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Tag: Senate

  • Mitch Daniels on Senate bid: ‘I’m worried about winning it and regretting it’

    Mitch Daniels on Senate bid: ‘I’m worried about winning it and regretting it’

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    Daniels’ decision will reverberate across the Republican Party, from towns and cities of Indiana to Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump Jr. has already attacked the more centrist Daniels, and the former governor jumping into the race will only prompt more flak from the right.

    Daniels is facing attacks from the deep-pocketed Club for Growth, which is trying to keep him out of the race in favor of Banks. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) have endorsed Banks, as well.

    Daniels repeatedly said he’s not worried about political support: “That would take care of itself and we’re drowning in offers of help and money. I’ll say it again, I’m not worried about the election, I’m worried about winning it and deciding it was a mistake.”

    A Banks-Daniels contest would amount to a major fight over the direction of the Senate GOP, particularly since the Republican nominee will be heavily favored to win the seat being vacated by Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who is running for governor. Daniels is a former OMB director who famously called for a “truce” on the culture wars in 2010, while Banks is a pugnacious fighter on social issues and a leading voice among House conservatives.

    Daniels is also expected to meet with National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) during his visit. Daines has spoken to Banks as well.

    The former governor said he’s going to make an announcement soon rather than drag out the drama.

    “I don’t like to keep people waiting. I don’t like to dally, so you’ll know something, literally, in a very short time,” Daniels said. “This is the final stage of my discovery process.”

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Why the Senate GOP’s McDaniel for RNC caucus is surprisingly small

    Why the Senate GOP’s McDaniel for RNC caucus is surprisingly small

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    Though Cramer isn’t calling for McDaniel to be replaced, his shrug-emoji reaction is widespread among many GOP lawmakers. That has more to do with large-scale political changes than her personally: The more that super PACs, party committees and candidate fundraising have decentralized the party, the less enmeshed Republican lawmakers are in the RNC structure.

    As Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) put it on Tuesday: “I don’t know what the RNC does. I really don’t.”

    Yet McDaniel’s chilly reception from some Republicans also stems from her mixed record, which includes an eyebrow-raising move to censure two former House Republicans who joined the Jan. 6 committee. With the GOP facing an identity crisis after Donald Trump left the White House, the RNC chair is poised to play a pivotal role in the party’s navigation of an open presidential primary next year. And senior Senate Republicans aren’t exactly clamoring for two more years of McDaniel.

    Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and GOP Whip John Thune are both avoiding an endorsement of any candidate in the RNC race. A handful of notable Republican senators do support McDaniel, including Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and her cousin Mitt Romney (Utah), who said that “we don’t always agree on all policies, but I stand with family.”

    “She has been so helpful to Iowa, in really fleshing out the first-in-the-nation caucus … she does a great job,” said No. 4 Senate Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa. “She can promote Republican candidates as much as possible and try to hold our party together. But at the end of the day, you have to have candidates that will make their case.”

    National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) also signed a letter backing McDaniel. Emma Vaughn, a spokesperson for McDaniel’s RNC campaign, said that “Just like the RNC, Chairwoman McDaniel’s decision to run for re-election was member-driven.”

    “Support for the chairwoman among members and leaders from across the ecosystem has grown since her announcement,” Vaughn said.

    But most Republican senators want nothing to do with the RNC race. Several said they didn’t even know when the vote is (it’s Friday).

    “I have a lot of things on my plate. That’s not one of them. I wish them all well,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

    One thing that unites both McDaniel backers and those who care little about the race is that they don’t see the RNC as primarily accountable for the GOP’s recent election performances. That’s in part because of Trump’s outsized sway since McDaniel took over the national party.

    What’s more, the days of Howard Dean’s 50-state DNC strategy or Haley Barbour’s storied reign atop the RNC appear to be in the past. These days, there are major limitations to the level of control either the RNC or the DNC have over the two major political parties.

    “If we’re going to blame losing on a national committee chairman, we’ve got problems. They don’t control that much,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.)

    One reason congressional Republicans aren’t calling for McDaniel to be replaced is that they are uncertain about her challengers. There is no GOP equivalent to Pete Buttigieg, who achieved a level of national-politics wunderkind status by running for DNC chair in 2017.

