Thursday, July 7, 2016
Senate Dems block votes on immigration issues, including sanctuary cities
The Republican-controlled Senate failed Wednesday to advance efforts to change federal immigration law -- including one to cut funding to so-called sanctuary cities.
The vote was 53-44, failing to get the minimum 60 votes to begin debate on the issue.
The measure attempted to block congressional funding for sanctuary cities -- municipalities that ban police from cooperating with immigration officials to potentially deport illegal immigrants.
Senate Republicans also failed to get enough votes to advance their proposed Kate’s Law – named after Kate Steinle, who was fatally shot in July 2015, allegedly by an illegal immigrant who had multiple felony convictions and was deported several times prior to the incident.
“How many times does this have to happen?” Pennsylvania GOP Sen. Pat Toomey asked just before the 55-42 vote that failed along party lines. “At some point, a person needs to go to jail. That’s what Kate’s Law does.”
However, Democrats strongly opposed the measures.
The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the biggest name in politics. See Latest Coverage →
“These bills follow Trump’s lead in demonizing, criminalizing immigrant, Latino families,” the Nevada Democrat said before the votes.
In addition, the White House issued a statement after the vote on Kate’s Law, in part saying: “The bill fails to offer the comprehensive reforms needed to fix the Nation's broken immigration laws and would impose severe and unprecedented mandatory minimum sentences that would undermine the discretion of federal judges to make sure the punishment fits the crime in each case.”
Steinle was walking with her father on a San Francisco pier when Juan Francisco Lopez Sanchez allegedly fatally shot her. Steinle was 32.
Months earlier, Sanchez was in the custody of San Francisco police and slated to be picked up by federal agents. However, the police declined to cooperate and instead released him.
“An entire year later, the problem that prompted Kate’s tragic, untimely death still exists,” Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, who was sponsoring the Kate's Law bill, said on July 1, the one-year anniversary of Steinle’s killing.
“Sanctuary cities and the criminal aliens they harbor are a threat to the safety of the American people,” Cruz continued. “Yet, San Francisco and jurisdictions around the country still shelter illegal aliens, actively thwarting enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws.”
Trump says 10 vice presidential picks waiting in the wings
Despite two more potential vice presidential picks removing their names from consideration, Donald Trump told Fox News on Wednesday that there are 10 more waiting in the wings.
“I’m looking at 10 people,” Trump said. “Three or four called me up, all want to be considered.”
It was rumored that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee had been eying Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee and freshman Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa.
Both declined.
Corker confirmed to Fox News he was taking himself out of the running because the job was “too political” for him.
“It’s a highly political job, and that’s not who I am. We had a very open conversation about that, and actually, we have been very candid about it from the very beginning of our meetings,” Corker told The Washington Post in a separate interview.
The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the biggest name in politics. See Latest Coverage →
Ernst, who spent part of her July 4th holiday with Trump, told Fox News they had a “good conversation” and said she would “continue to share my insights with Donald about the need to strengthen our economy, keep our nation safe, and ensure America is always a strong, stabilizing force around the globe."
However, in an interview with Politico on Wednesday, she said her main focus would be Iowa and the Senate.
“I feel that I have a lot more to do in the United States Senate. And Iowa is where my heart is,” Ernst said. “I’m just getting started here. I have a great partner with Chuck Grassley, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot. And I think that President Trump will need some great assistance in the United States Senate and I can provide that.”
Trump attacks Lynch, Saddam, conducts VP search: Shouldn't his target be Hillary?
On Hillary Clinton’s worst day of the
campaign—although she managed not to be indicted--Donald Trump was
talking about Loretta Lynch and Saddam Hussein.
Oh, and trying to find a running mate.
For all the furor over FBI Director James Comey and his decision not to urge criminal charges against the Democratic nominee, he gave Trump and the Republicans a huge gift, in the form of stinging criticism of Clinton’s irresponsibility in mishandling classified information.
But rather than just ride that wave, Trump tried to push the story a major step further by taking on the Justice Department and the FBI. He also detoured into lambasting a long-dead dictator, and some of his possible VP picks are withdrawing.
On balance, Trump clearly benefits from Clinton’s legal woes, criminal charges or not. But media skeptics say he wandered off message, distracting from the impact of the FBI evidence against her in the email investigation.
By declaring that “the system is totally rigged,” he is taking on Comey, a respected career prosecutor who served in the Bush administration. That’s his right, but Comey isn’t running for president.
Trump is also taking on Loretta Lynch by accusing
Clinton of trying to “bribe” her. That’s a pretty explosive charge, and
it’s based on a New York Times story
about Hillary’s potential first 100 days that seems fairly well
orchestrated by the campaign. It includes this line, which the Times,
incredibly, published as utterly unremarkable: “Democrats close to Mrs.
Clinton say she may decide to retain Ms. Lynch, the nation’s first black
woman to be attorney general.”
Was that a veiled signal to Lynch that she’ll get to keep her job if this email investigation turns out fine? Maybe—though she said after the disastrous Bill Clinton meeting that she’d defer to the FBI—but it depends on whether the “Democrats close to” are just freelancing operatives.
Meanwhile, on the very same day, Trump drew negative attention for ruminating about Saddam Hussein: “He was a bad guy — really bad guy," the presumptive Republican nominee told supporters in Raleigh, North Carolina. "But you know what? He did well. He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights. They didn't talk. They were terrorists.”
