Senate majority leader

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The Senate Has Its Next Majority Leader

It's John Thune of South Dakota

(Newser) - Republicans have elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as the next Senate majority leader, completing a momentous shift in their leadership that elevates a top deputy of Sen. Mitch McConnell into a key position as President-elect Trump returns to the White House. Thune, who is 63 and in his fourth...

3 Challengers to Lead Senate Embrace a Trump Demand

Scott, Cornyn, Thune accept president-elect's call for recess confirmations

(Newser) - President-elect Trump laid down a challenge, and the top three candidates to lead the Senate next year accepted. In a Truth Social post, Trump said any GOP senator vying for the position must agree to recess appointments—a tool to get Trump's appointees in place quickly when the full...

3rd Senator Joins Race to Be Next GOP Leader

Rick Scott, a Trump ally, will run for McConnell's position next year

(Newser) - Florida Sen. Rick Scott said Wednesday that he will run for Senate Republican leader when Mitch McConnell steps down from the post, becoming the third Republican in the race, the AP reports. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the current No. 2 Republican in the Senate, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn...

Bob Dole, 98, Was a Survivor in War, Politics
Bob Dole
Became
War Hero,
Senate Leader
obituary

Bob Dole Became War Hero, Senate Leader

Kansas native survived combat wounds to earn presidential nomination

(Newser) - Bob Dole, a product of Dust Bowl Kansas who became a war hero, Senate majority leader, and presidential nominee, died Sunday. He was 98. The announcement by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation said he died in his sleep but did not give the cause of death, the Washington Post reports. He...

Trump Reacts to McConnell's Dose of Election Reality

'Too soon to give up': president implores Senate majority leader

(Newser) - Mitch McConnell has spoken, recognizing Joe Biden Tuesday as the next president of the US, and the current president wasn't pleased with the Senate majority leader's concession—so much so that he addressed the subject after midnight on Tuesday. In a tweet accompanying a Daily Mail article titled...

McConnell: I Misspoke in an Obama Criticism

Previous White House did leave behind a pandemic plan

(Newser) - Mitch McConnell is walking back a criticism of President Obama. In an interview on Fox News Thursday, the Senate majority leader acknowledged that the Obama administration did, in fact, leave behind a plan for handling a pandemic, reports USA Today . "I was wrong," McConnell said. "They did...

McConnell: 'Moment the Framers Feared Has Arrived'

Senate majority leader blasts Dems for 'toxic new precedent'; Schumer: McConnell is 'hiding the truth'

(Newser) - For a moment Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to echo House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Moments like this are why the United States Senate exists. The moment the framers feared has arrived," the Kentucky Republican said from the Senate floor, per the Hill . Of course, McConnell wasn'...

McConnell Calls for Moore to Step Down, Moore Fires Back

Senate majority leader steps up his stance on Moore

(Newser) - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is stepping up his official thoughts on Roy Moore. "I think he should step aside," he said of the GOP Senate candidate during a presser Monday, the Hill reports. Asked more specifically about allegations that Moore, running in a special Dec. 12 election...

114th Convenes, GOP Takes Control

McConnell grabs majority reins in Senate as GOP vows to get to work

(Newser) - The 114th Congress has convened with solid Republican majorities in both houses, Mitch McConnell as the new Senate majority leader, and John Boehner retaining his gavel in the House despite a Tea Party challenge. In what the AP calls "a day of pomp, circumstance, and raw politics," Joe...

Harry Reid Out of Hospital for Exhaustion

Senate majority leader, 74, went today as a precaution

(Newser) - Harry Reid is out of the hospital after spending much of the day there suffering from exhaustion. The Senate majority leader finally went home after doctors cleared him to return to work, his spokesman said this evening. Reid was admitted to George Washington University Hospital early in the day after...

Tom Coburn: Harry Reid Is 'an Absolute A--hole'

Comment ignites war of words

(Newser) - So much for playing nice in the Senate sandbox: At a New York Young Republican Club gala on Monday, Tom Coburn reportedly trash-talked Harry Reid. When asked about his relations with opponents in the Senate, the Republican senator replied that some Democrats are easier to get along with than others....

