Schumer Called Sinema ‘Extremely Helpful’ Before Vote to Thwart Tuberville’s Pentagon Abortion Protest

Senator Chuck Schumer

Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) received high praise from Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) prior to the successful vote of a bill she championed that is aimed at thwarting the effort of Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). Tuberville is stalling promotions of high ranking military officials until the Pentagon ends its new policy of funding abortion travel for its employees.

Sinema successfully passed legislation last week that will allow the U.S. Senate to vote to confirm the promotions of more than 300 high ranking military officials at once, which she said is necessary because the Senate would otherwise struggle to handle the volume once Tuberville’s protest ends or is bypassed.

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U.S. Senator JD Vance Addresses Ukrainian Plight for Aid as U.S. Government Shutdown Approaches

U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) addressed the Ukrainian plight for aid on Friday as lawmakers get increasingly closer to the end-of-the-month deadline to pass a government spending bill to keep the U.S. government from a shutdown.

This follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s arrival in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to make his renewed case for $24 billion of American aid to Ukraine.

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Nashville Mayor’s Chief of Staff ‘Thrilled’ T.J. ‘I Will Destroy You’ Ducklo Now Running Mayor’s Comms Shop

Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s chief of staff told The Tennessee Star she thinks it’s great that T.J. Ducklo, the Biden White House press secretary, fired for threatening a White House reporter with: “I will destroy you,” joined the mayor’s staff. “T.J’s experience and energy will be a valuable addition to our team, and we are thrilled to have him on board,” said Chief of Staff Jennifer Rasmussen-Sagen. The mayor’s office did not issue a press release, but in addition to the statement from Rasmussen-Sagen, Bradon Marshall, the mayor’s digital director, told The Star he was happy Ducklo was coming home. “T.J. made a mistake, for which he apologized and paid the consequences. He’s good at what he does, and we are excited to have him back in Nashville,” he said. Marshall also told The Star that Ducklo would have the full authority and discretion expected with his job. “T.J. will serve in the full role of chief communications officer, including working with reporters,” he said. Vanity Fair reported Feb. 12, 2021, that Ducklo had a direct and robust conversion with Politico reporter Tara Palmeri on Inauguration Day after she and another reporter reached out to him about his intimate relationship…

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Senate Republicans Filibuster Government Funding Bill Over Debt Ceiling Provision With Three Days Until Shutdown

Senate Republicans Monday filibustered Democrats’ bill to fund the government and suspend the debt ceiling, days before a potential federal shutdown and possible debt default.

Republicans vowed for weeks to oppose a debt ceiling increase and urged Democrats to put the provision in their filibuster-proof $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. But Democrats have thus far refused to do so, and with their bill’s failure Monday, Congress now has just three days to pass a new funding bill to avoid a government shutdown set to begin Friday at midnight.

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Pelosi Floats Passing Infrastructure and Budget Simultaneously as Moderates and Progressives Feud

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday floated the idea of passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget simultaneously in an attempt to balance moderates and progressives’ mutually exclusive demands.

Pelosi asked the House Rules Committee to look into the possibility after nine centrist Democrats vowed to block the budget if it came up for consideration before the infrastructure bill passed.

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Eleven Senate Democrats Vote Against COVID Tests for Illegal Immigrants at the Southern Border

Eleven Senate Democrats on Thursday voted against a modest and commonsense amendment to the Senate Budget Resolution that requires illegal migrants apprehended on the southern border to be tested for COVID-19 before they are transported into the country.

The amendment, introduced by Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), a physician, establishes “a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to protecting migrants and local communities against COVID-19.”  Under the provision, migrants will be quarantined and not transported from the border until they tested negative.

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