Ruben Gallego

WASHINGTON — As congressional lawmakers scramble to respond to President Donald Trump's slashing of the federal government, one group is already taking a front and center role: military veterans.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer finds himself sharply at odds with many members of his caucus, fellow Democrats in the House and liberal activists.

“We're choosing between awful and terrible,” one Senate Democrat lamented of efforts to stave off a government shutdown.

Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans voiced confidence that they can push through a stopgap funding bill and avert a government shutdown at the end of this week.

Seventeen Democratic senators joined their Republican colleagues on Monday and voted to confirm Lori Chavez-DeRemer as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Labor.The Democrats who voted with the administration: Ruben Gallego (Arizona), Mark Kelly (Arizona), Adam Schiff (California), Michael Bennet (Colorado), John Hickenlooper (Colorado), Jon Ossoff (Georgia), Raphael Warnock (Georgia), Gary Peters (Michigan), Elissa Slotkin (Michigan), Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire), Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Jacky Rosen (Nevada), Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island), Mark Warner (Virginia), and Tim Kaine (Virginia).Twenty-nine Democrats opposed the nomination and only three Republicans voted “no,” meaning that the nomination would have advanced with the 50 Republican “yes” votes even if every Democrat had voted “no.” Instead, the Democratic votes gave the majority party bipartisan cover. As labor secretary, Chavez-DeRemer is expected to carry out Trump’s anti-labor, anti-worker agenda, like the ongoing purge of hundreds of vital government employees under Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency.President Donald TrumpThe vote stands in contrast to the Democratic Party’s repeated claims that they are united in opposition to Trump and his agenda. In fact, at the Senate level, the party has voted again and again to confirm Trump’s nominees and has supported legislative maneuvers allowing votes on nominees that they oppose in a final vote.Despite warning signs like Trump’s past political and policy failures (see: his entire first term) and his racist, destructive rhetoric (see: his entire life), a significant portion of the Democratic Party has empowered him with their Senate votes. Then they eventually regret it. For instance, multiple senators have now gone on the record to say their votes to confirm Secretary of State Marco Rubio (every Senate Democrat voted for him) was a mistake.The cover offered for Chavez-DeRemer is that her record is not as anti-labor as Trump’s, and that she made some statements during her confirmation hearing that offered a moderate stance on labor issues. (However, she does oppose a minimum-wage increase). But like Trump’s other nominees, such as Linda McMahon at the Department of Education and Sean Duffy at the Department of Transportation, Cabinet secretaries are ultimately tasked with executing Trump’s vision.Democrats have faltered in opposition to Trump. Party leadership has chastised a few breakaway members for being strident in speaking out against Trump’s abuses, and have favored a less confrontational approach even as Trump and Musk have thrown out decades of American traditions and values.Trump didn’t need the Democratic Party to install another friendly face in the federal government, but Democrats helped him anyway.Campaign Action

Political scientist M. Steven Fish explains that otherwise Trump is "going to seem like a boss"

Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke says park superintendents are prepared for a busy tourist season.

Jonathan McKernan, the nominee to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, received approval from the Senate Banking Committee in a party-line vote Thursday. His nomination now goes to the full Senate.

Democrats on Capitol Hill have bashed President Trump over mass federal firings since the first dismissals began in January. On Tuesday, they’re hoping to hold a human mirror to what that policy has done. When Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, he’ll be staring into a packed House chamber featuring not [...]

Congressional Democrats are lining up to bring fired federal workers to President Trump’s high-profile speech before Congress on Tuesday night. The Democrats have hammered Trump for the blitz of firings that have accompanied his return to the White House — a campaign being led by Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency — [...]

Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., right, and Mark Warner, D-Va., led 22 members of Congress in a letter to acting Health and Human Services Secretary Dorothy Fink citing concerns about the “significant delays” that health centers and other HRSA grantees have been experiencing.

Arizona's senators voted with Republicans to confirm Lee Zeldin as the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a key role to help President Donald Trump fulfill his pledge to roll back major environmental regulations, including those aimed at slowing climate change and encouraging use of electric vehicles.

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

The former New York congressman will lead the agency whose budget and scope the Trump administration is certain to slash.

Democratic senators opposed a House bill sanctioning the ICC for its treatment of Israel, seeking targeted measures rather than broad sanctions that impact U.S. allies and companies.

'Burden that my sister will never come home again"

Lee Zeldin, confirmed Wednesday as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, testifies during his Senate Environment and Public Works confirmation hearing on January 16.

The Democratic Party has so far been splintered in responding to President Donald Trump’s push against illegal immigration. The new president is acting to seal off the U.S.-Mexico border border to asylum seekers and deport millions of immigrants who do...

Let's dust off the good old idea of immigration reform that gives legal status to many undocumented migrants who have set down deep roots in this country — but stops illegal immigration in the future. Such legislation had gone far with bipartisan support but was killed by right-wingers opposed to anything resembling amnesty for lawbreakers.

