Support Us - Launching Soon
 
Amount
Details
Payment
Choose Your Donation Amount To Support VoteDown
Your support will help VoteDown in its non-profit mission to make American Democracy responsive to the will of the voters.
$10
$25
$50
$100
$250
$500
Make it monthly!
 
Yes, count me in!
 
No, donate once
Pay With Credit Card

Elizabeth Warren

 
Elizabeth Warren Image
Title
Senator
Massachusetts
Party Affiliation
Democrat
2025
2030
Social Media Accounts
Twitter
: @
SenWarren
Instagram
: @
senwarren
Donate Against (Primary Election)
Donate Against (General Election)
Top Contributors
(2022 - current)
38,284
Google Inc
Google Inc
$38,284
Harvard University
$38,005
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
$29,494
Boston University
$29,378
Apple Inc
$24,285
Top Industries
(2022 - current)
1,992,621
Hospitals/Nursing Homes
Hospitals/Nursing Homes
$1,992,621
Retired
$1,468,181
Education
$1,385,855
Democratic/Liberal
$645,014
Health Professionals
$464,736
VoteDown vs Influence Donors
Data supplied by OpenSecrets.org
Representative Offices
Address
15 New Sudbury Street
Building
2400 JFK Federal Building
City/State/Zip
Boston MA, 02203
Phone
617-565-3170
Address
1550 Main St.
Suite
Suite 406
City/State/Zip
Springfield MA, 01103
Phone
413-788-2690
News
02/03/2025 --dailykos
Democrats are calling out President Donald Trump’s recent tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China as exactly what they are: an economic disaster. Alarmed Democratic lawmakers began releasing forceful statements on Saturday, immediately after Trump signed the executive order that even the right-leaning Wall Street Journal editorial board criticized for kicking off the “dumbest trade war in history.” Economists and pundits alike agree that the tariffs will increase prices on everything from groceries to gas to car manufacturing.“Let’s call these tariffs what they are: Trump’s Taxes on Working Families,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement. “If these tariffs remain in place, it will jack up the price of groceries and goods, make gas more expensive, and raise utility bills. While Donald Trump is making millions off his corrupt crypto schemes and memes, working families will pay the price.”Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren called for vigilance and action.“I’m concerned that President Trump will give cover to giant corporations to use his tariffs as an excuse to raise prices on working families while doling out waivers to billionaires and well-connected insiders,” Warren said in a press release. “Congress will conduct rigorous oversight of what the President does and we—and the American people—will hold him accountable.” Leaders in states whose economies rely heavily on auto manufacturing are worried Trump’s unwieldy tariffs could lead to mass layoffs and shutter production lines. According to the Detroit Regional Chamber, Michigan’s auto industry contributes $304 billion to the state’s economy, with nearly one-quarter of all U.S. auto production happening there in 2022. “A 25 percent tariff will hurt American auto workers and consumers, raise prices on cars, groceries, and energy for working families and put countless jobs at risk,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “Trump’s middle-class tax hike will cripple our economy and hit working-class, blue-collar families especially hard.” On Sunday, Trump admitted on his Truth Social site that Americans should probably prepare for extra misery thanks to his reckless executive order. “WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!),” Trump screamed in the post. “BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID.”The U.S. economy is already feeling the consequences of Trump’s tantrum. When the markets opened on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted, the Nasdaq dropped, and the S&P 500 Index declined in the wake of Trump’s latest ego trip. The market drop reversed later on Monday when Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a deal that will halt tariffs on Mexico for one month after they had a “friendly” conversation on border security. But the stock market volatility is just one way that these new tariffs are already impacting the U.S. economy. That’s cause for concern for Americans who are already tired of Trump 2.0-–especially those in reliably red states like Kentucky, where Trump’s 2018 tariffs on European steel and aluminum prompted a 25% retaliatory tariff on American whiskey that cost the industry $580 million, according to the Kentucky Distillers Association.Meanwhile, U.S. food prices have not gone down—they’ve gone up. Higher price tags on everything including all-important eggs are a stark reality in grocery stores despite Trump’s central campaign promise to lower prices. “I won on groceries,” Trump boasted during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” in December. “Very simple word, groceries.” Democratic leaders are hammering Trump for not fulfilling his pledge to Americans and only making things worse.“Republicans have failed to deliver on their central promise of lowering costs,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement on Saturday. “Instead, they have freed violent felons, attempted to end Medicaid as we know it and plan to enact massive tax cuts for their billionaire donors.”Jeffries made sure to include Trump’s loyal GOP minions in his scathing rebuke.“The tariffs imposed by the administration and strongly supported by House Republicans will not lower the high cost of living for everyday Americans,” he said. “Instead, it will likely do the exact opposite and make life more expensive.”Trump’s latest tantrum is just another distracting move in his scheme to seize more power and rule with reckless abandon, leaving Americans as unwilling passengers while a madman drives the global economy into the ground.Campaign Action
02/03/2025 --rawstory
