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2024 was big for bitcoin. States could see a crypto policy blitz in 2025 in spite of the risks
Read full article: 2024 was big for bitcoin. States could see a crypto policy blitz in 2025 in spite of the risksThe new year will usher in the bitcoin-friendly administration of President-elect Donald Trump and an expanding lobbying effort in statehouses.
Trump is making his 2024 campaign about Harris' race, whether Republicans want him to or not
Read full article: Trump is making his 2024 campaign about Harris' race, whether Republicans want him to or notDonald Trump’s rhetoric this week and his record on race indicate that divisive attacks on race may emerge as a core GOP argument before Election Day.
Senate votes to limit critical habitat designation for imperiled species and drop bat's protections
Read full article: Senate votes to limit critical habitat designation for imperiled species and drop bat's protectionsThe U.S. Senate has voted to overturn two Biden administration policies intended to protect endangered species.
Senate crypto hearing yields big claims, possible regulation
Read full article: Senate crypto hearing yields big claims, possible regulationWhether increased regulation would have prevented the spectacular collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX was fiercely debated at a hearing of the Senate’s banking committee Wednesday.
Senate set to vote on bill protecting same-sex marriages
Read full article: Senate set to vote on bill protecting same-sex marriagesThe Senate is set to vote Tuesday on legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages, putting Congress one step closer to ensuring that such unions are enshrined in federal law.
New crypto oversight legislation arrives as industry shakes
Read full article: New crypto oversight legislation arrives as industry shakesAfter 13 years, at least three crashes, dozens of scams and Ponzi schemes and hundreds of billions of dollars made and evaporated, cryptocurrencies finally have the full attention of Congress.
Senate OKs enhanced benefits for vets exposed to burn pits
Read full article: Senate OKs enhanced benefits for vets exposed to burn pitsThe Senate has approved a sweeping expansion of health care and disability benefits for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan in response to concerns about their exposure to toxic burn pits.
Crypto meltdown is wake-up call for many, including Congress
Read full article: Crypto meltdown is wake-up call for many, including CongressMeltdowns in the cryptocurrency space are common, but the latest one has served as a vivid reminder that investors, both professionals and rookies, can be rolling the dice when putting money into digital assets.
Ex-Facebook employee asks lawmakers to step in. Will they?
Read full article: Ex-Facebook employee asks lawmakers to step in. Will they?The former Facebook product manager who has accused the social network giant of threatening children’s safety — and the integrity of democracy — is urging Congress to take action to rein in a largely unregulated company.
Lawmakers fear turning 144 cities into "micropolitan" areas
Read full article: Lawmakers fear turning 144 cities into "micropolitan" areasA bipartisan group of U.S. senators and congressmen is urging the federal government not to approve recommendations to remove 144 cities from the designation of metropolitan statistical areas. Reclassifying them as “micropolitan” would put key federal funding at risk, they said. Doing so would reclassify more than a third of the current 392 metro areas as micropolitan statistical areas. In a separate letter to the Office of Management and Budget, Hoeven said the proposal also would hurt micropolitan areas that were on the cusp of becoming metro areas. “If a metropolitan statistical area is redefined as a micropolitan area, it may fall out of the conversation.
In Wyoming, Cheney faces blowback for vote to impeach Trump
Read full article: In Wyoming, Cheney faces blowback for vote to impeach TrumpFILE - In this Dec. 17, 2019 file photo, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington. House Republicans are expected to vote in the coming days on whether to oust Cheney from their third-ranking leadership post over her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump. – When Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, decided to vote to impeach a president from her own party, she knew she'd cause some waves. “Washington, D.C., mythologizes the establishment powerbrokers like Liz Cheney for climbing in a deeply corrupt game. “If people are still as angry in the summer of 2022 as they are now, Liz Cheney faces some real problems,” Warfield said.
Donor backlash fuels GOP alarm about Senate fundraising
Read full article: Donor backlash fuels GOP alarm about Senate fundraisingThe GOP already faces a difficult Senate map in 2022, when 14 Democratic-held seats and 20 Republican ones will be on the ballot. That includes at least two open seats that Republicans will be defending because of the retirements of GOP Sens. One of those lawmakers, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, is the new chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a post that makes him the public face of the Senate Republican fundraising efforts. But two senior Republican strategists involved in Senate races say the cumulative effect of the companies' decisions could have a bigger impact. That puts more pressure on the NRSC and the leading Senate Republican outside group, Senate Leadership Fund, to cover the difference.
Trump trial pending, McConnell calls it 'vote of conscience'
Read full article: Trump trial pending, McConnell calls it 'vote of conscience'Many Democrats have pushed for an immediate impeachment trial to hold Trump accountable and prevent him from holding future office, and the proceedings could still begin by Inauguration Day. Psaki noted that during Trump's first impeachment trial last year, the Senate continued to hold hearings each day. Pelosi told reporters on Friday that the nine House impeachment managers, who act as the prosecutors for the House, are working on taking the case to trial. McConnell is open to considering impeachment, having told associates he is done with Trump, but he has not signaled how he would vote. No president has ever been convicted in the Senate, and it would take a two-thirds vote against Trump, an extremely high hurdle.