    Mike Lindell, one of McDaniel’s challengers who is colloquially called the “My Pillow Guy” in some GOP quarters, is a known commodity to several Senate Republicans, including Tuberville. But Republicans said they were not sure how serious Lindell is about running.

    Harmeet Dhillon, the other challenger to McDaniel, faces a steep path to victory among the RNC’s 168 voting members. On top of that, Senate Republicans said in interviews that they were not particularly familiar with Dhillon or her style of politics.

    By contrast, several Republican senators observed that turnout — a key RNC mandate — was high in 2022. And that’s why McDaniel’s boosters are behind her for two more years.

    “[McDaniel] knows the system. Our problems in 2022 were multiple. I don’t blame her over anything. Personally, I think continuity is good. We are in a good spot to take back the Senate in 2024, and in the presidential primaries she’s a competent, fair-minded person,” Graham said. “I have confidence in her.”

    Even so, Graham is part of an apparent minority of Hill Republicans prepared to publicly stick their necks out for the RNC chair. It is particularly telling that McConnell declined to endorse her; he blanched at the national GOP’s censures of Trump-antagonist former Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) last year and was far more bearish than most Republicans on his party’s midterm election prospects.

    McConnell’s top deputy, and one of his potential successors, is joining him in the neutral zone.

    “I’m not going to wade into that. They’ll figure it out,” Thune said. “I’m guessing whatever I say, if I support someone, it’d probably hurt them.”

    Marianne LeVine contributed to this report.

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • A Senate hearing focused on Ticketmaster allowed lawmakers to dust off their best attempts at Taylor Swift references. 

    A Senate hearing focused on Ticketmaster allowed lawmakers to dust off their best attempts at Taylor Swift references. 

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    A bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee tore into Ticketmaster following the debacle last fall over Taylor Swift concert tickets.

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Senate GOP to McCarthy: Debt fight is all yours

    Senate GOP to McCarthy: Debt fight is all yours

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    “What matters is really what the House can create,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a frequent cross-aisle negotiator. “They’re in a position, they have the gavels. We have to see what sort of strategy they think works to a successful outcome.”

    After two years of bipartisan progress on issues Washington once only dreamed of tackling, from gun safety to infrastructure, the current dynamic means the Senate Republican minority is effectively handing the keys to McCarthy to cut a deal with Biden. Senate Democrats had hoped to clear a clean debt ceiling bill early this year to demonstrate to the House they could get a filibuster-proof majority well ahead of the impending spring deadline, but their Republican colleagues say that’s not happening right now.

    That’s in part because Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his lieutenants spent much of their political capital in December, aggressively moving to pass a government funding bill that had McCarthy complaining loudly and often. Many GOP senators feared that kicking the spending measure to this year could risk a shutdown.

    And now some Republicans doubt McConnell could muster the nine votes needed to break a filibuster on a debt limit increase, even if he wanted to. On Monday, all McConnell would say was: “We won’t default.”

    “I don’t think he could get it, personally, right now. I think he squeezed all that he could to get the omnibus done, as well as it went,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), referring to the spending bills passed late last year.

    Cramer added: “I don’t want to say hard feelings, but people feel the cost of that. And I don’t think they’re going to be ready to take another bullet, if you will.”

    With the government funded until the end of September, many Republicans believe it’s McCarthy’s turn to make the tough calls during the new era of split government. Take Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who’s about as amenable to lifting the debt ceiling as any Republican you’ll find in the Capitol.

    At the moment, she said, her “preference would be for the president to sit down with Speaker McCarthy, listen to one another and work out an agreement.” She said she did not know whether a so-called clean debt ceiling increase could even pass the Senate.

    McCarthy’s challenge isn’t just to pass a bill lifting the debt ceiling, it’s to assuage his conservatives who are eager for draconian fiscal cuts in return — while eventually reaching an agreement with some House Democratic support to show momentum in the Senate. Those competing agendas could be difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile by the time the Treasury Department is finished using what are known as extraordinary measures to maximize the country’s remaining borrowing authority.