In a post on X, unelected government official Elon Musk revealed that he has cut the staff of the Internal Revenue Service that oversaw the system that allows Americans to file their taxes for free easily on its website.A right-wing MAGA influencer called the "direct file" tax program a "far left government wide computer office" that was "built by Elizabeth Warren." He claimed, "Direct file puts the government in charge of preparing people's tax returns for them," he claimed.Musk responded by saying, "That group has been deleted."ALSO READ: 'It costs money!' Some Republicans push back at Musk's pressure to shut down governmentThus far, the website remains active.The Treasury Department said on its website, "Direct File is a historic new IRS service that allows eligible taxpayers to prepare and file their tax return online, for free, including access to help from dedicated IRS Direct File customer support representatives."It was available in both Spanish and English and wasn't a mandatory program for anyone. Those who didn't trust the system could still fill out their taxes by hand and mail them.
02/03/2025 --nbcnews
WASHINGTON — In what appears to be yet another move to consolidate parts of the federal government, President Donald Trump has appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
02/03/2025 --sltrib
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green wants Sen. John Curtis to vote against RFK Jr., Trump's HHS secretary nominee. Here's why.
02/03/2025 --benzinga
Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have been granted access to a sensitive Treasury Department payment system containing personal data of millions of Americans receiving tax refunds, Medicare, Social Security and other payments from the federal government.How Did This $6 Trillion Agency Fall Under Musk’s Purview? According to the New York Times, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approved the access late Friday, which coincided with the resignation of David Lebryk, a career Treasury official who clashed with DOGE over the system. The Bureau of Fiscal Service, normally run by civil servants, processes over $6 trillion annually.Democrats Are FuriousSen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee sent a letter on Monday to Bessent demanding answers, calling Musk's "meddling” with a system that processes trillions in transactions "extraordinarily dangerous.""I am alarmed that as one of your first acts as Secretary, you appear to have handed over a ...Full story available on Benzinga.com
02/03/2025 --whittierdailynews
This comes after billionaire Elon Musk announced President Donald Trump had agreed with him to shut USAID.
01/30/2025 --laconiadailysun
Donald Trump won the 2024 election in part because the Left’s hysterical style of attacking Trump no longer worked.
01/30/2025 --rollcall
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One on Friday.
01/30/2025 --kron4
Hearing-mania is set to consume Capitol Hill on Thursday as a trio of President Trump's top allies appear for high-stakes confirmation showdowns with senators that could make or break their chances of getting across the finish line. Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Kash Patel will simultaneously appear for confirmation hearings Thursday morning, setting [...]
01/30/2025 --foxnews
RFK Jr. is back on the Hill for a second day of testimony, this time before a different Senate committee, after a first round that was contentious but saw no GOP defections.
01/29/2025 --dailykos
Democratic senators brought the fire to a Wednesday confirmation hearing that will help determine whether or not notorious anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will become Donald Trump’s secretary of health and human services.New Hampshire’s Maggie Hassan wiped the floor with Kennedy during his appearance before the Senate Finance Committee. She started by drilling him on all of his crazy vaccine claims before skewering his brazen flip-flop on reproductive rights."So, Mr. Kennedy, I'm confused. You have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values,” Hassan said. “The question is, do you stand for that value or not? When was it that you decided to sell out the values you've had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump?"While Kennedy tried his hardest to sidestep the question, Hassan was not having any of it. "So what you're telling us, just to be clear, because my time is limited, is that regardless of what you believe, regardless of what values you have, if President Trump tells you to do something, you're going to do it," she summarized.xxYouTube VideoSen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said he and Kennedy seemed to agree about the corruption of our health care system, but then backed Kennedy into a corner when he asked the faux health crusader a simple question: Is health care a human right?“In the way that free speech is a human right?” Kennedy responded, before attempting to squirm out of it. Sanders finished Kennedy off by calling out the anti-vaccine baby onesies his so-called health advocacy group is hawking online.xxYouTube VideoSen. Tina Smith of Minnesota held Kennedy’s feet to the fire about the many times he has misinformed the public about a supposed link between antidepressants and school shootings.Numerous studies have debunked the misinformation on mental health that RFK Jr. and the GOP have relied on in order to stall and undermine attempts at gun safety legislation. Of course, there is evidence that school shootings lead to more young people requiring antidepressant treatments after they have survived the terror.xxYouTube VideoElizabeth Warren’s ability to walk Kennedy right into exposing himself as yet another Trumpy grifter was a master class in itself. The senator from Massachusetts got into it with the nominee when he tried to wriggle out of committing not to profit off of his position if he is confirmed as Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. xxYouTube VideoDaily Kos is ready to hold Trump accountable every step of the way. But we need your help. Give $3 a month to support Daily Kos coverage and news you can do something about.
