Month: August 2022

Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) received a warning early Sunday morning to follow the Senate’s decorum rules after he accused Sen. Maggie Hassan (DN.H.) of being “deceitful” and “dishonest” and vowed “we’re going to call you out.”

“This gives phony and cynical a bad name,” Graham exclaimed when Hassan introduced her amendment.

Graham’s outburst at Hassan prompted Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) to sternly remind the South Carolina senator not to impugn the motives of a fellow senator.

Murphy reminded Graham and all senators not to “impute to another senator or other senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming of a senator.”

The admonishment came after Graham slammed Hassan, who faces a competitive reelection race this November, for proposing an alternative to his amendment to strike a 16.4-cent-a-barrel tax on imported petroleum products and foreign oil refined in the United States.

“They wouldn’t let you do this in professional wrestling. If you think people are this dumb, you’re going to be sadly mistaken,” Graham fumed on the floor.

Graham warned Democrats on Friday the debate and vote-a-rama on the budget reconciliation would be “hell.”

Graham accused his colleague Sunday morning of fake theatrics after Hassan urged colleagues to vote for what she called her own amendment to strike the surcharge on barrels of oil — something she proposed moments after voting against Graham’s amendment to repeal the surcharge.

The key difference was that Graham’s amendment was set at a 50-vote threshold and had a chance of passing if one Democrat voted “yes” while Hassan’s amendment had to overcome a 60-vote threshold and therefore had no chance of becoming part of the bill. without 10 Republican votes.

“What she’s doing is trying to strike the provision that she just voted against but it requires 60 votes, so she can [vote] for repealing a gas tax she just voted against [repealing],” Graham declared, accusing Hassan of trying to “look good for the voters.”

“What you’re doing is deceitful. It’s dishonest. And we’re going to call you out,” Graham vowed.

That direct attack prompted Murphy to step in.

“The senator are reminded to address each other through the chair and in the third person,” he said.

“Senators are reminded to address all remarks through the chair in the third person and to be mindful of Rule 19,” he said.

Murphy as the presiding officer at the time of the heated exchange could have ordered Graham to take his seat.

The Senate’s Rule 19 allows the presiding officer to “call to order” a senator who directly attacks or insults a fellow senator.

If such a formal rebuke is made, the offending senator’s words will be read aloud to the Senate and the presiding chairperson can order the senator to sit down and be quiet.

Graham settled down after Murphy’s warning.

• Senate Republicans stripped a $35 insulin cap for those with private insurance from the climate and health bill.
• Seven Republicans joined 50 Democrats in seeking to keep the provision in the bill, falling short by three votes.
• The vote was held as part of a “vote-a-rama” as the reconciliation bill makes its way through the Senate.

Senate Republicans on Sunday successfully removed a $35 monthly price cap on insulin for many patients as part of the Democratic-led climate, health, and tax reconciliation bill making its way through the upper chamber.

The insulin cap had been a much-desired policy goal for Democrats, who aimed to have the provision apply to Medicare beneficiaries along with Americans carrying private health insurance.

While GOP lawmakers didn’t challenge the portion applying to Medicare patients, they were able to strip the cap for those using private insurance, after talks regarding a potential bipartisan agreement fizzled earlier this year.

The Senate parliamentarian — who is tasked with analyzing reconciliation bills to ensure that they meet strict procedural rules — ruled that the cap wasn’t in accordance with what is permissible under the guidelines.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the ranking member on the Budget committee, raised a point of order on the insulin cap, arguing that it was in violation of the Congressional Budget Act — and therefore would need at least 60 votes in order to stay in the larger bill.

In a 57-43 vote, seven Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in seeking to keep the provision in the larger bill, falling short by three votes.

Republican lawmakers who voted to keep the specific provision in the legislation included Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, John Kennedy of Louisiana, and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan of Alaska .

Democrats were quick to blast the move. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the chairman of the Finance committee, sharply criticized Republican resistance to capping insulin costs.

