Tag Archives: Senator Mitch McConnell

Ignoring The People You Are Supposed To Represent

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On Monday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about the seeming reluctance of Senate Majority Leader John Thune to work to pass the SAVE America Act.

The article reports:

In yet another blatant betrayal of President Donald Trump and the America First agenda, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has once again shown his true RINO colors by flatly refusing to make any changes to Senate rules that would allow the critical SAVE America Act to pass.

This comes as Trump ramps up pressure on the GOP establishment to secure our elections before the midterms, but Thune is more interested in protecting the swamp than fighting for the American people.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” Thune said on Monday when pressed by ABC News about altering the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to advance legislation.

This stonewalling directly undermines Trump’s urgent call to pass the SAVE America Act, which would crack down on voter fraud and ensure only American citizens vote in our elections.

Americans overwhelmingly support the provisions of the Act, yet Congress does not seem to be able to bring about legislation that reflects the views of the voters.

The article concludes:

This isn’t Thune’s first rodeo in backstabbing Trump. Senate Majority Leader John Thune unveiled a procedural scheme to block President Donald Trump from making any critical appointments during the August recess, effectively aiding the Democrats’ obstructionist agenda.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the president can make “recess appointments,” temporary appointments to federal positions, if the Senate is in recess and not conducting business. These appointments don’t require immediate Senate confirmation and can last until the end of the next session of Congress.

But there’s a loophole: if the Senate holds pro forma sessions, very short, symbolic meetings where no actual business is conducted, then technically, the Senate is still in session. That means the president cannot legally make recess appointments during that time.

We need to remember that John Thune was Mitch McConnell’s protege. His actions are not surprising.

The Fight For Fiscal Sanity

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On Tuesday, The New York Post reported the following:

Vice President JD Vance cast two tie-breaking votes in the Senate Tuesday to move forward a $9.4 billion rescissions package — which would rip federal funding from PBS and NPR — in the upper chamber. 

The Senate deadlocked, 50-50, on two procedural votes to start debate on the multibillion-dollar spending clawback package before Vance’s votes advanced the measure requested by the White House. 

Three Republicans — Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) — joined all Democrats in opposition to the bill. 

The article includes this statement:

Collins defended her “no” vote by arguing that OMB didn’t provide senators with details about what programs would be scrapped as a result of the clawback.

How many times has Collins voted on a bill without knowing exactly what is in it?

The article notes:

The Maine Republican also described the cuts to public broadcasters as “excessive” and expressed concern that PBS viewers would lose access to “popular programs like ‘Antiques Road Show’ and ‘Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.’”

“I share the frustration with the biased reporting by NPR, and I would support defunding it,” Collins continued. “Nevertheless, local TV and radio stations continue to provide important coverage.”

She noted that CPB funding in Maine supports the state’s emergency alert network and allows high school basketball games to air on television.

PBS should be required to stand on its own just as other broadcasters are. They have no official commercials, but they fund raise and name sponsors. Frankly, if they had had any copyright lawyers worth their salt in the early days of Sesame Street, they would have been set for life on Tickle-Me Elmo.

The article concludes:

The Senate now has at least 10 hours to debate the measure before amendments are voted on and a final vote takes place.

The House, which passed the measure 214-212 in June, would then need to consider the changes the Senate makes to the bill.