01/25/2025 --stltoday
The firings were carried out without giving Congress 30-day notices — something even a top Republican said violated the law.
01/25/2025 --huffpost
The Trump administration has fired about 17 independent inspectors general at federal agencies.
01/22/2025 --dailybreeze
Those of us who understand how great the work of business leaders is, are the ones who need to stand up. First
01/21/2025 --kron4
Senate Democrats are sounding the alarm over a sworn affidavit from the ex-sister-in-law of Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth that accuses him of being abusive toward his second wife. The document emerged Tuesday, one day after the Senate Armed Services Committee advanced Hegseth’s nomination on a party-line vote and as Senate Republicans push to complete [...]
01/18/2025 --washingtontimes
Some women still wore the pink cat-eared hats of yesteryear, but otherwise Saturday's protest was virtually unrecognizable from the landmark 2017 Women's March that signaled the start of the anti-Trump resistance.
01/18/2025 --dailykos
Like the rest of the tech billionaire class, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has decided to give up any pretense of ethics in order to cozy up to President-elect Donald Trump.Zuckerberg killed Meta’s fact checking and ended all of the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.In order to do some damage control—and to audition for the Trump administration’s favor—Zuckerberg went on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has become a forum for billionaires to act aggrieved as they take control of the country. When Rogan asked Zuckerberg to elaborate on how he has become a victim of a politicized government, Zuckerberg rambled on.“So we had organizations that were looking into us that were, like, not really involved with social media. Like I think like the CFPB like, this, financial—I don't even know what it stands for. It's the ... it's the financial organization that Elizabeth Warren had set up. And, and it's basically, it's like, we're not a bank,” he said.xxYouTube VideoThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which started under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act , has been investigating Meta over allegations that it misuses private data for financial gain.The idea that Zuckerberg doesn’t know what the CFPB is or that it doesn’t exclusively involve banks (having also investigated Apple, Amazon, Google, etc.) is incredibly disingenuous. He’s either so outrageously dumb that shareholders must force him to leave the business, or he’s lying on Rogan’s show for a reason.“They kind of found some theory they wanted to investigate. And it’s like, okay, clearly they were trying really hard, right? To like, to like, find, find some theory, but it, like, I don’t know. It just, it kind of, like, throughout the, the, the, the, the party and the government, there was just sort of, I don’t know if it’s, I don’t know how this stuff works. I mean, I’ve never been in government,” Zuckerberg told Rogan.xxYouTube VideoIs the CEO of Meta talking about the CFPB’s investigation? Or maybe he’s talking about the upcoming anti-trust trial between Meta and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Since Trump’s first term, Meta has been fighting to keep anti-trust laws from breaking up its control of Facebook and Instagram. Outgoing FTC Chair Lina Khan told CNBC that she wasn’t surprised companies like Meta are trying to “get some type of sweetheart deal” from the incoming Trump administration.While on Rogan’s podcast, Zuckerberg cravenly appealed to the insecure and aggrieved male audience, telling Rogan that the “corporate world is pretty culturally neutered,” before arguing that “masculine energy” was lacking in the workforce today. “It’s one thing to say we want to be kind of, like, welcoming and make a good environment for everyone, and I think it’s another to basically say that 'masculinity is bad,’” he said.According to The New York Times, the ever-masculine Zuckerberg followed that up a few days later by throwing his former COO Sheryl Sandberg under the bus for Meta’s previous DEI policies.Zuckerberg has secured his special VIP seat at Trump’s inauguration, along with fellow oligarchs Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Now he just needs all of those pesky consumer protection watchdogs to go away.Are you sick and tired of Elon Musk? Click this link for instant access to Daily Kos and staff accounts on Bluesky. Follow along for the latest news to stay informed and engaged!