Kristi L. Noem, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was confirmed by the Senate on Saturday, installing a Trump ally in a key policy role.

'A reflection of voters rejecting open borders in November'

Rep. Ansari skipped Trump's inauguration to join an MLK Day march, signaling resistance to his immigration policies.

Democratic lawmakers who boycotted Trump's first inauguration say they feel compelled to go this time, while protests are expected to be a fraction of their 2017 size.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune notched his first big win Friday by clearing the filibuster on the Laken Riley Act. It'll almost certainly pass Monday with ease.Why it matters: It's a specific, popular, bipartisan bill. But it also hands Thune a chance to prove he's serious about promises made during the GOP leadership election.Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told Axios: "What we can feel good about is we're having a lot more conversations about what we're doing." Scott ran against Thune for leader.Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told Axios that Thune "says what he means and means what he says when he talks about having a more open amendment process." Lee wants a more open process and backed Scott in November.Zoom in: Thune spent days haggling with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over the bill, which requires ICE to detain immigrants charged with or convicted of theft.Thune and Schumer agreed Wednesday to allow two votes on amendments. One passed, which would require ICE to detain immigrants who attack law enforcement.Senators will vote Monday on another amendment from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) that would add to the detention list immigrants who commit crimes resulting in death or bodily injury. It's likely to pass.Because of the change, the House will have to pass the bill again before it reaches President-elect Trump's desk.Zoom out: Nearly a quarter of Senate Dems proved they're willing to help break a filibuster for GOP priorities.Schumer privately told Democrats they were free to engage with the GOP on the bill, before he publicly opposed it once it was clear that substantive changes weren't happening.His defectors included new Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.Schumer also lost Georgia's Jon Ossoff, Arizona's Mark Kelly, Michigan's Gary Peters, Nevada's Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, and New Hampshire's Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen.

The bill awaits final passage and the signature of incoming President-elect Donald Trump.

'We are in the final sprint'

The Senate on Friday voted to advance the Laken Riley Act, putting Republicans a step closer to sending the first bill of the 119th Congress to President-elect Trump for his signature next week and giving him an early win on one of his key issues. Senators voted 61-35 to end debate on the bill, with [...]

The Laken Riley Act authorizes state attorneys general to sue federal authorities to force deportations and block visas.The post Congress Considers Putting Ken Paxton in Charge of Choosing Who to Deport appeared first on The Intercept.

Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs knows she is outnumbered this legislative session as Republicans expanded their statehouse majorities in the last election. But the first-term governor says she sees room for bipartisan compromise. While President-elect Donald Trump swept the battleground...

President-elect Trump and congressional Republicans are plotting how to address the nation’s debt limit this year. The debt ceiling, which caps how much money the Treasury can owe to pay the country’s bills, was reestablished earlier this month after being suspended for the past year and half. The national debt now stands at more than [...]

The Laken Riley Act on Monday cleared a second procedural hurdle in the Senate as talk turns to an amendment push by Democrats in order to potentially make alterations to the bill. Senators voted 82-10 on the motion to proceed to the legislation, allowing the chamber to begin debate. The legislation would mandate federal detention [...]

Nunes, chief executive of Trump-owned Truth Social, was announced as the president-elect's nominee for chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

Donald Trump has chosen former local TV anchor, conspiracy theorist, and two-time election loser Kari Lake to head Voice of America. As head of the network, she will be in charge of reporters and will shape how America is perceived around the world.VOA is an international media network funded by the United States founded in 1942. The network reaches approximately 326 million people per week and has been the international face of America at pivotal moments in world history.

Why it's hard for Democrats to win elections for U.S. Senate control.

Trump announced Guilfoyle as his selection for ambassador to Greece.

The former news anchor is a fierce Trump loyalist and election denier. She most recently ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, losing to Democrat Ruben Gallego.

But the former Maryland governor says he’s the best person for the administrative aspects of the job, as well.

Social media users slammed the role as "shameful."

Kari Lake, former Republican Senate candidate from Arizona, is Trump's pick to lead the Voice of America.

Even with their success, this election revealed a challenge for Republicans going forward: The “Trump coalition” and the “GOP coalition” are not quite the same.

Jaime Harrison called for more nationwide investments in party infrastructure and better use of non-legacy media, such as podcasts.

Republican Donald Trump’s support has grown broadly since he last sought the presidency. In his defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris, Trump won a bigger percentage of the vote in each one of the 50 states, and Washington, D.C., than he...

Trump cut into places where Harris needed to overperform to win a close election, especially in swing-state metropolitan areas that have been Democrats' winning electoral strongholds.

While Hispanic representation in the House will decrease slightly, there are several history-making Latino lawmakers, including in Arizona and Ohio, who will be part of next year's Congress.

Michigan and other battleground states might have swung for Trump, but they elected environmentalists to U.S. Senate seats, too.