Questions tagged [senate]
Use for questions related to any legislative body referred to as a "Senate". Combine with the appropriate country tag. A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature or parliament.
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What is the meaning of "acting" for position like South Asia director in the NSC? Do non-acting appointments for that have to confirmed by the Senate?
In relation to "Mr. Stuart Seldowitz, Acting Director for South Asia, NSC": what does "acting" there mean in terms of the length of Seldowitz's tenure in that job? Did he have to ...
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Is it legal in the US to offer a candidate money to drop off a senate race to run against another candidate?
Hill Harper just tweeted this:
I didn’t intend for a private phone call to turn public. But now that
it has, here’s the truth.
One of AIPAC’s biggest donors offered $20m if I dropped out of the
U.S. ...
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4
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1
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Can the California governor appoint a non-resident as Senator?
Dianne Feinstein, longtime California senator, passed away last week. There is still some time left on Feinstein's term, so Gavin Newsome (CA governor) has appointed Laphonza Butler to fill the ...
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Who are all of the "Democrats in Menendez’s chamber" and for that matter, what exactly is a "chamber" in this context?
CNN's September 23, 2023 Rep. Andy Kim announces he’ll run against NJ Sen. Bob Menendez in wake of his indictment includes the following passage:
Many New Jersey Democrats swiftly called for the ...
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Why do some US senators, like Joe Biden, Mitch McConnell, Dianne Feinstein, etc., last for so long in the Senate?
Is it because they are so good, there is no one better than them and therefore people keep voting for them for decades? Or is it because their respective party deliberately does not put forward anyone ...
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2
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How is Senator Tuberville able to block all military promotions?
It has been widely reported that Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is somehow single-handedly holding up all military nominations and promotions in the US Senate:
AP: Why a single senator is blocking ...
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4
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1
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Motion to reconsider a definitive decision
In the United States Senate (and other bodies) there's a thing called the motion to reconsider, which is about taking a second vote on a matter the body has already voted on. In the Senate it's part ...
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What exactly does one do and not do as an independent US senator who "caucuses with the Democrats"?
Politico's June 15, 2023 ‘Blood on your hands’: Duckworth blasts Sinema for pilot training proposal contains the following sentence:
Sinema, who caucuses with the Democrats, did not immediately have ...
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1
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Can a discharge petition be used to advance judicial nominations during Senator Feinstein's absence?
Democrats hold a thin 11–10 majority in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Dianne Feinstein is currently absent from the Senate due to health issues. Without her vote, the committee is deadlocked ...
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Are there famous examples of left-wing reforms blocked by the French Senate?
The French Senate is often described as a bulwark of the right and of the rural areas, due to the indirect way in which it is elected (more or less by local councilors, as I understand). I've looked ...
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How did H.R. 8393 not pass the Senate? [closed]
Who was against it? Surely a majority of Democrats would be in favor of having another Democratic seat, to say nothing of the horrendously undemocratic status quo?
Did the Republicans threaten to ...
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1
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1
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Why is 2 U.S. Code § 30b in the statutes at all?
2 U.S. Code § 30b specifies certain Senate procedures involving Senators objecting to proceedings. (It appears that the intent was to make it clear which Senator was doing the objecting.)
There is a ...
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2
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Why not require a three-fifths majority to pass a bill in the US Senate instead of using a filibuster?
From my reading on the filibuster, I get the impression that the filibuster in the US Senate today is equivalent to requiring a three-fifths majority. Why doesn't the Senate just change the rule to ...
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2
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What would happen in the Senate if the Majority party is divided in their election of Majority Leader?
Currently in the House the Republican party is divided, causing (so far) 8 failed votes for Speaker. My understanding is the House cannot do anything until a Speaker is chosen, so they will just keep ...
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How is the minimum age of candidacy for the Senate enforced?
According to this US Senate article, it can be enforced by the Senate. Could the Senate just not remove them? Or would that go to the courts? I remember something-or-other about the sovereign right of ...
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How was Sinema and Tester's amendment able to provide cover while being dramatically unpopular?
Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Jon Tester (D-MT) wrote an amendment to the Omnibus Spending bill that allowed centrist Democrats to vote against Mike Lee's amendment attempting to continue Title 42 (or, ...