01/17/2025 --dailykos
Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Michael Bennet of Colorado sent letters to tech company CEOs at OpenAI, Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Uber about their or their companies’ million-dollar donations to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund. In each letter, the senators remind the tech giants that their generous donations come at a suspicious time as their industry has “come under increased scrutiny from federal regulators for antitrust violations, violations of privacy, and harms to workers, consumers, and competition.”“We are concerned that your company and other Big Tech donors are using your massive contributions to the inaugural fund to cozy up to the incoming Trump administration in an effort to avoid scrutiny, limit regulation, and buy favor,” the letter reads.Some of those big-money donations come from people like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, whose company reportedly donated at least $1 million to Trump’s inauguration. But as Warren and Bennet explained in the letter to the Amazon CEO, his company “is the subject of multiple ongoing regulatory actions, including multiple Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suits related to anticonsumer and anticompetitive practices, a Department of Justice (DOJ).”Uber and its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi donated a combined $2 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi“The company is the subject of an ongoing FTC investigation for predatory practices,” Warren and Bennet wrote in their letter to him, referring to the recent investigation into the ride-hailing company’s subscription and cancelation policies.OpenAI CEO Sam Altman donated $1 million to Trump. And the senators’ letter to him details how his company is under both an FTC investigation concerning its consumer practices as well as one from the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning its investors.Google donated $1 million to Trump’s fund, and CEO Sundar Pichai was reminded by Warren and Bennet that the search giant “was found by a federal court to have an illegal monopoly over the online search market.” Google has promised to appeal the ruling, and it will be up to Trump’s Department of Justice to decide whether to contest its appeal.Meta, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, got its $1 million in early—after limiting political news on Facebook in the months leading up to the 2024 election. All this clearly seems done in order to ingratiate Zuckerberg and his company to Trump. Meta is facing a FTC antitrust lawsuit in April.Meta CEO Mark ZuckerbergAccording to Democracy Now, Trump's inauguration committee has raised upward of $250 million. To put into perspective, before Trump’s inaugural committee raised more than $100 million during his first go-round, the largest amount of money ever spent on an inauguration was President Barack Obama, who reportedly raised $50 million. Craig Holman, a lobbyist for the consumer-rights group Public Citizen, reports that much of that money has been donated by billionaires, such as the tech CEOs whom Warren and Bennet sent the letters to.Many of the CEOs who received letters from the senators are expected to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday, and have been given VIP status for the day. And it cost them only a drop in their buckets.Click here for Daily Kos’ Bluesky Starter Pack. Join us on Bluesky and @#$% Elon Musk!
01/17/2025 --abcnews
In one of her last acts as Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen says her agency will start taking “extraordinary measures,” or special accounting maneuvers intended to prevent the nation from hitting the debt ceiling, on January 21, in a letter sent to con...
01/17/2025 --axios
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed Friday that Democratic senators had sent him a letter alleging "he has a clear and direct interest in obtaining favors" from Donald Trump and is using his donations "to cozy up" to the incoming administration to avoid regulatory scrutiny.Why it matters: Altman was one of several tech titans who donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration. In a statement to Axios in response to the senators' letter, an OpenAI spokesperson said: "Sam believes that President Trump will lead our country during a pivotal moment for AI and American innovation, and looks forward to working with him and his administration."Altman posted the letter on X, adding: "funny, they never sent me one of these for contributing to democrats."Driving the news: The letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) stated that "million-dollar gifts" to Trump's inaugural fund by Altman and tech firms like Google, Meta, Microsoft and Uber, "raise questions about corruption and the influence of corporate money" on the Trump administration.Altman was one of a few tech CEOs who donated personally, rather than via their companies. Apple CEO Tim Cook did the same, as Axios scooped.Representatives for Warren and Bennet didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.What they're saying: In the letter, lawmakers said that "the industry's efforts suggest that Big Tech companies are trying to curry favor and skirt the rules."The letter includes a list of questions, with a Jan. 25 deadline for Altman to respond. They include: "What is your rationale for these contributions?" and "When and under what circumstances did your company decide to make these contributions to the Trump inaugural fund?"In his response, Altman noted that he'd made a personal contribution and thus "i am confused about the questions given that my company did not make a decision."Flashback: Altman told Fox News in December he would donate $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund, saying he was "eager to support" Trump's efforts to "lead our country into the age of AI."He's changed his tune since 2016, when he stated in a post on X that "I am voting against Trump" as "he is unfit to be President and would be a threat to national security."Between the lines: Trump has vowed to repeal President Biden's AI executive order from 2023 that outlined the steps companies and the government will be directed to take to foster responsible AI.
