Dr. Manny Sethi, a Republican who wants to replace the retiring U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, thanked everyone involved in the operation that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
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In an exclusive interview Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – host Michael Patrick Leahy spoke with Dr. Manny Sethi in-studio to discuss his background and reasons he is running for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in Tennessee. Sethi told Leahy that, if elected and sworn in as a Republican United States Senator, he will not vote for Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as Senate Majority Leader. “Right now, we’ve got Mitch McConnell up there, and this guy just shuts everybody down. And the career politicians, the establishment, they just run the day. But that’s why we need folks up there who come from outside the government, to change things,” Sethi said. “Mitch McConnell, if the Republicans maintain control of the Senate, he will still probably be the Majority Leader,” Leahy said. “He won’t have my vote,” Sethi responded. “He won’t have your vote?” Leahy asked. “I will not vote for him. I don’t know who I’ll vote for, but I won’t vote for that guy,” Sethi said. “You just made some news here,” Leahy noted. “If you…
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Dr. Manny Sethi, a Tennessee Republican running to replace Lamar Alexander in the U.S. Senate, has a blunt new ad that could inflame leftist-progressives across the Volunteer State.
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When then-President Barack Obama launched Obamacare, he declared that if you liked your doctors, you could keep them. That wasn’t true, as many patients soon found out.
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U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee wouldn’t say Monday whether he will go along with investigating U.S. Republican President Donald Trump’s alleged attempts to get a foreign country to discredit Joe Biden’s son.
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Dr. Manny Sethi, a Republican who wants to replace the retiring U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, said Tennessee voters may rest assured he, if elected, won’t fall in with the Washington D.C. establishment.
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Congress is poised to address surprise medical billing, an issue that has hurt too many patients in Tennessee and throughout the nation—that is, if they can muster the fortitude to pass a commonsense proposal that upholds the free market ideals conservatives should embrace. However, some of the so-called solutions that have been put forward betray these values and would result in greater government interference into our health care system, which is the last thing we need.
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Fiscal conservatives and free market advocates are calling out U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee for his new health care legislation they say is almost as bad as something Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would push.
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Bill Hagerty announced Monday he is indeed running for Lamar Alexander’s U.S. Senate seat.
Hagerty said in a press release he decided to run after he “saw the threat to Tennessee and our country from the Democrats’ socialist agenda.”
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Bill Hagerty, likely to run for Lamar Alexander’s U.S. Senate seat, warned Tennessee residents on his Twitter page that members of the Democratic Party have brought their immigration agenda to the Volunteer State.
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Terrible ideas come in all partisan packages and this seems to be particularly true when it comes to federalizing your health care.
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Air ambulance companies are reportedly upset with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and his attempts to ban surprise medical billing.
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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Manny Sethi spoke at the Clay County Reagan Day Dinner Sunday.
“You made me who I am,” Sethi told audience members.
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Two Tennessee state representatives, one a Republican, another a Democrat, have called out Tennessee Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander for what they call “a dangerous proposal” in a bill he’s introduced to address surprise medical billing.
