In the wake of the explosive revelations that the “consensus view” of the intelligence community is “that Russia’s goal here was to favor one candidate over the other, to help Trump get elected,” Democrats have stepped up and demanded answers, along with a few notable Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), however, wants us […]

During a Republican primary debate in 2011, Rick Perry tried to name three federal departments he would eliminate if elected president: “It’s three agencies of government when I get there that are gone: Commerce, education, and the, uh, what’s the third one there? Let’s see,” he said, to laughter. “Commerce, education, and the, um, um, […]

House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has issued a statement echoing Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) call for a bipartisan Congressional investigation into Russian interference in the election, urgently noting: “There must be no equivocation or ignoring the seriousness of the intelligence community’s conclusion about Russia’s actions.” Her statement is as blunt as it […]

That sound you hear is me still ringing the alarm about Vice-President-elect Mike Pence and his outsized influence in the incoming Trump administration. As I have previously observed, Pence is shaping up to be one of the most powerful seconds-in-command in U.S. history. Today, Gallup notes that his influence is bolstered by Donald Trump’s lack […]

Encouraged by an incoming Donald Trump presidency, Ohio has become the first state to pass draconian anti-choice measures in a renewed effort to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. As a last-minute, lame duck salvo, Ohio legislators tacked a fetal heartbeat abortion ban onto a child abuse prevention bill. This amendment would ban abortion once […]

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) called on the FBI to investigate Russian tampering in the election in August. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who will succeed Reid in his leadership role, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have added their voices to that call. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and […]

A federal court has ordered that North Carolina’s heavily gerrymandered state districts be redrawn and that the state must hold new primaries for state-level representatives in September 2017 followed by a general election in November 2017. The case, Covington vs. the State of North Carolina, argued that race-based districting — like that in North Carolina, where […]

As soon as Donald Trump pulled off his victory on the evening of November 8th, Republican Congressional leaders vowed an immediate repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) promised that repealing the ACA “will be the first item up in the New Year.” Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) vowed that a repeal is […]

By February of 2016, Congressional Republicans had tried — unsuccessfully — to repeal the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) more than 60 times. Despite the fact that more than 20 million people are now covered under the ACA’s provisions, Republicans have repeatedly deemed it a failure that needs to be dismantled. But that was then. […]

Looking ahead to Donald Trump’s presidency, and the looming potential of a Trump-appointed conservative justice on the Supreme Court, legislators in a number of state governments are feeling empowered to put forth ignorant and harmful anti-choice laws. Just months after the Supreme Court struck down key parts of a Texas anti-abortion law, lawmakers in that […]

Donald Trump, Tom Price, and Congressional Republicans are eagerly awaiting their opportunity to repeal the Affordable Care Act, privatize Medicare, and defund Planned Parenthood. And Chuck Schumer is having none of it. I was just so disappointed to see the President-elect nominate Congressman Price to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services this morning. […]

(Editor’s Note: Although women’s agency is a primary target of these policies, not only women need access to reproductive care.) It is no secret that Representative Tom Price (R-GA), a former physician and House Budget Committee chairman whom Donald Trump has nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services, wants to repeal the Affordable Care […]

During the presidential campaign, Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, made the bold declaration that he would have the same demands and expectations of disclosure no matter which candidate won the election. But with Donald Trump now the president-elect and every day seemingly bringing a new story about his financial conflicts […]

One of the exceptions to the Republicans’ series of wins on Election Day was North Carolina governor Pat McCrory. After four years of toxic far-right policy, including severe cutbacks to voting rights, shutting down abortion clinics, and the infamous “bathroom bill” which sparked nationwide boycotts of the state, North Carolinians rejected their Republican governor in favor […]

The Northwest Indiana Times reports that Republican State Rep. Curt Nisly has announced he is planning to file “Protection at Conception” legislation when the General Assembly convenes in January. His proposal, if passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature, would “prohibit all abortion in Indiana in all circumstances and authorize the criminal prosecution of any doctor […]

Election night was a difficult one for Democratic politicians and voters and their vision for the country, and the ensuing days have been filled with worry and fear over the incoming administration’s staffing moves and policy pronouncements. But there is reason to be hopeful. Many Democrats, both current and incoming officeholders, are loudly and forcefully […]

