DOCSLIB.ORG

Anatomy of a Vote After the Vote, the Senate Took up the Confirmation Dan Coats Confirmation of National Security Adviser H

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Anatomy of a Vote After the Vote, the Senate Took up the Confirmation Dan Coats Confirmation of National Security Adviser H ||| TOP VOTES Anatomy of a Vote After the vote, the Senate took up the confirmation Dan Coats Confirmation of national security adviser H. R. McMaster for reappointment as an Army lieutenant general. The DNI is a Cabinet-level position that was created SENATE VOTES March 15, 2017 in 2004 following the intelligence failures leading up to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. 89.. Confirmation of the Director of National Intelligence Coats was first appointed to the Senate in 1989 to fill the seat vacated by Vice President Dan Quayle and Confirmation of President Donald Trump’s nomination of served until 1999. He served again from 2011 to 2017. Dan Coats of Indiana to be director of national intelli- gence. 85-12. R 48-1, D 36-10, I 1-1. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the lone Republican to vote against Coats. Among the Democrats voting no were Tammy Bald- win of Wisconsin, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Kamala Harris of California and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts. From Retirement to Cabinet Member By JONATHAN MILLER senator who does not like Sen. Coats. He is honest, a straight-shooter and Sometimes, it’s good to be a senator. gracious,” the Oregonian said. Wyden After the confirmation fireworks joined a group of nine Democrats and of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont Attorney General Jeff Sessions and EPA in voting against Coats. Wyden’s reason Administrator Scott Pruitt, this week’s had to do with the intelligence commu- vote on the director of national intelli- nity’s resistance in providing informa- gence proved to be a cakewalk for Dan tion on how many Americans have been Coats, the former senator from Indiana. surveilled under the Foreign Intelligence He sailed through his confirmation Surveillance Act. hearing and in the run-up to the vote, Other Democrats voting against protests were scant. Democrats aban- Call Roll Bill Clark/CQ Coats included Kirsten Gillibrand of SENATORIAL PRIVILEGE: Coats, a former senator, doned their late-night, hold-the-floor breezed through his confirmation vote. New York, who has voted against every sessions that had coincided with the pre- Trump nominee save for Veterans vious nomination fights, and Coats moved made an excellent choice in selecting Dan Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and U.N. quickly from a cloture vote to confirmation. for this job,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch Ambassador Nikki Haley. A Republican, Coats served nonconsecu- McConnell of Kentucky said ahead of the The lone Republican to vote no was pri- tive terms representing Indiana and retired vote. vacy advocate Rand Paul of Kentucky. from the Senate at the end of 2016. He was Democrats had nary a bad word: “I have “I was ready to make a transition and a member of the Intelligence and Finance always found Dan to be fair-minded and planned to move on to a new chapter of my committees and, earlier in his tenure, the know him to be an advocate for strong over- lifelong journey back home again in Indi- Appropriations Committee. Between his sight of the intelligence community,” Mark ana,” Coats said during his confirmation two terms, he served as ambassador to Ger- Warner of Virginia said ahead of the vote. hearing. “But as I have learned over those many for President George W. Bush. Oregon’s Ron Wyden appeared to lay on 34 years, life doesn’t always work out that “It goes without saying that the president more love: “I do not know of a single U.S. way.” 10 MARCH 20, 2017 | CQ .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • EXECUTIVE INSIGHT BRIEF - March 3, 2017 Date: Monday, March 06, 2017 9:20:37 AM
    From: Craig Quigley To: Craig Quigley Subject: EXECUTIVE INSIGHT BRIEF - March 3, 2017 Date: Monday, March 06, 2017 9:20:37 AM Ladies & Gentlemen, below please find this week’s edition of Executive Insight Brief from The Roosevelt Group. Craig R. Quigley Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.) Executive Director Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance 757-644-6324 (Office) 757-419-1164 (Cell) EXECUTIVE INSIGHT BRIEF | March 3, 2017 TOP STORIES JEFF SESSIONS RECUSES HIMSELF FROM RUSSIA INQUIRY. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, facing a storm of criticism over newly disclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States, recused himself on Thursday from any investigation into charges that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. Read more ISIS DUMPED BODIES IN A DESERT SINKHOLE. IT MAY BE YEARS BEFORE WE KNOW THE FULL SCALE OF THE KILLINGS. The horror stories about the Islamic State’s mass killings at a cavernous hole in the desert near Mosul became legendary over the years. Soon after the group took control of the Iraqi city more than 2½ years ago, the 100-foot-wide sinkhole five miles southwest of the airport became a site for summary executions. Read more TRUMP’S DEFENSE SPENDING INCREASE ISN’T EXTRAORDINARY, BUT ITS IMPACT COULD BE. On Monday, the White House announced the first few details of President Trump’s budget proposal, expected to be released within the next month. He plans to increase defense spending by $54 billion — about 10 percent of its 2017 budget. In his joint address to Congress Tuesday night, he falsely called it “one of the largest increases in national defense spending in American history.” Read more KIM JONG-NAM KILLING: N KOREAN SUSPECT TO BE DEPORTED.
