All posts tagged "senate"

'Hot mess': Multiple senators quietly mull quitting over 'growing frustration' with Trump

Both Republican and Democratic senators are frustrated with the state of their chamber and the inability to make any progress in the face of President Donald Trump's encroachment on their authority, according to a new piece in The New York Times.

"Members current and former, Republican and Democratic, say the job comes with a sense of growing frustration and declining cachet," wrote opinion columnist Michelle Cottle. "The legislative process is a hot mess, and increasingly dominated by giant omnibus bills. Cross-aisle comity is passé. Independence and ideological heterodoxy are treated as heresy."

Senators headed home for summer break this weekend after failing to confirm a list of Trump nominees, prompting the president to tell Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY) to "go to hell" on social media.

Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) told Cottle, “The problem is that we can’t get s---- done," adding that, "Creative obstructionism...has become 'a fine art that has reached its apex so that the institution is nearly paralyzed.'”

Smith announced she will not be running for reelection in 2026, and she's far from the only one.

Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) "decided to pack it in after clashing" with Trump, Cottle wrote. "Two senators have announced they are pursuing the more appealing gig of governor — Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, and Michael Bennet, Democrat of Colorado — and others are considering following suit."

"It’s a vicious cycle," wrote Cottle. "The more that talented people are turned off or driven out by the chamber’s dysfunction, the more it populates with extremists, opportunists and self-dealers. The more that partisan lines are enforced, the less room there is for moderates and independents, who are now nearly extinct."

Senators who spoke with Cottle claimed "that a majority of constituents want the chamber to turn" from the dark path it's currently headed down.

“There’s a lot of evidence that we’re headed down that road as a country,” said Bennet, “but I don’t think that’s where the American people want us to go.”

Read The New York Times report here.

'Didn't even know': GOP lawmakers talk repeal after being shocked by Big Beautiful Bill provision

Some Republican lawmakers are starting to regret voting for President Donald Trump's megabill now that they're hearing about some of its provisions for the very first time, NBC News reported.

Sahil Kapur, NBC News senior national political reporter, said one of the problematic provisions is a "tax hike on gamblers" that one professional sports better called "potentially catastrophic for the industry."

The clause "would reduce the tax deduction on wagering losses from 100% to 90% starting in 2026," Kapur said in a report for Politics Now.

"Long story short, gamblers could be stuck with a tax bill even if they have zero net winnings in a year."

Kapur said several lawmakers who voted for the legislation now want to repeal it.

"That includes the House's top tax writer, Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO), who told me this tax hike is a mistake by the Senate and that it needs to be undone," Kapur said.

In addition, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called the provision "unfair" and claimed that "most Republicans didn't even know this was in the bill when they voted to pass it," according to the report.

The Senate passed its final version of Trump's 2026 budget legislation at the beginning of July. The vote was 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie.

Republican senators who voted against the bill were Thom Tillis (R-NC), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Susan Collins (R-ME).

Watch the clip below via NBC News.

'Crook!' Trump launches random attack on Adam Schiff over 2-year-old probe

President Donald Trump launched an apparently random attack Tuesday that he has "learned" some nefarious information about Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) that should lead to his prosecution.

Seemingly out of the blue, Trump posted on Truth Social, "I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist. And now I learn that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division have concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud."

In announcing the "possible mortgage fraud," Trump offered no proof to back up his claims.

Trump's post continued, "Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America, when he must LIVE in CALIFORNIA because he was a Congressman from CALIFORNIA. I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook. The FRAUD began with the refinance of his Maryland property on February 6, 2009, and continued through multiple transactions until the Maryland property was correctly designated as a second home on October 13, 2020. Mortgage Fraud is very serious, and CROOKED Adam Schiff (now a Senator) needs to be brought to justice."

It's an old argument brought to light in 2023 by CNN's KFile. A Schiff spokesperson said at that time that his primary residence is in Burbank, CA, while he keeps a second home in the Washington, D.C., area "to spend more time with his children while doing his job.”

