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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pushed back at Democrats' effort to temporarily swap in another Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., recovers from shingles. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pushed back at Democrats' effort to temporarily swap in another Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., recovers from shingles.

Senate Republicans blocked an effort by Democrats to replace ailing California Sen. Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee temporarily as she recovers from shingles at home.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., asked to move a resolution replacing her, at her request, until she can return, with Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md. The top Republican on the Judiciary panel, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R- S.C., objected and blocked the measure.

Graham said he hoped Feinstein would be back soon, but that adding a Democrat to her place while she is away would allow support for "a handful of judges that I think should never be on the bench."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell earlier on Tuesday signaled that Republicans opposed the effort by Democrats to replace Feinstein on the committee. He said the bulk of President Biden's judicial nominees have bipartisan support and replacing Feinstein would allow Democrats to approve nominees he labeled "unqualified."

"So let's be clear: Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporary absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees," McConnell said Tuesday.

Feinstein, 89, has not voted since February, and says she needs more time to recuperate after a diagnosis of shingles. Democrats have raised concerns that without her vote, Biden's nominees are stalled in committee. California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna called on Feinstein to resign last week, telling NPR she was an "absentee" senator. Another House Democrat, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, agreed.

In response, Feinstein released a statement saying her recovery was taking longer than she anticipated, and she requested that Schumer replace her on the Judiciary panel until she can return for votes in Washington.

McConnell called the request by Schumer to replace Feinstein on one committee "extremely unusual" and called Feinstein "a dear friend," a "Titanic figure" and a "stateswoman."

McConnell specified that there were "a small fraction" of nominees that cannot get any Republican votes in the committee. "The far left wants the full Senate to move a senator off a full committee so they can ram through a small sliver of nominees who are especially extreme or especially unqualified."

Any move to change committee assignments would need 60 votes to pass and Democrats are operating with a slim 51-49 majority.

Senate Democrats have broadly supported Feinstein's request to give her more time to recover. But without GOP support to replace her, there will likely be new pressure on Feinstein.

Schumer sidestepped a question Tuesday on whether Feinstein should step down, telling reporters, "I spoke to Senator Feinstein just a few days ago and she and I are very hopeful that she will return very soon."

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a member of the GOP leadership team, told reporters Monday, "I would not support [a replacement] at all. We're not going to help the Democrats with that."

Another Republican, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, criticized Democrats, saying Feinstein has "been an extraordinary senator and she's a good friend of mine. During the past two years, there's been a concerted campaign to force her off of the Judiciary committee and I will have no part of that."

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, a member of the Judiciary panel, said Monday, "I hope she comes back soon. I respect her a lot. Her voters voted her in for six years and I do think this is a decision that Dianne and her constituents should make."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Judiciary committee, told NPR that the committee should press ahead with nominations and "we will use all of the rules and tools available." He declined to give details but said Democrats have options. He also said Feinstein could be back "in a couple of weeks."

Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow told reporters, "I think that she's anxious to come back and so we'll have to see. I think that she has been such over the years such a force, such a role model for me and that I just want her to be treated with respect, like everybody else. She'll make the right decision."

It's unclear what next steps Democrats will take. GOP lawmakers have also recently had absences due to medical issues. Maine independent Sen. Angus King told NPR he could see how "the situation may be reversed at some point in the reasonably foreseeable future."

McConnell recently missed several weeks in the Senate after falling and suffering a concussion and minor rib fracture in early March.

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Republicans block effort to replace Feinstein on Judiciary panel - NPR

Ron DeSantis

Thomas Peterffy says Florida governor seems to have lost some momentum in undeclared bid for 2024 presidential nomination

A top Republican donor said he had paused plans to fund Ron DeSantiss expected presidential run because of the Florida governors stance on abortion and book banning.

Thomas Peterffy, founder of Interactive Brokers, a digital trading platform, told the Financial Times: I have put myself on hold. Because of his stance on abortion and book banning myself, and a bunch of friends, are holding our powder dry.

Peterffy also noted that DeSantis seems to have lost some momentum.