    [Show full text]
  • Culture Wars' Reloaded: Trump, Anti-Political Correctness and the Right's 'Free Speech' Hypocrisy
    The 'Culture Wars' Reloaded: Trump, Anti-Political Correctness and the Right's 'Free Speech' Hypocrisy Dr. Valerie Scatamburlo-D'Annibale University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada Abstract This article explores how Donald Trump capitalized on the right's decades-long, carefully choreographed and well-financed campaign against political correctness in relation to the broader strategy of 'cultural conservatism.' It provides an historical overview of various iterations of this campaign, discusses the mainstream media's complicity in promulgating conservative talking points about higher education at the height of the 1990s 'culture wars,' examines the reconfigured anti- PC/pro-free speech crusade of recent years, its contemporary currency in the Trump era and the implications for academia and educational policy. Keywords: political correctness, culture wars, free speech, cultural conservatism, critical pedagogy Introduction More than two years after Donald Trump's ascendancy to the White House, post-mortems of the 2016 American election continue to explore the factors that propelled him to office. Some have pointed to the spread of right-wing populism in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis that culminated in Brexit in Europe and Trump's victory (Kagarlitsky, 2017; Tufts & Thomas, 2017) while Fuchs (2018) lays bare the deleterious role of social media in facilitating the rise of authoritarianism in the U.S. and elsewhere. Other 69 | P a g e The 'Culture Wars' Reloaded: Trump, Anti-Political Correctness and the Right's 'Free Speech' Hypocrisy explanations refer to deep-rooted misogyny that worked against Hillary Clinton (Wilz, 2016), a backlash against Barack Obama, sedimented racism and the demonization of diversity as a public good (Major, Blodorn and Blascovich, 2016; Shafer, 2017).
    [Show full text]
  • The Department of Injustice Under Jeff Sessions the Department of Injustice Under Jeff Sessions January 2019
    January 2019 The Department of Injustice Under Jeff Sessions The Department of Injustice Under Jeff Sessions January 2019 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 VOTING RIGHTS 2 IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS 3 CRIMINAL JUSTICE 6 DISABILITIES 9 HEALTH CARE 10 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY 10 LGBT RIGHTS 10 CRIMINALIZATION OF POVERTY 11 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 12 WORKERS' RIGHTS 12 FREE PRESS AND PROTEST RIGHTS 12 PRIVACY RIGHTS 13 SEPARATION OF POWERS 15 POLITICIZED ANALYSIS AND PERSONNEL 15 INTRODUCTION Jeff Sessions' tenure at the Department of Justice was a national disgrace. As attorney general, he was entrusted to enforce federal laws — including civil rights laws — and secure equal justice for all. Instead, Sessions systematically undermined our civil rights and liberties, dismantled legal protections for the vulnerable and persecuted, and politicized the Justice Department's powers in ways that threaten American democracy. When President Donald Trump and his political appointees elsewhere in his administration tried to do the same, often in violation of the Constitution, Sessions' Justice Department went into overdrive manufacturing legal and factual justifications on their behalf and defending the unjust actions in court. Sessions was aided by Trump-approved appointees who often overruled career attorneys and staffers committed to a high level of neutral professionalism. Under Sessions' political leadership, these Trump appointees have inflicted significant damage in the past two years. Together they have threatened the First Amendment rights of the press and protesters, targeted the communities Trump disfavors through discriminatory policies and tactics, attacked the ability of ordinary citizens to vote and change their elected government, vindictively retaliated against perceived political opponents, and thwarted congressional oversight of the Justice Department's activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Congressional Record—House H7561
    December 8, 2016 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H7561 pick up a butter knife or something In closing this out, Mr. Speaker, I GENERAL LEAVE and fix him up right there on the spot. would like to say that Indiana has pro- Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Speaker, I ask b 1600 duced no shortage of great statesmen, unanimous consent that all Members as we reflected on this last half hour, It is a really humorous story that I have 5 legislative days to revise and ex- and Senator DAN COATS has indis- tend their remarks on the subject of enjoy his telling every time we are to- putably joined their ranks after dec- gether at an event. Senator COATS has this Special Order. ades of service to both our State and to The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there a great sense of humor. While his time our country. My own history with Sen- in the Senate has come to an end, I am objection to the request of the gen- ator COATS goes way back to when I also confident he will continue to be a tleman from Indiana? was an intern in his Senate office. If he There was no objection. voice and an advocate for the issues he were on this floor today, Mr. Speaker, f cares about most. Our State and our I am sure he would say that I was one country are lucky to have benefited of the worst interns he ever had. None- MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE from the service of a great man like theless, he started my career in poli- A message from the Senate by Ms.
