Senate

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Lame-Duck Congress Back as Fiscal Cliff Looms

Postal Service, Sandy relief may also be on agenda

(Newser) - Congress is back in Washington today, bracing for battle over how to avoid the fiscal cliff. Legislators have seven weeks to hit on a deal, with tax cut extensions taking center stage, notes Reuters . But analysts warn that "the longer it takes the president and Congress to negotiate a...

Elizabeth Warren Goes to Washington

Will she hold fast to populist stances, or learn art of compromise?

(Newser) - Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren is heading back to Washington, this time riding in as a member of the very institution that sent her unceremoniously packing over her anti-Wall Street rhetoric and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the New York Times takes a look at what sort of legislator the latest...

Tester Hangs On in Tight Montana Senate Race
Late Results: Democrats
Build Senate Lead
Election 2012

Late Results: Democrats Build Senate Lead

They now hold 55-45 advantage, counting two independents

(Newser) - The fat lady may have sung on the presidential race last night, but results are still trickling in from some of the country's closest races. So far, everything's coming up blue; Democrats have extended their Senate majority to 53, not counting the two independents expected to poll with...

Fight for the Senate: Can GOP Flip 4 Seats?
 Democrats Keep Senate: 
 Warren, McCaskill Win 
election 2012

Democrats Keep Senate: Warren, McCaskill Win

Tim Kaine, too; Democrats coast as Mourdock, Akin, McMahon lose

(Newser) - Democrats had a banner night in the Senate, starting with Elizabeth Warren knocking off GOP incumbent Scott Brown in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, Tim Kaine beat George Allen in Virginia, and Chris Murphy did the same to Linda McMahon for Connecticut's open seat—despite her huge personal influx of cash . It...

Clutch Senate Races to Watch Tomorrow

From Maine to Montana, here are the ones that could come down to the wire

(Newser) - The presidential race isn't the only one that will be decided tomorrow. Nearly as important is the fierce battle for control of the Senate. When the campaign season began, a GOP takeover there seemed assured, but now Democrats appear favored to remain in control, Real Clear Politics reports. Here...

Bachmann Could Actually Lose
 Bachmann Could Actually Lose 
tight races

Bachmann Could Actually Lose

Politico looks at tight and 'nasty' races

(Newser) - Michele Bachmann's path to re-election has gotten a lot bumpier than you might expect, reports Politico . It digs into the Minnesota rep's bid to hang onto her seat against a challenge from hotel exec Jim Graves , and finds that even with "off-the-charts" name recognition, more than...

Gaffes Squash GOP Bid to Rule Senate—Again

Akin, Mourdock stumbles reminiscent of 2010 struggle

(Newser) - In 2010, the GOP looked poised for a potential Senate takeover—but losses by Tea Party favorites to Democrats in Nevada, Delaware, and Colorado helped Democrats maintain control. Now, a similar scenario is playing itself out, notes the AP . Once again, Republicans should have had the Senate locked up this...

Ex-Gov Wins Wisconsin GOP Senate Primary

Linda McMahon prevails in Connecticut

(Newser) - Former four-term Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson has fought off a trio of conservative challengers to win the state's GOP Senate primary. Thompson, George W. Bush's secretary of health and human services, will compete against Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin in a race that could determine control of the Senate....

Tea Partier Scores Missouri Win With Democrat's Help

Claire McCaskill ads called Akin 'too conservative'

(Newser) - Missouri Rep. Todd Akin has won a close three-way GOP race to challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill in November, breaking Sarah Palin's winning endorsement streak in the process. All three contenders, including Palin-pick Sarah Steelman, had the backing of different Tea Party groups, and each claimed to be the most...

Senate Panel OKs Cash for Unwanted Drones, Ships

$604B budget rejects Pentagon cost-cutting plans

(Newser) - With major Pentagon budget cuts looming, the Senate Appropriations Committee has decided to hand the military piles of money for stuff it says it doesn't want. A $604.5 billion defense budget approved by the powerful committee yesterday includes funding for drones, warships, and cargo planes that the Pentagon...

