Niels Lesniewski
@nielslesniewski
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CQ and Roll Call Chief Correspondent niels (AT) https://t.co/KvESZqUoJ1 niels.lesniewski (AT) https://t.co/w8HtMmUQSV On other platforms, too.
Joined May 2010
BREAKING: Christmas Eve is now a federal holiday in 2020, according to an executive order signed Friday by President Trump.
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I believe we learned today that President Trump hasn't actually ordered any American manufacturer to make anything for the COVID-19 response.
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Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) speaking on the Senate floor tonight:. "I don't want to pack the court. I don't want to change the number. I don't want to have to do that, but if all of this rule-breaking is taking place, what does the majority expect? What do they expect?".
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Several Senate Republicans have been unreachable today.
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"I don't quite understand why" federal workers are needing to go to food banks, says Secretary Wilbur Ross on CNBC.
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The Secret Service has established a what it is calling a "Green Zone" in the heart of Washington, D.C., with National Guard to check reasons for entry.
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Star Tribune: Minnesota's three Republican congressmen flew home on a @Delta flight from Washington, D.C., Friday night, despite airline restrictions on passengers recently exposed to COVID-19-positive people such as President Donald Trump.
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Inbox: Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) introduced the Saving American History Act of 2020, a bill that would prohibit the use of federal funds to teach the 1619 Project by K-12 schools or school districts.
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USPS says "extraordinary measures" to help get election mail delivered commenced on Oct. 21 & that "it would be a good idea" to mail ballots due on Election Day by TOMORROW.
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Mitt Romney says, "The egregious ploy to reject electors may enhance the political ambition of some, but dangerously threatens our Democratic Republic.".
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President Trump on the COVID-19 pandemic, per the pool:. "If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any.".
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According to the White House pool, it appears the president is going to be spending Father's Day golfing with Lindsey Graham.
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Biden tonight, per pool:. “I’ve served with real racists. I’ve served with Strom Thurmond. I’ve served with all these guys that have set terrible records on race. But guess what? These guys are worse. These guys do not believe in basic democratic principles.”.
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@djrothkopf So, I actually asked about this . UPS responded that only USPS can lawfully issue postmarks, so it doesn't work in any state with a postmark deadline.
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President Trump says that hopefully the courts will stop ballots from being counted past November 3rd.
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Senators on the Intelligence Committee delayed leaving for recess to meet with Jim Comey. This feels serious.
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Exclusive: Pentagon Document Contradicts Trump’s Gold Star Claims.
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If you believe Donald Trump WON THE ELECTION [which he did not], then you also believe Mike Pence will still be vice president and therefore the Georgia Senate races won't affect Senate control. [this is the logic problem now facing the Senate GOP].
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I can only read so many stories about whether or not President Trump is a Republican. He controls the RNC.
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Senators Perdue and Loeffler just called on Georgia's Republican Secretary of State to resign.
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McCain, praises Trump's natsec team, but:. "I don't pay much attention anymore to what the president says because there's no point in it.".
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New statement from President Biden on the death of Henry Kissinger is, well, brief.
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Late night dispatch from the White House pool. President Biden had an exchange with reporters as he was returning to the White House, including this:
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Something I just noticed in the DC Mayor's mask order:
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"Are we to be conservative all the time or only when we're in the minority?" says @RandPaul, distilling this whole debate to a sentence.
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Bill Cassidy:. "Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty".
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Murkowski now locking in the pro forma schedule. No recess appointments.
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Trump campaign announces that Pence is holding a MAGA rally on Thursday in Arizona.
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New from DC Health:. "of 375,988 fully vaccinated individuals, DC has recorded 200 breakthrough cases, or just 0.05% of all fully vaccinated individuals".
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I may be new to the White House beat, but since the White House put this @ZekeJMiller question verbatim in the official transcript, I think it's fair game:
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If you have brunch plans in Georgetown, but you don't have a COVID vaccine yet, may I suggest a detour?
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MCCAIN on that Mar-a-Lago photo? "I would suggest that the president get a briefing on the handling of classified information.".
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Maybe ABC and NBC should surprise the two candidates and have them appear together for a debate by satellite. Dare them to walk away.
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One question, once a vaccine for COVID-19 is developed, will be how to distribute it. Not sure anyone else remembers the long lines from the H1N1 clinics back in 2009. I remember being in line with, actually, @jaketapper and family for what seemed like hours.
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Missed today's White House COVID press briefing because I was getting my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
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Lisa Murkowski is the top authorizer AND the top appropriator for the Department of the Interior.
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Full Trump quote:. "We'll see what happens at the end of the day [on Election Day]. Hopefully it won't go longer than that. Hopefully the few states remaining that want to take a lot of time after November 3rd to count ballots, that won't be allowed by the various courts.".
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Matt Gaetz wants to ban the IRS from purchasing ammo.
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CBS announces they will be airing the Comey hearing on the network.
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A rare intimate moment in the Trump impeachment trial.
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The Navy today declared that the USS John McCain will now be named after @SenJohnMcCain in addition to his father and grandfather.
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The headlines not mentioning the crowd not social distancing, or the Hatch Act questions, is a choice.
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Conservative senators really concerned about mandatory minimums didn't have to let Senator Sessions become Attorney General Sessions.
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Geraldo is going to get federal aid delivered to Puerto Rico. For real, because the president will see his reports on Fox.
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At 7:01 p.m., the Senate has adjourned for August recess. No legislating until Sept. 5. Pro forma sessions will block recess appointments.
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If you're awake at this hour on the East Coast, CVS has vaccine appointments available all over the place. All over the place.
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Since the former president is now using the justified shooting of an insurrectionist as a rallying cry, it seems reasonable that every Republican lawmaker going on TV should be asked about it.
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As a reminder, when Sen. Ted Cruz was running for president, he said in New Hampshire: . "I mean, we're liable to wake up one morning and Donald, if he were president, would have nuked Denmark.".
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Will any Democrats follow President Trump's lead and be on the air this morning to blame him for the Dow dropping something like 900+ points at the open today?.
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Inbox:. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) will hold a press conference on Monday in Milwaukee with families from across the country who will share their experiences regarding adverse reactions to Covid-19 vaccines and how the medical community has repeatedly ignored their concerns.
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Rather than a series of tweets, another approach would be to simply show up on the Senate floor after the 1:45 p.m. vote tomorrow and say, "Mr. President, I object." to whatever recess pro forma schedule the majority leader wants to set up.
It’s unfathomable that the Senate is set to go on recess without considering any additional #COVID19 assistance for the American people. Anyone who thinks now is the time to go on recess hasn’t been listening. Coloradans and Americans alike have sacrificed and are hurting.
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Schumer and Blumenthal says they are prepared to sue the National Archives if a Kavanaugh-related FOIA request isn't honored.
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Newly announced appointments by President Joe Biden:. José Andrés, Co-Chair, the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition. Elena Delle Donne, Co-Chair, the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, & Nutrition.
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If you know anyone 65+ in Connecticut, there are plenty of COVID vaccine appointments available Sunday, all over the place.
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@JenniferJJacobs Does that mean they're going to claim the debate is pre-taped and edited by the liberal media?.
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"The president in the next week or so will be laying out his vision for health care," McEnany said. "In the coming, I would say, two weeks.".
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As a reminder, a week ago, Sen. McCain issued a statement saying "The Congress must now return to regular order" on health care.
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Schumer has a sign with McConnell quotes from after Scott Brown won in Massachusetts.
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The NRCC just used this image in a fundraising email.
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This White House statement seems rather unusual .
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Just to be clear, he's literally saying that making it easier to vote makes it harder for Republicans to win.
Why is Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger working so hard to add drop boxes and take other steps to make it harder for Republicans to win. Is he really that intimidated by Stacey Abrams?.
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According to the Johns Hopkins data, D.C. is at a 1.30% positivity rate for COVID-19, and yet cases keep turning up connected to the White House.
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It appears from the tweets I'm seeing that some Super Bowl viewers are unaware that Puerto Rico is part of the United States.
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Sounds like @ChrisMurphyCT, @SenBlumenthal and other senators are reading the names of gun violence victims into the Congressional Record tonight.
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Chairman @ChuckGrassley at a Washington Post event, about @realDonaldTrump tweets:. "Listen, the president could solve all of his problems if he'd just show his wife the tweet before he punches the send button.".
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INBOX: Senator Tillis Tests Positive for COVID-19. ADD TO THE LIST:
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We haven't even reached the deadline for Florida overseas ballots postmarked on Election Day to be received.
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It's February. Lindsey Graham is still Judiciary chairman. There are no Agriculture or Budget chairmen. The Senate is still not organized.
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I wonder if we're going to see a wave of resignations from mid-level political appointees. Or nominees withdrawing from consideration.
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As I indicated yesterday, the ducks found the duck ramp.
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Oh boy:. NEWS CONFERENCE: Senators Graham, McCain, Purdue, Johnson and Lee on healthcare reform. Time: 5:15pm.
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While President Trump was speaking, his lead in Georgia fell to 3,645 votes.
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Interesting phrasing: the House resolution setting up the January 6th committee says 5 of the 13 members "shall be appointed after consultation with the minority leader" not "on the recommendation of the minority leader.".
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I was just thinking back to this exchange during the debate, which I mentioned in my story though it obviously wasn't the headline.
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I'm still on vacation, but I'm just going to say: a senator submitting legislative language to the White House is an interesting approach to the separation of powers.
New: Sen. Josh Hawley has submitted language to Mark Meadows & the White House that would add language to the latest skinny bill to create a fully refundable tax credit for home schooling expenses, a source familiar with the stimulus negotiations tells me.
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Reminder: Mike Lee, Ben Sasse, Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham can stop anything President-elect Trump wants to do that requires Congress.
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Again. If there's NO EVIDENCE of contacts then the leaks weren't real. This does not square.
Hse Intel Cmte Chair Nunes says "major crimes" were committed in leak scandal.
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Rep. Gosar is touting federal aid from the American Rescue Plan going to help with COVID-related airport sanitization.
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So . the Senate Armed Services Committee has adopted an amendment from @SenWarren directing the Pentagon to take the names of Confederates off of U.S. military assets within 3 years.
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Given this morning's news, this is going to be an interesting (and perhaps ill-advised) lunch.
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Reminder: it's a dinner, so there's catering contractor staff that will be exposed to unmasked members-elect from all across the country.
House Dem and GOP leaders are holding respective dinners for new members. @SpeakerPelosi told me it’s safe. “It’s very spaced,” she said and there is enhanced ventilation and the Capitol physician signed off.
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The predictability of the "debate" after a mass shooting is tiring. I could write the statements of just abut all 100 senators.
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I'm up front about the fact I had a stroke many many years ago, so I may not be an unbiased observer here, but closed captioning seems to me to be a reasonable accommodation.
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The thing about the Congressional Record is that it doesn't go away. From Mike Pence's H.R. 581 in the 109th Congress:
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Just so we're clear: tomorrow is February 6th and the Capitol Police have done ZERO press conferences about what happened on January 6th. And that's apparently acceptable to all Members of Congress because none of them have forced the USCP's hand.
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I am endlessly confused by people who look for Sen. McConnell in his Russell office.
And now they are holding a press conference outside McConnell’s office. They are saying they ran on political activism and are now bringing it to Congress.
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Don't forget the wide stance.
"Discussions of surrogacy" now enters the Euphemism Hall of Fame right next to "hiking the Appalachian Trail".
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Sounds like someone wants the media talking about itself for the rest of the weekend.
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McConnell this morning with a warning for businesses engaging with "far left mobs"
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Major pharmacy chains — Albertsons/Safeway, CVS, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens — will offer later hours every Friday this month to promote vaccination.
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Just occurred to me. The President of the United States went to Phoenix and didn't wish John McCain well in his cancer treatment.
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