NJ’s Sweeney Endorses Senate Democrats’ Infrastructure Plan

“Possibly. That’s why we have a debate”.

The prospects for former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson becoming secretary of state improved this weekend when two influential Republican senators expressed support, after having waivered over Tillerson’s past professional ties to Russian Federation. Most Democrats consider Tillerson’s nomination controversial, but he likely has enough Republican support to be confirmed. More than 300,000 people are receiving coverage through the hybrid Medicaid expansion crafted under the law, while hospitals say their uncompensated care costs have seen a major drop. “We will discuss and negotiate with President Trump the methods of paying for it”. “Other people are delayed, look at [Mike] Pompeo for Central Intelligence Agency”.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced the wide-ranging proposal at a Capitol Hill news conference and laid down a gauntlet for the new president by saying, “We’re challenging him today to join us”. A senior Democratic aide denied such an agreement had existed.

Sponsors of the infrastructure legislation include Schumer and Sens. Tom Cotton told RCP. Everyone knows that Democrats have very little voting power to stop Trump’s mistakes, but that doesn’t mean they have to implicitly smooth the way. “So I think they’re willing to go along if they’re finding those dollars”.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said to reporters Tuesday that the infrastructure plan “is something that we will figure out in our spring budget”.

There are signs, at least at the individual level, of bipartisanship. Sen.

“At this point (5 days in) there were 14 cabinet members confirmed”. And on issues of trade and infrastructure, he is hopeful for consensus.

The committee vote was on straight party lines. But even some of his more liberal colleagues appeared interested in better relations. Sen.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., didn’t hold back in his criticism of Democrats for their delaying tactics.

“At the end of the day, the math is against us”, said David Brock, founder of American Bridge, a Democratic opposition research group which has been focused on digging up research against Trump nominees for senators and the media. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., to be Central Intelligence Agency director-but Democrats objected and delayed the vote until Monday.

The Daily Signal reviewed Senate confirmation data for newly elected presidents, beginning with Jimmy Carter in 1977 through Obama in 2009. In his 15-minute inaugural address Friday, Trump said “w$3 e will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation…rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor”. “But the fact is more and more people are talking about the need to invest in water infrastructure, which is a good for our communities and it’s good for Mueller”.

Since that time, Senate Democrats have been seething over the slight and have vowed to block any Trump pick.

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md, the ranking Democrat on the committee said he voted no because Tillerson was non-committal about continuing sanctions on Russian Federation. Say, Schumer could (as Ed Kilgore suggests) demand that Trump refuse to go along with the Republican plan to pass sweeping fiscal changes through a reconciliation bill, and instead work with his party across the board. When asked what the confirmation process previewed in terms of bipartisanship, Kaine said it is “too early to tell”. There will be plenty of substantive reasons for Democrats to oppose him, including the fact that he’ll nearly certainly be a vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said.