Dick Durbin

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Unless He Resigns, Senate Likely Stuck With Burris

The embattled Senator, though lacking support, pledges to dig in and fight

(Newser) - Whatever problems Roland Burris had being seated in the Senate, they pale in comparison to the problems the Senate will have getting rid of him, the Los Angeles Times reports. Expulsion from the Senate requires a two-thirds vote; the last senators to be formally booted were alleged rebel supporters during...

Senate Dems Don't Have Votes to Pass Stimulus

Senate moderates, GOP insist on stripping out billions

(Newser) - President Obama’s first big bill, the stimulus package passed by the House, lacks the votes to clear a Senate filibuster, reports the Washington Post. Senate moderates are proposing to strip $200 billion in spending to win GOP supporters. Says Democratic whip Dick Durbin, “100 decisions” will be “...

America Is Now Truly the Land of Lincoln: Durbin

Obama's election makes the dream of the Founding Fathers more real than ever

(Newser) - Abraham Lincoln's dream of extending the liberty set out by the Founding Fathers to all Americans comes one step closer to reality with Barack Obama's inauguration today, Sen. Dick Durbin writes in the Hill. Obama's election represents a “new summit” in America's long struggle to be "one nation,...

He's a Heartbeat Away From Junior Senator

Lawyers meet today; Durbin says Senate will back ruling on Burris

(Newser) - A ruling could come today on whether Roland Burris can take Barack Obama’s Illinois Senate seat, Politico reports, with his lawyers meeting with the Senate’s legal counsel to discuss various documents certifying him for the job. Illinois’ secretary of State didn’t sign papers from embattled Gov. Rod...

Obama Not Looking Back on Torture
Obama Not Looking Back
on Torture
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Jan 11, 2009 11:46 AM CST

Obama Not Looking Back on Torture

Bush says GOP 'got whipped;' Burris claims seat, 'no question'

(Newser) - Saying his administration will be “looking forward,” Barack Obama suggested he won’t pursue criminal charges against national security officials accused of committing crimes in President Bush’s war on terror. The president-elect also told ABC’s This Week that closing Guantanamo Bay—a key tenet of his...

Senate Homeowner Aid Moves Big Step Closer

Citi drops opposition to Senate proposal

(Newser) - A Senate plan to help struggling homeowners keep their houses moved closer to fruition yesterday as Citigroup ended its opposition to the bill, the Wall Street Journal reports. The measure would allow so-called “cramdowns,” in which judges in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases could set lower principal and interest...

Pols: No Stimulus By Jan. 20
 Pols: No Stimulus By Jan. 20 
Jan 4, 2009 6:58 PM CST

Pols: No Stimulus By Jan. 20

Republicans voice opposition to Obama's plan

(Newser) - President-elect Barack Obama’s massive economic stimulus bill may not move as quickly as Democratic leaders had hoped, Politico reports. Republicans began suggesting alternatives to the plan today, and House Democrats now say they likely won’t vote on the bill until the week of Jan. 19 or later. Obama’...

Senate Sends Mixed Messages on Burris
Senate Sends Mixed Messages on Burris
Talk Show Roundup
Jan 4, 2009 12:06 PM CST

Senate Sends Mixed Messages on Burris

Durbin says no, Reid open to talking, and Burris a no-show

(Newser) - Roland Burris dominated the Sunday morning tongue-wagging, though the would-be senator himself was a no-show, reports the Hill. Elsewhere, mixed messages on whether to seat him:
  • Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said on This Week that the Senate has no plans to seat Roland Burris. Burris was scheduled to appear alongside
...

Cold Fish Blago Made Few Allies in Home State

Disgraced governor's failure to return phone calls contributes to current isolation

(Newser) - Rod Blagejovich made little effort to forge bonds with Illinois lawmakers, and that cold shoulder is helping them go untainted by his scandal, Politico reports. "It makes it plausible for people to say, ‘I really didn’t have much contact with him,’” one analyst said. Still,...

