McConnell, Schumer Strike Deal on Impeachment Trial Rules

Senate leaders said on Monday that a deal has been agreed upon regarding the framework for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial slated to begin on Tuesday.

“For the information of the Senate, the Republican leader and I, in consultation with both the House managers and former President Trump’s lawyers, have agreed to a bipartisan resolution to govern the structure and timing of the impending trial,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday on the Senate floor. “All parties have agreed to a structure that will ensure a fair and honest Senate impeachment trial of the former president,” the New York Democrat said.

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Commentary: It’s Time for Mitch to Go

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who currently holds what I suppose we now call the Office of the Outgoing Senate Majority Leader, has to go. He’s a man unsuited for the times. The results prove it.

It is McConnell who has been the architect of Republican defeat in the Senate. Heading into the 2016 election, there were 54 Republican senators. After the election there were 52. Then, in 2018, McConnell backed the disastrous candidacy of Martha McSally for an open seat in Arizona. It was McConnell who picked her and crowded out other viable candidates. That year McSally lost by 2.4 percentage points to Kyrsten Sinema while, at the same time, Republican Doug Ducey cruised to a nearly 15-point win as Arizona’s governor. 

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Congress Agrees on Coronavirus Relief Package After Months of Negotiations

Congress agreed on a $900 billion coronavirus relief package Sunday, overcoming several last-minute stalemates over the Federal Reserve’s lending powers and direct cash payments, Senate leaders announced.

“At long last, we have the bipartisan breakthrough the country has needed,” Senate Majority Leader McConnell said Sunday on the Senate floor. “I hope we can do this as promptly as possible.”

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Rep. Ayanna Pressley Calls Loeffler, Perdue and McConnell ‘the Bonnie and Clyde of Corruption’

Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley on Friday compared Republican Georgia Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to “the Bonnie and Clyde of corruption.”

Pressley criticized “this GOP-led Senate” on MSNBC host Joy Reid’s “The ReidOut” for sticking with the Trump administration’s policies and criticized them for being distant from challenges Americans face due to COVID-19. Pressley criticized President Donald Trump and said he permitted the economic challenges.

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Commentary: The High Price of Dems’ False Hope

How much money did Democrats squander on hopeless campaigns based on the foolish expectation that Joe Biden would lead a “blue wave” landslide sweeping Republicans out of office at every level? While we must wait for final vote counts to know who won the presidency — this takes time, considering that some Biden voters have been dead for more than 30 years — we can begin to tabulate the cash total Democrats threw away on other campaigns that were inarguably doomed from the outset.

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White House Backs Tailored Measure for Coronavirus Relief as Pelosi Blasts Republicans

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi assailed Republican “disarray” Sunday over a new pandemic relief package as the White House suggested a narrower effort might be necessary, at least for now.

The California Democrat panned the Trump administration’s desire to trim an expiring temporary federal unemployment benefit from $600 weekly to about 70% of pre-pandemic wages. “The reason we had $600 was its simplicity,” she said from the Capitol.

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Congressional Leaders Receive at Least $1 Million in Pension Payouts Paid for by Taxpayers

As the nation struggles with record high unemployment, extended job losses, continued statewide shutdowns, and crippling national debt, a new report reveals that congressional leaders will receive an estimated $1 million each in retirement payouts on top of their lifetime pensions, fully funded by taxpayers.

First published by Forbes, OpenTheBooks.com’s report, “Why Are Taxpayers Providing Public Pensions To Millionaire Members Of Congress?” compares the financial benefits that both top leaders in Congress receive.

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Mitch McConnell Is Ready To Play Hardball To Get Kavanaugh Confirmed

Mitch McConnell

by Kevin Daley   Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told senior Republicans that he will schedule Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote on a date just before the November elections if Democrats demand access to the full scope of records the judge produced in the George W. Bush administration. Democrats are…

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