    “If it’s purely a party-line vote there [in the House], it probably won’t get 60 votes here,” Tillis said, outlining the at-odds nature of the House and Senate imperatives. “And so that’s why we’ve got to look and see what they can put down that would actually garner at least some number of Democrat votes.”

    Of course, it’s still early in what could be a long and bruising fight. Back in 2021, as the only bulwark against unified Democratic control in the last Congress, Senate Republicans took a hard line on the debt ceiling only to bend when the deadline neared. A handful of them voted for a two-month debt ceiling patch in the fall, then again to neutralize a filibuster for a larger debt ceiling increase.

    It was a difficult moment within the GOP; McConnell relied on his leadership team, moderates and retiring GOP senators to push those through.

    Some senators who supported that approach are now gone, however. And others aren’t in a mood to fold.

    “We need to have a serious discussion about our long-term debt,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who supported both the debt ceiling solutions two years ago. “It’s early. I know the drumbeats have already started. But, you know, it’ll be at least June before we do it. The irresponsible position is to say ‘we’re not going to negotiate.’”

    Yet that’s Democrats’ opening salvo, with several of the party’s senators reiterating their long-running stance that the debt ceiling is not negotiable. They believe negotiating on broader fiscal concessions in 2011 was a tactical mistake that led to a U.S. credit downgrade and emboldened a hardline GOP approach during the Obama administration.

    Furthermore, those dug-in Senate Democrats see a GOP that only cares about the debt ceiling when a Democratic president is in office, citing the ballooning debt and deficit under former President Donald Trump.

    “While President Trump was in office and Republicans had the House and Senate, Democrats voted to raise the debt ceiling,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor on Monday. “Both parties should work together to ensure we can continue to pay our debt on time, and we Democrats are ready to move quickly in order to make that happen.”

    Ultimately, the Senate GOP may be in a position to break the impasse and help find a solution that can satisfy all parties: Senate Democrats, House Republicans and the president. By virtue of the design of the Senate and its legislative filibuster, its Republicans are more used to bipartisan cooperation than some of their House counterparts.

    But it may be months before any bailout like that occurs. For now, it’s the McCarthy and Biden show.

    “In the end it’s going to have to be something that House Republicans and the president agree on. Let’s see what they can figure out,” said Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.). “That’s the best strategy, for us.”

    Caitlin Emma contributed to this report.

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Storied Senate Judiciary panel eyes a new era of quieter productivity

    Storied Senate Judiciary panel eyes a new era of quieter productivity

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    Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of Judiciary, predicted that at least for his intellectual property subcommittee, “there’s not going to be as much sparring there as long as the Democrats hold their votes.”

    “It’s going to be very difficult” for Republicans to influence the committee results given the Democrats’ “structural majority,” Tillis said. “There are some that are going to do it, but then you have to ask why, in terms of a vote outcome.”

    Of course, that dynamic could change, and would shift instantly if a Supreme Court vacancy arises. The recent confirmations of Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh each served as high-water marks of partisan bitterness for the committee. And much of the environment will depend on the tone between Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and the panel’s incoming top Republican, former chair Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

    Durbin said in a brief interview that he and Graham have a “good relationship.” Both have teamed up on bipartisan legislation to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, even as Graham pushes for a tougher border policy. (An ally of former President Donald Trump, Graham has also had his fair share of battles with the panel’s Democrats, accusing them in 2018 of wanting to “destroy” Kavanaugh.)

    As for the panel as a whole, Durbin said it won’t just be a rubber stamp for judges this Congress and cited oversight of drug policy as one area of potential focus.

    “I hope that we are as productive when it comes to judicial nominees, but we’re also going to take the oversight role very seriously,” Durbin said. “To restore the reputation of the committee, we have to have meaningful oversight even of your own party’s administration. And there’s so many issues that come at us in so many different directions.”

    Senate committees have yet to finalize how many members will sit on each panel, and if any senators will be added or removed. Subcommittee gavels are also up in the air, though that committee assignment process is expected to wrap as soon as this week. And it’s unclear how many members will be using the panel as a launching pad for presidential ambitions, though Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) have both disavowed interest in the 2024 race.