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U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty has left the Land of the Rising Sun to return to the Volunteer State in a likely run for Lamar Alexander’s Senate seat. Hagerty tweeted, “Farewell Japan, and thank you for the incredible hospitality you have shown me and my family. These past two years have been the greatest of our lives.” Farewell Japan, and thank you for the incredible hospitality you have shown me and my family. These past two years have been the greatest of our lives. 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇵 またお会いしましょう ! 👋🏼✨ https://t.co/j53xf4zODO — ラーム・エマニュエル駐日米国大使 (@USAmbJapan) July 22, 2019 Alexander (R-TN) announced in December that he would not run again for the Senate, The Tennessee Star reported. President Donald Trump earlier this month endorsed Hagerty’s potential Senate bid, which likely would be announced after he leaves federal government service, The Star said. Just a week ago, speculation was still running rampant on whether Hagerty actually would run for the Senate, the Nashville Post said, calling him the “hypothetical frontrunner.” Ward Baker, who ran Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s 2018 campaign, is expected to run Hagerty’s campaign, Politico said. Baker is the former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. On a recent Tennessee…
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Certain electric vehicles emit 11 percent to 28 percent more carbon dioxide than their diesel counterparts, even though various U.S. politicians, including U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, want taxpayer subsidies for such cars. According to a recent article on the Institute for Energy Research’s website, a study out of Germany found that electric vehicles in that country emit more carbon dioxide. The study considered the production of batteries as well as the German electricity mix in making this determination. But it’s not just electric cars in Germany. “A study in 2017 by researchers at the University of Michigan found that the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by electric cars varied wildly by country,” according to the Institute for Energy Research’s website. “The study found that an electric car recharged by a coal-fired plant produces as much carbon dioxide as a gasoline-powered car that gets 29 miles per gallon, which is a slightly higher efficiency than the 25.2 miles per gallon that is the average of all the cars, SUVs, vans, and light trucks sold in the United States over the past year. If the electricity comes from a natural gas plant, recharging a plug-in electric vehicle is akin to…
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Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate have proposed nearly three dozen specific bipartisan provisions that will reduce the cost of what Americans pay for health care, according to U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. Alexander made this announcement Thursday on his Twitter page and posted a video to go along with it. The video touted “Better Outcomes, Better Experiences” and “Lower Cost.” Specifically, Alexander said the bill will do the following: • Stop Surprise Medical Bills – so Americans don’t get an unexpected $3,000 bill from an out-of-network doctor after a hospital visit. • Lower the cost of prescription drugs – for example, by bringing low-cost drugs to market faster for patients by increasing competition. • Restore discipline to the health care market– for example, by banning gag clauses that prevent employers from letting their employees know that a knee replacement might cost $15,000 in one hospital and $35,000 at another hospital. • Help Americans lead healthier lives – for example, by making it easier to access specialty care, especially for those living in rural areas. • Make it as easy to get your personal medical records as it is to book an airplane flight – Improving…
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U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee defends fighting for more tax credits for electric vehicles, even as an expert with a Virginia-based think tank says this act “betrays taxpayers.” As The Tennessee Star reported this month, Alexander is co-sponsoring a bill that would extend tax credits for electric car manufacturers. This, despite Republican U.S. President Donald Trump wanting to do away with them. In an emailed statement to The Star Wednesday, Alexander was unwavering in his commitment. “Ten years ago, there were no mass produced electric cars on U.S. highways and, today, there are about one million automakers planning to make millions more,” Alexander said. “The all-electric Nissan Leaf that I bought in 2011 had a hard time getting me from the Capitol to Dulles airport and back. Its real range was about 70 miles. Today’s Nissan Leaf can travel 226 miles on one charge. Investing in American research and technology for better electric vehicles is one way to help our country and the world deal with climate change. I’m glad to cosponsor this important legislation, which will encourage even more production of electric vehicles, create good jobs and boost the economy.” In a new column, Veronique de…
