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Senate Republicans
early and often
Feb. 29, 2024
Mitch McConnell’s Power Trip Finally Comes to an End With his control slipping due to health problems and a bad relationship with Donald Trump, McConnell announced he’ll step down as Senate leader.
early and often
Feb. 17, 2023
Rick Scott’s Revised ‘Rescue Plan’ Is Still Stuck on Stupid After damaging his party and delighting Democrats, Scott finally relented on sunsetting Social Security and Medicare — but not the other madness.
By Ed Kilgore
early and often
Aug. 8, 2022
The GOP Is the Party of Insulin-Gouging In their quest for zero-sum victories — and Democratic defeats — Republicans are incapable of tackling popular issues that would benefit them.
By Ross Barkan
Big Deadlines Stand Between Congress and Its Hot Vax Recess Schumer hopes the threat of spending August in D.C. will spark movement on the infrastructure deal and the budget reconciliation.
By Ed Kilgore
infrastructure
June 16, 2021
Democrats Are Locked In a Staring Contest Over Infrastructure The question is whether liberals or moderates will blink first.
By Eric Levitz
infrastructure
May 27, 2021
The Case for (and Against) a ‘Skinny’ Infrastructure Deal Accepting a bipartisan “skinny” deal could win Biden the goodwill of moderate Democrats — or cost him all leverage over them.
By Eric Levitz
infrastructure weak
May 24, 2021
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Negotiations Are Ready to Die No progress has been made on the fundamental obstacles to a deal. Democrats should cut bait posthaste.
By Eric Levitz
infrastructure
Apr. 15, 2021
GOP to Biden: Raise Taxes on Our Rural Base, Not Coastal Elites Biden wants to fund infrastructure with taxes on the (largely coastal) corporate elite. Republicans insist on soaking their own base instead.
By Eric Levitz
conservatism
Feb. 26, 2021
The $15 Minimum-Wage Debate Clarifies the Partisan Economic Divide Republican “populists” oppose a $15 minimum wage because they stand for predatory small-business owners, not working people.
By Eric Levitz
bipartisanship
Feb. 22, 2021
By Ed Kilgore
the filibuster
Jan. 27, 2021
The Democratic Party’s Civil War Over the Filibuster Has Barely Begun The Democrats’ existential interest in enacting major reforms — and its marginal senators’ aversion to tough votes — remain on a collision course.
By Eric Levitz
impeachment trial
Jan. 25, 2021
Senate Republicans Don’t Even Want to Have an Impeachment Trial Democrats will force the trial to go forward, but the odds of a conviction are low and getting lower.
By Ed Kilgore
coronavirus stimulus
Jan. 22, 2021
On COVID Relief, Dems Should Go Small Then Go It Alone Dare Republicans to oppose a clean “vaccines and checks” law, then roll everything else into a reconciliation bill they can pass on a party-line vote.
By Eric Levitz
vision 2020
Dec. 15, 2020
McConnell Finally Acknowledges Biden As President-elect It’s taken a long time, but the dam has broken, with Republican senators undermining any last-minute rebellion against the results in January.
By Ed Kilgore
coronavirus stimulus
Dec. 3, 2020
Senate Support Grows for Bipartisan Stimulus Bill One day after Pelosi and Schumer endorsed the framework, several more Republicans expressed grudging support for a deal like it.
By Eric Levitz
coronavirus stimulus
Dec. 1, 2020
Democrats Should (Probably) Take the New Bipartisan Stimulus Deal America’s vulnerable can’t wait two more months for relief. And $908 billion in stimulus today doesn’t rule out more tomorrow.
By Eric Levitz
senate republicans
Nov. 30, 2020
How Biden Could (Maybe) Fix His Senate Problem With One Weird Trick Pennsylvania’s Republican senator plans to retire in 2022. Biden should consider offering him a taste of executive power on his way out the door.
By Eric Levitz
covid-19 stimulus
Oct. 26, 2020
Another Day of Overtime Stimulus Talks Ends With No Deal Both sides are accusing the other of “moving the goal posts,” but in the end, it’s Trump who needs a preelection announcement.
By Ed Kilgore
coronavirus stimulus
Oct. 16, 2020
Why Doesn’t Trump Just Tell Mnuchin to Take a Deal? Trump might blame Pelosi or McConnell for failure to get a deal and a second stimulus check. But if any deal is better than none, it’s in his hands.
By Ed Kilgore
senate republicans
Oct. 14, 2020
GOP Vows to Serve As Check on Biden’s Plans to Avert Depression As Trump fades, Senate Republicans are distancing themselves from the president — by advertising economic priorities even more unpopular than his.
By Eric Levitz
coronavirus stimulus
Oct. 13, 2020
3 Reasons Pelosi Should Take Trump’s $1.8 Trillion Stimulus Deal The U.S. economy needs stimulus now — and there’s a high risk that Biden won’t be able to provide any next year.
By Eric Levitz
coronavirus stimulus
Sept. 30, 2020
Last-Gasp Stimulus Talks Proceed With Time Running Out A compromise bill brought the previously successful negotiating team of Steven Mnuchin and Nancy Pelosi to the table.
By Ed Kilgore
coronavirus stimulus
Sept. 24, 2020
Pelosi to Test How Badly Trump Wants His Signature on More Stimulus Checks The ballgame may now depend on whether Trump wants his signature on a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks badly enough to accept Pelosi’s deal.