'Most Mysterious Man in Washington' Is ... Harry Reid?

'Esquire' profile: He may seem boring, but there's far more to the man

(Newser) - If your image of Harry Reid is that of a dull Washington politician, a new Esquire profile is worth a read. Mark Warren makes the case that Reid is, in fact, "the most mysterious man in Washington." The Senate majority leader is a walking paradox—"an upright...

Durbin, Schumer Jockeying for Reid's Majority Post

Senators quietly maneuvering to move in if leader goes down

(Newser) - Capitol Hill housemates Charles Schumer and Richard Durbin are likely to end up fighting over a lot more than the breakfast cereal if Harry Reid loses his re-election battle. The senators from New York and Illinois, Reid's top two deputies, are subtly building support for bids to become majority leader—...

I Stopped 'World-Wide Depression': Reid

GOP jumps on senator's gaffe

(Newser) - With his Senate seat at risk in a close battle with Sharron Angle, Harry Reid is taking flak for telling MSNBC that he was key to preventing a worldwide depression. “People have been hurting. And it doesn’t give them comfort or solace for me to tell them, you...

Health Reform Doesn't Hurt or Help Dem Popularity
 Health Reform Doesn't 
 Hurt or Help Dem Popularity  
WASHINGTON POST POLL

Health Reform Doesn't Hurt or Help Dem Popularity

Pelosi, Obama get slight boost; Reid continues race to bottom

(Newser) - The passage of health care reform hasn’t been a huge boon for Democrats, but it hasn't been a disaster, either. Overall approval ratings have remained stable for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi since January (46% negative, 42% positive), and President Obama got a boost of 5 points on his handling...

Reid Casts Wrong Vote, Again
 Reid Casts Wrong Vote, Again 

Reid Casts Wrong Vote, Again

He voted against reconciliation before correcting himself

(Newser) - Harry Reid is apparently good at lining up votes but not so much at actually casting them. The majority leader set off laughter in the Senate chamber yesterday when he mistakenly voted "no" on the reconciliation bill. He quickly realized his mistake and changed to yes. Reid made the...

Reid Promises Vote on Jobs Bill Next Week

But so far, not one Republican senator is on board

(Newser) - Harry Reid plans to bring the first of several Democratic bills aimed at creating jobs to the Senate floor on Monday, with the goal of passing the measure by the end of next week. “For Senate Democrats, creating jobs is job number one,” the majority leader said. “...

Boxer, Feingold Oppose Another Bernanke Term
Boxer, Feingold Oppose Another Bernanke Term
UPDATED

Boxer, Feingold Oppose Another Bernanke Term

Liberal Democrats join rising tide against Fed chair's reappointment

(Newser) - Two Democratic senators said today they won't vote to reappoint Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman. Barbara Boxer and Russell Feingold added to the groundswell of opposition imperiling a second 4-year term for Bernanke, which requires 60 votes. “Our next Federal Reserve chairman must represent a clean break from the...

Pals Reid and Lieberman in Spat Over Trash Talk

Majority leader cries 'double-cross' on health care, doesn't quite take it back

(Newser) - Harry Reid can't get a break this week. Just as the flap over his use of the radioactive word "negro" was beginning to fade, the New York Times quoted him, in a preview of an upcoming magazine story, as trash-talking his supposed pal Joe Lieberman. The Times cited an...

Flip-Flopping Steele Backed Lott in '02
 Flip-Flopping Steele 
 Backed Lott in '02 
THAT WAS THEN

Flip-Flopping Steele Backed Lott in '02

RNC chair didn't call for resignation over racial comments

(Newser) - If Michael Steele truly thinks Harry Reid’s current situation is similar to Trent Lott’s, he should be pushing for Reid to stay as Senate majority leader. But since he’s not, he’s flip-flopping, Mike Allen writes in Politico . In 2002, Maryland's newly elected lieutenant governor weighed in...

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