Kavanaugh Hearing Once Again in Doubt

An attorney for the woman who accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her decades ago has raised fresh concerns about the format for Thursday's highly anticipated hearing with her and the Supreme Court nominee. The letter raising those issues once again could throw into doubt the scheduled hearing, which has been the subject of ever-changing negotiations since Christine Blasey Ford first went public. In the message, sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley late Monday and obtained by Fox News, her attorney took issue with apparent plans for an outside counsel to ask questions -- as well as fiery comments made by ... Read More

House Resolution Would Condemn Voting by Noncitizens

The House of Representatives is set to vote this week on a resolution condemning voting by noncitizens and illegal immigrants as “devaluing” ballots cast by U.S. citizens. The nonbinding resolution, presented last week by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., would make it the position of the House that “allowing illegal immigrants the right to vote devalues the franchise and diminishes the voting power of United States citizens.” A vote on the resolution is expected Wednesday. The resolution appears to come in response to the actions of several cities and counties, including Chicago, Cambridge, Massachusetts; and—in McCarthy’s home state—San Francisco, which passed legislation allowing noncitizens to ... Read More

Sen. Hirono Suggests Democrats Could Hold Supreme Court Seat Open Until 2020

A Democrat senator suggested that if President Donald Trump withdraws Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination, Democrats could hold the Supreme Court seat open until after the 2020 election. “The world does not come to an end because we don’t [approve] all of the nominees,” Sen. Mazie Hirono said on Politico’s “Off Message” podcast last week, when asked about a political “gridlock” causing a delay until 2020. “I think we’ve had those kind of vacancies before,” Hirono added, referencing the possibility of a Democratic majority in Congress. “We certainly had over a one-year vacancy with Merrick Garland.” Hirono’s comments come in the same week as an accusation of ... Read More

Carson Takes Jab at Cuomo in Discussing Faith, Poverty, and Opportunity

Up-from-poverty stories such as his own are a rebuke to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s statement that America “was never that great,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson told an audience of social conservatives. “There are so many people who have forgotten … who don’t cherish the America that we live in,” Carson said Friday at the Values Voter Summit, an annual event organized by the Family Research Council. “There was a governor recently who said that America wasn’t great and had never been great. Can you imagine that?” Carson said, to ... Read More

Senate Dems Push for More Transparency in IRS Reporting of Dark Money

Senate Democrats are pushing for Republicans to join them in forcing all tax-exempt groups to be required to tell the IRS the names and contact information of their large donors. According to The Hill, Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced an effort Monday to erase certain IRS guidance in the Congressional Review Act, which was issued in July. "We must crack down on the dark money flooding our political system, that's why we are taking an aggressive approach and introducing this legislation to protect our democracy and hold special interests accountable with transparency," Sen. Tester said ... Read More