The Senate's COVID-19 Relief Bill Is a Crony Capitalist Dream
Plus: COVID-19 in prisons and jails, Trump campaign threatens TV stations, state disparities in new coronavirus cases, and more...
Senate
Most Politicians Are Disingenuous Opportunists. The Coronavirus Outbreak Only Makes That More Obvious.
Politicians are merely using COVID-19 to push for policies they already wanted.
America Has Given Up Trying To Define Success in Afghanistan
"Most of the [indicators] of measuring success are now classified, or we don't collect it," the special inspector general for the Afghanistan reconstruction told a Senate committee.
Joe Biden Blocked Robert Bork's Supreme Court Nomination. Now, Biden Is Getting 'Borked' Too.
Paradoxically, in the current moment—a moment Biden helped to create by blocking Bork—being unqualified for the presidency is the best qualification a candidate can have.
Trump Denounces 'Dirty Cops,' 'Leakers,' and 'Liars' in Post-Acquittal Victory Speech
"These people are vicious," Trump said.
Did Republicans Buy the Argument That Impeachment Requires a Crime?
While some senators seemed to endorse that misbegotten claim, others explicitly rejected it.
Senate Votes To Acquit Trump on All Charges
While some Republicans conceded that the president acted inappropriately, they concluded that his conduct was not impeachable.
'The President Is Guilty.' Mitt Romney Will Break Party Lines, Vote To Remove Trump.
It won't change the result of Trump's impeachment trial. It matters anyway.
Good and Bad Reasons for Acquitting Trump
Republicans should think twice before endorsing the dangerous myth that impeachment requires a criminal violation.
McConnell Says Trump's Articles of Impeachment Are 'Constitutionally Incoherent.' But Are They?
The Senate majority leader announced he will acquit President Trump.
Adam Schiff: 'Trump Has Betrayed Our National Security, and He Will Do So Again'
Schiff, in a broad final plea, seemed to zero in on moderate Republicans who might toe the party line.
To Defend Trump, Ken Starr Invokes Martin Luther King
Starr urges senators to follow King's example and uphold "freedom and justice."
Dershowitz Defends Trump's Quid Pro Quo Logic: 'If I'm Not Elected the National Interest Will Suffer Greatly'
"If a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in an impeachment."
Republican Senators Say the Truth Is Irrelevant in Evaluating the Gravity of Trump's Misconduct
Republicans are setting a dangerous precedent they may come to regret the next time a Democrat occupies the White House.
Team Trump's Final Defense: He Didn't Do It, but Even If He Did, It's Not Impeachable
"You must do what the Constitution compels you to do: reject these articles of impeachment, for the Constitution and for the American people," said White House counsel Pat Cipollone.
Alan Dershowitz: John Bolton Allegations Are Not Impeachable, Nor Is Abuse of Power
"Purely non-criminal conduct, including 'abuse of power' and 'obstruction of justice,' are outside the range of impeachable offenses," Dershowitz said.
4 Key Republican Senators To Watch as Trump's Trial Rolls Into the Weekend
Plus: China takes campus free speech issues to a new level, Bloomberg wants to take away your vape, and more...
The Senate Can (but Probably Won't) Fill the Gaps in the Case for a Ukraine Quid Pro Quo
Senators who take their constitutional responsibilities seriously would seek more evidence about Trump's motive for the aid freeze.
The Senate Has Enough Votes To Stop Further Unapproved Military Action Against Iran
Four Republicans cross the aisle to support a new resolution limited the president's power to wage war. But could they get enough to overrule a veto?
John Bolton Says He Would Comply With Senate Subpoena to Testify in Impeachment Trial
The big question is whether Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will allow any witnesses at all.
To See How Our Last 'War on Terror' Went Awry, Watch The Report
The CIA and its defenders insisted that torture would help keep America safe. They were wrong.
Mitch McConnell: This Is the 'Most Rushed, Least Thorough, and Most Unfair Impeachment Inquiry in Modern History'
The majority leader addressed the Senate the morning after President Donald Trump was officially impeached by the House of Representatives.