Democrats Meddling With GOP Primaries

Attack ads go easy on less threatening hopefuls: observers

(Newser) - Democrats are launching attack ads aimed at Republican Senate primary candidates—but the ads may actually be designed to get the easiest target nominated, insiders in both parties say. The apparent strategy follows Harry Reid's 2010 work in support of Republican Sharron Angle, who won her primary before losing...

Governor Cory Booker or Senator Cory Booker?

Newark's mayor is considering both options

(Newser) - Cory Booker is looking for a promotion. The Newark mayor, Democratic party phenom, and random rescuer of people from fires , is contemplating the launch of a campaign for either the Senate or the governorship in New Jersey, reports Politico . Booker announced his intentions last night at a local county committee...

Senate Democrats Pass Bill to Cut Middle-Class Taxes

Symbolic move isn't going anywhere in the House

(Newser) - Senate Democrats got to make an election-year statement today: They passed a bill that would extend the Bush tax cuts for the middle class but let them expire for the richest Americans, reports the Hill . The prospects in the House, where Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for the...

McCain Defends Clinton Aide Huma Abedin

He says GOP attacks on Muslim deputy are 'sinister'

(Newser) - John McCain took on a group of fellow Republicans on the Senate floor today, blasting them for their ill-founded attacks against Deputy Secretary of State Huma Abedin. Michele Bachmann and four other House Republicans have demanded Abedin be investigated for distant alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. "To say...

Sen. Susan Collins Nearing 5,000th Consecutive Vote

Maine Republican has never missed a vote

(Newser) - Congress is less popular than waterboarding , but one senator's work ethic should meet with approval: Sen. Susan Collins is just three votes away from scoring an unbroken streak of 5,000 votes, the AP reports. The Republican from Maine has not missed a single vote since taking office in...

Why the Senate Needs Seersucker Thursday
 Why the Senate Needs 
 Seersucker Thursday 
Dana Milbank

Why the Senate Needs Seersucker Thursday

Dana Milbank links the death of bipartisanship to the death of fun

(Newser) - Last Thursday, something tragic happened: The Senate cancelled Seersucker Thursday. Senate leaders thought the tradition, begun by Trent Lott in the '90s, of wearing the light pajama-esque suits and perhaps hitting up the dairy lobby's ice cream truck, would send the wrong message given the weighty issues of...

Senate Reaches Deal to Freeze Student Loan Rates

7M students could save as rates stay at 3.4%

(Newser) - Student loan rates will stay at 3.4% for another year, thanks to a Senate deal on the issue, insiders tell the Washington Post . With President Obama and Mitt Romney both pushing for the freeze—which prevents rates from jumping to 6.8% July 1—the agreement is no surprise,...

John McCain Livid Over Popcorn Subsidy

Trying to kill pork project of strangely silent Nebraska senators

(Newser) - Nebraska's two senators have been quiet—you might even say sneaky—about inserting a provision to help popcorn growers into the new farm bill. Both are on the Agriculture Committee, and they slid a provision into the bill saying that the Agriculture secretary "may" consider revenue insurance subsidies...

Dianne Feinstein's 2012 Opponent: 'Birther Queen'?

Orly Taitz may take second place in today's primaries

(Newser) - Birthers are making headlines again. First Donald Trump endorses Mitt Romney; now the so-called "Birther Queen" has a shot at being Dianne Feinstein's opponent in California's Senate race. Orly Taitz , who has made her case about President Obama's birthplace on national TV, could well be the...

Tea Partier Forces Runoff for Texas Senate Seat

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's 45% of the vote not enough to slay Ted Cruz

(Newser) - It looks like the Tea Party insurgency isn't over yet. Movement darling Raphael "Ted" Cruz didn't win yesterday's Republican Senate primary, but he kept things close enough to force a runoff with his favored opponent, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the Wall Street Journal reports. Dewhurst had...

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