Tag: Sen. Cory Booker

Senate Unanimously Votes Against Defunding the Police

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The Senate early Wednesday unanimously approved an amendment to its proposed budget that opposed defunding the police.

The amendment, offered by Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, came during the Senate’s overnight vote-a-rama, a marathon session during consideration of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget where members can offer unlimited amendments. While the votes are non-binding, they can sometimes be politically tricky for senators as their colleagues force on-the-record positions on contentious issues.

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren Follows Taylor Swift in Pushing for Equality Act

Jason M. Reynolds

  U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) signed and promoted Taylor Swift’s Change.org petition asking the U.S. Senate to support the Equality Act. The presidential candidate’s statement is available here. Warren’s support follows the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), which was published on Change.org last week. Swift is the creator of the petition in question. It is available here. Warren shared this statement with Change.org users: It’s 2019 and our LGBTQ+ friends continue to face discrimination at work, school, and in their communities. Trans people in America are getting murdered – most of them women of color. In the name of protecting religious liberty, civil rights are being trampled on. It’s hard to find an affordable place to live that doesn’t discriminate based on your gender identity or expression, race, or who you love. Enough is enough. I’m proud to represent Massachusetts in the Senate, a state that has led the nation in protecting and promoting equality. But there’s so much more work to be done. We can start by passing the Equality Act – a bill that would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in their places of work, homes, schools, and other public accommodations. I’m glad to see the…

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Joe Biden Skips California’s Democratic Convention to Stump in Ohio at Human Rights Campaign’s Columbus Dinner

Jason M. Reynolds

  Joe Biden is rolling the dice and striking out on his own on the campaign trail, keeping his distance from the other Democratic presidential candidates. Biden appeared at the Human Rights Campaign’s Columbus Dinner Saturday, Cleveland.com said. The gala was at Ohio State University’s Archie Griffin Ballroom. The HRC is the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights organization. In visiting Ohio Saturday, the former vice president, who is the front-runner in his party’s primary race, showed he is not afraid of missing out by not attending the same events as his plethora of competitors, WGME said. Instead, he is focusing on a November 2020 competition against President Donald Trump, as if his primary challengers are not an issue. Also, Biden plans to avoid an Iowa state party dinner that will draw rivals next weekend, although he will visit Iowa two days later, WGME said. And, he will miss a South Carolina economic forum on the black community, although he will attend the state party convention the next weekend. Fourteen of the 23 other Democratic presidential hopefuls attended the California Democratic Convention in San Francisco that Biden skipped. The stakes are big as California has 400 delegates for the national convention up…

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Rep. Green to File Constitutional Amendment Bill to Freeze Supreme Court Bench at Nine Justices to Counter Democrats’ Push to Pack the Court

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) says he will introduce a constitutional amendment to halt Democrats’ desire to pack the Supreme Court in a maneuver hearkening back to progressive president FDR. Green on Tuesday tweeted, “This Thursday, I will be introducing a constitutional amendment that would limit the number of Supreme Court justices to 9 – the number of seats since 1869. The Supreme Court must remain a fair and impartial branch of government not beholden to party.” This Thursday, I will be introducing a constitutional amendment that would limit the number of Supreme Court justices to 9 — the number of seats since 1869. The Supreme Court must remain a fair and impartial branch of government not beholden to party. https://t.co/QoHZZyIpb6 — Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) March 19, 2019 Green also tweeted, “Schemes to pack the court are dangerous to the Founders’ vision of an independent judiciary that serves as a check on both the Executive and Legislative branches of government.” Schemes to pack the court are dangerous to the Founders' vision of an independent judiciary that serves as a check on both the Executive and Legislative branches of government. — Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) March 19, 2019 The…

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President Trump Handicaps His 2020 Democratic Opponents

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Kamala Harris had the best campaign roll-out. Amy Klobuchar’s snowy debut showed grit. Elizabeth Warren’s opening campaign video was a bit odd. Take it from an unlikely armchair pundit sizing up the 2020 Democratic field: President Donald Trump. In tweets, public remarks and private conversations, Trump is making clear he is closely following the campaign to challenge him on the ballot. Facing no serious primary opponent of his own — at least so far — Trump is establishing himself as an in-their-face observer of the Democratic Party’s nominating process — and no will be surprised to find that he’s not being coy about weighing in. Presidents traditionally ignore their potential opponents as long as possible to maintain their status as an incumbent floating above the contenders who are auditioning for a job they already inhabit. Not Trump. He’s eager to shape the debate, sow discord and help position himself for the general election. It’s just one more norm to shatter, and a risky bet that his acerbic politics will work to his advantage once again. This is the president whose 240-character blasts and penchant for insults made mincemeat of his 2016 Republican rivals. And Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager, said…

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Cory Booker Called Smollett ‘Attack’ A ‘Lynching,’ Now He’s Refusing Comment Amid New Evidence In The Case

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by Chuck Ross   A Democratic lawmaker who called the alleged hate crime attack against Jussie Smollett a “modern-day lynching” now says that he is withholding judgement in the case amid reports that authorities believe the “Empire” actor orchestrated a hoax. “Well, the information is still coming out, and I’m going to withhold until all the information comes out,” New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a 2020 presidential candidate, told reporters Sunday when asked about his past remarks on the Smollett case. Booker’s remarks are a far cry from a tweet he posted in the hours after Smollett’s alleged attack was reported. NEW: Booker said he is waiting for more info on the new reports of Jussie Smollet’s attack potentially being a planned hoax. He called it a “modern-day lynching” when first reported. pic.twitter.com/rHNNJtNvCs — Bo Erickson CBS (@BoKnowsNews) February 17, 2019 “The vicious attack on actor Jussie Smollett was an attempted modern-day lynching. I’m glad he’s safe,” Booker wrote on Jan. 29. Smollett, who is black and gay, claimed that he was attacked on Jan. 29 by two white men who hurled racist and homophobic insults at him while he was walking in Chicago. The actor also claimed that his assailants placed a rope around his…

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Democrat Sen. Chris Coons Says He ‘Has To Be Careful’ In Saying Cory Booker Violated Rules With Kavanaugh Docs

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by Nick Givas   Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware wouldn’t confirm if his colleague Sen. Cory Booker would face ethics violations, for his behavior at Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing. Booker admitted to violating committee rules on confidential documents, when he claimed to have released information about Kavanaugh despite knowing it may have consequences. He called it his “Spartucus moment.” Host Chris Wallace said the documents in question had already been cleared and accused the Democrats of being overly dramatic, to sell a political stunt. “I have to be careful what I say here because I’m the vice chairman of the ethics committee and in that role I can’t comment on anything that may or may not come before the ethics committee,” Coons replied. “Let me just say this about the whole dispute,” Coons continued. “I do think this was an unprecedented process in which significant amounts, the overwhelming majority of the documents relevant to Judge Kavanaugh’s service in the Bush Administration as staff secretary were blocked from review by the committee. And there was a strong disagreement between the majority and the minority. Overall I agree with that concern.” Wallace continued to push the issue and asked Coons about Booker behavior,…

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Senate Democrats Want to Make It Harder for Congress to Remove Regulations

Tennessee Star Staff

Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker wants to make it more difficult to remove government regulations through congressional review, Reuters reported Tuesday. President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have repealed 14 regulations through the Congressional Review Act (CRA) since Jan. 20, but that is too fast for Booker. The untitled bill introduced Tuesday, temporarily called…

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