    [Show full text]
  • Opening Statement Tuesday, January 29, 2019
    Remarks as prepared for delivery by The Honorable Dan Coats Director of National Intelligence Annual Threat Assessment Opening Statement Tuesday, January 29, 2019 Chairman Burr, Vice-Chairman Warner, and Members of the Committee... I am here today, along with leaders of the Intelligence Community, to provide you an overview of the national security threats facing our nation. But before I do, I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the men and women that make up the Intelligence Community. Their efforts rarely receive public recognition because of the nature of the work that they do. But their unheralded contributions play a critical role in the national security of our great nation, and I am proud to represent them. 1 Annual Threat Assessment, January 29, 2019 I also want to express on behalf of the entire IC our appreciation to the members of this committee. The Intelligence Community appreciates your support and values our partnership. [PAUSE] My goal today is to responsibly convey to you and the American people, in this unclassified hearing, the true nature of the threat environment without overstating some of the more significant challenges we currently face and expect to contend with in the coming year… In the interest of time, I also would refer you to my Statement for the Record for a more complete threat picture. As I stated in my recent remarks during the release of the National Intelligence Strategy, we face significant changes in the domestic and global 2 Annual Threat Assessment, January 29, 2019 environment that have resulted in an increasingly complex and uncertain world, and we must be ready to meet 21st century challenges and recognize emerging threats.
    [Show full text]
  • Using Activists' Pairwise Comparisons to Measure Ideology
    Is John McCain more conservative than Rand Paul? Using activists' pairwise comparisons to measure ideology ∗ Daniel J. Hopkins Associate Professor University of Pennsylvania [email protected] Hans Noely Associate Professor Georgetown University [email protected] April 3, 2017 Abstract Political scientists use sophisticated measures to extract the ideology of members of Congress, notably the widely used nominate scores. These measures have known limitations, including possibly obscuring ideological positions that are not captured by roll call votes on the limited agenda presented to legislators. Meanwhile scholars often treat the ideology that is measured by these scores as known or at least knowable by voters and other political actors. It is possible that (a) nominate fails to capture something important in ideological variation or (b) that even if it does measure ideology, sophisticated voters only observe something else. We bring an alternative source of data to this subject, asking samples of highly involved activists to compare pairs of senators to one another or to compare a senator to themselves. From these pairwise comparisons, we can aggregate to a measure of ideology that is comparable to nominate. We can also evaluate the apparent ideological knowledge of our respondents. We find significant differences between nominate scores and the perceived ideology of politically sophisticated activists. ∗DRAFT: PLEASE CONSULT THE AUTHORS BEFORE CITING. Prepared for presentation at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago, April 6-9, 2017. We would like to thank Michele Swers, Jonathan Ladd, and seminar participants at Texas A&M University and Georgetown University for useful comments on earlier versions of this project.