    Democratic committee aides highlight some bipartisan successes from the last Congress, including legislation that eliminated the use of forced arbitration for victims of alleged sexual assault and harassment in the workplace. But other priorities, like changes to the immigration or criminal justice system, stalled out despite Democrats’ full control of Washington.

    Getting anything related to those policy areas through Congress will only be more difficult this term, given the GOP-controlled House.

    Democratic committee aides, in interviews, cited the reauthorization of surveillance law intended to gather electronic communication of foreign targets as one policy area that they’ll need to address — a topic that may well cause partisan sparks given House Republicans’ emerging divisions about their own plans to try to overhaul the law.

    One GOP aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested that a handful of bills that passed the Senate unanimously last year but stalled in the House, including a bill to aid first responders with post traumatic stress disorder, could get through this Congress.

    The committee is also expected to continue examining Trump’s efforts to pressure the Justice Department in the leadup to the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

    Meanwhile, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said the courts subcommittee he’s led would “continue to look very hard and very consistently at all the ethics failures and gaps at the Supreme Court,” including potentially bringing in a clerical worker to explain the process for when the high court receives an ethics complaint.

    Yet even as the Judiciary Committee plans oversight hearings, including this week’s hearing on Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift ticket-sales debacle, Democrats are still ramping up their attention on judges.

    The panel ended the last Congress with 39 judicial nominees who got committee hearings without winning confirmation. Those judicial picks, 25 of whom have already been renominated by the Biden administration, will need committee approval before reaching the Senate floor.

    And the limited legislative agenda that’s typical of divided government will inherently allow more floor time for judicial nominees. From 2019 to 2020, when Democrats controlled the House and Republicans controlled the Senate, the upper chamber confirmed 145 district and circuit judges and one Supreme Court justice. Democrats are also benefiting from a 2019 GOP rules change that cut down the debate time for district court nominees.

    “We’ll once again set a record in terms of the number of qualified judicial nominees we’ll confirm,” predicted Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the panel.

    Despite outpacing Trump on judicial confirmations in the last Congress, Democrats are facing calls from outside progressive groups to go further by tossing so-called “blue slips,” which grant home-state senators veto power over district court nominees. The liberal group Demand Justice has underscored that most of the current district court vacancies lacking nominees are situated in red states.

    “The number one reason that the pace of confirmations will slow down is Republican blue slips,” said Chris Kang, chief counsel of Demand Justice. “One of the challenges in the Obama administration was that Republican senators would obstruct by delay. And at some point the clock will run out on even this two-year Congress.”

    A Democratic Judiciary committee aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, described calls to get rid of the blue slip as “premature.”

    In the last Congress, 10 blue slips were returned from GOP senators for district court nominees, including four from former Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), four from former Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), one from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and one from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). The Biden White House has also recently nominated district court judges from Indiana and Idaho.

    Mike Davis, founder and president of the conservative Article III Project, acknowledged that Republican senators may not be “very eager to negotiate with the Biden White House [on] judges” given that “they can just wait two years” for a potential change in administration. Yet some say they’re willing to work with the Biden team.

    Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the committee, said in a statement that he looked forward to working with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and the White House “to ensure Texas continues to have top-notch federal judges.”

    Jordain Carney contributed to this report.

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Senate musical chairs: California prepares for political battle over Feinstein vacancy

    Senate musical chairs: California prepares for political battle over Feinstein vacancy

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    Dianne Feinstein, the 89-year-old who served as California senator for three decades, has yet to announce her retirement. But the contest to succeed her in two years is already shaping into a bitter battle.

    After months of shadow campaigning and whispered political leveraging, earlier this month, Katie Porter – the whiteboard-wielding progressive congresswoman – became the first to officially declare her candidacy. Barbara Lee, the old-school leftist with an ardent antiwar record, has reportedly told colleagues she is running. Adam Schiff, icon of the anti-Trump liberal resistance, has reportedly begun prepping for a run. Silicon valley congressman Ro Khanna is expected to jump in as well.

    In California’s open primary system, it’s possible, and likely, that two Democrats will face-off in the 2024 Senate race. Until then, voters may need to brace for what is sure to be a protracted, pricey two years of campaigning.

    And we’re likely to see an “avalanche” of candidates to come, said Wendy Schiller, a political science professor at Brown University.

