March 19, 2024

Latest GOP split: Senate leaders hold out as House brass goes all-in for Trump

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is taking perhaps the most obvious stance by avoiding former President Donald Trump. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Most Senate GOP leaders are confronting a dilemma they hoped to avoid: With Donald Trump barreling toward victory in the Iowa caucus next week, do they endorse him or keep holding out? There’s a

Fired Senate Staffer Who Filmed Gay Sex Tape in Hearing Room Cries Homophobia

Aidan Maese-Czeropski, the Senate staffer who filmed himself having anal sex in a Senate hearing room, cried homophobia after the video leaked online. As Breitbart News reported on Friday, leaked video footage showed the staffer having anal sex on a table in the Senate hearing room where lawmakers sit to ask questions during important proceedings

Trump endorses ex-Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy in Montana Senate race over Freedom Caucus Rep. Matt Rosendale 

Donald Trump endorsed former Navy SEAL and businessman Tim Sheehy in the Montana US Senate race Friday over Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), a supporter of the ex-president and member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.  Rosendale, one of the eight GOP lawmakers that voted with Democrats to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last […]

Senate GOP enters critical stretch for fending off bad candidates

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.), left, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell averted some primaries and have all but locked up retiring Sen. Joe Manchin’s seat in West Virginia. | Francis Chung/POLITICO The GOP is escalating its push to head off problematic nominees in a slate of critical states that could determine control

Cardin staffer linked to sex tape leaves Senate

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) speaks during a Nov. 28 Senate Finance Committee meeting. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP A junior aide to Sen. Ben Cardin is no longer employed by the Senate, the Maryland Democrat’s office said Saturday, following news reports linking the staffer to a sex tape filmed in a Capitol Hill hearing room. Portions of

Joe Biden loves to talk about compromise, so why no Senate border deal?

President Biden has the opportunity to lead a compromise with a deal for Ukraine and the border crisis. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File Joe Biden loves to tout his bona fides as a bipartisan compromiser during his days as a senator.  So why on earth, with a chance as president for real compromise on the […]

What the Senate Dem campaign chief thinks about their tough 2024 races

DSCC Chair Gary Peters spoke to POLITICO about how he’s planning to maintain Democrats’ slim majority in the upper chamber next year. | Jemal Countess/Getty Images for JDRF Sen. Gary Peters, the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, pulled off a major upset by helping to reelect every Democratic incumbent in 2src22. But 2src24

White House tried, and failed, to persuade Manchin to make another Senate run

Sen. Joe Manchin’s political future has been the topic of intense interest over the past few years as he’s increasingly distanced himself from President Joe Biden and his own party. | Andrew Harnik, AP/File As Sen. Joe Manchin struggled for several months over the next step he would take politically, President Joe Biden’s top advisers

Democrats in Senate, House discuss conditioning military aid to Israel

Palestinians flee to the southern Gaza Strip along Salah al-Din Street, on the outskirts of Gaza City, during the ongoing Israeli bombardment on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2src23. The talks of conditioning military aid to Israel come as fighting in Gaza intensifies and the civilian death toll rises. | Adel Hana/AP Democrats in the House and

Republican Kari Lake Announces Run for Arizona Senate Seat

Former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake announced her bid for the Arizona Senate on Tuesday with the aim of ousting Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). Senator Krysten Sinema, Democrat of Arizona, speaks during a hearing on the nominations of Shalanda Young to be Director and Nani Coloretti to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and

Trump Pollster: Tim Sheehy Leads Matt Rosendale in Montana Republican Senate Primary

Montana Senate Republican candidate businessman Tim Sheehy is leading Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), according to a poll released by Trump’s pollster, Tony Fabrizio. Pro-Tim Sheehy super PAC commissioned Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, Trump’s pollster, for this poll. If the Big Sky Country primary were held today, Sheehy would have a three-point lead over Rosendale. This

Maryland Senate contest becomes a two-person race

Will Jawando, a Democrat who sits on the Montgomery County Council, was the first to enter the race. | Kevin Wolf/AP Will Jawando, who five months ago surprised many by being the first to jump into the contest to replace Maryland’s retiring Sen. Ben Cardin, now becomes the first candidate to bow out. Jawando, a

Are Senate Dems fumbling the Menendez scandal?

Sen. Bob Menendez is seen through the viewfinder of a camera as he speaks during a press conference Sept. 25, 2src23, in Union City, New Jersey. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images In the days since Sen. Bob Menendez’s stunning indictment on federal bribery charges, a surprising split screen has emerged. In New Jersey, where there

On this day in history, September 13, 1948, trailblazer Margaret Chase Smith is elected to Senate

Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, R-Maine, was elected to the Senate on this day in history, Sept. 13, 1948, becoming the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. Born Margaret Madeline Chase on Dec. 14, 1897, in the central Maine town of Skowhegan, Smith was the oldest of George Emery and Carrie Murray Chase’s […]

Report: Adam Schiff Still ‘Relatively’ Unknown to California Voters in Senate Race