    [Show full text]
  • Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2017 Remarks at the National Rifle Association Leadership Forum in Atlanta, Georgia April 28
    Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2017 Remarks at the National Rifle Association Leadership Forum in Atlanta, Georgia April 28, 2017 Thank you, Chris, for that kind introduction and for your tremendous work on behalf of our Second Amendment. Thank you very much. I want to also thank Wayne LaPierre for his unflinching leadership in the fight for freedom. Wayne, thank you very much. Great. I'd also like to congratulate Karen Handel on her incredible fight in Georgia Six. The election takes place on June 20. And by the way, on primaries, let's not have 11 Republicans running for the same position, okay? [Laughter] It's too nerve-shattering. She's totally for the NRA, and she's totally for the Second Amendment. So get out and vote. She's running against someone who's going to raise your taxes to the sky, destroy your health care, and he's for open borders—lots of crime—and he's not even able to vote in the district that he's running in. Other than that, I think he's doing a fantastic job, right? [Laughter] So get out and vote for Karen. Also, my friend—he's become a friend—because there's nobody that does it like Lee Greenwood. Wow. [Laughter] Lee's anthem is the perfect description of the renewed spirit sweeping across our country. And it really is, indeed, sweeping across our country. So, Lee, I know I speak for everyone in this arena when I say, we are all very proud indeed to be an American.
    [Show full text]
  • Sen. Jeff Sessions's Record on Criminal Justice
    Analysis: Sen. Jeff Sessions’s Record on Criminal Justice By Ames C. Grawert This analysis provides a brief summary of Sen. Jeff Sessions’s past statements, votes, and practices relating to criminal justice. Specifically, this analysis finds that: • Sen. Sessions opposes efforts to reduce unnecessarily long federal prison sentences for nonviolent crimes, despite a consensus for reform even within his own party. In 2016, he personally blocked the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, a bipartisan effort spearheaded by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and John Cornyn (R- Texas), and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and supported by law enforcement leadership. As Attorney General, Sen. Sessions could stall current congressional efforts to pass this legislation to recalibrate federal sentencing laws. • Drug convictions made up 40 percent of Sen. Sessions’s convictions when he served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama — double the rate of other Alabama federal prosecutors. Today, state and federal law enforcement officers have begun to focus resources on violent crime, and away from archaic drug war policies. But Sen. Sessions continues to oppose any attempts to legalize marijuana and any reduction in drug sentences. As Attorney General, Sen. Sessions could direct federal prosecutors to pursue the harshest penalties possible for even low-level drug offenses, a step backward from Republican- supported efforts to modernize criminal justice policy. • Unlike many Republican legislators, Sen. Sessions supports the use of “civil asset forfeiture,” which allows police to confiscate property from people who may not even be accused of a crime.
    [Show full text]
  • Kelty Beginning to Surge at the Fort
    V13 N33 Thursday, April 19, 2007 Kelty beginning to surge at the Fort By BRIAN A. HOWEY FORT WAYNE - With the primary just over two weeks away, a number of in- dicators point to a surge for architect Matt Kelty in his Republican primary mayoral race against Allen County 07 Commissioner Nelson Peters. The HPR Election Horse Race is mov- ing this contest from “Leans Peters” to “Tossup,” with, perhaps, a slight advantage to Kelty, a former aide to U.S. Sens. Richard Lugar and Dan Coats. Multiple sources tell HPR that Kelty is running an energetic, grassroots cam- Republican mayoral candidate Matt Kelty at his Fort Wayne headquarters. Polls and paign, similar to his 2002 challenge to State other indicators point to a surge in his campaign. (Fort Wayne Observed Photo) Rep. Winfield Moses Jr., a race Kelty lost by less than 100 votes. One source told HPR, “You go to past week, Peters called for a public referendum, saying Peters’ headquarters and it is solemn and you find one that he is working with Fort Wayne legislators to get the person working. You go to Kelty’s headquarters and it’s a referendum passed in the Indiana General Assembly. beehive of activity.” In a Wednesday Fort Wayne Journal Gazette But beyond that, Peters has reacted badly to the editorial, the newspaper wrote, “Nelson Peters’ last-second, Harrison Square project that would build a hotel, baseball short-sighted attempt to force a referendum on Harrison stadium and condos in downtown Fort Wayne. Peters origi- Square comes across as a desperate, crass, political at- nally supported Harrison Square and Kelty is opposed.
