George Wenschhof
Budget Battles Begin Anew - Yesterday, President Obama asked Congress to extend the date of the scheduled sequester cuts to the end of the fiscal year.
Today, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) told reporters that it's time for lawmakers in Washington to act on spending cuts.
"At some point Washington has to deal with its spending problem," Boehner said. "I've watched them take this can down the road for 20 years since I've been here. I've had enough of it. It's time to act."
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Members of Congress Question Obama's Drone Policy - Lawmakers squared off with the Obama administration Tuesday after the inadvertent leak of a sensitive Justice Department memorandum defending the White House's right to order armed drone strikes potentially against U.S. citizens.
"[The] analysis is now public and the American people can review and judge the legality of these operations ... [but] the committee continues to seek the actual legal opinions by the Department of Justice that provide details not outlined in this particular white paper," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) said in a statement Tuesday.
A bipartisan group of 11 senators, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), sent a letter to the White House also requesting more information on targeted drone operations overseas, according to recent reports. TheHill.com has more here.
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55% Support Pathway to Citizenship - The Washington Post/ABC News poll shows increasing support for the push for comprehensive immigration reform put forth by President Obama. You can read more details of the poll here.
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Obama Nominates Sally Jewell for Secretary of Interior - President Obama on Wednesday will nominate Recreational Equipment (REI) chief executive Sally Jewell to head the Interior Department.
Jewell, who is being nominated to succeed Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, would take over at a time when many conservationists are pressing Obama to take bolder action on land conservation.
Obama had received some criticism for the lack of women in his cabinet. The Washington Post has more here.
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Obama To Visit Israel - President Obama will visit Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan this spring, the White House announced Tuesday.It will be his first trip to Israel as president. Republicans have been hotly critical of Obama for not having visited before now.
The planned trip came after a Jan. 28 talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said.
"The start of the president's second term and the formation of a new Israeli government offer the opportunity to reaffirm the deep and enduring bonds between the United States and Israel and to discuss the way forward on a broad range of issues of mutual concern, including Iran and Syria," National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement. NBC News has more here.
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Postal Service To End Saturday Mail Delivery - The U.S. Postal Service will stop delivering mail on Saturdays in an effort to cut costs for the financially struggling government agency, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
USPS will save $2 billion annually and will begin the cut in August. Package delivery will continue. Politico.com has more here.
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Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Daily Political Wire
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Daily Political Wire
George Wenschhof
Obama To Ask For Short Term Budget Plan - AP is reporting President Obama will ask Congress to come up with tens of billions of dollars in short-term spending cuts and tax revenue to put off the automatic across the board cuts that are scheduled to kick in March 1, White House officials said Tuesday.
Tuesday afternoon, in a statement from the White House, Obama will ask for a targeted way to reduce the deficit in the short term, perhaps several months. White House officials said that Congress needs more time to work out a 10-year plan worth more than $1 trillion in deficit reduction. Obama is not placing a time span or a dollar amount on the short-term plan. Officials said he will leave that to Congress.
Finding deficit reductions of up to $85 billion would put off the automatic cuts, known as a "sequester" in government budget language, until the start of the new fiscal year, which begins October 1. You can read more here.
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Cantor Hopes To Rebrand GOP - House Majority Leader Eric Cantor hopes to put a kinder face on Republican policies in a major policy address on Tuesday.
After maintaining a relatively low profile since the November elections, the Virginia Republican will reassert himself on the national stage with a highly anticipated speech at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
“Government policy should aim to strike a balance between what is needed to advance the next generation, what we can afford, what is a federal responsibility and what is necessary to ensure our children are safe, healthy and able to reach their dreams,” the GOP leader will say.
Immigration reform for highly skilled labor, school choice, college affordability and Medicare/Medicaid reform will be among the issues that Cantor will tackle. The Hill.com has more here.
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Graham Asks Obama To Reconsider Hagel, McCain Won't Support Filibuster - embattled Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel remains on track to receive confirmation, in spite of comments yesterday from Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) asking President Obama to reconsider his appointment.
However, Senator John McCain, who grilled Chuck Hagel during his appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he will not support a GOP filibuster of Hagel.
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Justice Department memo reveals legal case for drone strikes on Americans - an exclusive NBC News report states a confidential Justice Department memo concludes that the U.S. government can order the killing of American citizens if they are believed to be “senior operational leaders” of al-Qaida or “an associated force” -- even if there is no intelligence indicating they are engaged in an active plot to attack the U.S.
The 16-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, provides new details about the legal reasoning behind one of the Obama administration’s most secretive and controversial polices: its dramatically increased use of drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects abroad, including those aimed at American citizens, such as the September 2011 strike in Yemen that killed alleged al-Qaida operatives Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. Both were U.S. citizens who had never been indicted by the U.S. government nor charged with any crimes.
The secrecy surrounding such strikes is fast emerging as a central issue in this week’s hearing of White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, a key architect of the drone campaign, to be CIA director. NBC News has more here.
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Monday, February 4, 2013
Daily Political Wire
George Wenschhof
Kerry Statement on First Day as Secretary of State - John Kerry began his tenure as secretary of State on Monday with an impassioned defense of Hillary Clinton and her handling of the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya.
Kerry joked that he had “big heels” to fill as he reached out to Clinton's former team in public remarks at State Department headquarters in Washington.
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Who Will GOP Run for Massacusetts Senate Seat? - Former Massachusetts Republican Gov. Bill Weld announced Monday that he will not run for Senate in the June special election.
