Wichita Eagle | Kansas Republican featured on 'This American Life' Wichita Eagle The Republicans have been fighting for all of my lifetime for an opportunity such as this, Pahls said. And it obviously did not come in the package most of us thought it would but it's here and here is our audition. And we best not screw it up or it ... |
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Kansas Republican featured on 'This American Life' - Wichita Eagle
Ben Carson, President Trumps nominee for secretary of U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD), listens during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on Jan. 12, 2017.
The Republican-led Senate is hastening a drive to install President Donald Trumps Cabinet, with committees approving four more of his nominees on Tuesday and Senate Democrats holding out the prospect that some could get a vote in the full Senate later in the day.
The Senate Banking Committee affirmed Ben Carson, a retired surgeon and 2016 Republican presidential contender, to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development on a voice vote. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee backed South Carolina Governor Nikki Haleys elevation to U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also on a voice vote.
Two other nominees cleared the Senate Commerce panel. Billionaire Wilbur Ross, a private equity investor and Trumps pick to lead the Commerce Department, will now go before the full Senate. Former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, who served eight years in President George W. Bushs Cabinet and is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was approved to lead the Transportation Department.
The votes come despite delays for some of Trumps picks requested by Democrats who want more time to examine their potential conflicts of interest, qualifications and policy positions.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday delayed for a week a vote on Republican Senator Jeff Sessions nomination to serve as attorney general after Democrats -- some of whom have criticized racially tinged comments he made years ago -- asked for more time. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee delayed votes on former Texas Governor Rick Perrys nomination for Energy secretary and Republican Representative Ryan Zinkes nomination for Interior secretary.
Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the energy panel, said Democrats never agreed to hold votes Tuesday on Perry and Zinke, citing unanswered questions about Trumps plans for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. She added that the votes will likely take place next week.
Republicans control 52 votes in the Senate, and Democrats can do little to block Trumps nominees if GOP lawmakers hold together. Each of Trumps executive-branch picks will require only 51 votes. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, on Monday dismissed as hot air Democratic complaints about some of the selections and predicted all will be installed in their top jobs soon.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said yesterday its possible that Democrats wont object to speedy votes this week on non-controversial nominees, although he declined to say how many. The Senate is in session Tuesday, but out the rest of the week so Republicans can leave town to attend an annual retreat in Philadelphia.
The full Senate has approved three new Cabinet secretaries: James Mattis to head the Pentagon, John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security, and Mike Pompeo to run the Central Intelligence Agency. Former Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO Rex Tillerson won the Senate Foreign Relations Committees approval on a narrow 11-10 vote yesterday, setting his nomination up for full Senate action.
All four of the nominees approved by committees Tuesday are seen as likely to win easy confirmation, although Carson still faces persistent questions about his qualifications to lead a vast and complex housing agency.
Dr. Carson is not the nominee I would have chosen to lead HUD, due to both his lack of experience and his often troubling public statements over the last three years, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the ranking Democrat on the Banking Committee, said in a statement Tuesday. But despite my reservations, and my disagreements with some of his positions, I will give Dr. Carson the benefit of the doubt based on commitments he has made to me in person and to this Committee in his testimony and written responses.
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Price, in a hearing Tuesday before the Senate Finance Committee, was defending himself against tough questions about some of his stock investments in health-care companies. Democrats and some outside watchdog groups are calling for an ethics investigation into his trades in health-care stocks while handling legislation that could affect the shares.
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the panels top Democrat, asked Price if he had used bad judgment by participating in a private placement at below-market rates.
Price denied that he had and said that everything I did was above-board" and that his actions were legal and transparent.
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Trump's Cabinet Picks Gather Steam in Republican-Led Senate - Bloomberg
In the nearly one year since he retired from the NFL, Peyton Manning has spent most of his time doing advertisements and watching football games as a VIP spectator. Now, he's making a little room for politics.
The former quarterback is scheduled to join speakers that include President Trump, Vice President Pence and British Prime Minister Theresa May at a joint Senate-House GOP retreat that begins Wednesday in Philadelphia, Politico reports. The purpose of the retreat is to map out the Republican agenda.
Manning is no stranger to Republican causes, even though he initially backed a candidate not named Donald Trump. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush outed him as a donor to his presidential campaign a year ago, telling a crowd that he rooted for Manning's Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 "because Peyton Manning wrote me a check." Manning and Donald Trump Jr. ran into each other on the campaign trail last summer in Mississippi and there seemed to be no hard feelings about the past.
In the past, Manning has donated to several Republican politicians, most of whom were candidates in Tennessee - where Manning starred in college.
Throughout their careers, Manning and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady were inextricably linked and it seems they share a friendship with the new president, as well. Brady has acknowledged that Trump is a good friend, although he would not reveal his vote last November. Last year, Trump told CBS's "Face the Nation" that he knew and liked Manning.