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U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee is co-sponsoring a bill that would extend tax credits for electric car manufacturers, according to Green Car Reports. This, despite Republican U.S. President Donald Trump wanting to do away with them. As The Tennessee Star reported in February, research shows manufacturers of electric cars wouldn’t make a tidy profit in a pure free market system because, at least right now, there isn’t enough demand for that product. So that’s why government gets involved. According to Green Car Reports, this legislation has many sponsors, Republican and Democrat. “The Driving America Forward Act counts among its key sponsors Michigan Democrats Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, Tennessee establishment-Republican Lamar Alexander and Maine Republican-centrist Susan Collins. Michigan Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee signaled his support in the House as well. Automakers including General Motors, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Tesla, Honda, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, and Volkswagen have supported the effort,” according to the website. “Unlike partisan Democratic proposals that would simply extend the tax credit for 10 years for all automakers, before ending them abruptly, the Driving America Forward Act would boost all automakers’ available credits from 200,000 (which Tesla and GM have already surpassed) to 600,000, but lower the…
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by Chloe Anagnos The debate surrounding the student-debt crisis in America continues to prompt both lawmakers and political commentators to discuss the matter as they search for a way to address the issue. But as expected, whenever policy solutions are debated, the fact that the crisis was manufactured by government intervention itself seldom gets discussed. The latest solution to get some media attention comes from Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who wants to fix the student-debt problem by taking loan payments straight from debtors’ paychecks. Much like the idea behind the withholding tax, the automatic-repayment plan would work by requiring employers to deduct federal student-loan payments directly from employees’ paychecks. To Alexander, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, the idea is worth exploring because it would keep borrowers from defaulting or falling behind. With 40 percent of student-loan borrowers expected to default by 2023, this proposal may appeal to many in the federal government. But when a crisis such as this is born out of artificial demand for college education, which inflates the cost of pursuing a degree, wouldn’t this purported solution add more fuel to the fire? The Solution Is Less Government While most critics…
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On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked to Senator Lamar Alexander and discussed President Trump’s SOTU address on Tuesday evening and the behavior displayed by the Democrats. As the segment moved to a close, the conversation became heated in a debate about a recent Congressional Research Service report that says President Trump can build the border wall without declaring a national emergency and how the President could appropriate funds to build the wall at the southern border and where those funds would come from. Gill: Good morning glad to have you with us. Alexander: I don’t think it was either. But I have a question for you. Were you watching the State of the Union or the Tennessee basketball game? Gill: To be honest, I was flipping back and forth. (Laughter) Also I had my ESPN box score up, so I was, even when I was momentarily watching the President I was keeping up with the Vols who got another big victory. (Inaudible talk) Alexander: I checked the score a couple of times.…
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Control over the border wall debate in Washington, D.C. needs to shift to Congress and out of Nancy Pelosi’s hands, said U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, in a FOX News appearance this past weekend. Alexander said this as Congress has three weeks to negotiate over border security funding before the federal government possibly shuts down again. For 20 years, members of Congress have known that a comprehensive border security plan requires more personnel, more technology, more customs agents, more border agents, and, yes, a wall, Alexander told FOX News host Maria Bartiromo. Alexander sits on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. “President (Donald) Trump is asking for about 234 more miles of physical barrier as part of a comprehensive plan that would not build a wall from shining sea to shining sea, as he said,” Alexander said. “It would simply do what we’ve been doing for 20 years. I am optimistic that the committee, which, just last summer, in the Senate, approved another $1.6 billion for 65 miles of physical barrier, will be able to come up with a compromise.” Even if Trump gets his way, about 1,000 miles of the U.S./Mexican border would still go without a wall,…
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Republicans Chuck Fleischmann, Scott DesJarlais, and Marsha Blackburn have all reportedly come out swinging in support of President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall. U.S. Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, however, seems to have taken a more passive approach. Alexander’s junior colleague, U.S. Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn reportedly told The Cleveland Banner this week that, despite the shutdown, a large portion of the federal government, about 75 percent, still functions. Blackburn, according to The Banner, blamed the shutdown on Democrats, who refuse to negotiate. “It is sad they are putting partisan politics ahead of the American people,” the paper quoted Blackburn as saying. “It is unconscionable they would refuse to secure the border and protect our nation. Drugs, human sex and labor traffickers and gang members cross into this country — illegally every day. It is imperative that we secure the border and end illegal entry.” The United States, Blackburn went on to tell the paper, spends billions of dollars each year in foreign aid, money she said this country could use to secure the border — for one-tenth of that amount. Fleischmann, meanwhile, told The Banner he is withholding his pay during the shutdown, but he, like Blackburn, also…
