Stories related to: Harry Reid

Harry Reid brushed aside yesterday suggestions Hillary Clinton, fresh from a primary defeat to Barack Obama, might ascend to the top Senate job. “Keep in mind,” he told the Huffington Post, “a senator coming back who’s run for president is not a very unique one. Sen. John Kerry ran, he’s back. Chris Dodd ran, he’s back. Joe Biden ran, he’s back.” More »

With Hillary Clinton’s chances of beating her rival all but shot, Ben Smith, on Politico, runs down the graceful and non-graceful ways to exit: Never say die: If Clinton can stomach shrinking coffers and departing supporters, she can bide time until the convention, ensuring that lightning hasn’t struck Barack Obama before she concedes. More »

Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Howard Dean plan to coordinate demands that uncommitted Democratic superdelegates endorse a candidate—and well before August's convention. Senate Majority Leader Reid said yesterday that “this matter will be over no later than July 1,” Congressional Quarterly reports. House Speaker Pelosi added that the party's nominee needs to start the general-election battle before August. More »

History's longest-serving senator has two words for people who think he's no longer up to the job of chairing the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee: "Shut up." Democrat Robert Byrd, 90, has been hospitalized twice this year but his management of a two-hour hearing on Iraq war spending yesterday apparently silenced his critics, the Hill reports. More »

The Senate today struck a deal on a package of legislation intended to soften the impact of the foreclosure crisis, the New York Times reports. The bipartisan measures include $4 billion to help local governments buy foreclosed properties and $100 million for homeowner counseling. Harry Reid called the tentative deal, which Chris Dodd and Richard Shelby hashed out overnight, "good news for the American people.” More »

Lawmakers are suddenly coming together on housing, with Republicans supporting a bill they left for dead two weeks ago, and Democrats cooling the political rhetoric for a change. The difference: those two weeks were spent back home with constituents, Politico notes. “Unless every member of the Senate was in a cave over recess, it’s clear that gas prices and housing were the most important issues,” said GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson. More »

The Senate voted 94-1 to move a housing legislation package into formal consideration today, reports the New York Times . Banking committee chair Chris Dodd and ranking Republican Richard Shelby now have until noon tomorrow to work out a compromise acceptable to both parties. “Inaction is not an option," said Dodd. "Failure is not an option." More »

The top Senate Democrat says his party's presidential nomination will be wrapped up before the Aug. 25-28 convention. “It will be done,” majority leader Harry Reid declared of the race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama—adding mysteriously, Politico reports, that he’d spoken to party chairman Howard Dean and that “things are being done.” More »

After months of blocking Democrat-sponsored anti-war bills, Senate Republicans changed course sharply yesterday, agreeing to advance a bill that cuts off funding for combat in Iraq after 120 days. GOP senators made the switch on grounds that a debate over conditions in Iraq allows them time to hail progress in the war, giving them the upper hand, the AP reports. More »

Over the loud objections of lenders, Senate Democrats are lining up behind a plan to give bankruptcy judges the power to alter mortgages, the LA Times reports. The proposals could go to the floor as early as today. “This bill will have more impact… than any other option currently on the table,” said Jack Kemp, housing secretary in the first Bush administration. More »

President Bush signed Congress’ economic stimulus bill into law today, ensuring that the tax rebates at the heart of the $168 billion plan will find their way into American bank accounts by May. The average rebate for an individual will be $600, with $1,200 for couples and a $300 add-on per child, reports the AP. More »

The political geography of Western states has been shifting from Republican to Democratic, and four—Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona—could be winnable for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for the first time in decades, Colorado Confidential writes. Party brass wouldn’t talk up a “Western strategy,” but Democratic success in the Mountain time zone could make other swing states less essential. More »

Forget President Bush's last hurrah, it was Barack Obama’s snub of Hillary Clinton that had the press box chattering last night, reports the Chicago Tribune. After greeting seemingly the entire room, including the Supreme Court and the Joint Chiefs, Obama was standing by his seat next to Ted Kennedy when Hillary Clinton leaned over to shake Kennedy's hand. Kennedy—despite his Obama endorsement earlier in the day—responded warmly. Obama watched icily, then turned and stepped away. More »

With Democrats and Republicans increasingly spooked about a looming recession, the two sides appear ready to work together on an economic stimulus package of about  $100 billion in tax cuts and spending, the New York Times reports. Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid yesterday wrote to President Bush, "We want to work with you"; Bush looks poised to accept the overture. More »

A contentious Justice Department nomination lies behind Harry Reid's plan to keep the Senate in session over the holidays, if only for seconds at a time. Dems offered to give the White House a pass on a slew of other recess appointments in exchange for putting controversial terrorism expert Steven Bradbury on the congressional hot seat, CNN reports, but the White House rejected the deal. More »

President Bush vetoed a wide-ranging defense-spending measure today after Iraqi politicians objected to a proviso buried in the bill enabling Iraqis to sue their government in US court over Saddam Hussein-era injuries. The bill does not fund the war in Iraq, the Chicago Tribune reports, but does contain a pay raise for US service members. More »

Democrats in Congress are keeping a watchful eye on President Bush and preventing him from making any appointments during the monthlong holiday recess. The strategy requires the Senate to be in session every couple of days—even if only for a few seconds. On Friday, the Politico reports, the Senate opened at 9:30am and packed it in 26 seconds later. More »

Democrats are leaving Washington with a decidedly unsatisfactory taste in their mouths after their first year back in charge of Congress in more than a decade, the LA Times reports. Though they can count successes with the energy bill, the minimum wage, and ethics reforms, they failed to put a timetable on the Iraqi war and conceded on a raft of domestic issues. More »

Legislation that would have granted retroactive immunity for phone companies that cooperated in the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program was abruptly withdrawn by Senate majority leader Harry Reid late yesterday. The legislation, favored by the White House, had deeply divided Democrats. Reid said the Senate would deal with the bill in the next session. More »

In an attempt to quell the ongoing housing crisis, the Senate approved a bill today that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to back refinanced loans for the thousands in danger of defaulting on mortgages. The bill, which passed 93-1, also repositions the FHA as an attractive alternative to subprime lenders by lowering minimum down payments and offering homeowner counseling. More »