Republicans are striking out so far finding a well-known candidate in the Bay State: After former Sen. Scott Brown took a pass on Friday, former state Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei said Saturday that he too would sit it out.
Tagg Romney, the eldest son of former governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is the latest rumor as he already has statewide name recognition and could quickly ramp up the campaign infrastructure for a short, five-month race.
Romney is weighing joining the fray against remaining with his successful venture capital firm, Solamere. Many Democrats also have noted Mitt Romney’s dismal Bay State returns in the most recent presidential election, losing the state by 23 points. The Boston Herald has more here.
Massachusetts state Rep. Dan Winslow (R) on Tuesday will make an announcement on his plans for the state's special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Secretary of State John Kerry.
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Obama Travels To Minnesota To Continue Push for Gun Viloence Legislation - President Barack Obama on Monday will travel to Minneapolis where he will meet with local leaders and law enforcement personnel and deliver remarks on his gun policy proposals, the White House announced.
Obama is expected to deliver his remarks at the Minneapolis Police Department Special Operations Center at 1:30 p.m. CST. He will return to Washington in the evening. TPM.com has more here.
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65% Support NY Gun Control Legislation - Most New Yorkers support a stringent new state law that tackles gun control, a poll out Monday showed.
According to a survey from Siena Research Institute, 65 percent of those polled back the measure, which was passed last month in the wake of the December shooting massacre in Newtown, Conn. Thirty percent are opposed. Politico.com has more here.
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Rove Starts "Conservative Victory Project" To Compete with Tea Party - Karl Rove-backed American Crossroads organization is creating an offshoot, called the Conservative Victory Project, to counter the influence of groups like Club for Growth and the Senate Conservatives Fund.
Its mission: to spend money in GOP primaries to make sure that candidates like Todd Akin, Richard Mourdock, Sharron Angle, and Christine O’Donnell don’t become the nominees for key Senate contests.
“In effect, the establishment is taking steps to fight back against Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations that have wielded significant influence in backing candidates who ultimately lost seats to Democrats in the general election.”
The Conservative Victory Project’s first effort could be in Iowa, where conservative Rep. Steve King is mulling a Senate bid. The NY Times has more here.
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Sunday, February 3, 2013
Daily Political Wire
George Wenschhof
Fox News Host Jim Wallace Calls Out NRA Executive: That's Ridiculous, and you know it, Sir - Fox News host Chris Wallace called out National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre on Sunday for arguing that President Obama's children live under the same threats to their security as all other school children.
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Kelly Calls For Background Checks - Mark Kelly, the former astronaut and husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), says it's imperative for Congress to move forward on universal background checks, close the gun show loophole, limit ammunition magazines and put in place an assault weapon ban.
"These are difficult problems in the United states of America, we solve difficult problems," Kelly said on "Fox News Sunday." "We can fix this."
A top priority, Kelly said was background checks, arguing that 1.7 million people have failed the criminal background checks.
"Seventy-four percent of NRA members think very reasonable thing to do. I hope he would listen to his membership," Kelly said. You can read more here.
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Mayors Against Illegal Guns, It's Time - A gun control group founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is airing an advertisement during the Super Bowl calling for background checks.
The 30-second spot by Mayors Against Illegal Guns will air in the Washington area during the third quarter of the game between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers.
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Reid Comes To Menendez's Defense - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) defended Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) Sunday, expressing confidence his Democratic colleague who has come under scrutiny from the Senate Ethics panel didn’t do anything wrong.
“I have confidence he did nothing wrong. But that’s what investigations are all about,” Reid said in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week With George Stephanopoulos” airing Sunday.
Menendez’s relationship with a political donor has come under scrutiny, with the Senate Ethics Committee reviewing whether Menendez accepted inappropriate gifts from him. Reid has been defending Menendez since the allegations surfaced. Last week, he called Menendez “an outstanding senator.” The Washington Post has more here.
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Panetta: Political knives' were out for Hagel during hearing - Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says he was disappointed in the confirmation hearing for former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), President Obama’s choice to replace Panetta at the Pentagon.
“It's pretty obvious that the -- political knives were out for -- Chuck Hagel,” Panetta said on NBC "Meet The Press".
Panetta said senators spent too much time questioning Hagel about past quotes instead of issues that the secretary of Defense confronts today.
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House Group of 8 Plans To Propose Immigration Reform Legislation - Prior to Febraury 12, a bipartisan group of about eight House members hopes to unveil its own immigration legislation, adding a voice to a growing swell of politicians — a bipartisan group in the Senate, as well as President Obama — who say they are serious about overhauling the nation’s immigration system by the end of the year.
“For the last six or seven years, there had been no one to partner with, but since Nov. 6 there’s been a lot of new dance partners, and that’s good,” said Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, Democrat of Illinois and a member of the group. “The table is filling up with people, and people are talking and they’re having conversations.”
Aides and members would not confirm on the record the group’s exact composition, but they said it had an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. In addition to Mr. Gutierrez, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s immigration task force, those involved in the discussions, aides said, include Representatives Xavier Becerra and Zoe Lofgren, both California Democrats; John Yarmuth, Democrat of Kentucky; Representatives John Carter and Sam Johnson, both Texas Republicans; Mario Diaz-Balart, Republican of Florida; and Raúl R. Labrador, Republican of Idaho. The NY Times has more here.
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