Senate Democrats

Stories 261 - 280 | << Prev   Next >>

Obama 'Thrilled' to See Specter Join Dems

'You have my full support,' president tells Pa. senator in call

(Newser) - Within minutes after Sen. Arlen Specter announced he was switching from the Republican to the Democratic Party, President Obama called Specter from the Oval Office, welcoming him into the fold, Politico reports. We are “thrilled to have you,” Obama said, adding, “You have my full support.”...

Specter Defects to Democrats
 Specter Defects to Democrats 
Apr 28, 2009 11:38 AM CDT

Specter Defects to Democrats

(Newser) - Arlen Specter is jumping to the Democrats, leaving the party excruciatingly close to a filibuster-proof Senate majority, reports Politico. Sources say VP Joe Biden was key to the effort to recruit the Pennsylvania senator. “Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party...

Dorgan Could Be Obama's Top Democratic Foe

'Fiercely independent' senator eyes 2010 in deep red N. Dakota

(Newser) - Sen. Byron Dorgan is shaping up to be a real thorn in Barack Obama’s side. The North Dakota Democrat is on a collision course with the president on everything from climate change to Afghanistan to Wall Street, and he holds some key committee positions. “I’m not in...

Reid Resists Torture Commission
Reid Resists Torture Commission
Apr 24, 2009 2:57 AM CDT

Reid Resists Torture Commission

Senate leader rejects Pelosi, joins Obama in opposing panel

(Newser) - Harry Reid will back President Obama in resisting calls to immediately create an independent commission to probe the CIA's harsh interrogation program, the New York Times reports. The majority leader, backed by other top Senate Democrats, said it would be "very unwise" to start establishing commissions or tribunals before...

Senators Rank Bipartisan Colleagues

Kennedy, Collins named most bipartisan

(Newser) - If you want to reach across the aisle in the Senate, chances are you're stretching toward Ted Kennedy or Susan Collins, according to a Hill survey of the upper chamber. “I’d love to co-sponsor every piece of legislation with Ted Kennedy,” says Sen. Richard Burr. The most...

Forget AIG: The Outrage Is Estate Tax Giveaway
Forget AIG: The Outrage Is Estate Tax Giveaway
OPINION
Apr 10, 2009 12:05 PM CDT

Forget AIG: The Outrage Is Estate Tax Giveaway

Ten turncoats make absurd stand on Estate Tax

(Newser) - Ten Senate Democrats have joined with Republicans in opposing President Obama’s plan to reinstate the estate tax, set by the Bush team to expire next year, on amounts over $3.5 million. Michael Kinsley, writing in the Washington Post, has one question: “Why in the world?” Currently, rich...

Senate Follows House to Back $3.5T Budget

Approval of $3.5T budget clears way for Obama's agenda

(Newser) - The Democratic-controlled Senate has passed a budget drafted to President Barack Obama's specifications, voting a few hours after the House approved a similar plan. The budget calls for spending of $3.5 trillion for the year beginning Oct. 1 and has a deficit projected at $1.2 trillion. The Senate...

Pawlenty In Squeeze Over Franken's Fate

Mulling White House run, guv faces heavy choice

(Newser) - The Minnesota Senate race is set for the state Supreme Court, and after that, it’s in GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s hands. If the court puts Democrat Al Franken on top, that puts Pawlenty, eyeing a 2012 presidential run, in a tight spot, writes Manu Raju for Politico: Does...

Senate Panel Clears $3.6T Budget Plan

Spending blueprint leaves president's agenda mostly intact

(Newser) - President Obama's spending plans have passed a major hurdle in the Senate, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Senate Budget Committee passed a plan largely similar to Obama's  $3.6 trillion request in a 13-10 vote split along party lines. The House committee passed its version Wednesday, clearing the way...

Dems to GOP: Draft Your Own Budget

(Newser) - Frustrated Senate Democrats today urged their GOP counterparts to stop criticizing President Obama’s proposed budget and provide an alternative, the Hill reports. “If it were easy to write a budget, then the Republicans would be writing one,” Dick Durbin said. Republicans responded that as the minority, that...

Dems Slash Obama's Budget

Congressional Dems scrap future plans to bail out financial sector

(Newser) - Democratic leaders trying to trim the federal deficit have taken a hatchet to President Obama's budget plan, reports the Washington Post. Congressional Democrats are expected to formally announce plans today to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the budget over the next five years, and eliminate plans to steer...