Sit Tight: Blago Isn't Going Anywhere Yet

Dismissing calls for resignation, guv says it's 'business as usual'

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich is innocent—or so says his attorney, as the Illinois governor returned to work for what his office called "business as usual." In the face of unanimous disgust and calls to resign from across the Democratic party, Blagojevich has no plans to step down. According...

Arrest Will Ripple Beyond Illinois Politics

Will Blagojevich still appoint Obama replacement?

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich’s arrest will reverberate well beyond Illinois, Chris Cillizza writes in the Washington Post. Most immediately, it drastically reshapes the race to fill Barack Obama’s Senate seat, which the Illinois governor still has power to fill. If he even makes a pick, it’ll have to be...

How He Almost Didn't Run
 How He Almost Didn't Run 
Nov 7, 2008 2:20 PM CST

How He Almost Didn't Run

Obamas struggled for months about Barack's White House bid

(Newser) - Barack Obama needed months to be persuaded that he should run for the White House, and wife Michelle, who had veto power, finally agreed on one condition: that he give up smoking. The tidbit appears in Part 1 of a seven-installment Newsweek series reported along the campaign trail on...

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin's Daughter Dies

Durbin faces re-election Tuesday for third term

(Newser) - Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin’s daughter died yesterday from a congenital heart condition, CNN reports. “Chris Durbin, 40, fought a heroic lifelong battle with heart disease,” said a spokesman. Durbin, who worked at the Department of Agriculture for 16 years, leaves behind a husband and a son. Her...

A Convention Outsider Moves to Center Stage

In '00 Obama couldn't get a seat; in '04 he wowed the crowd

(Newser) - Barack Obama arrives in Denver today one election away from the presidency—a far cry from the 2000 convention, when he couldn't even get a seat on the floor. As Al Gore received the Democrats' nomination in Los Angeles, the state senator barely had enough money to rent a car....

FBI Looks to Expand Powers of Investigation

Agency wants to open cases without reason for suspicion

(Newser) - The Department of Justice is aiming to relax restrictions on the FBI so agents can investigate people without any clear reason for suspicion, congressional Dems tell the New York Times. The plan, which may be revealed in September, has attracted concern, including a letter from four Democratic senators warning that...

How McCain Became a Senate Power
How McCain Became a Senate Power
ANALYSIS
Jul 21, 2008 9:00 AM CDT

How McCain Became a Senate Power

After 2000 defeat, he remade himself as master dealmaker

(Newser) - Prior to his 2000 bid for the White House, John McCain spent more time mocking his fellow senators than compromising with them. But after his defeat, the Arizona legislator returned to the Senate with a softened demeanor and got down to the business of legislation. The New York Times looks...

'Too Old' Byrd to Critics: Shut Up!

Senator, 90, flexes muscle at hearing

(Newser) - 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...

Party Pooh-bahs to Clinton: Lose and Go Home

2 Obama backers, NM governor, stress party unity

(Newser) - Top Democrats are urging Hillary Clinton to quit if she can’t score big in Tuesday’s primaries, the New York Times reports. Senators John Kerry and Dick Durbin, both Obama backers, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson pressed her today to consider party unity if she loses in Texas...

Senate GOP Stymies Dem Housing Relief

Republicans say plan to aid homeowners would inflame crisis, hurt lenders

(Newser) - Capping a week of gridlock, GOP senators yesterday blocked consideration of a Democratic-backed housing-relief bill. The mortgage industry had fought hard against the proposal, which would allow judges to slash interest rates for low-income homeowners facing bankruptcy, the Washington Post reports. The bill also included billions of dollars for local...

Bush Spars With Senators Over Housing Fixes

Democrats and Republicans push to go further; feds don't want 'bailout'

(Newser) - Congressional Democrats are pushing for new bankruptcy rules to help homeowners suffering from the mortgage crisis, the Washington Post reports—though the White House says it will veto any plan that could hurt lenders and send mortgage rates upward. Democrats say enough Republicans from hard-hit states could join them in...

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