As Republicans changed Senate rules to ram through the nomination of right-wing extremist Neil Gorsuch, Senate Democrats held firm and refused to be complicit in the theft of a Supreme Court seat. But some people, like Eric Segall of the Daily Beast and law professor Noah Feldman, argued it was politically stupid for Democrats to filibuster Gorsuch. It […]

On the very same day that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, Republicans declared they would block any nominee President Obama named to take his place — and for a better part of a year, they did just that. They even said they would block any nominee by Hillary Clinton, if she […]

FBI Director James Comey has continued to defend his decision to send members of Congress his damaging letter about taking “investigative steps” regarding Hillary Clinton’s emails right before Election Day, but his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee shows that decision was not necessary. During the hearing, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) confronted Comey on his claim. Whitehouse pointed out that […]

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) used his time during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with FBI Director James Comey to rehash the agency’s closed investigation of the IRS’ supposed — and debunked — mistreatment of the the tea party, rather than deal with Russia and Donald Trump. Cruz’s failed presidential campaign was a target of malicious smears […]

FBI Director James Comey told the Senate Judiciary Committee, during an oversight hearing, that he is investigating leaks from his agency to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was a top campaign surrogate for Donald Trump. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) asked Comey about claims by Giuliani, a former prosecutor, that he had a “pipeline” […]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is not shy about flouting Senate rules and traditions to put his party before his country and constitutional obligations. He was perfectly willing to obstruct President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nomination for the better part of the year in order to steal the seat for the Republican Party. And when he […]

Democrat Jon Ossoff is the young, unlikely challenger — endorsed by his former boss and civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) — who is surging in the polls, raising piles of money, and making Georgia’s 6th Congressional District competitive. And that has Republicans increasingly desperate and terrified of losing this reliably safe seat. Just look at […]

Donald Trump’s first few months in the White House have been a disaster. The opposition to his agenda continues to grow stronger, so he is now calling for a government shutdown, with no concern for the damage that would do to America. Trump took Twitter — his preferred outlet for whining when he does not […]

Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), an actual iron man triathlete, took to the Senate floor at 6:46 pm on Tuesday night, and for more than 15 fifteen hours — and counting — he has been speaking in opposition to the nomination of Neil Gorsuch, Donald Trump’s choice for the Supreme Court that Republicans stole from President Obama. Merkley began […]

Senate Republicans are determined to steal the vacant Supreme Court and give it to Judge Neil Gorsuch — whose anti-woman record and remarks, even during his confirmation process,  is deeply troubling — but Democrats are united in making sure they will not get their way without a fight. That is why Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) organized her fellow Democratic […]

The adamant refusal by Republicans in Congress to give Merrick Garland a hearing, and to leave late Justice Antonin Scalia’s Supreme Court seat open indefinitely — or at least until Donald Trump was elected — was an unprecedented dereliction of duty. As Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) both bluntly noted, by their inaction, the Republicans stole […]

Donald Trump started his day by tweeting someone else claiming that he is not divisive: "It wasn't Donald Trump that divided this country, this country has been divided for a long time!" Stated today by Reverend Franklin Graham. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 19, 2017 In an expected irony, the man he quoted, Franklin […]

As a second week of confirmation hearings for Donald Trump’s nominees proceeds, many Americans have watched with disbelief and horror as a parade of unqualified, corrupt, and/or destructive candidates have submitted themselves for (limited) questioning, offering answers that are at turns offensive and chilling, but rarely reflective of the radical changes Trump has threatened to […]

During her confirmation hearing to become the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley tried her best to skate past Senator Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) question about the Iran nuclear deal. But in just a few seconds, she managed to display such rank ignorance of the pact that Kaine had to respectfully […]

Key Republicans at the head of committees that would conduct the investigations into Michael Flynn’s wrongdoing and possible collusion with Russia by members of the Trump administrations have indicated no desire for independent examination. Worse, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, went so far as to say Flynn should actually […]

