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Trump issues early challenge to GOP Senate with defiant nominations
Read full article: Trump issues early challenge to GOP Senate with defiant nominationsJust hours after Republican Sen. John Thune was elected as the incoming Senate majority leader, President-elect Donald Trump presented him with one of his first tests — an announcement that he intends to nominate House Republican Matt Gaetz as attorney general.
North Dakota US Sen. Kevin Cramer’s son pleads guilty in car-chase death of a deputy
Read full article: North Dakota US Sen. Kevin Cramer’s son pleads guilty in car-chase death of a deputyThe adult son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer has pleaded guilty to all charges after a crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy.
Trump ramps up his defense of Vance after one of the rockiest VP rollouts in recent memory
Read full article: Trump ramps up his defense of Vance after one of the rockiest VP rollouts in recent memoryRepublican presidential nominee Donald Trump is in the rare position of having to defend someone else’s controversial comments.
Senator's son pleads not guilty to charges from crash that killed North Dakota sheriff's deputy
Read full article: Senator's son pleads not guilty to charges from crash that killed North Dakota sheriff's deputyThe adult son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer has pleaded not guilty to homicide and other charges in connection with a Dec. 6 crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff's deputy.
US senator's son faces new charges in crash that killed North Dakota sheriff's deputy
Read full article: US senator's son faces new charges in crash that killed North Dakota sheriff's deputyU.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer's 42-year-old son is facing additional charges in connection with the pursuit and crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff's deputy this month.
Senator's son appears in court on new homicide charge from crash that killed North Dakota deputy
Read full article: Senator's son appears in court on new homicide charge from crash that killed North Dakota deputyThe adult son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer has appeared in court on a new homicide charge in connection with the crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff's deputy earlier this month.
Senator's son faces upgraded homicide charge in crash that killed North Dakota sheriff's deputy
Read full article: Senator's son faces upgraded homicide charge in crash that killed North Dakota sheriff's deputyNew charges have been approved Thursday against the 42-year-old son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer in connection with a crash last week that killed a North Dakota sheriff's deputy.
Funeral and procession honors North Dakota sheriff's deputy killed in crash involving senator's son
Read full article: Funeral and procession honors North Dakota sheriff's deputy killed in crash involving senator's sonFuneral services will be held Wednesday for a North Dakota sheriff's deputy killed in a crash involving a U.S. senator's adult son, who was having a mental health crisis.
US Sen. Kevin Cramer's son makes court appearance after crash that killed North Dakota deputy
Read full article: US Sen. Kevin Cramer's son makes court appearance after crash that killed North Dakota deputyThe 42-year-old son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer made his initial appearance in state district court on Friday in connection with the pursuit and crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff's deputy on Wednesday.
US Sen. Kevin Cramer's son charged with manslaughter in crash that killed North Dakota deputy
Read full article: US Sen. Kevin Cramer's son charged with manslaughter in crash that killed North Dakota deputyThe 42-year-old son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer is charged with manslaughter and fleeing an officer after a police pursuit ended in a crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy.
Four GOP candidates are on stage for the debate, while Trump holds a fundraiser. Follow live updates
Read full article: Four GOP candidates are on stage for the debate, while Trump holds a fundraiser. Follow live updatesA diminishing field of Republican presidential candidates has begun its fourth debate of the 2024 primary campaign.
Biden is dangling border security money to try to get billions more for Israel and Ukraine
Read full article: Biden is dangling border security money to try to get billions more for Israel and UkrainePresident Joe Biden is trying to sweeten his pitch for more money for Ukraine by mixing in billions of dollars for securing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Sen. McConnell plans to serve his full term as Republican leader despite questions about his health
Read full article: Sen. McConnell plans to serve his full term as Republican leader despite questions about his healthSenate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly said he is “fine” since he froze up midsentence during a press conference on Wednesday.
Air Force opposes Chinese-owned corn plant for North Dakota
Read full article: Air Force opposes Chinese-owned corn plant for North DakotaThe U.S. Air Force is telling North Dakota leaders it believes a Chinese company’s plan to build a wet corn milling plant near the Grand Forks Air Force Base poses a national security threat.
As Biden's infrastructure plan advances, can GOP get to yes?
Read full article: As Biden's infrastructure plan advances, can GOP get to yes?For President Joe Biden and the senators laboring over a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure package, there’s just one question left: Can enough Republicans get to yes.
Lawmakers fear turning 144 cities into "micropolitan" areas
Read full article: Lawmakers fear turning 144 cities into "micropolitan" areasA bipartisan group of U.S. senators and congressmen is urging the federal government not to approve recommendations to remove 144 cities from the designation of metropolitan statistical areas. Reclassifying them as “micropolitan” would put key federal funding at risk, they said. Doing so would reclassify more than a third of the current 392 metro areas as micropolitan statistical areas. In a separate letter to the Office of Management and Budget, Hoeven said the proposal also would hurt micropolitan areas that were on the cusp of becoming metro areas. “If a metropolitan statistical area is redefined as a micropolitan area, it may fall out of the conversation.
Trial highlights: Trump grievances, angry outbursts and more
Read full article: Trial highlights: Trump grievances, angry outbursts and more"The Senate cannot ignore the First Amendment," said van der Veen. In a letter signed last week they wrote that “the First Amendment does not apply in impeachment proceedings, so it cannot provide a defense for President Trump." van der Veen bristled and inquired who had asked. Sanders responded, “I did.” van der Veen retorted: “irrelevant.”“No, it isnt!” Sanders angrily shot back from his desk, adding: “You represent the president of the United States!”He scoffed audibly when van der Veen avoided answering the question. “This is not whataboutism," said Michael van der Veen.