DeSantis has not declared a run but is widely expected to do so. He is the closest challenger to Donald Trump in polling of the Republican primary field but despite winning re-election in a landslide and signing into law a succession of hard-right policies, he has not closed on the former president.

Last week, DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban. Nationally, Democrats seized on the move, threats to abortion rights having worked to Republicans disadvantage in numerous recent elections.

DeSantis has also tried to remove books dealing with LGBTQ+ issues from Florida public schools, while other laws have loosened gun rights and targeted Black voters.

After Peterffys intervention, the New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, a leading voice on Trump and Republican electoral politics, noted: A major donor finally goes on record with what has been a whisper: donors are getting worried.

But as Haberman also noted, Peterffy still gave himself a lot of wiggle room to resume with DeSantis without fully breaking from him.

Peterffy said he still supported DeSantis in his fight with Disney, one of the largest employers in Florida, over LGBTQ+ rights.

The company has pushed back against DeSantis over a dont say gay law pertaining to the teaching of sexuality and gender in public schools.

DeSantis retaliated by attacking Disneys self-governing powers in the state. The entertainment giant responded, seeking to block the move.

Petterfy said: I think its insane that a company would take a stand on gender issues.

Nor did he say he would not support DeSantis at all.

I am more reluctant to back him, he said. We are waiting to see who among the primary candidates is most likely to be able to win the general, and then put all of our firepower behind them.

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Republican donor pauses Ron DeSantis funding over abortion and book banning - The Guardian US

Interior Secretary Deb Haalands appearance before the House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday morning was her toughest hearing yet this year, with Republicans eager to question her about the Biden administrations energy agenda.

Questioning got so heated at one point that Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who was siting in for Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) during a portion of the hearing, called a recess so tempers could cool.

Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), chair of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, rebuked Haaland about the administrations decision to ban new mining near the the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Stauber said Haaland had no idea what she was doing when her department issued the ill-informed decision, which he said has left the U.S. more dependent on China.

Ranking member Ral Grijalva (D-Ariz.) objected to any member berating the secretary. Haaland, during her time in Congress, served on Natural Resources with Grijalva as chair.

The Minnesota Republican argued that his comments were simply passionate and demanded that Grijalvas remark be struck from the record.

Haaland has testified before House and Senate appropriators in recent weeks. Her appearance before the increasingly partisan Natural Resources Committee was expected to generate fireworks.

From day one, DOI has shut down pipelines, delayed federally mandated onshore and offshore leases, repealed commonsense [Endangered Species Act] and [National Environmental Policy Act] streamlining regulations, shuttered mining projects and much more, Westerman said.

He added: No federal agency should be cloaked in mystery, particularly when it comes to spending Americans hard-earned dollars.

Republicans promised to ramp up scrutiny of national park maintenance funding, the permitting process and the Biden administrations war on the American economy.

Westerman claimed Interior has failed to respond to 80 percent of oversight requests.

Haaland promised multiple lawmakers she would visit their districts or dispatch her staff to bring their local concerns to the highest level.

She assured Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.) that her staff would call him back about a metallurgical coal project he claimed was 98 percent completed.

Haaland told Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) she would look into Inflation Reduction Act funding the department allocated to fix up the Presidio of San Francisco, a national park in the district of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). The federal lands subcommittee held a hearing on that topic Tuesday (E&E Daily, April 19).

And she told Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) she would look into littering and looting at the Bears Ears National Monument, whose original boundaries President Joe Biden restored.

I absolutely appreciate your comments, Haaland said. I will absolutely take those to heart and have discussions with my staff.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle questioned Haaland on the controversial approval of the Willow oil and gas project in Alaska, capping orphan wells, offshore wind and a proposed regulation that has been described as a seismic shift in the departments approach to conservation and could have repercussions for clean energy (Greenwire, March 31).

Its an all-hands-on-deck situation, Haaland said of the energy transition. We take that very seriously.

Democrats also argued that Republicans proposed budget cuts would have devastating impacts on the departments activities. Those include renewable energy permits, water infrastructure and wildfire management.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), a moderate, pointed to Endangered Species Act consultations during the permitting process as a reason more funding is needed from Congress. She called this a goal we all have.