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U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee is none too pleased about the federal government shutdown, and he took to Twitter Thursday to tell his constituents all about it. “I think it’s very important for the people of Tennessee to know that I believe that a government shutdown is always the wrong thing to do,” Alexander said, adding he opposed shutdowns under former Democratic President Barack Obama, just as much as he does under Republican President Donald Trump. “A government shutdown should be as off-limits to budget negotiations as chemical weapons are to warfare. I have suggested three ways to solve the problem. All of them involving provisions that Democrats and Republicans have voted for before.” As The Tennessee Star reported this week, Alexander said the best way to resolve the stalemate is for the feds to provide money for border security at ports of entry and to define the legal status for those already here. In his Twitter video, Alexander said a bipartisan appropriations committee recently approved $5.7 billion for border security, including $1.6 billion for the wall. “A year ago, 54 of us in the Senate, Democrats and Republicans, voted for $25 billion in appropriated dollars for extensive border…
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Dear Tennessee Star, I want to publicly thank our Senators, Lamar Alexander, Bob Corker, and my Congressman, Jim Cooper as well as the other members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation (Rep. Roe, Rep. Duncan, Rep. Fleischmann, Rep. DesJarlais, Rep. Kustoff and Rep. Cohen) for supporting and passing the Bold Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, a bi-partisan legislation that, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, “will combat the Alzheimer’s crisis and create a public health infrastructure to address the disease.” In 2013 my 63-year-old father, Col.Tom Bowden, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s Disease. A retired Army colonel who commanded over 900 soldiers, who was responsible for 36 Pershing II missile launchers with assigned nuclear capable missiles, completed two assignments at the Pentagon, and had a ten-year successful post-military career; no longer knew who he was, where he was, or how to communicate his basic needs. My mother, Barbara Bowden was his care-partner. When he was first diagnosed with AD, his primary care provider said, “it is going to get really bad.” As a result, we immediately enrolled him in clinical studies, researched at-home care, and scoured the internet for the best books to read, wheelchairs, hospital beds and eating utensils to buy. However,…
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After years of debate, U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee has finally and successfully helped acquire federal money for a wall — in Iowa. We’re talking about a $117 million flood wall in Cedar Rapids. Alexander, according to that city’s primary newspaper, The Gazette, has political connections to Cedar Rapids’ former mayor Ron Corbett. When asked Monday, Alexander’s spokesman Ashton Davies did not comment to The Tennessee Star on whether her boss is committed to federal funding for another type of wall. This is a wall many of his Tennessee constituents have long clamored for. That other wall, of course, is one along the Mexican border. But Alexander was reportedly happy to push for the wall in Iowa. According to The Gazette, a 2008 flood caused $5.4 billion in damages to Cedar Rapids. Federal aid was not immediately forthcoming. Over the years, federal representatives worked with a lobbyist to help get the money. But, as the paper went on to say, assistance did not come through until last July. The Gazette then reported that Corbett knew Alexander, who chairs the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee. “When Alexander ran for president in 1996, Corbett campaigned for him…
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On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy spoke with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) about his decision not to run for re-election in 2020, who he thinks may run to succeed him, Nancy Pelosi’s chance of securing the needed votes to become Speaker of the House, and whether he would support the allocation of military construction funds to build the border wall. When asked about Pelosi’s chances of becoming Speaker, Alexander said, “I think the problem right now is that Nancy Pelosi doesn’t have the votes to be elected Speaker.” Alexander added he thinks that she is not willing to make any agreement until after she is elected. You can read the full transcript here: Gill: And Senator Lamar Alexander a good friend of the show and long time friend of the Gill family on our Newsmakers line to tell us a little bit about his decision and what’s next and, Lamar good to have you with us. Alexander: Good morning Steve, how are you today? Gill: I’m good. I have to…