01/17/2025 --thehill
Senator Elizabeth Warren has called on President-elect Trump's defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, to divest from thousands of dollars worth of defense company stocks held by his wife, Jennifer Rauchet, due to potential conflicts of interest.
01/14/2025 --foxnews
Conservatives on social media praised Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth's performance at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday where the exchanges often became fiery.
01/14/2025 --dailykos
Democrats hammered defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, slamming the Fox News host for his sexist views on women in combat, his alleged sexual impropriety, his alleged drinking on the job, and his bad managerial skills that led to his exit from two veterans charities.Their tough questioning came as Republicans handled Hegseth with kid gloves, protecting him from accountability by limiting questions from senators and by allowing an exceedingly incomplete FBI report to stand as sufficient for his confirmation.Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia asked some of the toughest questions of Hegseth during Tuesday’s hearing.Kaine questioned Hegseth about his alleged infidelity, accusation of sexual assault, allegations from colleagues that Hegseth drank on the job, and the fact that Hegseth withheld information about these accusations from Donald Trump's team during the interview process for the role.When Kaine asked Hegseth whether it's disqualifying to show up drunk at work, Hegseth didn't answer and instead falsely claimed those reports came from anonymous sources. In fact, one of the people who accused Hegseth of workplace impropriety was Jessie Jane Duff, a Marine veteran and former Trump campaign official who in 2016 sought to get Hegseth removed as head of the Concerned Veterans of America group, CBS News reported.When Hegseth told Kaine he is "an open book," Kaine scoffed, noting that Hegseth's accusers are under "multiple nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements" that are "tying the hands of many people who would like to comment to us."Kaine also brought up that Hegseth has defied oaths he's taken in the past, including to be faithful to his wives—of which Hegseth has had three. "You had just fathered a child two months before by a woman that was not your wife. I am shocked that you would stand here and say you're completely cleared. Can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child that had been born two months before? And you tell us you were completely cleared?" Kaine said.Kaine refused to accept Hegseth's excuse that the allegations against him shouldn't be believed because they were made anonymously, saying that among the people who made the allegations against Hegseth was his own mother.“You claimed that this was all anonymous. We have seen records with names attached to all of these, including the name of your own mother. So don’t make this into some anonymous press thing,” Kaine said, basically accusing Hegseth of lying.xHegseth: Anonymous false chargesKaine: They’re not anonymous.. We have seen records with names attached to all of these including your own mother pic.twitter.com/cfzrEcH0AD— Acyn (@Acyn) January 14, 2025Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona built on that line of questioning, saying Hegseth’s excuses about his drinking and sexual misconduct do not add up"Which is it—have you overcome personal issues, or are you the target of a smear campaign? It can't be both. It's clear to me that you're not being honest with us or the American people because you know the truth would disqualify you from getting the job,” Kelly said. “And just as concerning as each of these specific disqualifying accusations are, what concerns me just as much is the idea of having a secretary of defense who is not transparent.”Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a military veteran who lost both of her legs in combat in Iraq, quizzed Hegseth on basic information about the military, and Hegseth could not answer.Duckworth asked him to name one member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the relationship the United States has with them. Hegseth couldn’t answer."I suggest you do a little homework," Duckworth told Hegseth, later adding “You’re not qualified, Mr. Hegseth.”xYIKES! Duckworth asks Hegseth to name a country that's in ASEAN. He names three -- none of which are in ASEAN."I suggest you do a little homework," she says. pic.twitter.com/Hfxb6iPpNL— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 14, 2025Sen. Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan, brought up the fact that Hegseth has no experience managing massive organizations like the Pentagon, and that confirming him would be akin to lowering the standards for the Department of Defense that Hegseth has railed against."You talk about standards, you talk ... that we have a problem of standards in the DOD, and that we have to raise standards for the men and women who serve. Do you think that the way to raise the minimum standards of the people who serve us is to lower the standards for the secretary of defense, that we have someone who has never managed an organization more than 100 people?" Peters said. xPeters: You talk about standards, you talk about raising, or that we have a problem of standards in the DOD, and we have to raise standards for the men and women who serve. Do you think that the way to raise the minimum standards of the people who serve us is to lower the... pic.twitter.com/zSZFxG6RBt— Acyn (@Acyn) January 14, 2025Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren brought up Hegseth's past misogynistic comments. In particular, on a Nov. 7 podcast, he said, “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.” However, since being nominated by Trump, he has had a magical change in point of view, saying that women are qualified for combat.