    Porter’s early announcement drew criticism for coming not only before Feinstein had announced her retirement, but also amid a spate of severe storms in California. Following Porter’s announcement, Schiff pointedly used his campaign fundraising list to raise money for flood victims.

    Katie Porter reads a book in the House Chamber during the fourth day of Speaker elections.
    Katie Porter reads a book in the House Chamber during the fourth day of Speaker elections. Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    But Porter’s declaration also earned praise, for publicly owning up to the political plots that many ambitious California lawmakers have so far been devising in the dark. Concerns about Feinstein’s cognition and fitness to serve have been circulating for years, and quite a few candidates have been eyeing her seat for just as long.

    “The sooner you can get out the door and start talking to donors and consolidate support, the stronger you’ll be,” Schiller said. Porter already had $8m in her campaign war chest after beating back a Republican challenger in her competitive Orange county district, south-east of Los Angeles and managed to raise more than a million in the first day after announcing her run for Feinstein’s seat. Schiff has nearly $21m.

    Meanwhile Lee, a beloved Bay Area politician who has served in congress since 1998, hasn’t had to do a lot of fundraising so far. She’s got just over $50,000 on reserve. In a state that is dominated by the Democratic party, the ultimate victor could boil down to who has the most funding. And how each candidate manages to differentiate themselves from fellow lawmakers who ultimately agree on most major policy decisions.

    Barbara Lee speaks during a press conference with other members on the Inflation Reduction Act.
    Barbara Lee speaks during a press conference with other members on the Inflation Reduction Act. Photograph: Bonnie Cash/UPI/REX/Shutterstock

    “They’re not going to run on very slight policy differences,” Schiller said.“They’re going to run on who will be the strongest, most energetic – and they will use that word, energetic – advocate for the state of California.”

    Porter, who is a protege of senator Elizabeth Warren (and has already been endorsed by the senator) has built a reputation as a sharp interrogator at congressional hearings, and staunch defender of women’s rights. Her victories in purple Orange county will also have trained her to persevere in politically chequered California.

    Meanwhile, Schiff became a household name after serving as lead impeachment manager pursuing Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. While Schiff has earned the ire of criminal justice and immigrant rights advocates in California for his “tough on crime” record as a California legislator prior to being elected to Congress, he will likely be received as a more centrist and moderate alternative to the more leftist contenders.

    Adam Schiff speaks to members of the media after final hearing of the January 6 panel.
    Adam Schiff speaks to members of the media after final hearing of the January 6 panel. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP

    Lee, the only member of both chambers of Congress to vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force after 9/11, can rely on her unwavering progressive record. “I can personally attest to her courageous, bold, principled stances,” said Aimee Allison, president and founder of She the People, an organisation aimed at boosting the political power of women of colour.

    In the Bay Area, which has historically been the state’s political powerhouse and produced a spate of governors and senators including House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Feinstein, governor Gavin Newsom and vice-president Kamala Harris, Lee has strong support and has earned her bonafides working with the Black Panthers, then as a lawmaker pushing to limit defense spending, enacting gun control measures, climate legislation and protections for women’s rights.

    When Newsom was considering whom to appoint to the Senate seat vacated by Harris, Lee was a top contender. Now Allison and many other Californians are hoping to see a Black woman ascend to the Senate – at a time when there are none in the chamber. “Black women are the drivers of so many Democratic wins throughout the country at every level,” Allison said. That they aren’t represented at all in the Senate “is a travesty”, she said.

    Ro Khanna questions the panel during a House Committee on oversight and reform hearing.
    Ro Khanna questions the panel during a House Committee on oversight and reform hearing. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

    It’s still unclear whether Khanna will run against Lee if she declares – having hinted that he might make way for his fellow Bay Area progressive if she runs. Khanna, who has positioned himself to run for either Senate or the presidency in recent years with political tours around the US, has branded himself as someone who can bridge populism and the big tech that dominates his Silicon Valley district.

    Other potential contenders will make themselves known soon. Markedly missing from the field so far is a Latino candidate, in a state where 40% of residents are Latinx. Alex Padilla, the state’s junior senator, is the first Latino senator elected from California.