The U.S. Constitution says that "members of Congress must have an 'inhabitancy in the state at the time elected' – a fairly vague requirement," according to KFile. A professor of political science at the University of Maryland told KFile that “On the merits, technically there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it."

At the time, when Schiff was running for Senate, the report warned, "the dual residency could still complicate his run for the Senate in the state’s competitive primary and present a political problem." That didn't seem to happen, and Schiff was sworn in to the Senate in Dec. 2024.

Trump offered no new details from the 2023 report.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Schiff, with particular vitriol over his role in the first Trump impeachment proceedings. Trump has called for Schiff's prosecution, censure, and removal from Congress, portraying him as a primary political enemy who led what Trump characterized as a "witch hunt" against his administration.

Read The KFile report here.

'Abomination!' Outrage hits senators as they pass bill in razor-thin vote

After Vice President J.D. Vance cast the deciding vote to allow Donald Trump's megabill to pass the Senate Tuesday, opponents took to social media to warn the House that it was up to them to stave off impending disaster for lower-income Americans.

Call To Activism called Vance's tiebreaker, "one of the most shameful moments in American history."

"After 26 hours of fighting on the Senate floor, Republicans voted to rip health care from millions of people and let little babies go hungry. And they cheered. I'm angry. You should be too," posted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Sen. Angus king (I-ME) wrote, "Never have so many been so grievously hurt in the service of so few."

Rep. Aex Padilla (D-CA) wrote that Senate Republicans should be "ashamed" of the bill, adding, "It’s a full-scale betrayal of the American people—and they know it." Padilla vowed to keep "pushing back every step of the way," as the House gets ready to stage a final vote.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) wrote that the ultimate passage of "Trump's Big Ugly Bill" would lead every community in America to "feel cuts to basic needs—all so billionaires can get another giant tax cut."

"One single GOP Senator could have stopped this abomination. Saved millions of parents from watching their child go hungry. Saved the lives destroyed when Medicaid disappears. They will all live forever with the horror of this bill," wrote Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT).

Many fingers pointed at Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) who "caved and voted for Trump's massive bill," wrote PatriotTakes. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) lobbied hard to win over Murkowski by promising "carve-out" benefits for her state that other states won't receive if the bill heads to the president's desk for his signature.

Punchbowl News's Brendan Pedersen wrote, "MURKOWSKI tells reporters she wants the House to send OBBB back to the Senate to continue the work. She voted for it. 'My hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we're not there yet,' Murkowski said."

Political commentator @ChidiNwatu wrote that Murkowski "must be f------ delusional or insane" to believe that could happen.

Journalist Molly Jong-Fast posted, "Disaster for rural hospitals and nursing homes," while journalist Ed Krassenstein wrote, "Hopefully @elonmusk destroys them in the next election.

'Get a job!' Republican wrangles with CNN host over Medicaid cuts

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) claimed Monday that he believed President Donald Trump's spending bill would ultimately pass once it heads back to the House, and that it will include an 80-hour-a-month work requirement for Medicaid recipients.

CNN host Pamela Brown pressed Zinke about how he'll be able to justify the Medicaid work provision to his constituents.

"The Congressional Budget Office estimates that nationally, the Senate version of Trump's agenda bill would leave 11.8 million more people without health insurance by the year 2034," Brown began, then asked, "How do Republicans explain this to their constituents?"

Zinke answered, "Well, living paycheck to paycheck is on the premise that you're working. But look, if you're an able-bodied male and you choose to sit on the couch, not work, and you're getting Medicaid, that's taking benefits from someone else who needs it...I would say, look, get a job."

Brown clarified that the Senate version of the bill would limit federal funding, raising concerns that "people are going to lose out on Medicaid coverage as a result."

Zinke said he agreed that states needed to pick up more of the burden, before reverting back to his argument about jobs.

"Remember we had Obamacare that was supposed to be the end-all for insurance. That didn't work. And so a lot of people choose not to work, and they're still getting Medicaid...and look, when the federal government is picking up the tab at little from the states, what's going to happen is you're going to expand, expand, expand. That's why we have the budget."

