Latest news with #SenateApproval
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jeanine Pirro confirmed as U.S. attorney for D.C. as Trump and Democrats trade barbs
WASHINGTON — Former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro won Senate approval to become U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia on August 2 as Republicans raced during a weekend session to confirm a long list of President Donald Trump's nominees. Pirro was confirmed in a party-line vote, 51-45. Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego and Peter Welch did not cast votes. The conservative television star has been serving in the role on an interim basis since May, when Trump withdrew his previous nominee, Ed Martin, amid Republican criticism of Martin's support for Jan. 6 rioters. Trump granted clemency to the rioters on his first day in office. Pirro was the elected district attorney in Westchester County, New York, and a county judge before she joined Fox. She hosted "Justice with Judge Jeanine" on the network for 11 years and was named in a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems that ended in a $787.5 million settlement. More: 'Judge Jeanine' Pirro pushed election falsehoods. She's Trump's pick for D.C. prosecutor. Days before Pirro's confirmation, Trump directed lawmakers to postpone their summer recess and clear a backlog of nominees whose confirmations had been delayed by Democrats over objections to his agenda, including judicial nominees. The president reversed course amid the marathon vote session on Aug. 2 . In a post on Trump Social, Trump accused Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of "demanding over One Billion Dollars in order to approve a small number of our highly qualified nominees." "This demand is egregious and unprecedented, and would be embarrassing to the Republican Party if it were accepted," Trump wrote. "It is political extortion, by any other name. Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL! Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country." Schumer blasted Trump at a late-night news conference, where he accused the GOP president of throwing in the towel "in a fit of rage" and refusing to negotiate. Contributing: Erin Mansfield and Aysha Bagchi This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate confirms Trump pick Jeanine Pirro as U.S. attorney for D.C.
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's gambit to keep Alina Habba in charge in New Jersey: Withdraw her nomination
The Trump administration believes it has found a workaround to keep the president's former personal lawyer Alina Habba as New Jersey's U.S. Attorney and outflank federal judges who sought to replace her. It's the latest move by the administration to put an ally of the president in a top law enforcement role and appears to circumvent the traditional role of the Senate in approving key administration officials. As part of the gambit, a Justice Department official described a process that involves President Donald Trump withdrawing Habba's nomination to permanently take the post. Then, Attorney General Pam Bondi would appoint Habba as First Assistant U.S. Attorney — typically the second-ranking official in the office. Because the U.S. attorney's post is vacant, Habba would automatically fill the role on a temporary basis; she can't simultaneously be the president's nominee and serve as acting in this way. The multi-step maneuver came as Habba — who has been leading the New Jersey U.S. attorney's office on an interim basis since March — was approaching a Friday deadline to depart the post. That deadline triggered a little-used provision of law allowing the federal district court judges in New Jersey to appoint a successor until Trump could get a permanent U.S. attorney confirmed by the Senate. The judges earlier this week selected Desiree Leigh Grace, a longtime career prosecutor, to succeed Habba, infuriating Justice Department leaders who had hoped to keep Habba — a Trump loyalist — in the position. In a social media post Thursday evening, Habba said, 'Donald J. Trump is the 47th President. Pam Bondi is the Attorney General. And I am now the Acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.' Habba is perhaps uniquely controversial because of her close ties to the president before taking office and her actions after — she led an aborted prosecution of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, the indictment of Rep. LaMonica McIver and an investigation of Gov. Phil Murphy, all Democrats. Habba had no experience as a prosecutor until Trump installed her as the interim U.S. attorney. Trump allies in the DOJ have said the judges have gone 'rogue' and are seeking to 'threaten' Trump's power to select prosecutors. That power, though, is tempered by requirements that presidential picks must be confirmed by the Senate. Now, a person close to the department who was granted anonymity to discuss a fluid subject said it's possible the judges, most of them nominated by Democratic presidents, could face further scrutiny from the Trump administration. After the judges' order selecting Grace on Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Grace before she could take the acting U.S. Attorney job. Despite that, Grace still planned to take the job when Habba left, which was expected at the end of this week. In a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, Grace said she planned to assume the role of interim U.S. Attorney at the request of the judges. The New Jersey District Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Madison Fernandez contributed to this report.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mike Johnson Says 'Wild Card' Factor May Delay Passage Of Trump's Tax Bill
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday conceded that the final House vote on Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' may be delayed due to a 'wild card' factor as the lower chamber races to deliver a win for the president by his self-imposed deadline. The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed the bill with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after Republicans managed to win over the support of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The Senate's version of the bill will now need to be approved by the House before it heads to Trump's desk. In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Johnson said some members have struggled to return to Washington as a result of flight delays and cancellations prompted by the thunderstorms affecting the East Coast, including the nation's capital. 'We're having weather delays, getting everybody back right now,' Johnson said. The bill got through the House Rules Committee early Wednesday and will now move on for consideration by the full House. 'Hopefully we're voting on this by [Wednesday] or Thursday at latest depending on the weather delays and travel and all the rest,' he added. 'That's the wild card that we can't control.' Johnson: Hopefully, we're voting on this by tomorrow or Thursday at latest — Acyn (@Acyn) July 2, 2025 Given his slim majority, Johnson can only afford to lose a handful of votes. However, while many GOP members previously expressed reservations about the bill, Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Warren Davidson (Ohio) were the only Republicans to actually vote against the legislation when it passed the House last month. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said he expected all Democrats to be in attendance. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) said he was driving to Washington after his flight was canceled to make it back in time. Some GOP lawmakers, including Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Russell Fry (R-S.C.), who also faced travel hiccups chose to drive in, sharing their car journey on social media. In a post on his Truth Social platform following the Senate vote, Trump called on House Republicans to unite behind the bill and pass it by his arbitrary July 4 deadline, urging them to ignore the party's 'occasional 'GRANDSTANDERS.'' 'We are on schedule — Let's keep it going, and be done before you and your family go on a July 4thvacation,' Trump wrote. 'The American People need and deserve it. They sent us here to, GET IT DONE!' But Trump appears to now accept the prospect that the passage of the legislation may be delayed. 'I'd love to do July 4, but I think it's very hard to do July 4,' he told reporters earlier on Tuesday. The bill has drawn heat as it includes about $4 trillion in tax cuts for wealthy Americans, partially paid for by nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid. The legislation is also expected to add over $3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to a nonpartisan estimate. I Stayed Up All Night Watching Senate Republicans Pass Trump's Bill. Here's What It Was Like. Senate GOP Passes Trump's Bill To Give Tax Cuts To The Rich
Bloomberg
01-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
House Sets Wednesday for Final Vote on Trump Tax Bill
Today on Bloomberg Television's Balance of Power early edition at 1 p.m., hosts Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz spoke to Charlie Dent, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, on the consequences of Trump's tax bill, which was approved by the Senate today (Source: Bloomberg)