"I very much have always liked Peyton Manning," Trump said before Super Bowl 50. "He is a very good guy. I know him. And he is a very, very good guy. So, I have to go with the person I know and I like. I like the other team. I think the other team looks fantastic. Probably, they would be favored by something. But I will stick with Peyton, because he is a very good guy."
In a radio interview Monday, Brady attempted to head off questions about his friendship with Trump ahead of his Super Bowl LI appearance, talked about their relationship, explaining that friends need not see eye-to-eye on everything.
"I have called him, yes, in the past. Sometimes he calls me. Sometimes I call," he said on WEEI's "Kirk and Callahan" show, detailing his dialing habits. "But, again, that's been someone I've known. I always try to keep it in context because for 16 years you know someone before maybe he was in the position that he was in. He's been very supportive of me for a long time. It's just a friendship. I have a lot of friends. I call a lot of people."
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Peyton Manning reportedly will speak at Republican retreat featuring President Trump - Chicago Tribune
Even though its only the third week ofJanuary, one of the most important meetings of the year is about to take place in Philadelphia. Think of the upcoming Republican Policy Retreat as the huddle at the start of the first game of the season, when everybody is listening for the new quarterback to call the play. The stakes are high as President Trump meets with both the leadership and the rank-and-file members of the House and Senate Republican caucuses. This will be the first time that just about everyone who matters will be together in one place to talk shop.
Despite some of the ragged edges surrounding the inauguration, I think there is a good vibe and a lot of positive energy building before the retreat begins. Republicans everywhere starting with GOP members of Congress sense a great opportunity not just to correct some of the problems created in the Obama years but also to fundamentally rewrite U.S.domestic policy, from health care and taxes to education and energy.
Trumps Cabinet picks have been well-received by Republican members of Congress, a lot of GOP staff members are beginning to populate the White House and the executive agencies and the chemistry is good. As everything settles into place, it is time for the Trump team to explain the presidents priorities and begin coordinating the efforts that will make Trumps words become law. In other words, the rubber is about to hit the road. It is time to reconcile what the president has said with some conflicting statements Cabinet officials made in their confirmation hearings and synchronize the new administrations priorities with those of the RepublicanCongress.
The stakes are high, but this should not be a difficult encounter. As I said earlier, GOP lawmakers have a sense of optimism and confidence about what they can accomplish with Trump at the helm. It will be unfortunate if tweets, rants, alternative facts or other distractions prevent precise priorities from being defined and a clear message from being conveyed at the end of the Republican Policy Retreat.
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Republicans huddle as Trump begins to call the signals - Washington Post (blog)
While most of the world is still buzzing with positive energy from the Women's Marches on Saturday, several Republican legislators have been working hard to potentially make future peaceful protests a punishable offense.
According to The Intercept, several proposals have been introduced by Republican legislators over the past few weeks specifically targeting protests that block or obstruct traffic including a North Dakota bill that would allow motorists to hit and kill protesters obstructing the highway "as long as [the] driver does so accidentally."
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Another bill in Minnesota would make obstructing a highway a "gross misdemeanor" punishable by a hefty fine of $3,000 and up to a year in jail, while a separate piece of legislature would make "obstructing the legal process" punishable by an even heftier fine of up to $10,000 plus "imprisonment of not less than 12 months." Similar bills designed to criminalize and discourage protests have also been proposed in Washington, Iowa, and Michigan.
As The Intercept points out, this "trend" appears to be a not-so-subtle workaround to the First Amendment, which states, "Congress shall make no law respecting ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble." Furthermore, the bills seem to be in response to recent protests organized by Black Lives Matter and the activists fighting construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline which is horrifying for a multitude of reasons, most notably the continued criminalization of black and brown people.
The very specific targeting becomes even more concerning when combined with what Slate reports is a "bracing message implicitly directed to supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement" from the Trump administration. As the source points out, amongst the "Top Issues" on President Trump's new White House website is "Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community," which in part appears to be addressed to protestors of police violence.
"The Trump Administration will be a law and order administration," the website reads. "The dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America is wrong. The Trump Administration will end it ... Our job is not to make life more comfortable for the rioter, the looter, or the violent disrupter."
While neither specifically mentions Black Lives Matter or the Dakota Access Pipeline by name, it's easy to see how both the proposed bills and the Trump administration's stance feed a dangerous, violent narrative that targets smaller protests mostly consisting of people of color. As many pointed out in response to the low arrest numbers of the Women's Marches, it's not only a sign of a successful protest, but also proof of a wholly different method of policing which is why, now more than ever, it's so essential just as many people show up for the small, local protests as the big ones.
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Republican Legislators Propose a Series of Bills to Criminalize Peaceful Protests - Cosmopolitan.com