Brown pushed back, saying, "A small percentage of those receiving Medicaid don't work. And so, you know, a majority work at least part-time when it comes to Medicaid. So, can you say for certain that no one who is eligible for Medicaid who works or works part-time will not be impacted by this? Are you comfortable with that?"

Zinke conceded that if someone is only working "five hours a month, yeah, you're not going to be able to have access to Medicaid."

"But there's reasons, because people are caregivers and that kind of thing," Brown interjected

"The House version, which I understand is going to be pretty close to what the Senate is, that the standard is 80 hours. But look, you could work at a food pantry and get 80 hours," Zinke maintained.

Watch the clip below via CNN.

'No!': Trump lashes out at 'unelected senate staffer' causing him headaches

Donald Trump on Sunday lashed out against the Senate Parliamentarian, an office that has bumped heads with ruling parties at various times.

Recently, MAGA lawmakers such as Marjorie Taylor Greene have blasted the Senate official striking some parts of the bill when necessary under the law.

Greene recently lamented that "the parliamentarian struck all the MAGA provisions out of the Big Beautiful Bill."

Trump joined in targeting the official over the weekend, mentioning another lawmaker.

"Great Congressman Greg Steube is 100% correct. An unelected Senate Staffer (Parliamentarian), should not be allowed to hurt the Republicans Bill. Wants many fantastic things out. NO! DJT," the president wrote.

Read the post here.

Thune faces 'biggest gamble yet' as GOP seeks 'explosive' change on bill: report

Senate Republicans are considering a delay on a "politically explosive" part of the so-called "Big, Beautiful, Bill," an early-morning report showed Thursday.

Punchbowl News reported mid-week that "Senate Republicans are considering delaying a politically explosive Medicaid cut as they look for ways to win over GOP moderate holdouts threatening the massive reconciliation bill."

"The discussions come as Senate Republican leaders are trying to ratchet up the pressure on wavering GOP senators to fall in line and meet their self-imposed July 4 deadline for sending a bill to President Donald Trump’s desk," wrote Andrew Desiderio, Laura Weiss, John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News. "Several Republican senators are quietly pitching their leadership on delaying the implementation timeline of the Senate’s stricter crackdown on Medicaid provider taxes. Paired with a stabilization fund for rural hospitals, this could help win over enough of the half-dozen or so wavering senators."

The report states that Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), "who faces a tough reelection next year, said he wants to learn more about how each state’s rural hospitals will be impacted before moving forward. Those analyses won’t come quickly."

“I don’t have a problem with the [provider tax] scale-down,” Tillis is quoted as saying. “I’m just asking some questions so all members know programmatically how this will be dealt with in the states… You need to do a scenario analysis for every single one.”

The report goes on to describe how the bill might reach Trump's desk, noting, "Thune has always banked on Trump and outside pressure to help seal the reconciliation deal."

"But choosing when exactly to kick off the floor process for the bill could be Thune’s biggest gamble yet," the report says.

Read the full Punchbowl News piece here.

'Never seen that happen': GOP clashes over senator's rogue move on Trump bill

Senate Republicans are bashing Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) for going rogue as they hash out changes to the House version of President Donald Trump's megabill, Politico reported.

Paul serves as chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which should give him "jurisdiction" over the section of the bill dealing with border security, according to Politico's Hailey Fuchs. But Paul's defiance over increased spending has led committee members to shut him out of negotiations.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has a long history of opposing Paul's more conservative approach to spending, is seeking to override Paul’s jurisdiction in the budget negotiations.

"Paul has made clear repeatedly he isn’t planning to vote for the party-line tax and spending bill...giving leadership few reasons to try and play nice," Fuchs wrote, adding that "the decision by senior Senate Republicans to undermine a committee chair in such a way marks a dramatic departure from standard Senate procedure."

This week, Paul drafted his own spending proposal, which is drastically different to Graham's. Senators viewed the move as "another break with precedent," Fuchs wrote.

