In age of Trump, GOP learns to embrace government activism

Congress’ delay in finishing its work also means that President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, will have some say in government spending priorities for the period of April 28-Sept.

GOP leaders are coming to grips with what’s likely to be a complex, at times tortured, relationship with the Trump White House as they balance long-held Republican principles with a desire to avoid direct confrontation with the new president. Then (inexplicably), he dropped the “public option”, and a few weeks later the Democrats lost effective control of the Senate in 2010 when Scott Brown won the special election to get Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat, because so many MA voters were so seriously upset with what Obama’s had just done that they decided NOT to show up at the polls. I would like to thank all of the voters for their participation in this election and especially all those that voted to return me to the Iowa House to represent District 72.

Many Republicans opposed the effort.

FILE – Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listen to him speak during a campaign rally at Lackawanna College in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Nov. 7, 2016.

House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ken., praised the passage of legislation, which he said prevents the uncertainty and harm of a government shutdown.

Investigations by the Justice Department and the IRS’ independent inspector general have found no evidence that Koskinen or the agency purposely destroyed evidence. Some Republicans also say the bill could pressure Congress to offer similar help to other cash-strapped pension funds.

The last chance of passing the bill appears to be by attaching it to one that would also keep the government open for four months.

Though the Thursday bill, known as a continuing resolution, passed the House easily, it is expected to face a tougher battle in the Senate as Democrats are wary of a provision that extends health benefits for retired miners through April. Patty Murray, told CNN that Democrats would make the GOP “own” a replacement bill. Since it was enacted in 2010, the GOP has been unable to coalesce around an alternative.

In a win for Trump, the spending bill would speed up the confirmation process for retired Gen. James Mattis, his choice for defense secretary. Mattis retired from the Marine Corps in 2013.

With their power weakened, Democrats are weighing how to make life hard for the Senate GOP. It is too early to tell what all the plans are, as they are still being formulated, but I can say that many of us will be working to pass pro-Second Amendment and Pro-Life legislation that was previously blocked by the Senate. “We’ve got to have a level playing field, that companies in America can compete on a level playing field across the world, and right now we do not have one”.

“The tip of the spear is really Medicare, because it is ubiquitous and so many families and Americans really get it”, she said.

Yet despite all of this, the leadership of congressional Democrats has showed no signs of changing. She attributed an increase of hate crimes against racial and religious minorities to Trump’s “ugly” campaign and his attacks on immigrants, minorities, women and people with disabilities. Mr. Ryan rightly said it was time for change in the Democratic Party, and he deserves credit for trying to buck his party’s Old Guard.

The 74-year-old vice president said Monday night that he would run, a comment he did walk back, but just a bit.

Biden will turn 78 shortly after the 2020 election.

But McCarthy, who keeps portraits of both Reagan and President Lincoln in his Capitol office, insisted he remained a believer in free markets and conservative ideals.

The vice president chose to not seek the White House in 2015 and instead backed this year’s eventual Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton.