Senate Approves Budget Deal, Snowden Offers to Help Brazil, Paul Wants Fed Audit Vote for Yellen Nom: P.M. Links

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  Official Portrait

  The Senate approved the two-year budget deal by a 67-33 vote. Twelve Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in passing the bipartisan deal.

• Edward Snowden, in an open letter to the people of Brazil, offered to help assist the government investigate allegations of U.S. spying on them. The media has taken the offer to suggest that Snowden is seeking asylum in Brazil, but Glenn Greenwald says no actual asylum has been requested.
• Critics in Congress of the extent of the National Security Agency's reach with its phone metadata collection are pleased with yesterday's court ruling declaring it a violation of the Fourth Amendment. Meanwhile, discussion of NSA's tactics is on the agenda as President Barack Obama meets with several tech company leaders today.
• The only modern president who has had approval ratings lower than what President Obama is pulling at this point in his presidency is Richard Nixon.
• Sen. Rand Paul is threatening to bog down the Janet Yellen's nomination for Federal Reserve chair unless he can get a vote to audit the agency.
• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is resisting pressure from the left to resign while Obama is still in office so that he can choose her replacement, not some future (possibly Republican) president.

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