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) may be one of the most notorious partisan figures in Washington, but he remains “relatively” unknown in his home state — which poses a challenge for him as he campaigns for the U.S. Senate. Schiff, who led the first impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, sat on the January 6 Committee

Senate unanimously passes resolution to reinstate formal dress code after Sen. John Fetterman controversy

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution late Wednesday formalizing business attire as the proper dress code while on the floor of the chamber following bipartisan backlash, after Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., quietly relaxed dress requirements last week that allowed Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., to continue to wear hooded sweatshirts and gym shorts. The bipartisan […]

Report: Blake Masters to Launch Another Senate Bid to Fill Kyrsten Sinema’s Seat

Rebecca Noble/Getty Images Former Arizona Republican U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters is set to launch another bid for Senate to fill the seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with his plans. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) defeated Masters by about five points in the 2022 election. Now, Masters is

Trump on Bob Menendez Indictment: Senate Democrats Knew, Should All Resign

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Former President Donald Trump called on Senate Democrats to resign in light of the Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) corruption charges, saying they all knew. The former president issued his call from his Truth Social page on Sunday, asking why the FBI never raided Democrats’ homes like they did

Texas Attorney General Kenneth Paxton Acquitted in Senate Impeachment Trial, Reinstated as AG

The Texas Senate voted that Texas Attorney General Kenneth Warren Paxton, Jr. should be acquitted. The majority vote on each article in his impeachment trial was for acquittal. The senators voted to dismiss the four remaining impeachment articles and adjourn for the session, Sine Die. Jurors had to decide not only whether the suspended attorney

Republican Dave McCormick launches bid for vulnerable Senate seat in battleground state

It’s take two for Dave McCormick in battleground Pennsylvania. McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, West Point graduate, Gulf War combat veteran and Treasury Department official in former President George W. Bush’s administration, on Thursday launched his second straight campaign for the Senate.  His announcement gives national and state Republicans a high-profile candidate with the […]

McConnell publicly vows to ‘finish’ term after private update to Senate GOP

Mitch McConnell is over the frenzy over his freezes. The Kentucky Republican faced the press on Wednesday for the first time since his 3src-second on-camera pause last week, fielding questions about his health and future leading the Senate GOP. McConnell batted the queries away with quintessential terseness — a sign that after giving a private

McConnell pushes to silence health doubts as Senate returns

Mitch McConnell is moving as fast as he can to get beyond questions about whether his health will hurt his ability to lead Senate Republicans. Within hours of the Senate’s return Tuesday, the GOP leader’s office released a letter from the Capitol physician with more details clearing him for work after last week’s on-camera freeze

Dem Senate plots move amid spending clash with House GOP

“To avoid a government shutdown, the House should follow the Senate’s lead and pass their appropriations bills in a bipartisan way,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. | Francis Chung/POLITICO The Senate is preparing its first big move in the fall spending fight. Chuck Schumer is tentatively planning to bring up several spending bills for

Blake Masters plans another Arizona Senate bid — this time for Sinema’s seat

Blake Masters is planning to launch another Arizona Senate bid. | Matt York/AP Photo Blake Masters is making plans to launch another Arizona Senate bid, potentially as soon as next week, according to three people familiar with the matter. Masters did not reply to a request for comment. Masters won the GOP nomination last year

Republicans fail to get top recruit for Wisconsin Senate

Rep. Mike Gallagher had publicly broken with former President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and reaffirmed he would not support Trump in 2src24. | Francis Chung/POLITICO A top potential recruit in Wisconsin’s Senate race declined to run — despite a concerted campaign from national Republicans to lure him into the

The surprising corner of the Senate that’s sinking Biden nominees

Sen. Ted Cruz (center), the ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, speaks beside Chair Maria Cantwell (right) during a committee hearing on Feb. 15, 2src23. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Relatively obscure nominations are turning into Senate knife fights as 2src24 approaches. And the Commerce Committee is the center of the

As indictments pile up, Trump’s Senate GOP skeptics multiply

Minority Whip John Thune is backing Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to say whether he would support Trump if he earned the Republican nomination. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo Squint hard, and you might just see the outlines of an anti-Donald Trump coalition forming in the Senate GOP. It started coming

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester launches bid for Senate seat in Delaware

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester began hiring campaign staff earlier this month, POLITICO previously reported. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester on Wednesday announced a bid to succeed retiring Sen. Tom Carper in Delaware, laying the path for the Democrat to potentially become the third Black woman to ever serve in the Senate. Blunt Rochester

Group seeks boost to labor organizing in Senate

The effort, led by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), comes more than a year after the House paved the way to allow staffers to unionize if they choose. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo A group of Democratic senators who want to give Senate staff the green light to unionize and collectively bargain introduced Thursday evening. The

House Dems fume at Senate over Biden nominations

Rep. Troy Carter wants the White House to pull two judicial nominees in his state that were OK’d by Louisiana’s GOP senators. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo Officially, House Democrats have no say over presidential nominations. Unofficially, they’re wading knee-deep into confirmations they think the party is botching. Top Congressional Black Caucus members are steaming that

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