It's Tuesday, April 27 and Day 74 since Justice Antonin Scalia died and Mitch McConnell laid down his Supreme Court blockade: No meetings, no hearings, no votes on his replacement. It's also Day 44 since President Obama named Merrick Garland to be Scalia's replacement. What's the Senate doing today instead of considering the Supreme Court nominee?
They're acting a lot like the House, in that a whack-job tea party guy is trying to totally upset the apple cart of Senate Majority Leader McConnell's carefully-laid “doing stuff” plan. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who just can't keep himself from getting in trouble on crazy Iran stuff, is going crazy on Iran—again. He's trying to inject a poison pill into McConnell's energy and water appropriations bill, the "'first test' for the GOP's goal of passing the 12 individual appropriations bills,” as Texas Sen. John Cornyn calls it.
Democrats are raising the alarm over an amendment from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) that would block the government from using federal funds to buy Iran's heavy water, which can be used in nuclear reactors.
"The administration made it clear they will veto the bill over this, and we know that it's politically charged," Durbin told reporters. Asked whether Democrats would block the legislation, Durbin added that they were "in a strong position going to the floor."
This is so outrageous even California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein had to get snarky about it, calling out Cotton's amateur move to tank a bill his leadership is using as a showpiece. That bit of poison from Cotton did indeed halt the bill in its tracks. It did not pass a cloture vote.
So that's pretty much Congress all over. And no, there is no movement toward actually having a hearing on Garland's nomination.
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