    Some politicos think Newsom himself may declare a run – even as others speculate that he is positioning himself for a presidential run.

    Feinstein still hasn’t said she’ll retire. But since Porter announced, “we’re all focused on the Senate race of 2024 – you can’t put that back in the box”, Allison said. “So the people who are serious about running for Senate – they’ve got to get started.”

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    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Gallego set to launch Senate bid, teeing up potential Sinema challenge

    Gallego set to launch Senate bid, teeing up potential Sinema challenge

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    A clash between Gallego and Sinema would inevitably turn chaotic and become one of the most highest-profile races in the country, pitting a 43-year-old former Marine and combat veteran against a 46-year-old triathlete and bipartisan deal-cutter. Sinema, in 2018, became the first Democrat to win a Senate race in the state in three decades, but Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) has won two races since with a more progressive record, suggesting there are multiple pathways for the party to win in the state.

    However, Gallego is unlikely to have uniform Democratic backing across the country, at least until Sinema makes a decision. Sinema has not yet decided whether to run for reelection and recently switched her party affiliation, though she essentially still caucuses with the Democrats.

    That puts the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and others in the caucus in an awkward position, as they determine whether to consider her an incumbent they have to defend. She’s one of three independent senators who caucuses with the Democrats.

    Sinema told local radio on Friday that people in her state are worn out from the last campaign and said she’s focused on immigration reform and other issues rather than her campaign: “I’m not really thinking about or talking about the election.

    “A never-ending focus on campaign politics is why so many people hate politics,” she told KTAR.

    The DSCC did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

    The party’s next moves after Gallego’s announcement will be critical, because Republicans are certain to contest the seat and Democrats will need to determine who is the most viable candidate to defeat a GOP contender. Both Kari Lake and Blake Masters, the 2022 nominees in the gubernatorial and Senate races, are among Arizona Republicans seen as potential contenders for the seat.

    Gallego’s imminent Senate launch was first reported by Newsweek.

    Ally Mutnick contributed to this report.

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • After Senate flex on Hochul judge pick, a budget battle looms

    After Senate flex on Hochul judge pick, a budget battle looms

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    And it came off to many as a clear, though not irreparable, miscalculation that was an embarrassing loss to start her term and one that could weaken the moderate governor’s standing at the state Capitol with an emboldened Legislature that has increasingly moved to the left.

    How both sides react next could set the tone for the next six months as the governor and Democrats in the Senate and Assembly negotiate a $220 billion state budget. After narrowly winning election last year, she’s also looking at proposals to reinvigorate New York City and the state with a massive housing plan and make further changes to the state’s controversial bail laws.

    “Governing is about compromise, but it’s also about understanding when you have leverage, how you use it, and never forfeiting it needlessly, which is what she’s appeared to do in the last few weeks,” said Bob Bellafiore, an Albany-based communications consultant and a former press secretary for Republican Gov. George Pataki.

    For example, a bargaining chip could have been to refuse to sign off on lawmakers’ pay raise in December until they could assure LaSalle would be approved, but she approved the raise and didn’t appear to offer any other enticement to get him over the finish line, two people close to the Senate and familiar with the negotiations said.

    Hochul also erred by not lining up support early for LaSalle, who would have been the first Latino chief judge, or perhaps pulling the nomination when it was likely to fail. Instead, she set herself up for defeat by trying to force it through the Senate when powerful unions — including CWA and the AFL-CIO — had already opposed him because they viewed a few of his court decisions as anti-abortion and anti-labor, which he refuted.

    “There was a lot of energy around this,” Sharon Cromwell, deputy state director for the Working Families Party, which opposed the nomination, said Thursday. “We understood the stakes of what it means to have a chief judge that has a track record of not standing with unions and working people — and a track record to make some anti-abortion decisions.”

    How does Hochul respond after the loss? She didn’t rule out a lawsuit to try to force a full Senate vote, but also vowed not to let it derail her agenda.

    “I did not say what course we’re taking,” Hochul told reporters Thursday. “I just said we’re weighing all of our options. But I put forth an ambitious plan for the people of New York. And I believe that there’s a lot of common interest between the executive and the legislative branch.”

    Senators who opposed LaSalle early on framed the historic rejection as the right and responsibility of the Senate, perhaps a nod to confirmations with governors past that have been nothing more than a rubber stamp, including the last one, Janet DiFiore in 2016 who was widely panned for her leadership and left under an ethics cloud last summer.

    LaSalle’s rejection is the first for a New York governor under the current nomination system that dates to the 1970s.

    “The Senate has now set a new standard in thorough, detailed hearings — an achievement for our democracy and a harbinger of future proceedings,” Deputy Senate Majority Leader Mike Gianaris said in a statement. LaSalle didn’t fit the wish list for a new chief judge that he and his colleagues had sent to the nominating commission months earlier, he said.

    Bronx Democrat Sen. Gustavo Rivera said in a statement he hoped everyone could move forward in round two. Hochul would have to select from a new list of candidates from the Commission on Judicial Nomination.

    “It is unfortunate that this process has become so acrimonious, and I implore the governor to work collaboratively with the Senate so that we may approve the nominee she selects next,” he said.

    While the state Constitution says a judge to the Court of Appeals nominated by a governor has to be confirmed with the “advice and consent” of the Senate, it’s not explicit about whether the committee membership adequately represents the chamber. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says it does. Hochul says it does not.

    Richard Briffault, a Columbia Law School professor who specializes in constitutional law, said it is unclear whether Hochul would win a lawsuit to force a full Senate vote.

    “The Constitution speaks about the Senate taking up the matter, but it doesn’t say what it means ‘by the Senate,’ and another provision of the constitution says the Senate can determine its own rules or proceeding,” Briffault said.

    Former Gov. David Paterson — a Hochul supporter who is also a former Senate minority leader — said he would have expected senators to bring the matter to a full Senate vote as Hochul wished as a way to avoid any legal uncertainty. The nomination was likely to fail on the Senate floor anyway — and would still if Hochul were to win a lawsuit.

    But Paterson noted that leaders in Albany have long memories.

    “It was a bad day for the governor,” Paterson said, but added, “The governor has four more years of days to establish who she is. Sooner or later, you know what they say: What goes around comes around. They are going to need her for something, and they are going to find out.”

    The former executive doesn’t see Hochul’s adherence to her pick as an error.

    “She picked a candidate that she knew they didn’t like. But she’s not supposed to be political here,” he said. “She’s supposed to be picking who she thinks would be the best judge at this time.”

    In the aftermath of the hearing, several senators said that despite the clash, they could easily maintain a working relationship with Hochul, who came into office after years of adversarial relations between the Legislature and her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo.

    She agreed. When asked Thursday if the LaSalle denial — and a potential legal battle — would hurt her housing, mental health and public safety priorities in the budget this year, she responded: “Nothing like this could detract from that.”

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Early action electrifies 2024 Senate battle

    Early action electrifies 2024 Senate battle

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    Candidates scrambled to stake a claim in the battleground of Michigan after Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow announced she’d be stepping down. Republicans are jumping into races in Indiana, West Virginia and Ohio. And the expected retirement of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is creating such a prime opportunity that Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) didn’t even wait on the incumbent’s announcement before launching her campaign.

    “Folks want to have ‘first mover’ advantage. And that’s what you’re seeing in each one of these places. People recognize that there’s a good chance to win, so they want to get out and stake a claim,” said Jason Thielman, the executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

    It’s a particularly important moment for Republicans, whose lackluster candidates last cycle cost the party Senate control as Democrats vastly outraised them and GOP nominees struggled to attract independent voters. Republicans are banking on a different outcome this time, hoping part of that formula will be National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and GOP leaders wading into primaries to help deliver better general election candidates, if needed.

    Porter joins early Republican Senate candidates like Ohio state Sen. Matt Dolan, West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney and Indiana Rep. Jim Banks. Former Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-Ind.) will visit Washington next week to meet with GOP senators, and Dolan is expected to hit the Hill in February for his own round of Senate meetings. And incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) announced his reelection campaign on Friday.

    More campaign launches in both parties are expected to become official in the coming days and weeks.

    “Recruitment is a top priority for us in the cycle. So we’re certainly thrilled to see a number of top-tier candidates already launching their campaigns,” Thielman said. He said the NRSC is “having conversations with many more and I think you’ll only see acceleration.”