Encouraged by the response to Donald Trump’s election and the hard-right, white nationalist prospects for his cabinet, many Republican state legislators have begun promoting bills targeting immigrants, minority faiths, and freedom of assembly. In Iowa, Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann announced plans to introduce what he calls the “suck it up, buttercup” bill when the legislature […]

President-elect Donald Trump pledged to be a “president for all Americans,” but immediately contradicted that promise with his choice of white nationalist Steven Bannon as chief policy advisor. His most recent spate of appointments for key legal and national security positions are just as dangerous, and should be equally troubling to anyone paying attention. Former […]

Representative Tom Price (R-GA) told Talking Points Memo that House Republicans will move on Medicare reforms “six to eight months” into the Donald Trump administration. Price said Republicans are planning to use budget reconciliation to make the changes, which will allow them to pass bills in the U.S. Senate with a simple majority. “I think that […]

One of the many potential candidates on the fast track for a Trump administration cabinet position was Dr. Ben Carson, the neurosurgeon and former Republican primary candidate. Carson was added to Trump’s shortlist for Secretary of Education — an odd choice, given that Carson does not believe in evolution and thinks the ancient pyramids were grain silos. […]

Not only am I #StillWithHer, but I'm with the MAJORITY of Americans who voted for her. #TrumpProtest — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) November 10, 2016 The body blow of Trump’s win is being processed by the millions of Americans who opposed him. The resistance to his presidency is already taking shape. Protesters took to the streets to make their […]

With every bizarre twist in the 2016 election, every new anti-Hillary tempest, every dire warning of her campaign’s imminent demise, I remember Hillary Clinton telling a small group of 2008 aides that she viewed herself as the “tip of the spear” for women and girls. That phrase has stayed with me, four words that sum up a philosophy of life, a willingness […]

Following in Donald Trump’s footsteps, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) made comments to a private meeting of campaign volunteers that can only be read as inciting violence against Hillary Clinton. CNN notes that at the meeting, Burr said that when he walked into a gun store, “nothing made me feel better” than seeing Clinton’s picture on the front […]

At 12:57 PM on October 29, Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz, an avowed Hillary Clinton opponent, tweeted the following: FBI Dir just informed me, "The FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation." Case reopened — Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) October 28, 2016 Those twenty-four words shook the political world, […]

Election Day is still a couple of weeks away, but that hasn’t stopped Republican lawmakers from planning their obstruction of a potential Clinton presidency. Ted Cruz fired a warning shot on the Supreme Court: Speaking to reporters after a campaign rally for a Republican U.S. Senate candidate here, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said that there was “precedent” […]

For years now, the Republican Party has been sacrificing its relevance to a terminal failure to understand just how unappealing their homogenized organization has become to the multicultural American public. The GOP has adhered to willful denial that, despite all of the efforts to underestimate, delegitimize, intimidate, and criminalize Democratic-leaning voters, a marginalized majority has successfully assembled […]

This showdown is a microcosm of the 2016 election, with Newt Gingrich trying to deflect from Trump’s boasts about sexual assault by attacking the media with laughable charges of bias. The Washington Post transcribed the exchange. After Gingrich accused Kelly of being “fascinated with sex,” Kelly was incredulous: “Me? Really?” she said, laughing. “Well, that’s what I […]

Health care is a personal issue for every American. For me, it has always been doubly so because I came to journalism after a career as a health insurance consultant. So I was thrilled with President Obama’s speech on the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, in which he acknowledged some of the flaws in the […]

Trump’s egregious Billy Bush bus revelations triggered an exodus from his campaign. But before that recording emerged, Trump had already amassed a litany of shameful words and deeds: 1. Fat-shamed and slut-shamed former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. 2. Body-shamed Kim Kardashian while she was pregnant. 3. Discussed having sex with Princess Diana weeks after she had died in a […]

Here is our Senate projection with less than three weeks until Election Day: Significant Senate races to watch: ILLINOIS: Probability of Democratic win: 90% — U.S. Representative Tammy Duckworth (D), an Iraq war veteran, is leading against incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R), a former congressman, lawyer, and a retired member of the U.S. Naval Reserve. WISCONSIN: […]