“What extraordinary event happened in that 32-day period that made you change the core values you had expressed for the preceding 12 years?” Warren said.x.@ewarren to Hegseth: You've said ‘I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles’ and ‘Women are inferior soldiers.’ What extraordinary event happened in a 32-day period that made you change your values you had expressed for the preceding 12 years? pic.twitter.com/l3ofPZ4NFc— FactPost (@factpostnews) January 14, 2025But none of Hegseth’s past comments or behavior seemed to concern the Republicans on the panel, who asked softball questions and even defended Hegseth’s vile conduct.Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma went as far as saying that because some members of the Senate drink before casting votes or have cheated on wives, that it’s okay that Hegseth has done the same."Sen. Kaine—or I guess I better use ‘the senator from Virginia’—starts bringing up the fact that 'What if you showed up drunk to your job?' How many senators have shown up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from your job?” Mullin said. “And then how many senators you know have gotten a divorce for cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down? No."The problem with Mullin’s logic is obvious: Just because some senators have allegedly acted that way doesn’t render Hegseth’s alleged actions meaningless. Additionally, those lawmakers weren’t nominated to be secretary of defense.xMarkwayne Mullin: "Senator Kaine, or I guess I better use the senator from Virginia, starts bringing up the fact that 'what if you showed up drunk to your job?' How many senators have shown up drunk to vote at night? ... how many senators have gotten a divorce for cheating?" pic.twitter.com/4ErJAm2byz— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 14, 2025Ultimately, Democrats laid bare how unqualified Hegseth is to lead the Pentagon. But Republicans are set to confirm Hegseth anyway, kowtowing to Trump’s demand that they all roll over and accept his deeply unprepared and corrupt nominees. Godspeed to the Pentagon with this clown at the helm.Thank you to the Daily Kos community who continues to fight so hard with Daily Kos. Your reader support means everything. We will continue to have you covered and keep you informed, so please donate just $3 to help support the work we do.
01/14/2025 --nbcnews
Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked Pete Hegseth which of his "core values" changed following his nomination for secretary of defense that caused him to shift his long-held opinion that women do not belong in combat "at all."
01/14/2025 --rollcall
Pete Hegseth said during his confirmation hearing Tuesday that he was focused on increasing the military’s lethality.
01/14/2025 --unionleader
WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, came under fire during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday as Democrats railed against him and voiced deep concern about his inexperience, alleged drunkenness and past opposition to women...
01/14/2025 --dailykos
Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth will publicly face senators for the first time Tuesday after weeks of privately pushing back on criticism over his qualifications and personal past.Hegseth, a 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News Channel weekend host, has faced strong criticism from Democrats over his thin resume compared to previous defense secretaries, along with allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and mismanagement of veterans organization finances — all of which he denies.Many Republicans have been vocally supportive of Hegseth’s nomination, but others have remained noncommittal as the reports surfaced about his past behavior.President-elect Donald Trump has remained strongly supportive of Hegseth, who has worked to win favor with Senate Republicans in one-on-one meetings over the last month.Trump posted on social media in December that “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!”Here’s what to watch as Hegseth’s hearing gets underway on Tuesday morning:How he would run the departmentRepublicans have said they view Hegseth’s combat experience as an asset, but Democrats say they are deeply concerned that he is largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage.The PentagonThe Defense Department has a budget exceeding $800 billion, with about 1.3 million active-duty troops and another 1.4 million in the National Guard and Reserves and civilian employees based worldwide. Hegseth would face a daunting array of global crises, from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and the expanding alliance between Russia and North Korea to the growing competition with China.Look for Democrats to question Hegseth on the specifics of how he would manage the huge department — and how he would represent the United States in diplomatic situations around the world.“We need a serious candidate, one that is capable of doing this job,” said Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat on the committee.Republicans say his resume is an advantage over traditional Pentagon leaders and praise him for wanting to overhaul the department.