senate

#ToddBlanche’s announcement that he plans to kill the anti-weaponization #SlushFund but keep in place a deal that shields #Trump from past #tax #liability [#fraud] is likely to break the #Senate impasse over passage of an #immigration bill.

But the tax agreement—which could save Trump >$100 million, per a NYT analysis—could be highly damaging for #Republicans forced to defend that they supported a deal that enriches a billionaire with #TaxpayersMoney.

#law #DOJ
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/us/politics/trump-settlement-irs.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Good news for #anticorruption & #GovernmentWaste

#Senate #Republicans have formally removed #funding for #Trump’s #ballroom security as part of their sprawling #immigration funding package [cuz seriously wtf?], acc/to revised #legislative text released Wednesday.

The decision to drop the ballroom funding, which had sparked significant debate among lawmakers, is not a complete surprise, though it is likely to frustrate #Trump [call the waaaahhhmbulance].

#law #vanity
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/03/politics/trump-ballroom-funding-senate-republicans

Holy hell, they finally found their ovaries

In a first, #House votes to block #Trump from ordering further #strikes on #Iran

The #Senate advanced a similar #WarPowers resolution last month on a procedural vote, reflecting growing impatience with a conflict #Congress hasn’t authorized.

#OvaryUp #TrumpsWar #IranWar #US #war #ForeverWars #RulesOfWar #law #geopolitics #NationalSecurity #MiddleEast #economy #inflation #affordability #CostOfLiving #oil #energy #EnergyCrisis
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/03/politics/house-iran-war-powers-vote?cid=ios_app

#Senate is considering a motion to block #Trump from establishing the $1.8 billion #SlushFund he planned to use to compensate allies he believes have been politically persecuted. Minority leader Sen Chuck Schumer introduced the motion as the Senate considered #Republicans’ $70 billion #immigration enforcement bill. #ToddBlanche, the acting AG, previously said the fund was dead, but Trump expressed his support for it as recently as Wednesday, saying, “I love it.”

#law
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/06/04/us/trump-news?smid=nytcore-ios-share

#Trump Keeps #Immunity From #IRS, a Victory in a Long Feud

Even as they rebelled against a $1.8B #SlushFund for Trump’s allies, #Republicans looked the other way as his admin granted him lucrative #tax protections.

#Senate Republican anger about Trump’s $1.8B fund for people who claim to be victims of federal overreach was loud & apparent.

…Not so for sweeping protections from IRS audits that #ToddBlanche also ordered up for Trump, his family & his businesses.

#law
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/us/politics/trump-immunity-tax-audit.html?unlocked_article_code=1.n1A.gcSQ.hiZiiEEk4rpF&smid=nytcore-ios-share

#SCOTUS rejected an emergency request by #RoyMoore, former #Alabama State Supreme Court justice who lost a #Senate race in 2017 after he was accused of #SexualMisconduct, blocking Moore from collecting an $8.2M #defamation verdict over a campaign ad run against him.

SCOTUS’ decision kept in place a unanimous ruling by a 3-judge panel on the #11thCircuit, which in April erased a jury’s verdict that Moore had been defamed by a Democratic group’s television ad.

#law
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/us/politics/supreme-court-roy-moore.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Sen. #MitchMcConnell has spent 3 weeks in the hospital, & his office still will not say what sent the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican there, his latest condition or when he might return.

McConnell, who has served in the #Senate since 1985 & led Senate #Republicans from 2007 until 2025, has not cast a vote since June 11. His absence comes as Republicans are navigating a narrow Senate majority.…

#Congress #USpol
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/06/heres-what-we-know-about-sen-mitch-mcconnells-health/

I mean it’s not great, but there are worse things…

#Senate candidate #Maine #Democrat #TroyJackson ran anonymous account to troll #Republicans online

In 2012, Jackson had plenty to say about Maine politics. An outspoken Democratic state lawmaker, Jackson openly feuded with then-Republican Gov Paul LePage.

But in private, Jackson also took shots at LePage anonymously.

#USpol
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/30/politics/kfile-troy-jackson-anonymous-alias-commenter-canadians-for-lepage

We’re not #agist, we’re #progressive

Senator #EdMarkey, a progressive #Massachusetts #Democrat who has served in #Congress for a half-century, defeated a much younger rival in the primary.

Markey, 80, used a fiercely progressive message & the support of many younger left-wing leaders to ward off Rep Seth Moulton, 47, a #moderate Democrat who had campaigned on a message of generational change.

#Senate #USpol #MApol
https://apnews.com/article/massachusetts-senate-primary-election-markey-moulton-7968135279320c758b0fd4750d864db9?utm_source=app&utm_medium=iOS_share&utm_campaign=copy_link