She added that "few of Paul’s own members on the Homeland Security panel, if any, appeared supportive of the chair’s approach or willing to back him up against leadership’s attempts to undermine him. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said it was concerning that Paul would draft his own proposal 'without any consultation of the committee.'"

Hawley said he had “never seen that happen before," Fuchs wrote.

Paul's proposal "would allocate just $6.5 billion for immigration enforcement efforts at the border. His proposal also would free up $2.5 billion for Customs and Border Protection facilities and checkpoints instead of the House’s $5 billion offering," Politico reported.

Read the Politico article here.

'Downhill from here': Writer claims Trump's pride and joy will take down the GOP

American voters dislike the provisions of President Donald Trump's "one big beautiful bill" so much that it will be the undoing of both Trump and congressional Republicans, according to a new opinion piece on MSNBC.com.

"A recent Washington Post poll showed a plurality of Americans oppose the version of the Republican megabill that narrowly passed the House of Representatives in May, and that’s at a time when two-thirds said that they have heard little or nothing about the legislation," wrote Editor Ryan Teague Beckwith, adding, "It's only downhill from here."

Trump is betting his presidential legacy on the megabill, but "voters said they dislike most of the major provisions, such as cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy, and spending billions to build new migrant detention centers," Beckwith wrote. "The few things they like, such as tax breaks for parents and on tipped income, are so paltry they aren't likely to give Trump or the GOP much of a boost."

Beckwith cited the reasons the House version of Trump's bill will leave Americans worse off than they were before his second term, writing, "It would cause 16 million Americans to lose health insurance, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; It would lead to 4 million fewer Americans getting food stamps, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office; and it would increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to the CBO."

GOP senators are currently hashing out their challenges to the bill on life-altering issues like tax cuts and Medicaid. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the Senate Finance cuts to the health care entitlement "deeper and more devastating than even the Republican House's disaster of a bill."

Beckwith predicted that the bill will be the death of the GOP in its current form if it's signed into law. They'll be voted out of office as millions more Americans are unable to "see a doctor or feed their children and fruit is rotting in the fields while immigration officers swarm farms, factories, churches, schools and courthouses around the country to deport hard-working immigrants without criminal records."

"That will be Trump's legacy," Beckwith concluded, as well as "the legacy of every Republican who votes for it."

Read the MSNBC opinion piece here.

'Who is funding?' MAGA senator vows to root out shadowy figures behind protests

President Donald Trump has claimed that the Los Angeles protesters are "paid insurrectionists," and MAGA Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) vowed Wednesday to find out who's behind the "funding."

Hawley posted to X, "Who is funding the LA riots? This violence isn’t spontaneous. As chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Terrorism, I’m launching an investigation to find out."

The Missouri senator also posted a letter addressed to Angelica Salas with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.

"Credible reporting now suggests that your organization has provided logistical support and financial resources to individuals engaged in these disruptive actions," the letter read. "Let me be clear: bankrolling civil unrest is not protected speech. It is aiding and abetting criminal conduct."

Hawley did not tip his hand as to who produced the "credible reporting," but demanded that Salas "preserve" the group's records.

Salas appeared on CNN over the weekend, where she accused Trump of dehumanizing immigrants.

"I want the entire country and entire world to see that this president, President Donald Trump, is chaotic. He is cruel," Salas said. "He is unwilling to see us as human beings, and we all need to stand up against this kind of absolutely authoritarian attitude action....This president cannot see us as human beings."

On Bluesky, CHIRLA has posted "Know Your Rights Resources" for immigrants and advised the Los Angeles community, "If you see ICE in LA, don’t stay silent. Report it to the LA Rapid Response Network."

Another post featured an event photo with the caption, "CHIRLA along with our faith leaders gather in prayer as we hold each other in love and offer support to the families who have had loved ones ripped apart from them because of these vile ICE raids."

Salas has not yet publicly responded to Hawley's letter or assertions.