“While maybe not the credentials that have traditionally been on the resume of nominees for secretary of defense, I think that he brings plenty and he brings some things that some of those more traditional nominees didn’t bring,” said North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican member of the panel. “He’ll be disruptive in a good way.”Women in combatHegseth said as recently as last year that women “straight up” should not serve in combat roles. So attention will be on the two female Iraq War veterans on the committee — Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa and Democrat Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who lost both legs when a Blackhawk helicopter she was piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.Sen. Tammy DuckworthDuckworth said ahead of the hearing that she will question Hegseth on whether he will try and reduce the role of women in combat and how he would do so. How would it affect recruiting? Would men be deployed more often as a result? “We can’t go to war without them,” she said.Ernst has met with Hegseth twice after saying she wants to hear more about his views. She has not yet said if she will support him.Hegseth said on "The Megyn Kelly Show” in December that “if we have the right standard and women meet that standard, roger. Let’s go.”Allegations of sexual assaultHegseth has been fighting back against allegations of excessive drinking and the revelation that he made a settlement payment after being accused of a sexual assault that he denies.Sen. Joni ErnstDemocrats are expected to demand an explanation from Hegseth. In a letter to him last week, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is on the Armed Services panel, questioned if Hegseth would be able to lead, saying she was “deeply concerned by the many ways in which your past behavior and rhetoric indicates that you are unfit."Republican Sen. Ernst, who is a survivor of sexual assault, said her second meeting with Hegseth had “ encouraging conversations.” She said Hegseth committed “to completing a full audit of the Pentagon” and to hiring a senior official who will “prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks.”Many Republicans have rallied around Hegseth, with some appearing to question if the reports are true. Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty said last month that it is a “shame” that something that has been previously investigated “is back to some he said, she said thing.”Will he have the votes?Hegseth is likely to have near-unanimous Republican support on the committee and potentially in the full Senate. But it could depend on how effectively he is able to defend himself, and his point of view, in the hearing. He can only lose four Republican votes in the 53-47 Senate if all Democrats vote against his confirmation, as Vice President-elect JD Vance could cast a tie-breaking vote.South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican member of the Armed Services panel, said Hegseth has been straightforward with Republican senators that he knows he will have to address some of the allegations against him.“I think he will,” Rounds said, “and at the same time, we’ll give him ample opportunity to talk about what he believes his role would be as a secretary, and the vision that he has for the department.”Rounds said he expects to support Hegseth, unless anything changes. “I think the president gets the benefit of the doubt in his nominees,” he said.Campaign Action
01/14/2025 --forbes
Pete Hegseth: Here’s What To Know About Trump’s Department Of Defense Pick—Amid Senate Grilling
01/14/2025 --dailycamera
Defense secretary nominee will publicly face senators for the first time after weeks of privately pushing back on criticism
12/30/2025 --cbsnews
Former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 100, led an extraordinary life that began at a peanut farm in Plains, Georgia, and went on to include four years in the world's most powerful office.
12/30/2025 --unionleader
Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown continued to tease a return to politics over the weekend, and he now says he’s doing the early legwork required before deciding whether to hang up his guitar and seek another senate term.
12/30/2025 --huffpost
President-elect Donald Trump's picks to police monopolies have pleased people in both parties, but some antitrust crusaders remain skeptical.
12/30/2025 --bostonherald
The former Bay State politician thinks his native New Hampshire deserves more than the all-Democrat delegation has given.
12/29/2025 --martinsvillebulletin
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died. He was 100 years old and had spent more than a year in hospice care.
12/29/2025 --starexponent
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died. He was 100 years old and had spent more than a year in hospice care.
12/29/2025 --morganton
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died. He was 100 years old and had spent more than a year in hospice care.
12/26/2024 --twincities
Musk and Andreessen are the leading edge of a false populism that hides an agenda that will unfold over the next four years designed to benefit the wealthy at everyone else’s expense.
12/22/2024 --foxnews
Trump allies are dismantling a Democratic narrative promoted by Sen. Elizabeth Warren that the GOP blocked childhood cancer funding, despite passing a funding bill months ago.
