Tag: Senate

Corker Tries to Undermine Trump Again, Says President is Damaging Relationships With Friends

Jason M. Reynolds
Bob Corker

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) is criticizing President Donald Trump once again, media outlets report. Fox News’ Congressionis al reporter Chad Pergram tweeted Tuesday, “Senate Foreign Relations Cmte chair Corker on Trump: I think there is no questions that we are damaging relationships with very close friends..it’s unnecessary..I don’t understand why we would go out an purposefully create negative discourse when it’s not necessary.” Senate Foreign Relations Cmte chair Corker on Trump: I think there is no questions that we are damaging relationships with very close friends..it’s unnecessary..I don’t understand why we would go out an purposefully create negative discourse when it’s not necessary. — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) June 12, 2018 Corker also unloaded on his fellow Republicans for supposedly cowering from Trump, Roll Call reported. The retiring Tennessee senator was angered that his amendment to the defense authorization measure that would reclaim congressional prerogatives on trade and tariffs would not be up for a vote, Roll Call said. He mocked senators for not standing up to Trump, including the No. 2 Republican, Majority Whip John Cornyn. “Gosh, almighty, I heard the senator from Texas, the senior senator from Texas saying the other day, well, gosh, we might upset the…

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The Senate Waited Until Christmas To Reveal How Many Harassment Settlements Were Paid Out

Tennessee Star Staff
Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor

As the Christmas holiday weekend set it, the Senate Rules and Administration Committee released a report revealing the Senate has spent $1.5 million on workplace harassment settlements since 1998. The data, provided by the Office of Compliance, a little known administrative body that has quietly settled dozens of complaints against congressional offices, provides little by way…

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Senate Passes President Trump’s Tax Cut Bill, Which Goes Back to the House for a ‘Do-Over’

Tennessee Star Staff

The Senate passed President Trump’s Tax Cut and Job Acts late Tuesday evening in a straight party line vote, 51 to 48. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who is back home in Arizona in the midst of treatments for cancer, was the only member of the Senate who did not vote. “Republicans advanced to the one-yard line to pass historic tax reform as the Senate passed the final Tax Cut and Jobs Act on Tuesday, sending the bill to the House for final passage. President Donald Trump hopes to sign the bill before Christmas,” Breitbart News reported at 12:47 a.m. eastern time on Wednesday, adding: The Senate passed the final the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 51-48, along partisan lines. Fifty-one Republicans voted in favor the bill, while zero Democrats voted for the tax reform legislation. Vice President Mike Pence presided over the vote as the president of the Senate. The House passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act earlier on Tuesday. However, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that three provisions violated the Senate’s Byrd rule for reconciliation bills, so the House will have to vote on the tax reform legislation again on Wednesday. President Trump has invited Republican leaders from the…

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Oregon Senators to Use Senate ‘Blue Slip’ Privilege Against Trump Judicial Nominee

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Two Democratic lawmakers said they’ll flex senatorial privilege to block one of President Trump’s judicial nominations, erecting yet another roadblock as the White House tries to reshape the federal courts. Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley said they won’t return their “blue slips” signaling acquiescence in the nomination of Ryan Bounds, Mr. Trump’s pick for…

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See How Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker Voted on the Pelosi-Schumer-Trump Debt Ceiling Deal

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Senate lawmakers voted Thursday afternoon to advance a bill that would provide emergency relief funding to the victims of Hurricane Harvey and would temporarily raise the debt ceiling and fund the government through mid-December. Lawmakers voted 80-17 in favor of sending the bill back to the House for renegotiations. The Senate’s vote comes off the heels…

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Health Insurers in Connecticut and Maryland Ask for Double-Digit Premium Hikes, Tennessee Braces for ‘Sticker Shock’

Tina LaFleur
Tennessee Star - Obamacare

Consumers in at least two states face the prospect of double-digit increases in health insurance rates next year, as insurers attempt to price premiums amid uncertainty, including from Congress and President Donald Trump on the fate of Obamacare. Also driving rate increases is the fact that the millions of Americans enrolled on Obamacare’s exchanges are sicker…

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BREAKING: Senate Confirms Judge Neil Gorsuch to Supreme Court

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Tennessee Star

  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fulfilled his promise to President Trump and the American people this morning, by successfully ending the partisan Democrats’ filibuster and leading the Senate confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. CNN reports: The vote was 54-45, mostly along party lines. Only three Democrats: Sens. Joe Manchin, Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly, sided with the GOP majority. Vice President Mike Pence presided over the vote, but was not needed to break a tie. The court has been operating with eight justices since the sudden death in February 2016 of Justice Antonin Scalia and a protracted fight over President Barack Obama’s nominee, Judge Merrick Garland. The confirmation does not alter the so-called “balance of the Court,” however, the precedent-setting move to require only a simple majority vote – first made by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid – could return the highest court in the land sharply toward the Constitution, should Justice Ginsberg or Justice Breyer retire. Watch the video: Reaction to the restoration of a full Court has been overwhelmingly positive. Hannah Smith, Senior Counsel with Becket and a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito said: Congratulations to Judge Gorsuch and his…

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