“Republicans have just gone on the record in favor of expensive insulin,” he said in a statement shortly after the vote. “After years of tough talk about taking on insulin makers, Republicans have once wilted against in the face of heat from Big Pharma.”

“I think it’s shameful,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said in an interview. “I have folks who are literally choosing between whether they can afford insulin or food.”

He continued: “Fortunately, the $35 insulin copay cap for insulin in Medicare remains in the bill, so seniors will get relief from high insulin costs. I will continue working to deliver lower insulin costs to all Americans.”

Democrats, who control the evenly-divided Senate as a result of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote, are pursuing the party-line legislation through the reconciliation process, which would allow them to overcome a 60-vote filibuster for the larger bill.

The tax and climate bill — officially called the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 — would allow a three-year extension of subsidies for individuals to buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, while also providing nearly $370 billion for climate and energy programs and $300 billion to reduce the federal budget deficit.

In the too-close-to-call race for Montgomery County executive, David Blair plans to request a full recount.

“After several weeks of counting and virtually all votes recorded, the Associated Press has declared this race too close to call. Given the extremely close margin, we will be requesting a full recount and are hopeful that the outcome will be in our favor,” Blair said in a news release Sunday morning.

The final 34 votes will be counted Sunday in the race between Blair and incumbent Marc Elrich.

After a day of canvassing and counting provisional ballots, election workers were sent home Saturday night with incumbent Elrich leading challenger Blair by just 42 votes. Elrich had 39.2%, with 55,469 votes. Blair had 39.17%, with 55,427 votes.

Elrich declared himself the winner late Saturday night, saying in a statement that he was honored to become the Democratic nominee after a long and “certainly exciting” primary.

“Now, with the certain results, we must work together to ensure Montgomery County remains solidly Democratic and turns out for Wes Moore and our entire Democratic ticket,” he said.

I am honored to be the Democratic nominee for County Executive. I want to thank the voters. I love this county and care about our residents so very deeply. This primary has been a long journey. Thank you also to @777Vote staff for your tireless work. pic.twitter.com/Fq9eaV9vyy

— Marc Elrich (@Marc_Elrich) August 7, 2022

Under state election law, the trailing candidate can request a recount within three days of the certification of the vote.

This year’s close race is a repeat of the last Democratic primary for county executive, where in 2018, Elrich edged out Blair by just 77 votes.

State election officials told WTOP they hope to have completed and certified Maryland’s primary election votes by Aug. 12.

WTOP’s Juan Herrera and Kate Ryan contributed to this report.

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Former President Donald Trump spoke for almost two hours as he closed out the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday.

In his remarks, he described a country that has been destroyed since he left office and outlined the steps Republicans should take if they win back control of Congress in November.

He decried the inclusion of transgender athletes on women’s sports teams, and reiterated calls for drug dealers to get the death penalty and homeless people to be moved to tent cities.

Trump’s speech was “unapologetic fascism,” Michael Hardy, a senior editor at Texas Monthly, said in a tweet.

“This might be most frightening speech I’ve ever heard,” Hardy wrote, adding that it indicated that the former president’s rhetoric is “significantly more extreme than even a few years ago.”

However, not everyone agreed. Mark Pukita, a Republican who ran for Senate in Ohio this year, said Trump was naming a “list of what Americans want.”

Here, Newsweek you’ve rounded up some key moments from the former president’s speech.

‘America is on the edge of an abyss’

Trump began his speech by declaring the US “is being destroyed more from the inside than out.”

“America is on the edge of an abyss and our movement is the only force on earth that can save it,” he said. “What we do in the next few months and the next few years will determine with American civilization will collapse or fail or whether it will triumph and thrive frankly like never before. This is no time for complacency.”

He said that Republicans must “run aggressive, unrelenting and boldly populist” campaigns. A priority for the next president, he said, will be to “drain the swamp once and for all and remove rogue bureaucrats and root out the Deep State.”