GOP signals unwillingness to part with Trump after riot
Read full article: GOP signals unwillingness to part with Trump after riotBut as the Senate prepares for an impeachment trial for Trump's incitement of the riot, few seem willing to hold the former president accountable. “The political winds within the Republican Party have blown in the opposite direction,” said Ralph Reed, chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and a Trump ally. After Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer backed impeachment, Republican Tom Norton announced a primary challenge. “We’re getting ready for an impeachment trial — that’s really the focus,” said Trump adviser Jason Miller. And that his political activism or whatever role he would play going forward would be with the Republican Party, not as a third party,” Cramer said.
COVID-19 relief: What's on the table as Congress seeks deal
Read full article: COVID-19 relief: What's on the table as Congress seeks dealThe duo were the architects of the $1.8 trillion CARES Act, the landmark relief bill passed in March. Here are the top issues for the end-stage COVID-19 relief talks. ___JOBLESS BENEFITSThe CARES Act created a $600 per-week bonus COVID-19 unemployment benefit that sustained household incomes and consumer demand during the springtime shutdowns. House Democrats support the idea, but it is unpopular with many Senate Republicans and was left out of a scaled-back Senate GOP plan. ___LIABILITY SHIELDBusinesses reopening during the pandemic have for months been seeking a shield against lawsuits claiming negligence for COVID-19 outbreaks.
Biden signals sharp shift from Trump with Cabinet picks
Read full article: Biden signals sharp shift from Trump with Cabinet picksThe picks include former Secretary of State John Kerry to take the lead on combating climate change. “America will soon have a government that treats the climate crisis as the urgent national security threat it is,” Kerry said. At 43, he will be one of the youngest national security advisers in history. Blinken, 58, served as deputy secretary of state and deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration and has close ties with Biden. Blinken recently participated in a national security briefing with Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and weighed in publicly just last week on notable foreign policy issues in Egypt and Ethiopia.
Biden expected to nominate Blinken as secretary of state
Read full article: Biden expected to nominate Blinken as secretary of stateFILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016, file photo, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Syria. Blinken is the leading contender to become President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for secretary of state, according to multiple people familiar with the Biden team's planning. – President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate Antony Blinken as secretary of state, according to multiple people familiar with the Biden team's planning. Blinken, 58, served as deputy secretary of state and deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration and has close ties with Biden. Biden's secretary of state would inherit a deeply demoralized and depleted career workforce at the State Department.
Senate Republicans try to ignore Trump's attacks on Fauci
Read full article: Senate Republicans try to ignore Trump's attacks on FauciDr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, testifies during a Senate Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Hearing on the federal government response to COVID-19 on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, in Washington. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not necessarily stand up for Fauci after Trump derided the National Institute for Health official as one of the “idiots” leading the country's coronavirus response. “The one thing we all need to do is wear a mask, practice social distancing, try to prevent the spread,” McConnell told reporters. Trump's own COVID-19 diagnosis following a Rose Garden event at the White House sent ripples to Capitol Hill. He noted that “the scientists have a great deal of influence over a lot of things, but they don’t have total influence over the entire economy and how to run it.”Fauci has served since 1984 as the director of the National Institute of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases.
Feds want deal with North Dakota over pipeline protest costs
Read full article: Feds want deal with North Dakota over pipeline protest costsBISMARCK, N.D. The Army Corps of Engineers is recommending that the federal government negotiate a settlement with North Dakota for more than $38 million that the state spent policing protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. North Dakota Republican U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer called the recommendation very significant and the right thing to do for the federal government. North Dakota assumed all costs including the cleanup of actions facilitated by the Corps of Engineers, Cramer said Tuesday. Thousands of opponents gathered in southern North Dakota in 2016 and early 2017, camping on federal land and often clashing with police. If not, we will prepare for trial.Stenehjem said North Dakota has a strong case and holds the upper hand in negotiations now with the federal judges ruling last month.
Congress defies Trump veto threat on Confederate base names
Read full article: Congress defies Trump veto threat on Confederate base namesWASHINGTON The Senate on Thursday joined the House in defying a veto threat from President Donald Trump to approve defense legislation that would remove the names of Confederate officers from American military bases such as Fort Bragg and Fort Benning. The Senate approved the annual policy measure, 86-14, a margin that suggests more than enough support to override a potential Trump veto. The White House said in a statement this week that it supports the overall spending figure but expressed serious concerns about the House bill, including the mandate on base renaming. President Trump is deploying dangerous authoritarian tactics on our streets as a twisted campaign strategy,'' Merkley said in a statement explaining his vote against the defense bill. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., called Merkley's proposal nothing more than "political messaging ... designed to exploit violence in the streets for political gain and defeat President Trump.''
GOP worries Trump's divisive June imperils Senate control
Read full article: GOP worries Trump's divisive June imperils Senate controlStill another said Republicans worry the GOP brand of cutting taxes could be overshadowed by Trump's drive to defend Confederate monuments. 2 Senate Republican leader John Thune of South Dakota said last week. He said GOP candidates need to do what they need to do to win. Republican Senate candidates will have to defend things President Trump says and does between now and Election Day, said Rory Cooper, a Republican strategist and longtime Trump foe. He said he believes independent swing voters abandoning Trump will be willing to back GOP Senate candidates and expressed cautious optimism.