    [Show full text]
  • Coats & Pence in Trump's Reality
    V26, N7 Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 Coats & Pence in Trump’s reality By early summer, Woodward’s book Pence and Coats had come around to ‘Rage’ details the Trump, with Pence looking for a political White House chaos lifeline on Trump’s ticket. with these 2 Hoosiers The two were not By BRIAN A. HOWEY only close person- INDIANAPOLIS – Up until ally, but politically. the May 2016 presidential primary, In April 2010, Pence Gov. Mike Pence and U.S. Sen. Dan endorsed Coats’s Coats had been GOP primary bid to backing U.S. Sen. return to the Sen- Ted Cruz for the ate, saying, “Dan Republican nomina- Coats’ integrity and tion. Donald Trump conservative record not only won that make him the best primary with 53% candidate for the of the vote, as he job. Dan is a proven exited the state, he conservative leader alleged that Cruz’s who is trusted by father had been involved in the con- Hoosiers. I know spiracy to assassinate President John Dan Coats well and F. Kennedy. Continued on page 3 SCOTUS and calm By MARK SOUDER FORT WAYNE – Most people would consider this to have already been a rather contentious election cycle. The death of America’s favorite liberal Supreme Court jus- tice, Ruth Bade Ginsburg, as the absentee ballot process “Well, we’re going to have to see has begun, should calm things down. what happens. I’ve been com- Yeah, right. While in historical terms plaining very strongly about this one lacks wars and assas- the ballots and the ballots are a sinations, or even an economic collapse, the personal anger disaster.
    [Show full text]
  • Trump, Kavanaugh Effect Bury Donnelly Mike Braun Pulls Off an Emphatic Upset As Voters Embrace the President by BRIAN A
    V24, N13 Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018 Trump, Kavanaugh effect bury Donnelly Mike Braun pulls off an emphatic upset as voters embrace the president By BRIAN A. HOWEY INDIANAPOLIS – It would be easy to consign Mike Braun’s epic, not-even- close upset of U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly to a Democratic blunder on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Don- nelly, along with U.S. Sens. Heidi Heitkamp and Claire McCaskill all voted against Kavanaugh and lost emphatically. West Virginia Democrat U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin supported Kavana- Senator-elect Mike Braun addresses the GOP victory rally Election Night as U.S. Sen. ugh and won easily. Todd Young looks on. (HPI Photo by Mark Curry) Until the allegations of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford surfaced in mid-September, probable yea vote on Kavanaugh, which had that occurred, might have left this race on more parochial footing. Donnelly had narrow poll advantages and Democratic voter intensity far outpaced Republicans. He was a plausible and Continued on page 4 Big showdown that wasn’t By MARK SOUDER FORT WAYNE – The U.S. Senate election in Indi- ana was perceived to be a pivotal showdown for control of that body. It was supposed to be another test of the Republican-lite strategy employed by Evan Bayh to carry “I have supported the Mueller Indiana, a method he con- ceived after watching his father investigation from the beginning fall in an upset to Dan Quayle in 1980. because we need answers about What is hard to remem- Russia’s attempts to influence ber, even for those who re- member that there were two our elections.
    [Show full text]
  • Numbersusa Factsheet
    NUMBERSUSA IMPACT: NumbersUSA is a nonprofit grassroots organization of nearly 1.1 million members that describes itself as a group of “moderates, conservatives, and liberals working for immigration numbers that serve America’s finest goals. Founded in 1996, NumbersUSA advocates numerical restrictions on legal immigration, an elimination of undocumented immigration, an elimination of the visa lottery, reform of birthright citizenship, and an end to “chain migration.” The organization was founded by author and journalist Roy Beck, and has ties to anti-immigration activist John Tanton’s network of anti-immigration organizations. The organization has expressed support for individuals with anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant views, such as former U.S. Senator and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Senator Tom Cotton, and anti-Muslim activist Frank Gaffney. • NumbersUSA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan grassroots organization that advocates numerical restrictions on legal immigration and an elimination of undocumented immigration. It favors “removing jobs, public benefits and other incentives that encourage people to become illegal aliens and remain in the U.S.” The organization promotes the influx of immigrants who are part of the nuclear family of an American citizen, refugees with “no long-term prospects of returning home,” and immigrants with “truly extraordinary skills in the national interest.” • The organization was founded in 1996 by author and journalist Roy Beck. Prior to the establishment of NumbersUSA, Beck worked for ten years at U.S. Incorporated, an organization founded by anti- immigration activist John Tanton. Beck also served as an editor for the Social Contract Press, a Tanton publication notorious for its promotion of white nationalist and anti-immigration views.
    [Show full text]