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House Republicans slam Haaland in tense hearing - E&E News

BATON ROUGE, La. As the 2023 Louisiana governor's race nears, the campaign war chest of Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry has far surpassed the cash on hand of the state's five other prominent gubernatorial candidates combined.

Landry, a conservative Republican and staunch former President Donald Trump supporter, has amassed more than $6.3 million in on-hand cash, according to campaign finance reports published Tuesday. Landry was the first to announce he was running for governor in Louisiana's October election, and received a controversial early endorsement from the states Republican Party.

With our campaign continuing to produce robust fundraising numbers every month, its clear that people are investing in who they believe will do the best job as Louisianas next Governor, Landry said in a written statement.

Along with Landry, there are four other high-profile Republicans running to lead the state: State Treasurer John Schroder reported $2.4 million cash on hand; Stephen Waguespack, the former-head of one of Louisianas most powerful business groups, reported $889,000; state Sen. Sharon Hewitt reported $664,000; and state Rep. Richard Nelson reported $280,000.

Former Louisiana Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson, who appears to be the only high-profile Democrat running for governor, reported $545,000 cash on hand. Wilson, who announced his candidacy in March, faces an uphill battle to successfully campaign in a reliably red state. For context, when current Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, first entered the 2015 governors race, he did so two years and eight months in advance giving more time to travel around the state, discuss his goals, earn endorsements, gain name recognition and raise campaign funds.

Edwards, a two-term incumbent, is unable to run for governor again due to term limits, opening a huge opportunity for the GOP in a state where Trump overwhelmingly won the last two presidential elections.

Under Louisianas jungle primary system, all candidates regardless of party affiliation will run against one another on the same ballot on Oct. 14. If no candidate tops 50% in that primary, the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election on Nov. 18.

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Jeff Landry has raised more money than 5 other governor candidates combined - WWLTV.com

NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - A former prosecutor who once led the Manhattan district attorney's criminal investigation into former U.S. President Donald Trump must testify before a congressional committee, a U.S. judge held on Wednesday.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat who got Trump indicted in the first ever criminal charges against a former president, last week sued Republican Representative Jim Jordan to block a subpoena for testimony from Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who once led the office's Trump probe.

The subpoena came from the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which Jordan chairs. Pomerantz's deposition is scheduled for Thursday.

After hearing arguments in federal court in Manhattan on whether to block the subpoena, U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil issued a written ruling approving the subpoena but encouraging the parties to reach a compromise as to how the subpoena of Pomerantz would proceed.

"Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition," Vyskocil wrote, adding in a reference to a phrase frequently used by Trump's critics, "No one is above the law."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Jordan said the decision shows "Congress has the ability to conduct oversight."

Bragg's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Theodore Boutrous, a lawyer for Bragg, argued that Jordan was seeking to interfere in a local prosecution and "intimidate" the district attorney's office.

Matthew Berry, the House general counsel, countered that the subpoena was covered by constitutional protection for "speech or debate" in Congress, and that the committee needed Pomerantz's testimony to weigh legislation restricting what he called "politically motivated prosecutions" of presidents.

Trump, the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential campaign, pleaded not guilty on April 4 to 34 felony charges over a hush money payment made before the 2016 election to porn star Stormy Daniels, to prevent her from discussing a sexual encounter she said they had. He denies the liaison took place.

Vyskocil, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, said she did not endorse either side's "agenda." She said she presumed Bragg was acting in good faith, but some of his constituents wish to see Trump prosecuted. She said Jordan had also "initiated a political response" to Bragg's charges.

"The sole question before the Court at this time is whether Bragg has a legal basis to quash a congressional subpoena that was issued with a valid legislative purpose," she wrote. "He does not."

Reporting by Luc Cohen in New YorkEditing by Marguerita Choy

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

Reports on the New York federal courts. Previously worked as a correspondent in Venezuela and Argentina.

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Judge to rule on Congress' subpoena in Trump case 'promptly' - Reuters