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U.S. Senate winds up grueling Supreme Court hearings on Ketanji Brown Jackson nomination
By: Jacob Fischler - March 25, 2022
WASHINGTON – Representatives of the American Bar Association reiterated their finding that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is well qualified to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, and law enforcement groups rebutted GOP accusations Jackson is soft on child pornographers during the final day of Jackson’s confirmation hearings Thursday. Republicans, however, called in witnesses to continue […]
What senators asked Ketanji Brown Jackson on the third day of U.S. Supreme Court hearings
By: Jacob Fischler - March 23, 2022
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee picked up Wednesday morning where they left off Tuesday evening in questioning Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson about her judicial philosophy, sentencing practices and personal background. Two senators, Democrat Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Republican Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who did not question […]
Ketanji Brown Jackson defends her record under grilling from U.S. Senate Republicans
By: Jacob Fischler - March 22, 2022
WASHINGTON – Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday sharpened their criticisms of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, probing her work as a public defender on behalf of terrorism suspects, the judicial sentences she has handed down for child pornography offenses and her views of critical race theory. Jackson defended her record […]
U.S. Senate hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to start Monday
By: Jacob Fischler - March 18, 2022
After more than two weeks of private meetings with nearly half the U.S. Senate, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, will field questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee in highly anticipated public hearings that begin Monday. Members of the panel will question Jackson for two full days, following […]
Zelenskyy reminds Congress of Pearl Harbor and 9/11 in pleading for U.S. help for Ukraine
By: Jennifer Shutt and Jacob Fischler - March 16, 2022
WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday invoked the Pearl Harbor attacks ahead of World War II and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, while urging the United States to do more to stop the Russian war against his country. During the speech, delivered virtually to members of Congress in an auditorium on Capitol Hill, Zelenskyy drew a […]
Biden’s Fed nominee withdraws after GOP boycott coupled with Manchin opposition
By: Jacob Fischler - March 15, 2022
Sarah Bloom Raskin of Maryland withdrew her nomination to the Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday, the day after a key coal-state Democrat announced he would vote against her due to her views on climate change. In a three-page letter to President Joe Biden, Raskin, a Duke University law professor whom the Senate confirmed to two […]
Rosendale, other Republicans in Congress, file suit to end mask mandate for air travel
By: Jacob Fischler - March 15, 2022
Seventeen Republican members of Congress including Montana’s Matt Rosendale have sued the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seeking an end to the federal rule requiring passengers on commercial flights and in airports to wear masks. The mandate illegally restricts the lawmakers’ freedom and is not backed by legal authority, they said in the suit filed […]
Nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin for Fed seat in doubt after Manchin opposition
By: Jacob Fischler - March 14, 2022
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III will not support one of President Joe Biden’s picks to sit on the Federal Reserve Board, Sarah Bloom Raskin of Maryland, Manchin said Monday. The announcement casts serious doubt on the chances of Senate confirmation for Raskin, who was a Fed governor from 2010 to 2014 and deputy Treasury secretary […]
Return of earmarks a boon for members of Congress facing midterm battles
By: Jacob Fischler and Jennifer Shutt - March 12, 2022
WASHINGTON — Vulnerable lawmakers from throughout the country are set to rake in federal cash for home-state projects after a major spending bill included the first round of earmarks in more than a decade. Members from both political parties began requesting thousands of projects last year when U.S. House and Senate leaders resurrected what’s called […]
Biden to tap Navajo health head to lead Native American health agency
By: Jacob Fischler - March 10, 2022
President Joe Biden intends to nominate Roselyn Tso to lead the Indian Health Service, the White House said in a news release Wednesday. Tso, a member of the Navajo Nation, is the Navajo area director for the IHS, overseeing federal health care for nearly 250,000 Native American people in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Tso […]
U.S. Senate Republicans attack Biden on energy costs, regulations after new inflation report
By: Jacob Fischler - March 10, 2022
Nebraska’s Deb Fischer and fellow U.S. Senate Republicans slammed President Joe Biden on Thursday for the sharp rise in consumer prices, calling for policy shifts to increase U.S. energy supply, roll back regulations and curb spending. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday the consumer price index rose nearly 8% in February over the same month in […]
National parks leader pledges more inclusion of Native Americans in land management
By: Jacob Fischler - March 8, 2022
The federal government will make greater efforts to include Native American tribes in decisions involving federal lands, National Park Service Director Charles F. Sams III told a House panel Tuesday. In his first appearance before the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee since he was confirmed as parks director in November, Sams said President Joe Biden’s […]