12/22/2024 --necn
Democrats are increasingly calling into question the level of influence Elon Musk has over President-elect Donald Trump’s decision-making.Some lawmakers said Sunday they believe the chaos reflects a lack of unity in the Republican party, while others praised Musk for bringing a level of transparency to the American public.As Congress regroups following another averted government shutdown, Democratic lawmakers are increasingly calling into question the level of influence Elon Musk has over President-elect Donald Trump as the latter prepares to enter the White House in just a few weeks.Last week, Trump – with help from Musk – effectively killed a 1,500-page bipartisan funding legislation drafted by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R.-La., to fund the government beyond Friday. Following 11th-hour negotiations, Congress and President Joe Biden eventually passed a bill in the early hours of Saturday morning.But Musk has come under fire from some Democrats claiming his tweets interfered with the legislative process. With more than 208 million followers on X, formerly Twitter, Musk voiced his opposition to the bill in several dozens of posts.“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk posted Wednesday afternoon.His comments led some critics of Trump to point out that Musk seems to be calling the shots, mockingly calling him “President Musk.” In response, Musk tried to downplay those claims, and a Trump spokesperson issued a statement saying, “President Trump is the leader of the Republican party. Full stop.”Still, some lawmakers think otherwise. House Democrats Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut said their Republican colleagues caved to Musk’s demands, which they argue were driven by his interest in maintaining good relations with China.In response, Congressman French Hill, R-Ark., said Sunday morning on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he doesn’t “believe that was at the heart of the 1,500-page problem” and emphasized the need for the Republican party to work together because of the narrow majority.Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts also slammed Musk for his role in the legislative process, posting, “Last time I checked, nobody voted for the richest man in the world to run the federal government.”Lawmakers respond to power dynamicsIn an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Republican Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty praised Musk’s ability to “bring transparency” to the proposed bill through posting on X, adding that his office was inundated with calls from constituents after Musk posted about the contents of the bill.“Thank God Elon Musk bought Twitter, because that’s the only way we would even know what’s in this bill. Otherwise, the conspiracy between the government and Twitter would have continued, and this would have all been covered up,” Hagerty said.When asked about the power balance between Trump and Musk, Hagerty said Trump is “clearly the leader.”Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that he believes Musk reflects the voice of the American people.“It’s kind of interesting. We have a president, we have a vice president, we have a speaker. It feels like Elon Musk is our prime minister,” Gonzales said, emphasizing the need for Republicans to stay united as Trump prepares to enter office.That sentiment was echoed by Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, who said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the chaos of last week is a “predictor of what’s likely to happen” again in March, when the deal expires and Congress returns to the negotiation table.He also highlighted the lack of unity among Republicans in the negotiations last week, saying he believes it will be difficult for the party to pass much of Trump’s agenda once he takes office. “We’re not just going to have President-elect Trump as a billionaire rage tweeting at 4 a.m. – we’re going to have Elon Musk also injecting instability into how we tackle very complicated and important issues for our country,” Coons said.
12/18/2024 --axios
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will unveil on Wednesday his list of Senate Democrats who get top committee positions, Axios has learned.Why it matters: These Senate Democrats will Schumer's top lieutenants to fight against Republican nominees and legislative priorities starting next year.The assignments:Sen. Amy Klobuchar, AgricultureSen. Patty Murray, AppropriationsSen. Jack Reed, Armed ServicesSen. Elizabeth Warren, BankingSen. Maria Cantwell, CommerceSen. Martin Heinrich, EnergySen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Environments and Public WorksSen. Ron Wyden, FinanceSen. Jeanne Shaheen, Foreign RelationsSen. Bernie Sanders, Health, Education, Labor and PensionsSen. Gary Peters, Homeland SecuritySen. Mark Warner, IntelligenceSen. Dick Durbin, JudiciarySen. Kirsten Gillibrand, AgingSen. Jeff Merkley, BudgetSen. Maggie Hassan, Joint EconomicSen. Alex Padilla, RulesSen. Ed Markey, Small BusinessSen. Richard Blumenthal, Veterans' AffairsSen. Chris Coons, EthicsSen. Brian Schatz, Indian Affairs
12/18/2024 --foxnews
West Point has not yet contacted Pete Hegseth after the school said an employee mistakenly said he had not applied and was not accepted, Hegseth told Fox News Digital.
12/18/2024 --cbsnews
Sen. Elizabeth Warren says Americans seeking debt relief face an overly complicated, costly bankruptcy system.
12/18/2024 --foxnews
Republicans are angling to pass a strict bill removing welfare eligibility from noncitizens through a key budget process that bypasses the filibuster's 60-vote threshold.
 
Service Launching By The End Of 2024

Please help us spread the word and support our non-profit mission.
 
Service Launching By The End Of 2024

Please help us spread the word and support our non-profit mission.