‘Drenched in blood of innocent victims’

“The streets of our Democrat-run cities are drenched with the blood of innocent victims,” ​​Trump claimed.

“Gun battles rage between bloodthirsty street gangs. Bullets tear into crowds at random, killing wonderful beautiful little children that never even had a chance. Carjackers lay in wait like predators hunting their prey.”

Hardy described those comments as “some literal blood-and-soil rhetoric.”

‘Hold the Biden administration accountable’

The November midterms need to be “a national referendum on the horrendous catastrophes radical Democrats have inflicted in our country,” Trump said.

The Republican Party “needs to campaign on a clear pledge that if they are given power, they’re going to fight with everything that they had to shut down the border, stop the crime wave, beat inflation and hold the Biden administration accountable.”

He said job number one for the next Congress and president is “restore public safety.”

‘Felt very strong’

Trump mocked former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony alleging he grabbed at the steering wheel of the presidential SUV when the Secret Service refused to let him go to the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“How about that phoney story?” Trump said.

He went on to suggest that he was flattered at the idea that he could take on “big, strong” Secret Service agents, referring to Hutchinson’s testimony that Trump lunged at Secret Service special agent Bobby Engel.

“I wasn’t sure if I should be honored ’cause I felt very strong,” he said.

‘We will keep men out of women’s sports’

“We will keep men out of women’s sports,” Trump said, before bringing Riley Gaines, a University of Kentucky swimmer who has been critical of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, on stage.

“Just to show you how ridiculous it is, look at me. I’m much bigger and much stronger than her. There’s no way she could beat me in swimming. Do we all agree?”

Trump also said: “No teacher should ever be allowed to teach transgender to our children without parental consent.”

‘I loved looking at my body’

Trump also boasted about how former White House doctor Ronny Jackson “loved” looking at his body.

“He was a great doctor,” Trump said. “He was an admiral, a doctor and now he’s a congressman. I said, which is the best if you had your choice?

“He loved looking at my body. It was so strong, powerful. But he said I’m the healthiest president that’s ever lived. I was the healthiest. I said, I like this guy.”

‘The woman brings chaos’

Trump took a moment to swipe at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, criticizing her trip to Taiwan.

He said: “Crazy Nancy Pelosi… What was she doing in Taiwan? Everything she touches turns to—I do not want to say it cause I don’t want them to say I used foul language.”

He went on: “I got impeached twice. She failed twice. The woman brings chaos. And that’s exactly what’s happening. What’s happened in China, Taiwan, what’s going on – she played right into their hands because now they have an excuse to do whatever they’re doing.”

Relocate homeless people in ‘tent cities’

Trump also reiterated his calls for homeless people to be moved to “tent cities” on the outskirts of major US cities.

“It’s also time to take back out streets and public spaces from the homeless and the drug addicted and the dangerously deranged,” he said.

“The only way you’d going to remove the homeless encampments and reclaim our downtowns is to open up large parcels, large tracts of relatively inexpensive land on the outer skirts of the various cities and bring in medical professionals, psychiatrists, psychologists and drug rehab specialists and create tent cities… We have to relocate the homeless until they can get their lives back.”

Death penalty for drug dealers

Trump also repeated his calls to impose the death penalty on drug dealers.

“If you look at countries throughout the world, the only ones that don’t have a drug problem are those that institute the death penalty for drug dealers,” he said.

He said Chinese President Xi Jinping had told him that his country dos not have a drug problem because it executes drug dealers after “a quick trial.”

While acknowledging that “it sounds horrible,” Trump said such policies would effectively reduce drug trafficking in the US

Bring back ‘stop and frisk’

The “tried and true” strategy of stop-and-frisk must return, Trump said, referencing the highly controversial policing tactic.

“Instead of taking the guns from law-abiding Americans let’s take them away from the violent felons and career criminals for a change,” he said.