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2
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Where can I find the Senate vote for Lynn Scarlett to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior?
The Deputy Secretary of Interior is appointed by the President with the advise and consent of the Senate. I cannot seem to find the voting record for this woman who became Deputy Secretary of the ...
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1
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What makes the "Nuclear Option" in the US Senate a precedent that its chair has to uphold?
Let me first sum up what the nuclear option is, as far as I understand it : a cloture vote happens, carrying more than half of the votes but less than the required supermajority. Pursuant to the ...
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What was the median difference between governor and Senate results in 2022?
I am curious about what the effect of split-ticket voting is/was in 2022. There appears to have been a decent amount of it when Warnock put the Senate election into a runoff and Brian Kemp won almost ...
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2
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Do US Senate election run-offs run ad infinitum?
Watching the events unfold from across the pond (I am a UK citizen) I am keen to learn the systems in place with the elections in the US.
I have seen that just like in the 2020 general election (Why ...
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If both houses together are called Congress, why does Congressperson refer to members of the House of Representatives?
The US Senate is referred to as the upper house of Congress. And the 'House of Representatives' which is also part of Congress, is referred as the lower house.
A member of the US Senate is called a ...
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In which house of Congress of the USA is a bill introduced first?
US Congress has two houses, Senate (called Upper house), House of Representatives ( Lower). When a bill is introduced, which house is it supposed to be first or can it be introduced in either? Are ...
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Is there a public source for US senate amendments?
I've recently come into a discussion about a part of the Inflation Reduction act that was struck by the Senate after Mr. Graham's Point of Order.
When I discuss about laws, I always like to have the ...
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7
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Why is Manchin the only Democratic Senator leveraging the 50/50 vote split for the benefit of their state?
In theory, all 50 Democratic Senators can use their vote to demand something from Chuck Schumer or other Congressional leaders. But in practice we only hear about Joe Manchin following this strategy ...
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How was the Senate able to discuss and vote on all the amendments to the Inflation Reduction Act?
The US Senate spent the past weekend debating and voting on the Inflation Reduction Act. This spreadsheet lists nearly 300 amendments that were introduced during this time.
How were they able to ...
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2
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Presidential appointments are made with "advice and consent" of the Senate. Are there examples of "advice"?
The Constitution says that Presidential appointments (e.g. Cabinet members, federal judges, SCOTUS Justices) are made with the advice and consent of the Senate. I've seen many hearings and votes on ...
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Why would the Senate not confirm a SCOTUS nominee?
Why would the Senate ever not confirm a SCOTUS nominee? The same President would just appoint someone else, so it will be someone else with the same ideology. Does it basically mean "This person ...
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Does the US public find credible excuses by some Senators that Justices who overturned Roe had misled them in Senate hearings?
Two or even three US Senators have said that [future] justices that ultimately overturned Roe had essentially lied to them, or at least seriously misled them in the Senate hearings on their ...
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What would happen if a Senate nominee dies several months before the election?
According to an article by the Washington Post, Senate nominee John Fetterman's (D-PA) stroke before the primaries was near-fatal. This made me wonder... if Fetterman was to unfortunately die, what ...
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Constitutional limits on the Standing Rules of the Senate
According to this comment by @RickSmith:
"Congress may not 'ignore constitutional restraints or violate fundamental rights, and there should be a reasonable relation between the mode or method ...
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2
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When was the last time a Vice President chose to let a tied Senate vote fail, without using their negative casting vote?
I was reading a recent question on why a Vice President might choose to use a negative casting vote on a tied vote in the Senate rather than just letting the motion fail by withholding their vote, ...
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3
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Why would a Vice President cast a negative vote?
The Constitution allows for the Vice President to vote on an issue if the vote is equally divided. There have been a number of occasions when the Vice President has cast a negative vote, see here.
Why ...
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When is the US Senate required to pass bills unanimously?
According to the BBC News website, the US senator Rand Paul has managed to delay approving financial aid package to Ukraine:
Paul, who has historically opposed spending on foreign aid, refused to ...
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Why is Joe Manchin a member of the Democratic Party when he consistently votes against them?
