All posts tagged "John Kennedy"

GOP senators turned on their own party's handling of the final stretch of Congress and faulted leaders for burning precious floor time.

Republicans spent their final hours in the Capitol staging votes they knew would fail, The New York Times reported Thursday. The votes were meant to show voters the GOP was working on rising costs, but they produced no meaningful results.

Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) gave his own party a blunt warning as Republicans left Washington to campaign ahead of the midterm elections....

Republican senators set the stage for a fight against President Donald Trump's agenda as they left for a five-week recess, Politico reported.

As GOP senators adjourned until September, they passed a bill aimed at averting a shutdown at the end of the fiscal year, but first they took aim at demands from the Trump administration and MAGA loyalists, according to Politico.

The Senate funding bill took aim at the Trump administration's controversial plan to put political appointees in charge of approving federal grants, Politico reported, warning that lawmakers are already expecting a year-end "brawl." ...

A conservative economic expert warned Monday that a Republican lawmaker worth millions had made a mistake after a CBS interview.

Jessica Riedl, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and budget policy expert who has worked on four different presidential campaigns, described why Sen. John Kennedy's (R-LA) message on "Face the Nation" could backfire for the Republican Party with midterms looming.

"Americans aren't even willing to pay for causes they believe in and that directly benefit them (trust me, I'm a federal budget expert)," Riedl wrote on X. "Telling them to pay significantly for causes that most don't even care about (and right before an election!) is political malpractice."...

Republicans are responding with exasperation and dismay to President Donald Trump's shot at one of their party leaders, per reports.

Politico reported that GOP senators are standing up to Trump's recent comments, taking issue with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and his inability to pass the SAVE America Act, a proof-of-citizenship voting bill touted by Trump.

At a rally in Georgia on Wednesday, Trump told attendees to "call John Thune" while complaining that "the Senate is a place you send things when you want them to die," and "We're not going to take this any longer. We're not going to take it. I'm trying to be nice," according to Politico. ...

A GOP senator lost his cool and demanded "straight answers" while questioning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the Iran war.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) repeatedly asked Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine for clarity. The two Trump administration officials were defending the president's request for supplemental funding for the ongoing Iran war.

As Kennedy turned to Hegseth to discuss the stakes in Iran, he prefaced one of his questions by saying, "We need some hard answers and some straight talk." Then he asked, if the U.S. doesn't continue its military campaign, "What will happen, Pete?"...

A Republican lawmaker's comments about Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche were ridiculed on Wednesday.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told CNN anchor Kasie Hunt that Blanche — President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general who testified before senators during a heated confirmation hearing amid growing scrutiny over his ties to the president and other ethical concerns — would likely get the Republican senator's vote.

"I think Mr. Blanche is a good lawyer," Kennedy said. "I like his demeanor. I think he's honest. I think he's frank; he gives the president frank advice. I don't think the president necessarily always takes it. But I think he looks the president in the eye and tells him what he thinks."...