Trump has said versions of this before, but why is he talking about a long-dead dictator—who killed huge numbers of Iraqis—instead of staying laser-focused on Hillary?
Meanwhile, in what might be called a necessary distraction, Trump is holding tryouts for a running mate. As the New York Times put it: “Mr. Trump’s approach to choosing a vice president — publicly testing them in the court of public opinion — feels oddly similar to the approach the candidate took on his reality television show, ‘The Apprentice.’”
Well, he’s not the first to hold public tryouts. But two people on the list, Bob Corker and Joni Ernst, took themselves out of the running yesterday.
Trump told Fox’s Kimberly Guilfoyle yesterday there are 10 people on the list, including military names, though that doesn’t seem his preference. But the clock is ticking on his choice with Cleveland approaching.
Trump has an uncanny ability to make news, but that cuts both ways. Despite his sometimes scattershot approach, the campaign’s overriding story is still the FBI findings against Clinton.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.
Oh, and trying to find a running mate.
For all the furor over FBI Director James Comey and his decision not to urge criminal charges against the Democratic nominee, he gave Trump and the Republicans a huge gift, in the form of stinging criticism of Clinton’s irresponsibility in mishandling classified information.
But rather than just ride that wave, Trump tried to push the story a major step further by taking on the Justice Department and the FBI. He also detoured into lambasting a long-dead dictator, and some of his possible VP picks are withdrawing.
On balance, Trump clearly benefits from Clinton’s legal woes, criminal charges or not. But media skeptics say he wandered off message, distracting from the impact of the FBI evidence against her in the email investigation.
By declaring that “the system is totally rigged,” he is taking on Comey, a respected career prosecutor who served in the Bush administration. That’s his right, but Comey isn’t running for president.
The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the biggest name in politics. See Latest Coverage →
Was that a veiled signal to Lynch that she’ll get to keep her job if this email investigation turns out fine? Maybe—though she said after the disastrous Bill Clinton meeting that she’d defer to the FBI—but it depends on whether the “Democrats close to” are just freelancing operatives.
Meanwhile, on the very same day, Trump drew negative attention for ruminating about Saddam Hussein: “He was a bad guy — really bad guy," the presumptive Republican nominee told supporters in Raleigh, North Carolina. "But you know what? He did well. He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights. They didn't talk. They were terrorists.”
Trump has said versions of this before, but why is he talking about a long-dead dictator—who killed huge numbers of Iraqis—instead of staying laser-focused on Hillary?
Meanwhile, in what might be called a necessary distraction, Trump is holding tryouts for a running mate. As the New York Times put it: “Mr. Trump’s approach to choosing a vice president — publicly testing them in the court of public opinion — feels oddly similar to the approach the candidate took on his reality television show, ‘The Apprentice.’”
Well, he’s not the first to hold public tryouts. But two people on the list, Bob Corker and Joni Ernst, took themselves out of the running yesterday.
Trump told Fox’s Kimberly Guilfoyle yesterday there are 10 people on the list, including military names, though that doesn’t seem his preference. But the clock is ticking on his choice with Cleveland approaching.
Trump has an uncanny ability to make news, but that cuts both ways. Despite his sometimes scattershot approach, the campaign’s overriding story is still the FBI findings against Clinton.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.
Clinton, Sanders campaigns discussing endorsement event, sources say
OMG what a pair! |
The Bernie Sanders campaign is in talks with Hillary Clinton's campaign about an event next Tuesday in New Hampshire during which the Vermont senator would endorse Clinton's White House bid, sources told Fox News on Wednesday.
Clinton and Sanders officials declined to comment on the possible rally, but campaign sources told Fox News "we aren't there yet."
Sanders has withheld his endorsement of Clinton since the end of the Democratic primaries in mid-June, pressing for policy commitments from the campaign and party leaders developing the platform that will be considered at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. But he has shown signs of coming around.
The senator praised Clinton's announcement of a proposal earlier Wednesday to tackle the rising cost of college tuition and the burden of student loan debt, calling it a "very bold initiative." In a positive sign for Democratic unity, Sanders said he hoped to find more areas of agreement with Clinton "sooner rather than later."
The new policy proposal from Clinton would place a three-month moratorium on loan payments for all federal borrowers. It would also ensure that families with annual incomes up to $125,000 pay no tuition at in-state public colleges and universities.
A campaign source told Fox News that the Clinton proposal was an "olive branch" to Sanders and his supporters.
The latest headlines on the 2016 elections from the biggest name in politics. See Latest Coverage →
It would also draw comparisons to 2008, when then-Sen. Barack Obama joined Clinton for an endorsement event in Unity, New Hampshire, a symbol-rich town where Obama and Clinton split the vote in the primary.
Sanders was wildly popular with young voters during the Democratic primaries, with many drawn to his calls for free tuition at all public colleges and universities. Clinton cast her opponent's proposals as unrealistic, saying that while she shared his concerns about rising debt, she didn't want wealthier families to be able to take advantage of opportunities aimed at the middle and lower classes.
Sanders said the plan combined "some of the strongest ideas which she fought for during the campaign with some of the principles I fought for. The final product is the result of the work of both campaigns."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
Tit for Tat ? ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass was ripped from its base in Rochester on the an...
-
NEW YORK (AP) — As New York City faced one of its darkest days with the death toll from the coronavirus surging past 4,000 — more th...