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Dr. Manish “Manny” Sethi, a Republican, is considering running for Lamar Alexander’s U.S. Senate seat, the Nashville Post reported Wednesday. An orthopedic surgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Sethi also serves as director of the Vanderbilt Orthopaedic Institute Center for Health Policy. The Post reported: Sethi founded and is the president of Healthy Tennessee, an organization that puts on health fairs around the state and encourages preventative care. He also co-edited a book on health policy with Frist. The Republican doctor was mentioned as a possible candidate to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Bob Corker. Two Republican sources with knowledge of Sethi’s deliberations confirmed he was considering a run. Earlier this week, an anonymous user registered multiple URLs related to a possible Sethi run for Senate, including drmannyforsenate.com. Chip Saltsman, a former Tennessee Republican Party chair who said he is friends with Sethi, said the two have discussed a possible Senate run, but Saltsman added that he encouraged Sethi to run only if Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander decides not to seek re-election in 2020, when the incumbent would be 80 years old. Last month, Sen. Alexander appeared as a guest on The Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy,…
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by Molly Prince Senators from both sides of the aisle urged constituents on Saturday to shop at small businesses in support of their local communities in what has become the annual shopping holiday known as Small Business Saturday. “Happy Small Business Saturday! Take some time today to shop small in your community,” tweeted Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi. “Whether it be the mom and pop store in town or the local grocery store, we should support our small businesses that depend on us for their livelihood.” Republican Sens. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and David Perdue of Georgia noted that small businesses are making communities stronger. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Kansas Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts referred to small businesses as the “backbone” of their states’ economies, and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin called them the “heart of our economy.” Some Senators even provided fun facts to express the importance of buying local. Democratic Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Cory Booker of New Jersey noted that small businesses create two out of every three net new jobs, and Republican Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota added that 10 percent of all U.S. businesses are owned by veterans. Republican Sen.…
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In an exclusive interview Monday morning with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy on The Tennessee Star Report – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said that he will make a decision on whether to run for a fourth term in the United States Senate before the end of this year, 2018. First elected to the United States Senate from Tennessee in 2002, the 78-year-old Alexander was re-elected in 2008 and 2014. He faced a tough Republican primary challenge in 2014 from former State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas). Alexander defeated Carr by a 49 percent to 40 percent margin in the primary, then sailed to any easy victory in the general election. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill asked Alexander the big question about his political future towards the close of the Monday morning interview. You can hear that question and Sen. Alexander’s answer, a transcript of which appears below, beginning at the 9:00 mark in the audio file at the end of this story: Gill: About 7:01 pm on election night everybody started turning their attention towards 2020, I’d argue it’s before that, but whether it’s…
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On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – the men talked with Senator Lamar Alexander about getting the vote finalized after a seventh FBI investigation into Judge Kavanaugh is completed so that they can confirm President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. “Well, Senator McConnell is determined to have the vote this week so we’ll get the FBI look at Judge Kavanaugh over the last 26 years. We’ll see if it says what it said before. We’ll have a day or two to read it, and then we’ll vote. And so yes, I believe a vote will be this week sometime, maybe Friday or Saturday, but it will be this week,” Alexander said. At the beginning of the segment, Alexander commented in dismay regarding the issue of fairness and how the destruction of Kavanaugh’s reputation, which was excellent up until only ten days ago, has effected the nominee. “What people are overlooking is Judge Kavanaugh has been subjected to six background checks over the last 26 years in connection with the various federal positions he has. And those background checks are extensive. The…