Don't Use Budget Process for Big Reform: GOP to Obama

Procedure would allow Democrats to pass agenda with 51 votes

(Newser) - To circumvent a likely 60-vote minimum in the Senate for big-ticket bills like health reform, President Obama is considering pursuing proposals through a budgetary tactic known as reconciliation, where just 51 votes are needed and no filibustering is allowed. But Republicans are having none of it, Politico reports. Senate Republican...

GOP's Specter Eyes Independent Run in 2010

Embattled GOP moderate rules out joining Dems but not doing a Leiberman

(Newser) - Sen. Arlen Specter isn't going to switch sides and join the Democrats but he won't rule out running as an independent in 2010, the Pennsylvania Republican tells the Hill. Specter, under pressure from the GOP base since becoming one of just three Republican senators to support the stimulus package, says...

Moderate Dems Balk Over Obama Deficit
Moderate Dems
Balk Over
Obama Deficit
Mar 11, 2009 11:07 AM CDT

Moderate Dems Balk Over Obama Deficit

Right wing of the president's party will fight to shave budget

(Newser) - Barack Obama may be president, but it’s Congress that passes the budget, and moderate Democrats are the ones holding the keys to the federal treasury, reports Time. Obama’s 2010 budget calls for $3.6 trillion in federal spending. And though deficit-hawks appreciate the president’s honest numbers (in...

Dems Hit With Revolt in the Ranks

Line-by-line lawmaking drives wedge into plans

(Newser) - Congressional Democrats figured Obama's aggressive legislative agenda would face challenges from the GOP, but they've been surprised by squabbling within their own party that's broken out even before they've gotten to the new initiatives, the Washington Post reports. Among the people holding up the $410 billion spending bill leftover from...

'Dealmaker' Role Suits Reid
 
 'Dealmaker' Role Suits Reid 
profile
Mar 7, 2009 9:24 AM CST

'Dealmaker' Role Suits Reid

Under Obama, Majority Leader no longer needs to be attacker

(Newser) - When George Bush was boss, Harry Reid had to play attack dog—but with Barack Obama in office, the Senate majority leader has returned to a role more comfortable to him, writes Shailagh Murray in a Washington Post profile. These days, he’s a “dealmaker”—like Obama, he...

Dem Fundraisers See Gold Mine in Rush Uproar
Dem Fundraisers See Gold Mine in Rush Uproar
ANALYSIS
Mar 6, 2009 1:34 PM CST

Dem Fundraisers See Gold Mine in Rush Uproar

Donkeys pounce

(Newser) - Rush Limbaugh isn’t the only one cashing in on his new, higher profile. Democratic committees are using the uproar as a fundraising gimmick, the Washington Post reports. “When Rush says jump, Republicans say how high?” reads an email from the Senate campaign committee, urging GOP senators to “...

Burris Camp Returns to Race Card
 Burris Camp 
 Returns to 
 Race Card 
ANALYSIS
Mar 3, 2009 10:26 AM CST

Burris Camp Returns to Race Card

Ill. senator hopes to box in white Dems for 2010 campaign

(Newser) - Roland Burris doesn’t have much support in Washington or money in his war chest for a reelection bid, but he retains one reliable weapon, Politico reports: the race card. As controversy over his appointment has reemerged, Burris hasn’t hesitated to chalk it up to racial politics. A Burris...

Dems Shrug Off Obama's Call to Battle Earmarks
Dems Shrug Off Obama's Call to Battle Earmarks
analysis
Feb 26, 2009 10:40 AM CST

Dems Shrug Off Obama's Call to Battle Earmarks

'Faceless bureaucrats' shouldn't guide funds: Reid

(Newser) - Leading Democratic lawmakers didn't welcome President Obama’s call to jettison budget earmarks, suggesting that as elected officials, they should control where funds are headed, the Hill reports. “We cannot let spending be done by a bunch of nameless, faceless bureaucrats,” Harry Reid said yesterday. Obama pointed to...

Durbin to Burris: Resign
 Durbin to Burris: Resign 
UPDATED
Feb 24, 2009 3:30 PM CST

Durbin to Burris: Resign

(Newser) - Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin told his junior colleague, Roland Burris, that he should resign during a meeting today, the Chicago Tribune reports. Burris declined, and also would not confirm whether or not he would run in 2010, despite earlier accounts that he would give up the seat. Durbin said he...

Stories 261 - 280 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser