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Trump Appointments Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 06, 2017 20 Comments
Neil Gorsuch will be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, April 7, 2017, on a straight up or down vote. That up or down vote will happen after Democrats filibustered the nomination by getting 45 Democrats to vote against closing debate. Republicans then exercised what usually is referred to as the Nuclear Option, but really should be called the Harry Reid Option, to eliminate the need for 60 votes to close debate. It should be called the Harry Reid Option because in 2013 Democrats used that procedure to eliminate the 60-vote requirement for all nominations, judicial or otherwise, other than the Supreme Court.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 06, 2017 33 Comments
The Senate Republicans used the "nuclear option" to end the filibuster on Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court. The Senate now has 30 hours to debate before the confirmation vote, which should take place on Friday at 7PM EST. The Senate voted 55-45 to end the debate with three Democrats voting yes: Donnelly (IN), Heitkamp (ND), and Manchin (WV). With this change, a Supreme Court nominee can receive confirmation with a simple majority instead of 60 votes.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 05, 2017 6 Comments
A recent revamp of Trump's National Security Council cut former Breitbart News Chief Executive Steve Bannon's role entirely. Bannon's role as a National Security Advisor was controversial from the get-go.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 29, 2017 18 Comments
Donald Trump moved fairly quickly in the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to fill the Scalia Seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The hearings have moved more slowly than many of us would have liked, but Mitch McConnell is promising an up or down vote by April 7, regardless of any attempts by Democrats to filibuster. Whether Republicans will exercise the Nuclear Option is a current media obsession. Yet there is another aspect of the federal judiciary on which Trump can have a lasting legacy, the lower federal courts (appeals and district courts).

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 24, 2017 3 Comments
Last week, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn acknowledged that he worked as a foreign agent with the firm Inovo, owned by Turkish-American businessman Ekim Alptekin, who has links to the Turkish government. The firm hired Flynn to investigate Fehtullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in Pennsylvania, that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed for many attempts coups. Today, ex-CIA director James Moosley released a bombshell with The Wall Street Journal, stating he attended a meeting with Flynn and Turkish foreign ministers to discuss removing Gulen back to Turkey. At the time, Flynn served as a Trump campaign advisor.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 24, 2017 18 Comments
Chuck Schumer thinks he has the votes to prevent 8 Democratic Senators from voting for cloture on the nomination of Neil Gorsuch, effectively creating a filibuster:
“After careful deliberation I have concluded that I cannot support Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court,” Mr. Schumer said, citing concerns over Judge Gorsuch’s record on workers’ rights and his degree of independence, adding, “My vote will be no, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.” Judge Gorsuch must earn the support of at least eight Democrats to break a filibuster — a threshold he is not on track to meet, at least so far, according to interviews and internal party discussions.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 22, 2017 29 Comments
According to Politico, Senate Democrats are hoping to strike a deal with Senate Republicans to ensure Trump's Supreme Court Justice nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, is confirmed. In exchange for confirmation, Politico reports, Democrats "are most likely" to request a deal that would exchange Gorsuch's confirmation for the preservation of the filibuster for any subsequent Supreme Court bench openings. Gorsuch is likely to be confirmed with or without a deal, so there's seemingly zero reason for Senate Republicans to even entertain such a deal if it was being discussed.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 22, 2017 1 Comment
President Trump's second pick for labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, faced the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today for his confirmation hearing. The hearing lasted three hours. During that time, he defended his recorded as a United States attorney and promised to push back against Trump if he disagrees with the president:
“If confirmed, I will work to enforce the laws under the department’s jurisdiction fully and fairly,” Mr. Acosta said in his opening pitch to senators. “As a former prosecutor, I will always be on the side of the law and not any particular constituency.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 22, 2017 5 Comments
Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch will face the Senate Judiciary Committee for the third day starting at 9:30 AM EDT. Today should be the last day of Gorsuch's testimony. Hearings will continue after today but will feature witnesses both in favor and opposed to Gorsuch's nomination. Yesterday, Senate Democrats attempted to nail Gorsuch on political issues unsuccessfully.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 21, 2017 18 Comments
Neil Gorsuch's confirmation hearing today was blah, blah, (try to stay awake), (don't let anyone know you're snoozing), (Dem Senators made to look foolish), (trite platitudes repeated endlessly on media). You still with me. Sure, there were some real moments, but they were entirely focused on Democrat Senators who were made to look like fools.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 21, 2017 13 Comments
Today was Day Two in confirmation hearings for Trump Supreme Court Justice nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch. Senators on the Judiciary Committee took turns spending thirty minutes grilling Gorsuch. When it was Sen. Durbin's (D-IL) turn to bat, he flamed out. Gloriously. "Do you believe that there are ever situations where the cost of maternity leave to an employer can justify an employer asking only female applicants and not male applicants about family plans?" Sen. Durbin asked. To which Gorsuch sternly replied, "those are not my words and I would never had said them."

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 21, 2017 15 Comments
Yesterday, we heard opening statements from the Senate Judiciary Committee and Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. Today, Gorsuch will face questions from the senators in 30-minute intervals. The hearing should last 12 hours. Will Democrats soften their stance on Gorsuch? As CBS pointed out, the Democrats "stressed that Gorsuch has impeccable credentials" and everything needed to serve on the Supreme Court. They want to make sure he "will maintain his independence" when situations "are particularly divisive." The Democrats also brought a few cases Monday that they will probably address today, including the infamous Hobby Lobby case by the U.S. Court of Appeals of the 10th Circuit. Gorsuch ruled with the majority that allowed the Green family, owners of the popular craft shop, to object "covering birth control for their employees."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 15, 2017 10 Comments
Wednesday, the Senate voted to confirm General H.R. McMaster as a National Security Advisor to President Trump. National Security Advisor's do not typically require Senate approval, but Senate confirmation is required when three and four-star generals change jobs or assignments. McMaster will remain in active duty. Trump selected McMaster after Mike Flynn resigned last month.

Posted by Mike LaChance on March 12, 2017 44 Comments
Elizabeth Warren knows that both Obama and Bill Clinton dismissed U.S. attorneys after taking office. Yet she's preparing to go to war over Trump doing it. Warren is just doing what she always does best. Playing to the far left base of her party. Alan Yuhas reports at The Guardian:
Elizabeth Warren says Trump pushed out prosecutors to install 'cronies' The progressive senator Elizabeth Warren accused Donald Trump of firing a prominent prosecutor to install “cronies” , warning on Sunday of “a massive fight” in the Senate over his picks for new US attorneys.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on March 11, 2017 21 Comments
Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked all remaining Obama-appointed U. S. Attorneys to resign.  This is standard procedure when a new president enters the White House, and despite some hand-wringing from the left, is rather unremarkable.  What is raising some questions is Preet Bharara, U. S. Attorney for the southern district of New York, who met with President Trump and subsequently announced he would remain in place, has been fired in the wake of his refusal to resign as requested. The National Review explains:
In March 1993, Janet Reno began her tenure as President Bill Clinton’s attorney general by summarily firing United States attorneys for 93 of the 94 federal districts (one, Michael Chertoff, was retained in New Jersey, at the request of Democratic Senator Bill Bradley). That is more than twice as many as Trump attorney general Jeff Sessions fired on Friday.
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