U.S. Senate News
This section focuses on the upper chamber of Congress, from major policy debates to confirmation hearings. The Daily Signal provides a conservative look at Senate priorities.
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opinion
Congress Failed Once to Use Its Power on Iran Nuclear Agreement. It Shouldn’t Fail Again.
Over the past two months, the Biden administration has shown a willingness to revive negotiations with Iran on the flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran nuclear agreement. Thus far, negotiations haven’t taken place. Iran wants sanctions lifted before coming to the negotiating table, while the U.S. demands that Iran return… -
news
9 Highlights From Senate Hearing on Federal Takeover of Elections
Lawmakers listened to ominous references to the South’s Jim Crow era and Maoist China as the Senate held its first hearing on Democrats’ legislation to nationalize elections while eliminating voter ID and most other state election safeguards. “This bill has rightly been called the Corrupt Politicians Act because it is designed to keep corrupt politicians… -
opinion
This Senate May Smile on Faulty Law of the Sea Treaty
Now that President Joe Biden is in the White House and a fellow Democrat is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will the United States finally ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea? Republicans’ past support for this U.N. convention, also known as the Law of the Sea Treaty, has… -
opinion
As Teen, Byron Donalds Was Mugged at Gunpoint. He’s Now in Congress.
Freshman Rep. Byron Donalds was a businessman before he served in the Florida House of Representatives and now in Congress, where he arrived in January. Donalds grew up in a single-parent household and says his mom made sacrifices to make the American dream possible for him. “Growing up in the inner city, a lot of… -
news
4 Highlights From Senate Hearing on Liberals’ Equality Act
Supporters and opponents argued in a Senate hearing Wednesday over a bill that would make gender identity and sexual orientation protected characteristics under federal civil rights law. The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., spent over three hours listening to witnesses’ testimony and arguments for and against the legislation, called the Equality… -
news
Congressman Proposes Sending Troops Stationed at Capitol to Southern Border
National Guardsmen stationed at the Capitol building should instead be sent to address the “humanitarian crisis” at the southern border, a Republican congressman said Tuesday. The Guard Our Border Act would reassign 95% of the National Guardsmen stationed at the Capitol building to the southern border since the U.S. Capitol Police said Monday that there… -
opinion
Reviving the ERA: Congress Can’t Amend Resolution That Doesn’t Exist
With all that’s going on these days, and with the narrowest majority in half a century, you’d think House Democrats would be a little more focused on accomplishing something real and tackling some of the actual challenges we face. Instead, they are holding another vote related to the Equal Rights Amendment, which, even if it… -
opinion
5 Charts Show Why Congress Must Stop Adding to National Debt
President Joe Biden signed into law an enormous, debt-financed “stimulus” package on Thursday. This was the final step in a multi-month process to pass a heavily flawed piece of legislation. We might be tempted to hope that this will finally sate the left’s appetite for big government. After all, the size and scope of government… -
news
7 Takeaways From Senate Hearing on Supreme Court and Dark Money
Senators and a witness at a Senate hearing Wednesday afternoon called out three left-leaning dark money groups for decrying the existence of conservative dark money groups. The term “dark money” generally applies to a political organization that doesn’t disclose its donors. Leaders of the liberal groups People for the American Way, the Center for Media… -
news
8 Senators Propose Extending Daylight Saving Time to Year-Round
A bipartisan group of senators has reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act, which would extend daylight saving time to year-round, rather than keep it at eight months. One of those lawmakers, Sen. Marco Rubio, says the change would “give our nation’s families more stability throughout the year.” The Florida Republican and seven colleagues from both sides… -
news
6 Highlights From Congress’ First Hearing on Capitol Riot
Former and current officials responsible for securing the U.S. Capitol fielded questions Tuesday from senators about how the Jan. 6 rioters could have breached the building. Two Senate committees held the first such oversight hearing about a mob’s ability to storm the Capitol, apparently to prevent a joint session of Congress from counting and certifying… -
opinion
Protecting Newborns Is Common Sense. Time for Congress to Take Action.
Last Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi directed House Democrats to block one specific piece of legislation over and over. Democrats designated one person to stand up and object, every single day, when Republicans tried to bring this bill to the House floor. What legislation could possibly make Pelosi and House Democrats so afraid that they’d… -
opinion
Congress Must Confront Overspending, CBO Report Confirms
The Congressional Budget Office released the newest version of its “Budget and Economic Outlook” on Thursday, and the fiscal outlook over the next decade is grim. Spending, taxes, deficits, and the debt are all projected to increase to record levels. Even assuming no new spending is adopted, the government is projected to spend $61 trillion,… -
news
6 Takeaways From Opening Arguments in Trump’s Senate Trial
The historic opening day of the first Senate impeachment trial of a former president was fiery and emotional in some moments. Democrat House managers and lawyers for former President Donald Trump primarily clashed over the constitutionality of trying a private citizen who was impeached seven days before his term as president expired. The House impeached… -
news
2 Senators Flip-Flop on Keystone XL Pipeline, Thwarting GOP Bid to Save It
Two Democratic senators—Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana—who initially voted in favor of a Republican amendment reversing President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline later reversed themselves and voted with other Democrats to kill the amendment. Both Tester and Manchin voted late Thursday night for the amendment from… -
opinion
‘Talk Is Cheap,’ New Congresswoman Says About Left’s Calls for Unity
Freshman Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, says she is committed to focusing on the “meat and potato issues that affect people’s daily lives.” Van Duyne was the first female mayor of Irving, Texas, from 2011-2017. Now, she says, she’ll draw on her experience in local government to listen to the needs and concerns of Americans… -
news
Sen. Mike Lee Explains Why the Senate Has the Filibuster and Why It Would Be a Mistake to Abolish It
Now that Democrats have President Joe Biden in the White House and narrow majorities in both houses of Congress, some on the left argue that it’s time to get rid of the Senate filibuster. The Senate filibuster rule often slows down legislation and makes it so that 60 votes are required to pass bills, rather… -
opinion
Schumer Is Wrong About Debt. Congress Must Take Debt Danger Seriously, Not Spend Recklessly.
The combination of unified control of the federal government along with the COVID-19 pandemic has seemingly caused some elected officials to think there are no consequences to new spending proposals. However, they must wake up to the dangers posed by recklessly adding to the national debt. On Thursday, Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., exemplified this… -
news
Conservative Leaders Urge Senate to Preserve Filibuster
Heritage Action for America and a coalition of other national and state grassroots groups have sent a letter to members of the Senate urging them not to abolish the legislative filibuster. They said the filibuster “protects the rights of the minority party” in the Senate and “is an essential part of ensuring a strong system… -
opinion
New Congresswoman Vows to Stand Against Radical Agenda of Leftist ‘Squad’
Freshman Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., is one of several new members of Congress who have formed the “Freedom Force.” The group of conservative Republican leaders says it will stand against the far-left agenda being promoted by the so-called squad led by fellow New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other liberal Democrats. Malliotakis is the daughter…