Mitch McConnell
December 11, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said today that he will bring First Step — i.e., leniency legislation for federal felons — to the Senate floor. It has more than enough votes to pass. McConnell’s move follows some concessions to the bill’s critics. Although the concessions don’t come close to curing the legislation, they were enough, combined with pressure from the White House and from wealthy Republican donors, to move some GOP
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December 3, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Last month, President Trump announced his support for FIRST STEP. This legislation provides leniency for federal drug felons by shortening some sentences at the front end, and leniency for federal felons of many stripes at the back end by enabling early release from prison. It wasn’t clear why Trump made this decision, which is inconsistent with his promise to get tougher with fentanyl dealers. Perhaps it was constant pestering from
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October 13, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
With Election Day fast approaching and vulnerable Senate Democrats eager to leave town, Majority Leader McConnell had the Democrats right where he wanted them — pining so badly to get out of Washington that they would finally agree to confirm a host of Trump administration nominees they have long been obstructing. On Thursday, the deal was reached. Democrats agreed to unanimous consent on 15 judicial and 21 executive branch nominees.
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September 21, 2018 — Scott Johnson
We owe Justice Gorsuch to the skill and audacity of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. It is good to hear from him today as Senate Democrats and their media adjunct have gone into the current frenzy over the impending confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Senator McConnell somehow sensed that we needed to hear a certain soothing message today. He has never sounded better to me. Speaking words
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August 5, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
David Lat of “Above the Law” decries the failure of the GOP-controlled Senate to confirm nominees for two key positions at the Department of Justice — Eric Dreiband as head of the Civil Rights Division and Jeff Clark as head of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. Both were nominated in June 2017. Clark’s nomination was first sent to the Senate floor on August 3 — more than a year
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July 26, 2018 — Steven Hayward
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is no one’s idea of an electric speaker, but it is worth taking in his brief remarks this morning calling out Democrats for their hysteria over Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. I imagine most readers have heard New Jersey Senator Cory Booker calling Kavanaugh “evil” and other embarrassing things, but McConnell gets at the other crazy things Democrats on the Judiciary Committee
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July 7, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
The word today, for what it’s worth, is that President Trump is still undecided about whom to nominate to the Supreme Court, and that four judges are in the running. The candidates are said to be Raymond Kethledge, Brett Kavanaugh, Thomas Hardiman, and Amy Coney Barrett. Hardiman, by the way, was said to be Trump’s second choice when he nominated Neal Gorsuch. He served with the president’s sister on the
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June 7, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Earlier this week, Majority Leader McConnell cancelled most of the Senate’s August recess. He did so in response to the unprecedented obstruction of Senate Democrats in blocking floor votes on President Trump’s nominees. The cancellation hurts Democrats, and not just because it’s a blow against their obstruction. There are more vulnerable Democrats than vulnerable Republicans up for reelection this year. The lack of a month-long recess will keep them off
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June 5, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Canceling recess was a common punishment for bad behavior when I was in elementary school. I’m happy to report that Majority Leader McConnell says he’ll punish the bad behavior of Democrats by canceling most of the Senate’s August recess. Here is McConnell’s statement: Due to the historic obstruction by Senate Democrats of the president’s nominees, and the goal of passing appropriations bills prior to the end of the fiscal year,
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June 2, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
A few days ago, I discussed the sickening delay in getting a floor vote for key Department of Justice nominees. I blamed Sen. Cory “Weed” Gardner, obstructionist Senate Democrats, and, to a lesser degree, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for the delay. In McConnell’s case, the problem, I argued, is that he’s not making the Senate work enough. To be fair, though, some GOP Senators apparently don’t want to work hard
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May 31, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
In a column called “Mitch McConnell is winning the long game,” George Will praises the Majority Leader. And not without justification. Though McConnell is sometimes criticized by conservatives for lack of legislative successes, Senate Republicans have accomplished quite a bit under his leadership, notwithstanding the slimness of their majority. Will quotes McConnell’s recitation of the major accomplishments during the past 18 months: The largest tax reduction in 31 years has
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May 16, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Some of us have been clamoring for Mitch McConnell to take special measures to break the logjam on Senate confirmation of Trump nominees for the judiciary and key sub-cabinet positions. One such measure would be to limit the number of hours nominees can be debated on the Senate floor, as the Senate agreed to do when Obama nominees were waiting their turn. Another would be to have the Senate work
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April 26, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Senate Democrats are holding up President Trump’s nominees to a degree never witnessed before in my lifetime, and probably not in all of American history. In the first two years of the last six presidencies combined, going all the way back to President Carter, the Senate subjected nominees to a total of only 24 cloture votes. So far, less than half way through President Trump’s second year, there have been
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April 12, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has finally displayed a sense of urgency in getting President Trump’s nominees confirmed. Earlier this week, he warned Senate Democrats that, if necessary, he would force senators to remain in session on Friday and possibly during the weekend to confirm a slate of six Trump nominees. The slate includes a nominee for a seat on the National Labor Relations Board, for the number two job at
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February 10, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Rachel Brand, the third highest ranking official in the Justice Department has resigned. She will become Walmart’s “Executive Vice President, Global Governance and Corporate Secretary.” With Brand’s departure, here is what the top echelon of the Department of Justice looks like: Attorney General – Jeff Sessions Deputy Attorney General – Rod Rosenstein Associate Attorney General – vacant Solicitor General – Noel Francisco Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division – vacant, nomination
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February 8, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Skepticism is always in order on the substance of any agreement between Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats, especially if the subject is spending. When it comes to the spending deal Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer reached, skepticism should probably give way to alarm. The deal raises spending caps on discretionary spending by nearly $300 billion over two years. According to Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, this means
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January 24, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
My first take on the deal that ended the brief partial government shutdown was that Chuck Schumer caved and the deal was a big win for Republicans. My second take was that my first take might be wrong — that the Democrats may have received more than they are getting credit for, and may be able to parlay what they got into a win, or at least a draw, down
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