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee–Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) reaffirmed his strong support for the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in an exclusive interview late Friday afternoon at his Senate offices in Nashville with Tennessee Star political editor and host of The Tennessee Star Report, heard weekday mornings from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Talkradio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC, Steve Gill. Alexander’s remarks came after the Senate Judiciary Committee’s 11 to 10 party line vote to favorably recommend Kavanaugh’s nomination for a floor vote in the Senate, but minutes before President Trump instructed the FBI to conduct a supplemental investigation into the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh, limited to one week in duration. Trump’s order came after Sen. Jeff Flake’s (R-AZ) last minute demand that such an investigation be conducted. “As we sit here on a Friday when this whole Kavanaugh confirmation process is still in flux, now, apparently, a request for an FBI investigation, it may be voted next week early or late, as you kind of look at it right now, where do you see it going, again, while we know it changes minute by minute,” Gill said. “Well, I don’t want to predict what will happen because, who knows what…
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About 20 people representing far-left activist groups assembled in Nashville Tuesday to spout off clichéd talking points about the horrors U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh might supposedly inflict upon America. The comments came 17 years to the day after Islamist terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, killing more than 3,000 Americans in the process. They assembled on the front steps of the district offices of Tennessee’s two U.S. Republican senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, in Nashville’s West End. Someone from Indivisible Tennessee spoke. Someone from the American Muslim Advisory Council had something to say, as did someone from the Tennessee Activist Coalition. Some speakers also represented the Vanderbilt Divinity School Racial Justice Collaborative. The motley crew of Trump-detesting rabble-rousers said they would backdrop themselves with “a mountain of paper reams representing the 100,000 documents still unavailable to the public” about Kavanaugh. But in person all they had were empty cardboard boxes. Of all the speakers, Justin Jones, a Vanderbilt student, was perhaps the most dramatic when speaking of the Kavanaugh nomination and what he said were the ultimate insidious goals of Washington, D.C. Republicans. “In 10 years America will…
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Public schools nationwide might use federal money to arm teachers in class, but don’t look for Tennessee to participate. “With very few exceptions, it is unlawful for anyone in Tennessee – educator or otherwise – to possess a firearm on school grounds,” said Sarah Gast, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Education, in an emailed statement to The Tennessee Star. “Two sections of Tennessee law provide a very limited exception.” Officials in what Gast described as distressed rural counties may authorize some school employees to carry concealed weapons, if that district meets certain eligibility requirements. Only two of Tennessee’s 147 school districts meet that criteria — Wayne County Schools and Pickett County Schools, Gast said. “As of last year, neither had chosen to allow employees to carry concealed weapons,” Gast said. “However, they would not be required to notify us if they changed their policy.” Gast did not say how or why those two districts meet the criteria. As part of the second statute, educators would have to meet substantial requirements to carry a firearm and only if district officials allow it, Gast said. “It essentially states that if an educator is also in law enforcement or has prior service…
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U.S. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee seems to want a wait and see approach on renaming a building in Washington, D.C. after the late Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill said the debate is a way for U.S. Dem. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. to score political points against Republicans. Schumer’s endgame — he wants to portray the GOP as racist, Gill said. As Time reported this week, a proposal to rename the Russell Senate Office Building after McCain is floating around the U.S. Senate. The name Russell refers to the late Georgia U.S. Sen. Richard Russell Jr., whom the website described as “a Southern segregationist Democrat.” U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly wants a bipartisan committee to find a less grandiose way honor McCain. Members of the U.S. Senate can best do that, McConnell said, by naming a conference room in McCain’s honor or hanging a portrait of him up on a wall. But Schumer’s seemingly single-minded focus is to rename the Russell Building. Gill said Schumer is not doing this to honor McCain. “He’s doing this because he wants to stir up political trouble,” Gill said. “Chuck Schumer and the…
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Tennessee Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, both Republicans, issued statements Monday criticizing the Trump administration for separating children from their parents when detained at the U.S./Mexico border, as the Times Free Press reported: “While the issues surrounding our immigration system are complex, we can all agree that innocent children should be protected and not used for deterrence,” said Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said the administration “should use all tools available to stop needless family separation without delay, and Congress should act swiftly to address the serious challenges facing our nation’s immigration system.” Alexander’s statement read, “Illegal immigration is against the law but new enforcement policies have resulted in hundreds of children being separated from their parents. The administration should end that new policy immediately while Congress works with the president on a bipartisan immigration solution that secures the border, provides a status for those already here and prevents a humanitarian crisis at the border.” SuperTalk 99.7 WTN veteran broadcaster Brian Wilson, host of Nashville’s Morning News,took up the subject in his broadcast on Tuesday, explaining that “The president is enforcing the rule of law. President Obama did not.” The law requiring the separation of…