By Ed Kilgore
coronavirus stimulus
Sept. 10, 2020
As Congressional Action on Stimulus Fails, Trump Could Actually Play President The failed Senate GOP “skinny stimulus” bill was a joke and negotiations have stalled, leaving Trump, for now, to act alone.
By Ed Kilgore
coronavirus stimulus
Sept. 3, 2020
Why the Deal to Avoid a Government Shutdown May Be Bad News Usually a deal that averts a shutdown is a good thing, but there’s a catch this time.
By Ed Kilgore
police reform
June 25, 2020
Senate Democrats Stall Republican Police-Reform Bill to Force Negotiations Bipartisan negotiations will have to occur unless both parties are satisfied with their positions on this subject going into November.
By Ed Kilgore
police reform
June 17, 2020
Competing Police-Reform Bills Quickly Emerge in Congress The biggest potential deal-breaker is the Democrats’ call for stripping police officers of “qualified immunity” against lawsuits.
By Ed Kilgore
coronavirus stimulus
May 13, 2020
Senate Republicans Want to Protect Corporations in Any New Stimulus Deal While calling for a pause in stimulus legislation, Republicans do hear cries for help from corporate leaders, which may make them cut a deal.
By Ed Kilgore
coronavirus stimulus
Apr. 16, 2020
Tense Negotiations Continue Over Next Round of Stimulus Democrats are hoping that Republicans budge on more money for state and local governments.
By Ed Kilgore
What’s Good, Bad, and Mediocre in the Coronavirus Stimulus Bill The legislation is great news for unemployed workers in the short term, bad news for reining in plutocracy in the long run.
By Eric Levitz
Coronavirus Exposes the Virulence of American Conservatism As British conservatives push historic aid to keep workers employed, the GOP is fighting to let bailed-out corporations cut staff.
By Eric Levitz
coronavirus
Mar. 20, 2020
Lobbyists Swarm as Congress Prepares Massive Aid Bill When the dinner bell rings, all sorts of hungry industries are making a case that they need help.
By Ed Kilgore
national emergency declaration
Mar. 12, 2019
Will Republicans Save Trump From an Embarrassing Vote on Emergency Declaration? A deal may be in the works where Trump okays a curtailment of presidential power in future emergency declarations in exchange for approval right now.
By Ed Kilgore
national emergency declaration
Feb. 26, 2019
Trump Could Face Major Embarrassment Over His Fake National Emergency The congressional resolution disapproving of the emergency looks like it might pass the Senate.
By Adam K. Raymond
national emergency declaration
Feb. 20, 2019
Can Congress Stop Trump’s State of Emergency Declaration? Congress can pass a joint resolution ending the state of emergency, but it would have to be veto-proof to stick.
By Ed Kilgore
Incivility Isn’t What’s Wrong With American Politics The term is just a euphemism that lets the GOP point a finger at those fighting injustice, and away from themselves.
By Sarah Jones
brett kavanaugh
Oct. 10, 2018
After Kavanaugh’s Confirmation, the GOP Will Surely Pass Criminal-Justice Reform Now that the GOP has discovered the importance of “the presumption of innocence,” it will surely end cash bail, and crack down on police brutality.
By Eric Levitz
the kavanaugh hearings
Sept. 18, 2018
Kavanaugh Is Becoming a Headache the GOP Could Do Without Even as they try to save Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Republicans are preparing for a “post-Kavanaugh” world.
By Eric Levitz
White House: U.S. Can’t Afford Veterans’ Health Care Without Cuts After adding $1.5 trillion to the deficit for tax cuts, Trump opposes adding to the debt to increase health-care funding for veterans.
By Eric Levitz
Is Trump Actually Going to Do Anything About Family Separation? Fear of looking “weak” has apparently paralyzed POTUS on what is becoming a true political crisis for him.
By Ed Kilgore
GOP Leader: Pruitt Has Some Explaining to Do As Republican support for the EPA director wanes, Scott Pruitt takes out his frustration on environmental science.
By Eric Levitz
Will Trump Make or Break an Immigration Deal? The odds of any legislation making it through the abattoir of both houses of Congress is limited at best — unless Trump gives Republicans cover.
By Ed Kilgore
Paul Ryan’s ‘Welfare Reform’ Plan Looks Doomed Many Senate Republicans do not want to take food and medical care away from the poor and elderly (in an election year, anyway).
By Eric Levitz
Here’s What’s in the Final Draft of the GOP Tax Bill Some of the worst provisions in previous bills have been scrapped. Most remain.
By Eric Levitz
Senate Republicans Accidentally Killed Some of Their Donors’ Favorite Tax Breaks Passing a tax bill that you wrote over lunch — and never actually read — appears to have some downsides.
By Eric Levitz
Republicans Have the Votes for a TBD Tax Bill Fifty-one GOP senators have agreed to vote for a tax bill that does not yet exist.
By Eric Levitz
Trump’s Obsession With the Number 20 Imperils the GOP Tax Bill Republicans could solve all of their tax package’s problems easily — if the president weren’t arbitrarily fixated on a 20 percent corporate tax rate.
By Eric Levitz
Susan Collins Is Sure This Will All End Great for Everyone McConnell promised Collins that the GOP won’t slash Medicare — and will shore up Obamacare — if she votes for tax cuts first.
By Eric Levitz
The GOP Keeps Admitting Its Economic Theory Is Incompatible With Democracy Republicans say that their tax cuts will only work if businesses can be certain that they will never be repealed.
By Eric Levitz
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