Scott Pruitt, whom Donald Trump has named to head the Environmental Protection Agency, seems to have missed the memo on one of the biggest ongoing environmental hazards in the U.S. Many communities across the United States have been dealing with the crisis of lead contamination — in drinking water, in ground soil, in old paint […]

National security adviser Michael Flynn finally resigned in disgrace amid the deepening questions about his contact with Russian officials, both prior to and since the November election. But his resignation does not bring an end to this debacle; in fact, it only makes investigating it more urgent, as answers are still needed as to what […]

Following Donald Trump’s atrocious Muslim ban and the ensuing massive nationwide protests, Democratic members of Congress are speaking out and taking action. Emboldened by the citizenry, they are introducing legislation to nullify the order, showing that they are willing to bring the fight to the Trump administration and the dangerous new policies emanating from this White House. Action on the […]

Secretary of Health and Human Services-designate Tom Price faced stiff questioning at his confirmation hearing, including from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who wisely questioned Price’s ability to run a science-based department while ignoring the basic facts of climate science: WHITEHOUSE: These groups, and many others, have gone very clearly on record that climate change presents […]

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, billionaire school “reform” activist Betsy DeVos, evinced a number of confounding and troubling views at her confirmation hearing on Tuesday, including that schools should allow guns to protect students from grizzly bears; a clear lack of understanding of the difference between student proficiency and student growth; and a refusal to say whether […]

At the confirmation hearing for Secretary of the Interior-designate Ryan Zinke, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) asked if Zinke agrees with President-elect Donald Trump that climate change is a hoax. Much of the corporate media rewarded Zinke by only highlighting part of his testimony, and congratulating him for stating what is the most basic of facts. But […]

Donald Trump’s nominee for CIA Director, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS), faced the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday morning in a relatively short two and a half hour hearing, during which numerous Senators noted that they were saving certain questions for a later, closed hearing. But when it was Senator Angus King’s (I-ME) turn to ask questions, […]

After Senate Republicans schemed to protect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees from ethics scrutiny, fast-tracking their confirmation hearings, they continued their brazen campaign to assist Trump’s dreadful nominees by limiting Senate Democrats’ questions, and the time in which they had to ask them, at Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos’ hearing. Ahead of the hearing, the […]

This piece was co-written by Shareblue staff writers Dianna E. Anderson and Ginger McKnight-Chavers. In an unprecedented move, several members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) testified before the Senate Judiciary committee at the Attorney General nomination hearing for Senator Jeff Sessions. These members were relegated by the committee’s schedule to the final hours of […]

Shortly after his first meeting with President Obama following the election in November, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would like to keep intact crucial provisions of the Affordable Care Act, including the ban on discriminating against people for pre-existing conditions and the requirement that children be allowed to stay on their parents’ plans until age […]

Betsy DeVos, the billionaire school “reformer” whom President-elect Donald Trump has named to undermine public education as head of the Education Department, had her turn in front of the Senate today for her confirmation hearings. Many of DeVos’ views and much of her history make her, as with nearly all of Trump’s cabinet nominees, an extremely […]

Following reports of the troubling intelligence assessment that suggests Donald Trump may have been comprised by Russia, Senator Dick Durbin has released a statement calling for a special investigation. Durbin stated that the new report makes Trump’s public statements about Russia “even more worrisome,” and that the claims, “though unverified, warrant serious investigation by a […]

Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos forgot to study for the biggest test of her life. With Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) on the education committee — who, along with fellow Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), is one of the main sponsors of the Campus SaVE Act, which helped write stricter standards for colleges and universities dealing with […]

As we have reported, Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson faces many challenges to his confirmation, and one of the biggest was on full display at Wednesday’s hearing. Despite endorsing now-President-elect Donald Trump after calling him “dangerous” during the presidential campaign, Senator Marco Rubio came out swinging against Tillerson over his ties to Russia. Rubio’s exchanges […]

(Full transcript is available here.) In an unprecedented move Wednesday, Senator Cory Booker testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee against a fellow sitting senator. Along with his colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, Booker urged the committee to deny Jeff Sessions the Attorney General position, pointing to Sessions’ record on women’s rights, LGBT rights, and voting […]