    The Democratic strategy is all about retrenching around the three most vulnerable Democrats: Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Montana Sen. Jon Tester and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. Only Brown has committed to running again next fall. Beyond that, Democrats are defending five states where President Joe Biden won narrowly in 2020: Nevada, Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania. That’s a lot of terrain for Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Gary Peters to defend.

    “In states that are viewed as competitive there is a desire to keep as many of the incumbents running for re-election as possible,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). “Sen. Schumer, I think, has already started that [work].”

    Peters will help arbitrate an open and potentially crowded primary in his home state of Michigan, which is friendlier turf of late for Democrats but still likely to be a top-tier Senate race. Michigan Democratic Reps. Debbie Dingell and Elissa Slotkin are looking at the open seat, in addition to any number of Republicans — including Rep. John James (R-Mich.), who lost to both Peters and Stabenow in the past.

    Elsewhere, Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) say they are running for reelection, and Kaine and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) are preparing to do so. Those senators’ runs are critical for Democrats to keep control of the chamber. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is also ramping up her campaign for a third term.

    Less clear is what will happen in Arizona. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who essentially caucuses with Democrats, is undecided as Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) prepares to launch his own bid and Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) passes on a Senate run.

    Republicans could have a pile-up of their own if failed 2022 gubernatorial and Senate candidates Kari Lake and Blake Masters both run for the GOP nomination against more centrist opponents.

    Democrats’ pickup opportunities appear scant at the moment, marking a highly defensive cycle for a party that just achieved a real, if slim, majority. Provided they win the presidency, Democrats can afford to lose only one seat next year and still maintain Senate control.

    “Every reporter I talked to in October and November was convinced that Democrats were going to be in the minority right now. We’re not. In fact we picked up a seat,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said. “Yes, the map in ‘24 is challenging. But if Republicans continue in the direction they’re already trending in, I feel good.”

    Brown’s first declared opponent, Dolan, hails from the more centrist wing of the party, so he’s sure to have competition in Ohio. Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) and businessman Bernie Moreno are among the conservatives weighing bids.

    Yet Dolan is moving quickly to establish prime position after a third-place finish in last year’s primary, a bid he launched in September 2021.

    “Matt is aggressively moving around the state this week locking down support,” said Dolan adviser Chris Maloney. “We have received requests for meetings in D.C. and will be entertaining them in due time.”

    Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) was the first to announce he was running for Manchin’s seat two months ago, but more may jump in soon. Gov. Jim Justice (R) said this week he is “seriously considering” the race, as is Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who lost to Manchin in 2018. Morrisey told POLITICO that he is “seriously evaluating the options [and] will decide on a pathway” by April.

    In Montana, Republicans are bracing for a clash between GOP Reps. Matt Rosendale, a Freedom Caucus firebrand, and Ryan Zinke, a baggage-saddled former Cabinet secretary who passed on a race in 2018. Tester previously beat Rosendale in 2018, and former DSCC Chair Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) expressed confidence his Democratic colleague could do it again: “He is Mr. Montana.”

    Daines has indicated he’s willing to intervene in primaries if needed to produce viable candidates, which could make for tough decisions down the stretch. In the meantime, Republicans are hoping Tester’s and Manchin’s indecision works to their advantage.

    Still, Manchin already has $9.4 million on hand. Even that sum pales to the amount Porter may need to prevail in California, where Feinstein’s safe Democratic seat could nonetheless soon spark the most expensive race in the country. Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) both could enter the primary soon.

    And Banks’ early splash into the open seat in Indiana has accelerated a potential clash with Daniels over a safe, GOP-held seat opened up by GOP Sen. Mike Braun‘s run for governor. Banks is already rolling out endorsements while the conservative Club for Growth prepares to spend as much as $10 million against the former governor.

    Like Dolan, Mooney and Porter, Banks is hoping the early jump helps him seal the deal.

    “I’ll be the first in the race,” Banks said in an interview ahead of his Tuesday launch. “I’m sure others will run as well. I like my chances.”

    Marianne LeVine contributed to this report.

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    #Early #action #electrifies #Senate #battle
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )