U.S. Senate

A “new form of obstructionism” by Republicans in the Senate is delaying confirmation of Obama’s nominees for federal judgeships, writes Doug Kendall, president of the Constitutional Accountability Center, in Slate today.
With only three of 22 judicial nominees confirmed so far, it “seems clear that Senate Republicans are prepared to take the partisan war over the [...]

While judges must recuse themselves from cases where financial interests are at stake, members of Congress regularly invest in the very companies they regulate.

In a sign that he may be giving up hope in his bid to hold onto his U.S. Senate seat, Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) has taken a consulting job with the Republican Jewish Coalition, The Hill reports.
A Coleman spokesman insists that the move is purely financial and reflects no sense of pessimism about the race.
“The senator [...]

Mark Ambinder has a post running under the headline, “Provocation of The Day: Coleman Could Still Win.” He argues:
The Minnesota canvassing board doesn’t certify a winner; it simply certifies a count. Here we are in the contest phase. In legal terminology, it’s a de novo trial – totally new. It’s not an [...]

In the latest news from the never-ending saga that is the Minnesota Senate race, DFLer Al Franken is asking the Minnesota Supreme Court to force state leaders to certify his electoral victory and send him to the U.S. Senate.
Yesterday, Franken sought Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s (D) signature of the [...]

DFL Senator-apparent Al Franken today asked Minnesota’s governor and secretary of state to certify his election victory so that he can provisionally join the U.S. Senate while his opponent, former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman’s legal challenge is resolved.
At the end of the statewide recount, Franken led by 225 votes, and today he sent letters to [...]

Our brethren at The Minnesota Independent have a nice rundown of what the coming weeks will bring in the complex U.S. Senate battle in Minnesota. But for the link-averse among you, I’ll provide a rundown of the rundown:
Basically, Republican Norm Coleman is contesting DFLer Al Franken’s election victory on three fronts. First, he says that [...]

Former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson, a Republican, is the latest public figure to urge incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman to concede defeat in the state’s protracted U.S. Senate battle, reports TWI’s sister site, The Minnesota Independent. But all indications are that Coleman and his lawyers will contest the election and prevent the challenger — and now-certified [...]

Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan — who is currently campaigning to keep his job — is accusing Senate Democrats of trying to steal the U.S. Senate election in Minnesota, and he expressed confidence that incumbent Republican Norm Coleman will emerge victorious.
Here’s his press release in full:
“Minnesota law reads that an election contest – not [...]

At 3:30 ET today, the Minnesota State Canvassing Board is expected to declare Al Franken the winner of his U.S. Senate race against incumbent GOP Sen. Norm Coleman, and Senate Democrats may try to seat him tomorrow when the new Congress is sworn in, according to Congressional Quarterly.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told CQ [...]