What Should Have Happened at the Amy Coney Barrett Hearings
"This is probably not about persuading each other unless something really dramatic happens," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R–S.C.)
Senate
Senate Republicans Sour on Trump as They Try To Save Their Majority
Sens. John Cornyn and Ben Sasse have spoken out sharply against Trump's policies and character as the election nears.
Amy Coney Barrett's Confirmation Hearings Were a Master Class in Political Posturing
Americans likely learned very little about her judicial philosophy.
Senate Democrats Have Stopped Attacking Amy Coney Barrett's Faith for Now
Republicans understandably prepared for attacks on Barrett's faith which thankfully haven't materialized.
Tom Cotton Won't Debate His Libertarian Challenger. The Event Will Happen Anyway.
Ricky Dale Harrington is polling at 38 percent in a two-way race against one of the leading voices of the GOP's ascendant authoritarian nationalism.
Coronavirus in Congress Won't Stop Barrett Confirmation Hearings, Which Start Today
Plus: $150,000+ in fines in NYC's first weekend of new shutdowns, California ballot-box confusion, and more...
Will the Senate Have a Quorum to Confirm Judge Barrett? (Updated)
As more senators test positive for COVID-19, the ability of the Senate to conduct business is threatened.
Jo Jorgensen Is 'Fine' With Filling SCOTUS Vacancy Before Election
"If it were me, I would certainly put my nominee forth," Jorgensen says. Partisan bickering over the confirmation process is just "politics as usual."
The 5 (Mostly Libertarian) Candidates Who Might Get Blamed for Tipping Control of the Senate
Lindsey Graham just dodged a third-party bullet, but there are a handful of other tossup Senate races where third-party candidates could exceed the major candidates' margin.
It's Official: Trump Nominates Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court
If confirmed, she would cement a strong 6-3 conservative majority.
Why Democrats Should Stop Worrying and Learn To Love the Filibuster
Progressives are promising to get rid of this long-standing check on the power of raw majorities in the Senate just when it would help them the most.
Maine Becomes First State To Try Ranked-Choice Voting for President
Voting for Libertarian, Green, or independent candidates will not mean “throwing your vote away.”
Partisan Poppycock Does Not Trump the Constitution on SCOTUS Picks
The restrictions imagined by Republicans in 2016 or by Democrats now are nothing but self-serving nonsense.
Mike Pence Comes Out Against Marijuana Banking Bill That Would Actually Save Taxpayers Money
The SAFE Banking Act is not a pork-barrel spending bill. Is that why it’s struggling?
Is the Senate Filibuster a 'Jim Crow Relic' That Should Be Abolished in the Name of Democracy?
Politicians' opinions about the maneuver depend on which party is in power.
Tom Cotton's Only Challenger Is a Black Libertarian Prison Chaplain
Ricky Dale Harrington, Jr., is running to keep Tom Cotton out of the White House.
Immigration Hawk Kris Kobach's Senate Campaign Is Heavily Supported by Peter Thiel
Via a SuperPAC, Thiel is promoting conservative nationalism via the former Kansas secretary of state and current U.S. Senate contender.
The Next Coronavirus Stimulus Plan: More Spending, Smaller Unemployment Benefits, and Tax Breaks for Going Out To Eat
Senate Republicans announced Monday that the federal government will pay an additional $200 per week in unemployment benefits. The $600 per week benefits boost will expire on July 31.
Trump Humiliates Jeff Sessions One Last Time
Plus: White House drops student deportation plans, Breonna Taylor protesters arrested, Josh Hawley's fake rescue mission, and more...
Lindsey Graham's Terrible Anti-Privacy 'EARN IT' Act Passes Senate Committee
This isn't a bill about fighting child porn. Don't fall for it.
Senators Propose a Cool New Contest To Destroy Your Online Privacy
A new, terrible anti-encryption bill with a twist
A Senate Republican Has Officially Come Out Against Qualified Immunity
The legal doctrine frequently allows police officers to violate your rights without fear of civil liability.
Congress' Pathetic Effort at Revoking Trump's Trade War Powers Has Failed
Sen. Chuck Grassley says it's dead because lawmakers feared upsetting the president.
Surveillance Bill Yanked After Trump Tweets Veto Threat. Will It Be Changed for Better or Worse?
Weak reforms to the government’s power to secretly snoop on Americans wasn’t enough for the president. What happens next?
Senate Renews FBI Surveillance Powers With Modest Reforms
An effort by Sen. Rand Paul to forbid warrantless investigation of citizens was soundly defeated.
Sen. Mitch McConnell Looks To Undermine Efforts to Protect Americans From Secret FBI Surveillance
An amendment to a FISA renewal bill would let the FBI snoop on your online browser history.
A Pandemic Is Not a Chance To Flog Your Bad National Service Proposals
The federal government has done a terrible job managing the coronavirus. It doesn't deserve our labor.
Senate Approves Fourth Round of Coronavirus Spending: $484 Billion for Small Businesses, Testing, Hospitals
The deal primarily sets aside $320 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses.
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...
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?