Trump impeachment trial to focus on his attacks on election
Read full article: Trump impeachment trial to focus on his attacks on electionWhenever it starts, the impeachment trial will force a further reckoning for the Republican Party and the senators who largely stood by Trump throughout his presidency and allowed him to spread false attacks against the 2020 election. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is open to considering impeachment, having told associates he is done with Trump, but he has not signaled how he would vote. At least four Republican senators have publicly expressed concerns about Trump’s actions, but others have signaled their preference to move on. Under Senate procedure, the trial is to start soon after the House delivers the article of impeachment. After Trump’s first impeachment, in 2019, she withheld the articles for some time to set the stage for the Senate action.
Pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol in bid to overturn election
Read full article: Pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol in bid to overturn electionSome Republican lawmakers were in the midst of raising objections to the results on his behalf when the proceedings were abruptly halted by the mob. Together, the protests and the GOP election objections amounted to an almost unthinkable challenge to American democracy and exposed the depths of the divisions that have coursed through the country during Trump’s four years in office. Before dawn Thursday, lawmakers completed their work, confirming Biden won the presidential election. In the aftermath, several Republicans announced they would drop their objections to the election, including Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., who lost her bid for reelection Tuesday. Some House lawmakers tweeted they were sheltering in place in their offices.
Dividing party, Republicans poised to challenge Biden win
Read full article: Dividing party, Republicans poised to challenge Biden winIt is unclear just what the Republican senators will do, but the process could drag into the night as the two chambers will have to consider each objection individually. In 2017, several House Democrats challenged Trump’s win, but Biden, who presided at the time as the vice president, swiftly dismissed them to assert Trump’s victory. And more than a dozen Republican senators have said they will not support the effort. Facing the criticism from many in his own party, Cruz has attempted to put a finer point on his challenge. The commission remains his focus, he has said, not to undo the election results, even though that would be the practical effect of a successful objection.
GOP split over Trump, election runs across deep-red Wyoming
Read full article: GOP split over Trump, election runs across deep-red Wyoming– A deepening divide among Republicans over President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the election runs prominently through Wyoming, the state that delivered Trump's widest prevailing margin by far. The Wyoming Republican Party has made party fealty a core issue and punished state party officials seen as disloyal. I just don't think that's going to play out in Wyoming," University of Wyoming political science professor Jim King said. Though Wyoming voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2020 and 2016, the state embraced Trump reluctantly. In 2016, Republicans in Wyoming initially backed Cruz over Trump almost unanimously for the GOP presidential nomination.
Republicans condemn ‘scheme’ to undo election for Trump
Read full article: Republicans condemn ‘scheme’ to undo election for TrumpThough he got nothing but cheers Monday night, Trump's attempt to overturn the presidential election i s splitting the Republican Party. Trump repeated numerous times his claims of election fraud, which have been rejected by election officials — Republican as well as Democratic in state after state — and courts up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Two current Republican senators, Rob Portman of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah, joined the growing number who now oppose the legislators' challenge. Larry Hogan of Maryland; Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking House GOP leader; and former House Speaker Paul Ryan — have criticized the GOP efforts to overturn the election. Cruz's coalition of 11 Republican senators vows to reject the Electoral College tallies unless Congress launches a commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results.
Republicans condemn 'scheme' to undo election for Trump
Read full article: Republicans condemn 'scheme' to undo election for TrumpOf the more than 50 lawsuits the president and his allies have filed challenging election results, nearly all have been dismissed or dropped. Other prominent former officials also criticized the ongoing attack on election results. Cruz's coalition of 11 Republican senators vows to reject the Electoral College tallies unless Congress launches a commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results. The convening of the joint session to count the Electoral College votes has faced objections before. States choose their own election officials and draft their election laws.
Senate control hangs in balance with a few races undecided
Read full article: Senate control hangs in balance with a few races undecidedSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks with reporters during a press conference in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. “We’re waiting — whether I’m going to be the majority leader or not,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday. There already is a Jan. 5 runoff in the state's other Senate race. Securing the Senate majority will be vital for the winner of the presidency. John Hickenlooper defeated GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, and Arizona, where former astronaut Mark Kelly beat Republican incumbent Martha McSally.
Democrats' Senate drive halted by GOP; key races undecided
Read full article: Democrats' Senate drive halted by GOP; key races undecidedSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said President Donald Trump’s campaign helped his GOP allies, but that state election officials were still counting ballots. Key Senate races in North Carolina, Alaska and Georgia remained undecided. Democrats contested seats from New England to the Deep South and the Midwest to the Mountain West, reaching deep into GOP strongholds. North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has struggled against Democrat Cal Cunningham, despite the married challenger’s sexting scandal with a public relations strategist. GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler will face Democrat Raphael Warnock, a Black pastor at the church where the Rev.
Senate Latest: Kelly win gives Arizona 2 Democratic senators
Read full article: Senate Latest: Kelly win gives Arizona 2 Democratic senatorsThe former astronaut defeated Republican Sen. Martha McSally, who was appointed to the seat after McCain’s death in 2018. Daines’ first election in 2014 broke a Democratic lock on the Senate seat that had lasted more than 100 years. The six-term congressman from northern New Mexico defeated Republican Mark Ronchetti, a former television meteorologist, and Libertarian Bob Walsh. Reed cruised to victory over Waters, an investment consultant who mounted earlier unsuccessful campaigns for state Senate and U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. Warner defeated Republican challenger Daniel Gade in a low-key race in which the incumbent had a massive cash advantage.