Senior National Political Reporter @NBCNews covering Capitol Hill and the 2024 election.
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Apr 3 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: Top Democrats won’t join calls for Sotomayor to retire.
But in interviews with NBC, they’re voicing fears of a RBG redux.
“We should learn a lesson. And it’s not like there’s any mystery here about what the lesson should be.”
w/ @lawrencehurley:
nbcnews.com/politics/supre…
Democrats remain haunted by what happened to Ginsburg. Rewind to 2014: She was 81, Obama was president, Dems had 55 Senate seats; liberals called on her to retire. She rejected them. And died in 2020, got replaced by Trump pick A.C. Barrett—the 6-3 SCOTUS. nbcnews.com/politics/supre…
Mar 20 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: Republican Study Committee releases a sweeping budget plan
RSC chair is HERN; 170+ members incl Speaker and his full leadership team.
Highlights:
• Raises Social Security retirement age for future retirees
• Converts Medicare to "premium support" a la Paul Ryan plan
• Rolls back ACA
• Endorses Life At Conception Act
nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
On Social Security, RSC budget endorses "modest adjustments to the retirement age for future retirees to account for increases in life expectancy." Calls for lowering benefits for the highest-earning beneficiaries. No changes for current/imminent retirees. nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
Feb 7 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: McConnell clinched a major border-aid deal and encouraged Republicans to support it.
Just 4 voted yes.
McConnell's once-formidable influence w/ Senate GOP is waning, and detractors are growing, as it becomes Trumpier—like House GOP.
w/ @frankthorp: nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
Ron Johnson: "How did we get ourselves in a situation where we’re being blamed for Biden's open border policy? How could that be possible? The answer is McConnell made that possible."
The Senate just unanimously agreed to fill committee slots vacated by Dianne Feinstein. Perhaps most significant: @LaphonzaB fills the empty Judiciary Committee slot and Democrats regain their majority on a key panel. Biden’s judicial nominees can now move without GOP support.
As we had been reporting for months, Republicans didn’t block Dems from filling the Judiciary Cmte seat. There were months of fabricated claims, amplified by figures like @HillaryClinton & @SenStabenow, that Rs would leave that seat open permanently if Feinstein vacated it. Nope.
Oct 14, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: Democrats are holding firm and refusing to help Republicans out of House speaker mess
They're still behind Jeffries.
No serious talks of a coalition speaker.
Dem leaders are trashing Jim Jordan as an "insurrectionist," election denier, extremist.
nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
Democratic @WhipKClark on Jordan: "Every Republican who cast their vote for him is siding with an insurrectionist against our democracy."
Dems dropping clues on how they will try to tie every GOP lawmaker to Jordan's brand of politics.
NEW: A government shutdown wouldn't halt Trump's trials
DOJ says criminal litigation is an essential function that stays funded
Instead, House Republicans are pushing to use a funding bill to defund or rein in Trump’s 3 prosecutors
This has divided GOP nbcnews.com/politics/donal…
Georgia GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde, who sits on the Appropriations Committee, says he'll intro amendments to the Justice funding bill that blocks Trump's three prosecutors—Smith, Fani, Bragg—from using that authority on him until after the 2024 election.
"So many major pieces of legislation over the last several years expire in 2025. So the winners of the next election will have the ability to shape policy for the rest of the decade."
Judiciary Committee Chair @SenatorDurbin says he hasn’t spoken to Feinstein. He says “I hope there will be” a full Senate vote to replace her if Republicans block a UC request; he asks Rs to show “a little kindness and caring” for Feinstein because it could happen to them later.
Durbin: “She is obviously sensitive to the fact that her absence has an impact on the committee. I'm not going to push her into any other decision. I think we can take care of this issue, do it very quickly. And I hope we can find 10 Republicans who will join us in that effort.”
Mar 29, 2023 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
New: Bernie Sanders and Howard Schultz square off at a Senate HELP hearing on Starbucks labor practices
☕️☕️
Schultz will say Starbucks “has engaged in good faith bargaining.”
Sanders aide: “Don’t get blended into a Frappuccino by Starbucks’ PR team.”
nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
Our preview of the hearing, which is unsubtly titled, “No Company is Above the Law: The Need to End Illegal Union Busting at Starbucks.”
The House Energy & Commerce hearing on TikTok is underway. Here is CEO Shou Chew's prepared testimony: d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/Written_Testim…
E&C Chair @cathymcmorris asks TikTok’s CEO whether users can see content on the app about the Tiananmen Square massacre.
He says yes.
She reminds him that lying to Congress is a federal crime.
He says he understands and insists that such content is available.
Feb 13, 2023 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
NEW: Biden escalates fight over Social Security and Medicare, frustrating Republicans
GOP leaders want Biden to stop saying they’re trying to cut benefits
But Biden is persisting; White House says he won’t stop calling out plans from Scott, Johnson, RSC nbcnews.com/politics/2024-…
Republicans are annoyed.
Scalise, day after SOTU: “I just hope he stops going around the country telling that falsehood because there’s no truth to it.”
The next day, Biden went to Florida and trashed Republicans over Social Security and Medicare.
New: In 2011, Obama White House agreed to negotiate with House Republicans on the debt limit.
It went badly.
Talks faltered and pushed US to the brink of default.
Obama & Biden sat in the Oval and decided: Never again.
That forms Biden’s stance today.
nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
2011 experience is key to grasping Biden’s red line on the debt ceiling today. After that near miss, Obama-Biden WH refused to negotiate with threat of default on the table. It worked. House GOP backed off, extended it with fig leafs or pre-agreed budgets. nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
Jan 26, 2023 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
NEW: Republicans demand spending cuts to lift the debt limit. They won't say what to cut. nbcnews.com/politics/congr…
There is no GOP plan or unified theory of what to attach to the debt ceiling.
Even the hardliners who demanded conditions aren’t naming their price. But they know it’s something big.
It’s early, but doubtful McCarthy can get 218 Republicans on any bill.
15th ballot underway for McCarthy.
BIGGS votes present.
Jan 7, 2023 • 14 tweets • 1 min read
Here we go. House now voting on Speaker.
BIGGS votes for Jordan. One McCarthy defection.
Jan 6, 2023 • 17 tweets • 1 min read
Bishop, Brecheen, Cloud and Clyde vote for McCarthy.
That's four Republican flips IN HIS DIRECTION.
Biggs, Boebert and Crane vote AGAINST McCarthy. He three defections so far.
Jan 5, 2023 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Lauren Boebert claims "threats have been made" and "you won't receive committee assignments if you do not vote for Kevin McCarthy."
A lawmaker could be heard yelling: "Not true."
Boebert replies: "That is true, it happened in conference and that is exactly what we were told."
And the 9th ballot is underway. The nominees are McCarthy, Jeffries plus (for the GOP holdouts) Byron Donalds and Kevin Hern.
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