Joe Biden's Career Is One Long Lesson About the Dangers of Bipartisan Consensus Politics
Biden's reputation as a bipartisan dealmaker might be appealing in these polarized times, but his record as a policy maker is atrocious.
Bipartisan 'Bucket of Garbage' Budget Bill Contains $50 Billion in Special Interest Tax Breaks
On their own, some of those tax breaks might be defensible. Dumping them into a must-pass budget bill is not.
If You Think Encryption Back Doors Won't Be Abused, You May Be a Member of Congress
In the middle of a scandal over FISA surveillance, leaders want still more power to snoop on your secret stuff.
Trump's 'Capitulation' on Trade Deal Leaves Republicans in Awkward Position
Will Republicans back a North American trade deal that prioritizes the interests of Democrats, labor unions, and protectionists?
Rand Paul: Feds Wasted Millions Subsidizing Serbian Cheese Production
But at least they had enough tax dollars left over to buy a Bob Dylan-made sculpture for the U.S. embassy in Mozambique, and to get zebrafish addicted to nicotine in London.
Senators Introduce Bill To Limit Facial Recognition Technology—but Does It Go Far Enough?
The legislation would require warrants for extended surveillance, but look at what it explicitly OKs.
Government Scares Companies Away From Facebook's Libra Project
After senators sent threatening letters to Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe, the companies "decided" not to sign on to the online payment system.
Rand Paul Says Feds Blew Millions Supporting Tunisian Political Parties, Subsidizing Pakistani Films, and More
No single spending item is going to solve America's $22 trillion national debt, but every little bit of wasteful spending makes the tough problems more difficult to solve.
Congress Must Roll Back Trump's Tariff Authority
Sen. Chuck Grassley and the Senate Finance Committee will debate two bills this fall aimed at restricting presidential authority to impose tariffs without congressional approval.
Jon Stewart Is Sanctimonious, but Congress Should Be Better at Doing Its Job
The fight over the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund is pure political theater.
House Tries To Give 'Dreamers' a Path to Citizenship, but Mitch McConnell Won't Even Consider the Bill
The Senate majority leader says he will not allow a vote on it, despite widespread support for the measure.
Bipartisan Senate Effort Predictably Kills Rand Paul's Plan to Balance the Federal Budget
Paul's proposal to cut 2 percent from the federal budget for the next five years was predictably opposed by both Democrats and most Republicans
We Don't Need the Federal Government To Save Kids From Video Game 'Loot Boxes'
Senator proposes telling publishers what virtual products they can and cannot sell to children.
And Then There Were 22: Sen. Michael Bennet Enters the Presidential Race
The Colorado Democrat opposes Medicare for All and universal free college.
Grassley to Trump: End the Tariffs or We'll Kill Your NAFTA Rewrite
A key senator issues the sort of binary, transactional choice that Trump seems to prefer. Will the POTUS listen?
'Nobody Wants To See a Government Speech Police': Senate Republicans Threaten To Regulate Facebook and Twitter
They say the social media companies display a bias against conservatives.
12 Republicans Join Dems To Block Trump's National Emergency at the Border
A clear rebuke of Trump, though mainly a symbolic one
Democrat Senator on Trump's Enthusiasm for Eminent Domain: 'Language You'd Expect Out of Some Autocrat'
"What a betrayal of conservative principles this is," Sen. Michael Bennet says.
The U.S. Must Stop Supporting War in Yemen, Says Senate
Plus: a Rand Paul add-on makes sure measure doesn't inadvertently authorize new wars, Dick's stores are dropping guns, campus art controversy, and good 8A news
Trump Says 'Senate Republicans Are Not Voting on Constitutionality' of Emergency Declaration
It's a problematic sentiment on several levels.
GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer Says Trump's Emergency Declaration Is 'Unnecessary'
Cramer tells Reason he's not sure which way he'll vote on a resolution to block it.
Cory Booker Makes Federal Marijuana Legalization a Central Campaign Push
Democrats approached the issue carefully in 2016. Now six presidential candidates are all-in for complete reform.
Trump Plans To Sign Border Deal and Declare National Emergency. Here's What That Could Mean.
Trump won't rely on Congress to fund his 200 miles of border wall.