May 13, 2018 - Politics & Policy

The Senate Democrats who keep saying no to Trump nominees

Expand chart
Note: Data is limited to 37 confirmation votes for cabinet, Supreme Court and top leadership positions in the executive branch; Data: U.S. Senate, Axios analysis of voting records; Graphic: Chris Canipe/Axios

A handful of Senate Democrats are committed to opposing President Trump’s executive branch nominations at every turn — and the group bears an uncanny resemblance to the rumored 2020 frontrunners.

Between the lines: Democrats like Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker have nothing to lose by voting against Trump's nominations — and a lot to gain with the Democratic voters they'll need if they decide to run for the White House.

The winner: The list is topped by Gillibrand, who voted to confirm David Shulkin (an Obama holdover) and Nikki Haley, but no others for prominent leadership roles. She was the lone vote against Jim Mattis as Defense Secretary.

The flip side: The Senate Democrats who have voted against Trump nominees the least include red-state Democrats Joe Manchin (16.2%), Heidi Heitkamp (16.2%) and Joe Donnelly (27%) — as well as independent Angus King (24.3%). Manchin and Donnelly are the only Democrats who have committed to voting to confirm Gina Haspel as CIA director.

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 32,471,119 — Total deaths: 987,593 — Total recoveries: 22,374,557 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 7,032,524 — Total deaths: 203,657 — Total recoveries: 2,727,335 — Total tests: 99,483,712 — Map.
  3. States: "We’re not closing anything going forward": Florida fully lifts COVID restaurant restrictions — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tests positive for coronavirus.
  4. Health: Young people accounted for 20% of cases this summer.
  5. Business: Coronavirus has made airports happier places —The expiration of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance looms.
  6. Education: Where bringing students back to school is most risky.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Mike Allen, author of AM
5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden pushes unity message in new TV wave

A fresh Joe Biden ad, "New Start," signals an effort by his campaign to make unity a central theme, underscoring a new passage in his stump speech that says he won't be a president just for Democrats but for all Americans.

What he's saying: The ad — which began Friday night, and is a follow-up to "Fresh Start" — draws from a Biden speech earlier in the week in Manitowoc, Wisconsin:

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan, Alayna Treene, Sam Baker
5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump prepares to announce Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court replacement

Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Photo: Matt Cashore/Notre Dame University via Reuters

President Trump is preparing to nominate federal appeals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, a favorite of both the social conservative base and Republican elected officials, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republican sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: Barrett would push the already conservative court further and harder to the right, for decades to come, on the most important issues in American politics — from abortion to the limits of presidential power. If confirmed, she would give conservatives a 6-3 majority on the high court.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow