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The Federal Tap: Senate Republicans take next step towards passing GOP tax plan

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October 20, 2017Issue No. 86

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Week in review
On tap next week

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Here's what happened in federal politics last week. To see what happened in state and local politics, click here.

Sunday, October 15

California Senate President de León challenges incumbent U.S. Sen. Feinstein

  • California Senate president pro tempore Kevin de León (D), who showed his fundraising prowess when he amassed a $2.8 million war chest for a potential lieutenant gubernatorial run, announced he was running for the U.S. Senate in California. “We’re overdue for a real debate on the issues, priorities and leadership voters want from their senator. I think California needs a senator not just fully resistant to Trump’s presidency, but who understands the issues most Californians face every day," he said in an interview. De León will face off against five-term incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) and at least 17 other candidates in California's top-two primary next June.
    • Tom Steyer—investor, activist, philanthropist, and donor to progressive and Democratic Party causes—said he that he was still considering a run of his own after de León’s announcement. In a statement, Steyer said, “I am looking at the best way to take our government back from the political establishment and to stop Donald Trump. That includes a full consideration of running for the United States Senate.”
    • See also: U.S. Senate election in California (June 5, 2018 top-two primary)

Monday, October 16

Trump nominates Ho to federal court

Bowe Bergdahl pleads guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy

  • Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban after leaving his unit in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. If he is found guilty of the charge of misbehavior before the enemy, he could spend his life in prison. Among other things, running away; abandoning military property which it is his duty to defend; endangering the safety of the command, unit, place, or military property; and displaying cowardly conduct in front of the enemy all constitute misbehavior before the enemy, according to article 99 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. By pleading guilty, Bergdahl avoided a trial, but he will have a sentencing hearing where his fellow service members who were wounded while searching for him will testify. Bergdahl left his post in Afghanistan in June 2009. The Obama administration exchanged five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl on May 31, 2014. Read the full timeline of events here.

Tuesday, October 17

U.S.-backed forces capture Raqqa, the Islamic State's last stronghold in the Middle East

  • The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the U.S., said that they captured the Islamic State’s (IS) de facto capital of Raqqa. The SDF, who were backed by U.S. airstrikes and U.S. special forces on the ground, “said they had secured a sports stadium in the city that the group had converted into a fortified compound for its final stand,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Talal Silo, a spokesman for the SDF, said, “The military operations within the city are completely over. We are combing through the city to make sure there are no sleeper cells and to defuse the mines.” Army Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS, said that 90 percent of Raqqa was cleared.

Soros transfers $18 billion to Open Society Foundations

  • George Soros—a wealthy, progressive political activist—disclosed that he had given $18 billion to the Open Society Foundations in the previous year. Open Society Foundations is a progressive network of organizations located around the world aiming to establish open societies by sponsoring programs, advocating on key issues, and administering grants. The foundation promotes the idea of an “open society,” which Soros describes as a form of social organization “in which people are free to hold divergent opinions and the rule of law allows people with different views and interests to live together in peace.” According to The New York Times, the transfer of money made Open Society Foundation the second-largest philanthropic organization in the United States.

Bannon-aligned super PAC endorses two more 2018 Senate candidates

  • Great America PAC, a pro-Donald Trump super PAC with ties to former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, has announced its endorsements of Kelli Ward in Arizona and Kevin Nicholson in Wisconsin in their Republican primary contests for U.S. Senate in 2018. The endorsements come after the super PAC announced endorsements in West Virginia, Montana, and Tennessee last week. The group is reportedly asking candidates they endorsed to oppose Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as majority leader and to back the trade and immigration policies of President Trump.

Moore and Jones tied in Alabama Senate special election poll

  • Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore (R) and former U.S. attorney Doug Jones (D) are tied with 42 percent support each in a poll from Fox News. For comparison, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) was re-elected to his seat by a margin of 28 points in 2016. "This race exemplifies the difficulty the Republican Party has now. There is an element of the party that has had it with the establishment, had it with politics as usual, had it with political correctness. The fissure within the party means divisive primaries, controversial candidates, and hard choices for GOP voters once the general election rolls around," said Republican pollster Daron Shaw.

Five Trump judicial nominees have confirmation hearings

Dueling super PACs launch in California Senate race

  • Dueling super PACs—Fight for America and A Progressive California—were launched this week to support incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) and California Senate President Kevin de León (D) in California's Senate race next year. “We see the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. Senate under attack by political opportunists, and we are determined to fight just as hard for her as she fights for California,” said Sean Clegg, the partner at the firm behind Fight for America. A Progressive California released a digital ad on Monday titled “We Need Kevin.”