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Senator Lamar Alexander called the decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to restore the medicare billing privileges for Dr. Bryan Merrick “good news for the people of McKenzie and Dr. Merrick” in a statement given to The Tennessee Star on Tuesday. Earlier this month, Alexander called on Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to hold hearings in the Senate Finance Commmittee he chairs on the Obama-era regulation that was used to revoke Dr. Merrick’s Medicare privileges in March. “This is good news for the people of McKenzie and Dr. Merrick, and I am glad that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has resolved this situation. I especially appreciate the hard work of Representative David Kustoff to solve this problem — his efforts to fix this problem were very important to all of us,” Alexander said in the statement. “I’m happy to hear that CMS has decided to do the right thing and allow Dr. Merrick to return his attention to his patients and the people of McKenzie,” former Congressional candidate Dr. George Flinn told The Star. Flinn was one of many West Tennessee community leaders he advocated on behalf of Dr. Merrick after his Medicare privileges were…
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Over the weekend, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) told Mayor Jill Holland of McKenzie, Tennessee that he will encourage Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to conduct hearings at the Senate Finance Committee he chairs on whether an Obama-era regulation that is hitting West Tennesssee’s Dr. Bryan Merrick should be revoked, along with other corrections. A spokesperson for the senator confirmed to The Tennessee Star that Alexander will ask Hatch to hold those hearings. Alexander chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which he says does not have jurisdiction over the CMS regulation. Senator Hatch chairs the Senate Finance Committee, which does have jurisdiction over the CMS regulation. Surprising as that may seem, official Senate rules confirm that the Senate Finance Committee has jurisdiction over all health programs based on federal taxes, which includes Medicare and Medicaid. Senator Paul Toomey (R-PA) chairs the Health Care Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee, the most likely place for such hearings to be held. On Friday, Mayor Jill Holland of McKenzie sent a letter to Senator Alexander asking him to hold hearings of the Senate HELP committee he chairs for the purpose of revoking the CMS regulation, as The Star reported: Writing “on behalf of the citizens…
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The surprise retirement of Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) may signal a rush to the exit door for other longtime establishment Republicans in the Senate. Several GOP members of the upper chamber — most of them advanced in age — have struggled to acclimate to the style and agenda of President Donald Trump. And some have drifted…
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Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) will try to build consensus next week around narrow tweaks to Obamacare that could draw bipartisan support and fix the health law’s biggest flaws. It is unlikely such an effort will produce anything meaningful, however, according to conservative activists and health care scholars. “It’s going to be vey small,” said Michael Tanner,…
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The whole problem with Obamacare repeal is not the repeal legislation – it’s the Republicans. It’s the Republicans who, for seven years, screamed “Repeal!” but now – now that they’re in a position to actually fulfill that dream, do nothing. In fact, some are even on a full steam march to oppose repeal efforts. That’s OK.…
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“The Democrats have once again gone into a room and convinced themselves to do something that’s never been done before in the 230 year history of the Senate and that is to require more than 51 votes to confirm a Supreme Court nominee,” Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) tells The Tennessee Star in an emailed statement received late Wednesday. “I have spoken on the Senate floor twice in recent weeks to try to convince Democrats not to filibuster Judge Gorsuch’s nomination because it will be damaging to the Senate and to the country,” Alexander adds. “When I was in the minority, I opposed President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, but I did not support a filibuster of her nomination – I believed she was entitled to a majority vote – and Judge Gorsuch is also entitled to a majority vote,” the Volunteer State’s senior senator notes. “I also wanted to point to a statement that the senator told a reporter this week,” a spokesperson for Alexander adds in that same email to The Star: “One way or the other I’ll vote for him.” “Finally, here is the senator’s floor speech, from where he talked about how filibustering to death the Gorsuch…
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