they’re […]
By Tom Brennan - September 19, 2017The clear GOP frontrunner in the Alabama Senate special election has become Roy Moore — if anything, an even worse, more dangerous, and more embarrassing person than Jeff Sessions himself. But while he is divisive even among national Republicans, many prominent GOP figures are now jumping in to support him. According to Axios, disgraced ex-Trump adviser […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 19, 2017What connection does the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee have with pending health care legislation that Republicans are trying to ram through Congress? Absolutely none. But that’s not stopping the GOP from setting up what appears to be a sham hearing scheduled for next week to debate a pending health care bill. Even […]
By Eric Boehlert - September 18, 2017After making moves toward a bipartisan, publicly debated health care bill in the wake of their spectacular failure in July, Republicans unexpectedly started pushing to pass an even worse Obamacare repeal bill just before the deadline in two weeks, once again shutting out Democrats and only pretending to schedule a hearing. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 18, 2017Massachusetts conservative radio host and birther conspiracy theorist Jeff Kuhner thought he had successfully ambushed Sen. Elizabeth Warren, turning a quick photo op into a question challenging her rhetoric on wealth inequality. But showing the quick thinking that has made her a widely respected progressive champion, Warren expertly and politely demolished Kuhner, leaving him high […]
By Oliver Willis - September 18, 2017Republicans have long been willing to throw away the rights of the American people in the name of defeating foreign enemies. To this day, the 9/11-era bill giving the president open-ended power to declare war anywhere he wants is still rigorously protected by Republican leadership. And Donald Trump’s arbitrary Muslim ban has already ruined the […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 15, 2017Earlier this year, Republicans rewrote Senate rules to steal a seat on the Supreme Court. And that was only the beginning. Senate Republicans left open a huge number of federal judgeships for Donald Trump to fill. But Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota is standing in the way of one particularly extreme appointment. Trump has […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 14, 2017The past few decades have seen a dramatic shift in public opinion on marijuana use. Once considered a menace to society, cannabis can now be legally prescribed for medical purposes in 29 states and D.C., but massive obstacles to studying its medicinal effects remain. Marijuana, despite having no fatal dose and no discernible negative impact […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 13, 2017The Republican Party has fallen into disarray and confusion in the wake of their dramatic failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act in July. But the experience has only emboldened Democrats, who are now ready to take the next step and fight for fully universal health care. “Health care goes to the core of our […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 13, 2017In late July, Trump announced on Twitter that he would be kicking transgender troops out of the military. The policy, which he decided on a whim apparently after watching a Tucker Carlson segment, blindsided Pentagon officials and drew widespread condemnation from lawmakers in both parties, but despite misleading initial media reports, Defense Secretary James Mattis is moving forward as Trump […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 12, 2017As special counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia reaches the highest levels of federal government, one senator made clear that Donald Trump should be on notice. California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris told MSNBC’s Ari Melber that the Senate may well seek Trump’s testimony as the investigations continue. Mueller’s […]
By Alison R. Parker - September 08, 20172017 is shaping up to be one of the worst hurricane seasons in recorded history. Hurricane Harvey, which dumped 35 inches of rain on Texas and 50 inches of rain on Houston specifically, shattered nearly every record for a multi-day storm and is poised to be the most expensive natural disaster in the history of […]
By Matthew Chapman - September 07, 2017Donald Trump has made it clear he does not want to fight white supremacy, but a bipartisan group of senators has introduced a resolution to force him to do it anyway. The resolution was put together and introduced by Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Johnny Isakson (R-GA). It is being […]
By Oliver Willis - September 06, 2017When a disturbingly giddy-looking Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration would be terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, it sent shockwaves of fear through the 800,000 young immigrants directly affected, as well as their friends and families. But there were also immediate signs of resistance and strength among immigrant […]
By Alison R. Parker - September 06, 2017At his rally in Phoenix Tuesday night, Donald Trump spent a seemingly interminable amount of time loudly insisting that he definitely does not in any way support or condone white supremacy — something his own past words clearly contradict. In the wake of the hate-filled neo-Nazi riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Trump’s horrifying comments in […]
By Alison R. Parker - August 23, 2017It’s an open secret that there is no love lost between Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. While enjoying his own luxury vacation recently, Trump tweeted that McConnell should “get back to work” and get some bills to his desk to sign. Weeks earlier, Trump had consistently lashed out at McConnell and other […]
By Alison R. Parker - August 22, 2017In the midst of increasingly tumultuous and uncertain times under the Trump administration, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren offered a sharp and resounding reminder that the Democratic Party can and will fight back in every way and for everyone at risk. Speaking during the opening plenary at the annual progressive political convention Netroots Nation, Warren gave […]
By Alison R. Parker - August 13, 2017