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Category: Administration

Votes Scheduled on Supreme Court Nominee This Week

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The Senate Judiciary Committee is currently scheduled to officially vote today on the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to become the next Supreme Court Justice. The committee is expected to clear the nominee for floor consideration for later this week.

It is unclear at this point how the nomination vote will play out once it reaches the floor. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) has announced his intention to filibuster against the nomination. On the other hand, it is being reported that the Senate Republicans, in response, are considering changing the Senate rules to do away with the filibuster against Supreme Court justices. At the same time, a number of Democrats have indicated that they plan to vote for the nominee.

UW Federal Relations will provide additional updates.

Two More Cabinet Nominees Clear Committee

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On March 30, the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee reported out the nominations of Sonny Perdue and Alexander Acosta for the posts of Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Labor, respectively.

The nominations now head to the full Senate for its consideration.

Drama Continues in Congress

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With the full House currently scheduled to take up the Obamacare repeal-and-replace healthcare bill later today, as of this writing, it still remains uncertain as to whether the White House and the House Republican leadership have been able to convince enough holdouts to get the legislation across the finish line. Many sources report that negotiations between many of the conservative opponents and the White House and the leadership continued throughout yesterday and last evening. At the same time, there are also reports that many of the concessions which may have been offered to the conservatives may have, in turn, alienated some of the moderates who were uneasy about the underlying legislation.

The situation on this front remains fluid and the Office of Federal Relations continues to monitor the situation.

On the other side of the Capitol today, the Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its questioning of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. The confirmation hearing is expected to wrap up this week, with the committee voting on his nomination in early April.

Also taking place today is the Senate Agriculture Committee’s confirmation hearing for Agriculture Secretary nominee Sonny Perdue, the former governor of Georgia.

NASA Transition Authorization Bill Signed Into Law

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Earlier today, the NASA Transition Authorization of 2017 was signed into law by President Trump. The bipartisan bill was adopted unanimously in both chambers of Congress. Historically, different presidential Administrations have sought to emphasize different areas of the agency’s broad mission and expertise, and the legislation was an attempt, in part, to provide stability for NASA during the first part of the transition to this Administration.

 

FBI: No Wiretaps

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During a public hearing that lasted most of the day before the House Intelligence Committee, FBI Director James Comey stated publicly neither the FBI nor the broader Justice Department have any evidence to confirm the Trump White House allegation that Trump was wiretapped. At the same hearing, Comey also publicly acknowledged that the FBI has an investigation under way to examine, among other things, possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign.