SENATE MOVES CLOSER TO CONFIRMING WILLIAM BARR
President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general could be in office by the end of the week after senators voted to move forward on his nomination.
The Senate voted 55-44 on Tuesday to proceed with William Barr’s nomination, setting up a confirmation vote in the next day or two.
Three Democrats voted with Republicans — Sens. Doug Jones of Alabama, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
U.S. commander: North Korea hasn’t slowed its nuclear program.
WASHINGTON»
A top U.S. commander said Tuesday that he has not seen any effort by North Korea to curtail its nuclear weapons program since President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un met for nuclear talks last year.
Army Gen. Robert Abrams testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee ahead of Trump’s second meeting with Kim later this month in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The U.S. hopes North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for an end to punishing international sanctions.
Trump may get parade after all, but don’t call it that.
WASHINGTON» President Donald Trump may get his parade after all. Just don’t call it a parade.
Trump said Tuesday that he’s exploring the idea of holding a parade called “Salute to America” around July 4. The Lincoln Memorial is under consideration for the event, which he said would be more like a “gathering.” He’d also like the event to become a tradition.
“We’re thinking about doing, on the 4th of July or thereabouts, a parade. A ‘Salute to America’ parade,” Trump said at the White House.
McConnell wields Green New Deal as bludgeon against Dems.
WASHINGTON»
The Senate will vote on the Green New Deal, a moonshot plan by Democrats to combat climate change, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, announcing a move designed to force Senate Democrats — including a cast of presidential candidates — into a political bind.
The plan, initially championed by freshman Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez, calls for a New Deal-style mobilization to shift the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels such as oil and coal and replace them with renewable sources such as wind and solar power.
Republicans have mocked it as a progressive pipedream that would drive the economy off a cliff and lead to a huge tax increase, calling it evidence of the creep of “socialism” in the party.
Ex-astronaut Mark Kelly makes Democratic bid for Senate seat.
PHOENIX»
Retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who became a prominent gun-control advocate after his wife and former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in a failed assassination attempt, announced Tuesday he will run to finish John McCain’s last term in the U.S. Senate.
If he wins the Democratic nomination, Kelly would take on Republican Martha McSally in what is expected to be one of the most closely contested Senate races of the 2020 election.
— Denver Post wire services