First Run News

Senate Republicans deployed the “nuclear option” on Wednesday to drastically reduce the time it takes to confirm hundreds of MORE’s nominees. In back-to-back votes, Republicans changed the rules for the amount of time it takes to confirm most executive nominees and district judges — marking the second and third time Republicans have used the hardball tactic since taking over in 2015. The combined actions will result in most nominations that require Senate confirmation needing only two hours of debate after they’ve defeated a filibuster that shows they have the votes t

Democrats say it is up to Attorney General   The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted along party lines to authorize Committee Chairman MORE (D-N.Y.) to issue the order at a time of his choosing. Barr has said he will provide more information to Congress about Mueller’s report by mid-April or sooner, but congressional Democrats are looking to increase the pressure on him.

Three additional women came forward on Wednesday to say former Vice President a two-minute video, pledged to be more mindful of women’s personal space.  The women, Vail Kohnert-Yount, Sofie Karasek and Ally Coll, recounted instances in which they said Biden touched them in a Washington Post article published late Wednesday.  Kohnert-Yount told the newspaper th

MORE on Wednesday pledged to be more mindful of women’s personal space as he sought to stem a growing political crisis around his presidential campaign-in-waiting. In a two-minute video, the former vice president responded to allegations from four women who said he made them uncomfortable by touching them inappropriately at public events. Biden did not directly apologize to his accusers in the video, but he acknowledged that times have changed and that he would adjust his behavior. “Social norms have begun to change, they’ve shifted, and the boundaries of protec

House Democrats have formally requested copies of MORE’s tax returns, taking action on one of their top oversight priorities. Ways and Means Committee Chairman sent a letter Wednesday to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig requesting six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns, from 2013-2018, by April 10. “The IRS has a policy of auditing the tax returns of all sitting presidents and vice-presidents, yet little is known about the effectiveness of this program," Neal said in a statement.

Podesta, the former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, served on the board of Joule Unlimited, a now defunct alternative energy company, from January 2011 to January 2014.

The committee voted 24-17 to give Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., permission to issue subpoenas to the Justice Department for the final report, its exhibits and any underlying evidence or materials prepared for Mueller’s investigation. Nadler has not yet said if he’ll send the subpoenas. House Democrats had given Attorney General William Barr until Tuesday to produce the full report to Congress.

The rules change limits debate on most nominees to two hours instead of 30. White House selections for the Cabinet, Supreme Court and appeals courts would be exempted from the new rules. Every Democrat opposed the move, joined by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mike Lee (R-UT). The Senate changed the rules after a debate that featured personal finger-pointing between the chamber’s party leaders, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). They have battled over judicial filibusters since the administration of President George W.

Pete Buttigieg was fielding questions from a swarm of reporters about charter schools, what it’s like to run as a gay candidate, and Joe Biden’s behavior with women when he finally stumbled through an answer. After a few exchanges with one of his questioners, he gave up, his linguistic abilities exhausted. “Sorry,” the South Bend, Ind., mayor said to a reporter questioning him in a foreign language.