U.S. Senate Archives

McConnell Weighs Global Concerns Over MAGA Mewling

February 12, 2024 Buck Banks

“I know it’s become quite fashionable in some circles to disregard the global interests we have as a global power. To bemoan the responsibilities of global leadership. To lament the commitment that has underpinned the longest drought of great power conflict in human history. … This is idle work for idle minds. And it has no place in the United States Senate.”

— Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a key Ukraine supporter, who has been loudly defending his decision to move on from the border fight after his conference rejected the compromise that Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) hammered out with Democrats, reports Punchbowl News.

— Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT), quoted by the Washington Post.

Some Optimism About Ending the Filibuster

March 16, 2021 Buck Banks

“Despite all of this, I am more hopeful today than I have been in a long time that Senate Democrats will eliminate the filibuster, pass H.R. 1, and save democracy. It’s very far from a done deal. There is a lot of work to do, but if you squint hard enough and read between the lines, you can see real reasons for optimism.”

Former Senators Say Senate Is Broken

February 26, 2020 Buck Banks

“The Senate’s abdication of its legislative and oversight responsibilities erodes the checks and balances of the separate powers that are designed to protect the liberties on which our democracy depends.”

— Seventy former senators from both parties wrote an open letter arguing that the U.S. Senate isn’t functioning as the Founders intended.

Why Doug Jones will Lose His Senate Seat to a Republican in Alabama

November 7, 2019November 7, 2019 Trish

When a less chewed up and spit out Jeff Sessions vacated his Senate seat in 2017 to become Donald Trump’s first U.S. Attorney General, it forced a special election in Alabama to replace him. And that’s about the only way a Democrat like Doug Jones was ever going to win in that state.

The reason is straight ticket voting (STV). Alabama (and six other states*) still offer this option for those who have one concern when casting a ballot: party affiliation.
[…]

Mitch McConnell’s ‘Very Expensive Lunch Club’

May 1, 2019 Buck Banks

“Three times a week the Senate Republicans meet for lunch… And occasionally they walk into that chamber and take a vote or two or three on judges. That is the sum total of the Senate’s work today. Mitch McConnell has effectively turned the United States Senate into a very expensive lunch club.”

— Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), quoted by The Hill.

Senators Get One-Week Recess Instead of Four

June 6, 2018 Buck Banks

1

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “told lawmakers that the Senate will recess for one week instead of four to work on nominations and legislation,” the Washington Post reports.

Divine Sense of Humor?

January 3, 2018 Buck Banks

Minnesotan Michele Bachmann is weighing a U.S. Senate Run,
Which would inject our sorry politics with some whack-job fun.
But before facing the nation,
She seeks divine confirmation.
And we’re fervently hoping God tells her she’s His Chosen One.

Jimmy Kimmel: Punkin’ Alabama with ‘Judge Roy Moore’s Number One Fan’

December 2, 2017 Jon Ponder

Jimmy Kimmel sent comedian Jake Bird to Alabama to punk Judge Roy Moore and his fans.

If Moore Is Elected, Senate has to Seat Him

December 1, 2017 Buck Banks

“If he is elected, there are no grounds under the Constitution to fail to seat him. The Constitution says you can only look at citizenship, whether they are a resident of the state, and if they are the proper age. So we have to seat him.”

— Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a key Ukraine supporter, who has been loudly defending his decision to move on from the border fight after his conference rejected the compromise that Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) hammered out with Democrats, reports Punchbowl News.

“Well, the Senate was never a perfect place. But it was a better place.”

— Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT), quoted by the Washington Post.

— Dan Pfeiffer

“The Senate’s abdication of its legislative and oversight responsibilities erodes the checks and balances of the separate powers that are designed to protect the liberties on which our democracy depends.”

— Seventy former senators from both parties wrote an open letter arguing that the U.S. Senate isn’t functioning as the Founders intended.

— Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), quoted by The Hill.

1

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “told lawmakers that the Senate will recess for one week instead of four to work on nominations and legislation,” the Washington Post reports.

“If he is elected, there are no grounds under the Constitution to fail to seat him. The Constitution says you can only look at citizenship, whether they are a resident of the state, and if they are the proper age. So we have to seat him.”

— Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), quoted by CNN, on whether the U.S. Senate would refuse to seat Roy Moore (R) if he wins Alabama’s special election.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), accusing Democrats of creating Hurricane Helene for political purposes.

“Liberty in Georgia includes in its meaning, in its protections, and in its bundle of rights the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices.”

— Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney finding that Georgia’s six-week abortion law violates Georgia’s Constitution, reports the AP.

“Maybe we’ll pay off the $35 trillion US debt in crypto. I’ll write on a little piece of paper ‘$35 trillion crypto we have no debt.’ That’s what I like.”

— Donald Trump, floating a plan to address the federal budget deficit and demonstrating his deep understanding of the crypto marketplace.

“To my friends in Nebraska, that one electoral vote could be the difference between Harris being president and not, and she’s a disaster for Nebraska and the world.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by Politico, on his trip to Nebraska to push for the state’s Republican leadership to change how it awards its electoral votes.

“I will if he does. That’s a trade-off I’d do.”

— George Clooney, on Jimmy Kimmel Live, responding to Donald Trump’s call for him “to get out of politics.”

Numerati

254,000

“The pace of hiring picked up strongly in September and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%, signs the economy had continued momentum in a month the Federal Reserve delivered its first interest-rate cut in four years,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

49% to 44%

A new Susquehanna poll finds Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump nationally among likely voters, 49% to 44%.

40 trillion

$55 million

Kamala Harris raised about $55 million in high-dollar events in California this weekend, a haul that pads her financial advantage over Donald Trump, Bloomberg reports.

57%

A new NBC News poll finds about 57% of voters report feeling negatively about Project 2025, with 51% saying they see the proposal “very” negatively and another 7% saying they view it “somewhat” negatively. Just 4% of voters reported viewing the conservative policy plan positively.