Federal district court judges block travel restrictions from going into effect

  • U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson issued a temporary restraining order against new travel restrictions announced by the Trump administration on September 24. The restrictions involved suspending certain immigrant and nonimmigrant visas and would have applied to individuals traveling from eight different countries: Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Somalia. The new restrictions were originally slated to go into effect on October 18; Judge Watson’s order blocked implementation of the restrictions while challenges against the restrictions are considered in court. Judge Watson stated that the national security justifications for the restrictions were incoherent and insufficient to block the admission of groups of people.
  • On October 18, a second federal judge, District Court Judge Theodore Chuang, also partially blocked the new restrictions with a preliminary injunction. Judge Chuang’s order would allow the administration to enforce the new restrictions for individuals without a bona fide relationship to the United States. Judge Chuang wrote that the restrictions are an "inextricable re-animation of the twice-enjoined Muslim ban" and that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claims that the restrictions are unconstitutional.
  • To read more about Donald Trump’s new travel restrictions issued September 24, click here.

U.S. Sens. Paul and Lee endorse Moore in Alabama Senate race

  • Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) endorsed former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate race on December 12. "​Judge Roy Moore has spent a lifetime defending and standing up for the Constitution while fighting for the people of Alabama. We need more people in Washington, D.C. that will stand on principle and defend the Constitution​," Paul said in a statement. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) also endorsed Moore this week.

Thursday, October 19

Four of Trump’s judicial nominees voted out of committee

U.S. Rep. Patrick Tiberi announces upcoming resignation

New Alabama Senate poll shows Moore with double-digit lead over Jones

  • A new poll conducted by Strategy Research finds former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore (R) with a double-digit lead over former U.S. attorney Doug Jones (D), 51 percent to 40 percent, in the U.S. Senate special election in Alabama. This polls comes just two days after a Fox News poll showed Moore and Jones tied with 42 percent support each.

Senate passes budget resolution, unlocking the process for passing tax legislation

  • By a vote of 51-49, the Senate passed a budget resolution that will unlock the process for passing tax legislation. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voted with every Democrat and both Independent senators against the resolution. Passing the budget resolution is the first step for Republicans to initiate the reconciliation process, which is what they intend to use to pass their tax reform package. Reconciliation would prevent Democrats from filibustering the tax proposal and allow Republicans to pass it with a simple majority of 51 votes in the Senate, instead of the usual 60-vote requirement. The budget resolution proposes maintaining spending at 2017 levels for the year. It proposes cutting nondefense spending in subsequent years, with a $106 billion cut in 2027. It proposes allowing defense spending levels to continue rising at their current rates, reaching $684 billion in 2027. It also proposes cutting $473 billion from Medicare’s baseline spending and about $1 trillion from Medicaid over 10 years. One major difference between the House and Senate budget resolutions is that the Senate version allows for tax cuts that reduce revenues and increase deficits by $1.5 trillion over a decade, while the House version calls for revenue-neutral tax legislation that does not increase deficits. According to The Hill, an amendment added by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) may help the Senate and House avoid having to reconcile differences between each chamber’s versions in a conference committee by allowing the House to pass the Senate resolution. If the House does not vote on the Senate resolution, the two chambers will have to go to conference before moving on to tax legislation.

Congress is in session

The Senate will be in session Monday through Friday. The House will be in session Monday through Thursday.

SCOTUS is NOT in session

The U.S. Supreme Court is between argument sessions and will reconvene for the first week of its two-week argument sitting for November on Monday, October 30. To learn more about this term, read our overview.

WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Here's what is happening in federal politics this week. To see what happened in state and local politics, click here.

Where was the president last week?

  • On Monday, President Donald Trump held a Cabinet meeting at the White House. He then had lunch with Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He also spoke at a fundraising event for South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.
  • On Tuesday, Trump met with Defense Secretary James Mattis. Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to the White House. Trump ended his day by delivering a speech on tax reform at the Heritage Foundation.
  • On Wednesday, Trump spoke with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds by phone. He then participated in a meeting on tax reform with the Senate Finance Committee at the White House.
  • On Thursday, Trump met with Puerto Rico Governor Rosselló to discuss Puerto Rico’s recovery from recent hurricanes. Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended a dinner at the Embassy of the State of Kuwait, where Melania was honored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
  • On Friday, Trump met with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the White House.

Federal Judiciary

  • 144 judicial vacancies in life-term, Article III judicial positions
  • 51 pending nominations to life-term, Article III judicial positions
  • 17 future vacancies to life-term, Article III judicial positions


About

The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

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