McCain, Tea Party Senators Squabble Over Budget Procedure
Fractures in the Republican Party were in plain view on the Senate floor today as Sens. John McCain, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz argued over the U.S. budget and debt ceiling processes. “Does my colleague from Florida believe that the...
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Photograph by Rich Clement/Bloomberg
Supporters for passage of a new agriculture law rally near the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 12, 2012.
Reid: Farm Bill Can Be Finished This Week
From Bloomberg Government’s CongressTracker Though it’s only Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can see the end of the week from here. During today’s session-opening floor remarks, Reid said that the chairwoman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, Michigan...
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Photograph by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Right fielder Bryce Harper, #34 of the Washington Nationals, walks off the field with trainer Lee Kuntz as he bleeds from the neck after running into the wall chasing a triple hit by A.J. Ellis of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on May 13, 2013.
Bryce Harper: Congressional Harmony ala Washington Nationals
The injured Bryce Harper, the Washington Nationals’ prolific outfielder, can add another accomplishment to his budding career – bringing Democrats and Republicans together. Majority Leader Harry Reid opened the Senate this morning with news that “the Republican leader and I...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Senator Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, listens to a question during a news conference after the weekly Democratic Policy Committee meeting in Washington, D.C.
Senate Recess Over, Playground Still Busy
“Like schoolyard bullies, if Republicans can’t win, they’ll take the ball and go home,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid complained during his session-opener this morning. The Nevada Democrat was referring to the impasse between House and Senate on how to...
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Photograph by T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) heads to the weekly Senate Republicans policy luncheon on March 19, 2013 in Washington, DC.
Sales-Tax Measure Threatens to Rain on Alexander’s Parade
The Senate is taking a “burner day” on an online sales-tax measure today, allowing a cloture motion time to mature. The wait threatens to keep Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander away from the Paris Fish Fry parade. “If we continue to...
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Photograph by Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Biden: Iowa, Yes, Know it Well
There goes Joe being Joe. With the Senate set to begin a series of contentious votes on amendments to a gun control bill, including a plan for background checks that was all that was left of the White House’s gun-safety...
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Photograph by Everett Collection
Cleavon Little in Blazing Saddles, 1974.
Blazing Budgetary Saddles ‘Stupidest’
Congressional leaders have had a lot to say about their across the board budget cuts, also known as sequestration. Sen. Mark Warner brought film director Mel Brooks into the discussion this morning. Echoing remarks made by former Defense Secretary Leon...
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Photograph by Tim Sloan/AFP via Getty Images
The Easter Bunny looks out from the Truman Balcony during the Annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House in this file photo.
Easter Bunny Eats the Budget Talks
This begs the question of whether the Easter Bunny has a budget: Leaders of both parties in Congress have asked for a return to regular order, pushing for committees to work through bill drafting and for floor action to finish...
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Photograph by Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images
Sen. Charles Schumer, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin hold a news conference at the Capitol on the eve of the budget sequester on Feb. 28, 2013 in Washington.
Danger: Debate Breaks out in Senate
If the first rule in “Fight Club” is not to talk about fight club, the first rule in the U.S. Senate is to never acknowledge its shortcomings. Senators pretend to be cordial, part of the most deliberative body in the...
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Photograph by Win McNamee/Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell arrives at the White House prior to meeting with President Barack Obama on Dec. 28, 2012 in Washington.
McConnell Takes Early Shots at Obama’s State of Union
Well that was quick. With President Barack Obama set to deliver the State of the Union address tonight, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has already taken to the floor to lob his preemptive response. “The campaign is over, and the fact is,...
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Contributors
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Al Hunt
is a columnist for Bloomberg View and host of the weekly show "Political Capital with Al Hunt" on Bloomberg TV. -
Mark Silva
is deputy managing editor for government news in Washington and editor of Political Capital. He has covered the White House and national politics. -
Emma Fidel
is political editor for Bloomberg.com in Washington. She previously covered financial regulation as a Bloomberg intern. -
Don Frederick
edits political and government coverage for Bloomberg News. He previously worked for more than a decade at the Los Angeles Times' Washington bureau. -
Gregory Giroux
analyzes elections, financing of congressional and presidential elections, political advertising and demographics in Bloomberg's Washington Bureau. -
Julie Bykowicz
covers the influence of money and lobbying in Washington, and covered the state legislature and city crime for the Baltimore Sun for 10 years. -
Jonathan Salant
covers campaign finance and lobbying in Washington. He was president of the National Press Club and started in Washington in 1987. -
Richard Rubin
covers federal tax policy. He worked at Congressional Quarterly and The Charlotte Observer before joining Bloomberg News in 2010. -
Julie Hirschfeld Davis
is a senior political reporter for the Washington Bureau. She covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News and previously covered the White House for the Baltimore Sun. -
Lisa Lerer
covers the White House and covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News. She covered Congress, lobbying and the 2008 campaign for Politico. -
John McCormick
is a national political reporter looking forward to the 2016 presidential campaign, which will be the fifth he's covered. He's also reported for The Des Moines Register and Chicago Tribune. -
Julianna Goldman
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Hans Nichols
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Margaret Talev
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and covered the White House for McClatchy Newspapers. She has covered California and Florida politics. -
Cary O'Reilly
is Editor at Large at Bloomberg First Word and is Washington Daybook columnist for Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg News.