From his Wikipedia page, Joe Manchin appears to be a Republican pretending to be a Democrat to get elected in a state that is solidly Republican, but has returned him since 2010. He gets huge ...
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"motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table" & "Madam president... I note the absence of a quorum" What do these mean? Why funny?
In CNN's April 8, 2022 Applause erupts in Senate chamber after Brown Jackson is confirmed there is this little vignette between US Vice President Kamala Harris and the Senate Majority Leader Chuck ...
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1
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How and to what extent did the US Senate block or prevent the patenting of the Confederate Flag?
In the recent CNN video Cruz calls Biden's Supreme Court promise 'offensive' and 'insulting' former US senator Carol Moseley Braun responded to comments from US Senators Ted Cruz and Roger Wicker ...
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Can the Senate confirm a SCOTUS nominee before the seat is vacant?
The media is reporting that Justice Stephen Breyer plans to retire at the end of this year's court term.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer issued the following statement regarding the confirmation ...
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7
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US Constitution amendment restriction on Senate - is there a way around it?
According to Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution (emphasis added):
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the ...
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Why Democratic party in the US push for Voting Rights Bill while most of the Democrat's voters live in urban areas and are from middle class?
These days Voting Rights Bill is a political hot topic and Democrats are pushing to get it passed in the Senate.
It seems most of the Democrats' voters reside in urban areas and are from middle social ...
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Does the US Senate have the equivalent procedure, to a no-confidence vote, for the Majority Leader? [duplicate]
This is in light of Sen. Manchin (D-WV)'s fairly unambiguous break with the Democratic party, in declaring firm opposition to the BBB bill.
CONTEXT
For practical purposes, Manchin was voting as a ...
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Politico's "Sinema rakes in Pharma and finance cash..." A salient issue and an exceptional pattern of donations, or just cherry picking of statistics?
Politico's October 15, 2021 Sinema rakes in Pharma and finance cash amid reconciliation negotiations begins
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) raised more campaign money in the last three months than in ...
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6
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1
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How big a short term debt ceiling increase is McConnell agreeing to?
Senate Republicans have thus far refused to raise the debt ceiling, which needs to be raised by October 18 to prevent the US Government from defaulting on the national debt. They have been insisting ...
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6
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Why doesn't the US have party discipline?
Two Senators are refusing to vote for Joe Biden's infrastructure bill, so I was wondering why the U.S does not have a party discipline system.
As the name suggests, if a majority of people in a party ...
- 507
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1
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What new reconciliation powers has Schumer obtained?
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell just sent a letter to President Biden explaining why Senate Republicans don't intend to vote to raise the debt ceiling, which needs to be raised by October 18 to ...
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1
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Where can I find written rulings of the Senate Parliamentarian?
Many topics in the news recently refer to rulings made by the Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough. However, so far, I've not been able to find links to the actual text of those rulings. Does ...
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What danger(s) does Chuck Schumer see in using reconciliation to increase debt limit?
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that if Congress does not raise the debt limit by mid-October, 2021, the U.S. could default, which could have macroeconomic implications.
The Senate minority ...
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Isn't 50 +1 not enough to increase the debt ceiling and avoid a government shutdown
Currently, the Senate is split 50/50 but the Democrats have the presidency or they have a slim majority in the Senate.
My question is do the Democrats need a Republican vote to increase the debt ...
- 575
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Could Republicans keep the Senate split 50-50 indefinitely by refusing to confirm a Vice President?
The United States Senate is currently (August 2021) split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. As such the Vice President gets the deciding vote:
The Vice President of the United States shall be ...
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Can the vice president ask for a roll call in order to stop a pro-forma session
Youtube edutainer CGPGrey posted this video explaining at the linked timestamp, a pro-forma session of the Senate.
He explains that the Senate can "take a recess" without officially doing so,...
user39482
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1
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To what legislation is Sen. Hagerty referring "that threatens liability for ... companies that do not ... censor ... speech."?
In Americans, Not Government, Are the Arbiters of Truth, July, 29, 2021, by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) for National Review, Hagerty complains that
When the White House doesn’t like what Americans are ...
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