“I believe and I believe my caucus believes that we need big, bold action, and we’re going to figure out the best way to get big, bold action on a whole lot of fronts,” Schumer said, vowing that “people are going to be forced to vote on them.”
But the White House on Tuesday sought to avoid the issue in some ways: Biden didn’t take questions from Democratic senators on Tuesday during a brief, eight-minute call to their weekly luncheon.
The call ended up serving as a pep rally ahead of the vote this week on the relief measure, but by taking no questions, Biden also avoided hearing from liberal senators about the filibuster or the push for a $15 minimum wage, which was included in the initial COVID-19 relief bill passed by the House early Saturday morning but is now on ice.
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Republicans hope they can persuade a centrist Democrat to flip on Becerra just as Manchin did on Tanden because of her harsh criticism of fellow senators on Twitter.
A group of Republican senators led by Sen. James Lankford
The ad running in West Virginia calls the Becerra vote “a big test for Joe Manchin,” hitting him over Becerra’s stance on guns and coal, two big issues in the state.
The ad’s narrator says the nominee “thinks guns are a health crisis and wants to ban them” and “is against coal” and “tried to ban it from California ports.”
House Democrats ambitious agenda set to run into Senate blockade thehill.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehill.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“After examining Representative Deb Haaland’s qualifications, reviewing her hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and meeting with her personally, I will vote to confirm her to be the Secretary of the Department of the Interior,” Collins said in a statement.
She cited Haaland’s work on a bipartisan conservation bill that passed last year as one reason for her support.
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“While we certainly have different views on some issues, her role in helping to shepherd the Great American Outdoors Act through the House will be beneficial to the Department’s implementation of this landmark conservation law, which I cosponsored. I also appreciate Representative Haaland’s willingness to support issues important to the State of Maine, such as Acadia National Park, as well as her deep knowledge of tribal issues,” the senator said.
House Democratic leaders back Shalanda Young for OMB after Tanden withdrawal thehill.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehill.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.