Jan 30, 2017

The Senate is about to go nuclear

Susan Walsh / AP

Senate Democrats are prepared to block any Trump Supreme Court nominee.

Sen. Jeff Merkley told Politico on Monday that he will filibuster any pick that is not Merrick Garland, and that the vast majority of his caucus will oppose any nomination.

This is a stolen seat. This is the first time a Senate majority has stolen a seat ... We will use every lever in our power to stop this.

Why this matters: Mitch McConnell has said he wants to confirm a SCOTUS nominee without invoking the nuclear option, which would allow Republicans to push a nominee through with 51 votes. If Democrats won't cooperate, he'll be forced to decide between setting precedent and allowing Democrats to deny Trump a SCOTUS nominee.

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Orion Rummler
Updated 32 mins ago - Politics & Policy

In photos: Protesters clash with police nationwide over George Floyd

Police officers grapple with protesters in Atlanta. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray as the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd spread nationwide on Friday evening.

The big picture: Police responded in force in cities ranging from Atlanta to Des Moines, Houston to Detroit, D.C. to Milwaukee and Denver to Louisville.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 5,923,432— Total deaths: 364,836 — Total recoveries — 2,493,434 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 1,745,930 — Total deaths: 102,808 — Total recoveries: 406,446 — Total tested: 16,099,515 — Map.
  3. Public health: Hydroxychloroquine prescription fills exploded in March —How the U.S. might distribute a vaccine.
  4. 2020: North Carolina asks RNC if convention will honor Trump's wish for no masks or social distancing.
  5. Business: Fed chair Powell says coronavirus is "great increaser" of income inequality.
  6. 1 sports thing: NCAA outlines plan to get athletes back to campus.
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Orion Rummler
4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Zuckerberg says Trump’s “shooting” tweet didn’t violate Facebook’s rules

Mark Zuckerberg at the 56th Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany on February 15. Photo: Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Facebook did not remove President Trump's threat to send the National Guard to Minneapolis because the company's policy on inciting violence allows discussion on state use of force, CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained in a post on Friday.

The big picture: Zuckerberg's statement comes on the heels of leaked internal criticism from Facebook employees over how the company handled Trump's posts about the Minneapolis protests and his unsubstantiated claims on mail-in ballots — both of which Twitter has now taken action on.

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