House Cloakroom: February 25 – March 1 Analysis: Sequester week begins in Washington! The House returns from a recess week to take up the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization. The Senate has passed a flawed reauthorization bill. The Senate version contains an unconstitutional expansion of tribal sovereignty, not to mention …
The Senate’s failure last week to advance the nomination of former Senator Chuck Hagel to Secretary of Defense was the right result, but for the wrong reason. Some Senators voted against Hagel as a way of pressuring the Obama Administration to answer many troubling and still outstanding questions about the …
A multitude of questions loom over former Senator Chuck Hagel’s (R–NE) nomination process. It is now up to the Obama Administration to ensure that Senators get the answers comprehensively and not in drips and drabs. For one thing, Hagel’s performance during his confirmation hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee …
The Senate’s vote on Thursday for former Senator Chuck Hagel (R–NE) for Secretary of Defense failed by two votes to achieve a 60-vote majority in favor of cloture. White House spokesman Jay Carney blew a gasket, calling the Senate action on the Hagel nomination “unconscionable.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid …
At his confirmation hearing today, Defense Secretary nominee Leon Panetta argued that the Cold War of the 20th century had been replaced by a “blizzard” of threats in the 21st. Remarking that “for our troops, there has been no shortage of war,” Panetta will likely concentrate on winding down American …
Amid a continuing war in Afghanistan, a new operation in Libya, ongoing military efforts in Iraq and a failing foreign policy doctrine, President Barack Obama has proposed cutting the already overstretched U.S. military by $400 billion. And today, he is expected to nominate CIA Director Leon Panetta to serve as …
The Senate hearing for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan starts on Monday, June 28. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has refused Republican requests to delay the hearing. The Republicans have a very good and justified reason for that request – the huge number of …
