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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As National Debt Nears $20 Trillion, Senator Takes Aim at Government Waste
How do you begin addressing the U.S. governmentâs nearly $20 trillion debt? For one senator, the answer begins with wasteful spending. In an interview with The Daily Signal on Monday, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., announced he would release the second edition of his âFederal Fumblesâ report on Nov. 28. The first report, which exposed 100 wasteful…Rachel del Guidice -
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How Republicans Could Overcome Filibusters by Senate Democrats
As Democrats strategize on how to stop conservative legislation from making its way to Donald Trumpâs desk in the White House, Republicans have a little-known rule in their toolbox that would allow them to pass legislation, including a repeal of Obamacare, with a simple majority. Democrats were able to keep 48 seats in the Senate…Melissa Quinn -
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What Chuck Schumer Would Do as Top Senate Democrat
Republicans buoyant about their newfound power in Washington, D.C., still have to contend with a powerful figure in the opposing party. The Senateâs new Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, is well known in Washington political circles as perhaps the dominant player in helping fellow Democrats defeat Republican opponents. Schumer, the 65-year-old New Yorker and former chairman…Josh Siegel -
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Top Senate Republican Meets With Lobbyists on Spending Plans
Hours after Hillary Clinton conceded the presidential election to Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sat down with Washington lobbyists to outline priorities for a lame-duck session of Congress later this month. According to Politico, McConnell, R-Ky., met Wednesday night with Republican lobbyists from corporations and consulting firms. One of the subjects was possibilities…Melissa Quinn -
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2 GOP Senators Advocate Post-Election Vote on Supreme Court Nominee
Two Republican senators are breaking ranks with GOP leadership over the confirmation of President Barack Obamaâs stalled Supreme Court nominee. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., predicted that Merrick Garland would be confirmed by the Senate during the lame-duck session of Congress. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., has also advocated for action on Garlandâs nomination in the post-election…Rachel del Guidice -
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Democrat VP Candidate Predicts Senate Will Change Rules to Confirm Supreme Court Nominee
Vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine says Democrats would “change the Senate rules” to confirm a ninth Supreme Court justice if they win control of the upper chamber in November. âI have a prediction,â Kaine said in an interview last week with The Huffington Post. âThis is not a guarantee and Iâm not revealing inside intel….Rachel del Guidice -
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Senators Promise to Block Potential Clinton Supreme Court Nominees
Two U.S. senators say they plan to oppose Hillary Clintonâs Supreme Court nominees should she win the presidency. In the past week, both Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, have indicated they would continue to block confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee next year. According to CNN, McCain said in a radio…Rachel del Guidice -
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Lawmakersâ New Project Aims to Support Religious Institutions
A new project has been launched to show the need of religious institutions, which are in danger of losing influence in society as they face challenges to their existence today. âWe need our faith-based institutions,â Republican Study Committee Chairman Bill Flores, R-Texas, said at the launch of the America Without Faith project at the Hillsdale…Mark McKerrick -
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GOP-Controlled Senate Passes Spending Bill Without Conservative Policy Riders
Three days before the federal governmentâs spending authority expired, the Senate advanced a 10-week continuing resolution by a 72-26 vote, putting spending on autopilot and avoiding a looming government shutdown. The makeshift spending agreement allows lawmakers in the upper chamber to skip Capitol Hill for the campaign trail with barely a month before the November…Philip Wegmann -
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House Passes Structuring Reform
For years, the IRS has used a law meant to facilitate the tracking of illicit financial transactions by drug and terrorist organizations to seize and forfeit vast sums of money from people with absolutely no connection to the criminal underworld. On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to curb this practice by passing…Jason Snead -
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One Lawmakerâs Plan to Rein in Spending and Assert Conservative Principles
Before lawmakers in the House could read the Senateâs plan to fund the government after the end of the month, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, was dismissing the measure out of hand, calling it âunconstitutional.â Congress is trying to hammer out a compromise to extend federal funding before the governmentâs annual spending authority expires Oct. 1….Philip Wegmann -
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GOP Senators Side With Democrats to Bail Out Unionâs Pension Fund
Itâs not every day you see a significant portion of Republican senators supporting a taxpayer bailoutâespecially for a private union pension plan. But today, six of the 14 Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee joined with Democratic counterparts in favor of a multibillion-dollar bailout of the United Mine Workers of Americaâs pension and health…Rachel Greszler -
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House, Senate Republicans Jockey to Advance Short-Term Spending Measure
The chairman of the largest conservative caucus in Congress is pushing House Republicans to pass a stopgap spending package before the Senate can finish work on its version. The governmentâs authority to spend money expires at the end of the fiscal year, Oct. 1. And Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is racing ahead on the…Philip Wegmann -
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The Trick Lawmakers Use to Hide Their Wasteful Spending
Imagine, for a moment, that youâre running a restaurant (and if you are already, congratulations). Imagine, further, that every month you serve more and more of your food, but never restock the groceries, and never come up with a plan to buy more. At some point, your restaurant is going to hit a wall: Youâll…Jim DeMint -
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Conservatives Should Worry: Democrat Senator Says Progressive Supreme Court Top Goal
Sen. Chuck Schumer has reminded us just how important the upcoming presidential election will be in shaping the federal judiciary, calling getting a progressive Supreme Court his ânumber one goal.â âA progressive majority on the Supreme Court is an imperative, and if I become majority leader, I will make it happen,â Schumer, D-N.Y., said to…Tiffany Bates -
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This Senator Wants to Ban Doctors From Dismembering Unborn Babies in the Womb
Sen. James Lankford introduced legislation last week that would ban late-term dismemberment abortion across the country, in efforts to build consensus and find common ground among Americans. âThere are a lot of arguments right now about life and about its role in American society,â Lankford told The Daily Signal in a phone interview Friday. âObviously,…Leah Jessen -
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Save the Filibuster and Save the Senate From Partisanship
The filibuster is under attack again, this time by Senate Democrats who are hoping to win back that chamber as well as the White House in November. Carl Hulse, chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times, reported Wednesday that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid wants Democrats to âmove to curtail the filibusterâ if they win both…Brian Darling -
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Left-Funded Rally Aims to Pressure Lawmakers to Welcome More Refugees
Are you concerned about the plight of international refugees? Would you like to see the U.S. government take decisive, constructive action on behalf of displaced persons across the globe who have been forced to flee their homes? If so, youâre invited to âstand up against the voices of intoleranceâ this Sunday in Washington, D.C., where…Kevin Mooney -
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Senate Liberals, Targeting Climate Change âDeniers,â Demand to Know Donors to 22 Think Tanks
Some of the Senate’s most liberal Democrats, demanding that 22 national and state-based think tanks disclose their donors, disparaged them as being part of a network of free-market policy organizations the senators accuse of âlaunderingâ identities while denying climate change exists. The existence of the conservative and libertarian policy research and education organizations, Senate Minority…Kevin Mooney -
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This Lawmaker Wants Bureaucracy to Stop Spending Your Fees and Fines
The House of Representatives has set its sights on reasserting congressional power that Republican leaders say has been slowly usurped over the years by courts and bureaucrats. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., last month introduced legislation that may prove to be a key piece of that effort to reclaim power from what conservatives call the administrative state….Andrew Egger