Doggone! Another Trump Victory Which Will Have Long Lasting Results

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Congress has handed Trump a historic presidential victory

• Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is giving President Trump yet another major victory on judicial nominations.
• None of this would have been possible without Harry Reid's decision to kill the filibuster.
• The result is Trump will get to fill the most federal judiciary vacancies in 40 years.

Jake Novak | @jakejakeny

Published 11 Hours AgoCNBC.com

Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images

Donald Trump

President Donald Trump should give special thanks to two U.S. Senators this Thanksgiving weekend. One is still serving in the Senate, the other recently retired. One is a Republican. The other a Democrat. And what should President Trump be thanking them for? Quite simply they have handed him one of the biggest victories any president could claim in the past 45 years.

Yes, this has happened even as one of the most widely covered stories of the past year has been President Trump's difficulties in working with Congress. The growing rift between him and Republican Senators John McCain, Jeff Flake, and Bob Corker alone has made headlines for months. For a U.S. president to have this many public feuds with senators from his own party this early in his presidency is really unprecedented and makes for hot news copy.

But that story ignores a bigger and longer-lasting development in the federal judiciary. That brings us first to naming the Republican gift giver: Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa. The longtime member of Congress has big time clout as the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And Grassley has just used that clout to eliminate one of the final hurdles in the already furious pace of Trump administration judicial appointments to the federal bench.

Late last week, Grassley decided not to honor a Senate tradition of holding up hearings for judicial nominees who aren't cleared by their own home state senators. That tradition is known as the "blue slip courtesy" born out of time before nationwide communication technology when a given state's senators had access to much more information about nominees than their colleagues from the rest of the country. Grassley correctly noted that Democrats were now trying to use the blue slips tradition to replace the filibuster, and he's having none of that. As recently as last month, the Democrats and much of the news media's punditry were expecting Grassley, who is no fan of the president, to keep the blue slip tradition in place. But Grassley gave Trump this very special gift instead.

And that brings us to the Democrat who provided the initial generous source of President Trump's solid triumph: Former Senate Majority Leader, and Democrat, Harry Reid. Reid is a major reason this good fortune has befallen President Trump because Reid was the one who killed the filibuster rule for judicial nominees in 2013. And when he killed it, it was gone for good.

Republicans were powerless to stop a series of President Obama's judicial nominees after that. That is, until they won control of the Senate in the 2014 elections. The GOP may have failed at using that majority to achieve much, especially making even a dent in Obamacare. But they were able to freeze the Obama nomination process in its tracks, most notably by delaying and eventually killing Merrick Garland's nomination for the Supreme Court.

That long period of confirmation obstruction has given President Trump a huge number of seats to fill; twice as many as President Obama's also large number of vacancies when he took office in 2009. The Christian Science Monitor reports this is likely the most vacancies for a president to fill in 40 years. And the Trump team hasn't been wasting much time.

For those who believe President Trump won the 2016 election thanks to a series of Democratic Party errors, this is cut from the exact same cloth.

Consider that as of November 3rd, 13 Trump nominees to the courts have been confirmed this year. The big name is Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, but we also have eight new federal appeals court judges, and four new U.S. district court judges. President Trump has now already surpassed the last four presidents' records for first-year judifical confirmations. And he's even tied President Ronald Reagan number of appeals court confirmations in year one.

But this isn't just about sheer numbers, it's about ideology too. While President Trump and conservatives have diverged in matters of policy several times over the past year, the judicial nomination process is decidedly not one of them. The nominees sent to the Senate from the White House are more conservative and even younger than what we saw during President George W. Bush's two terms in office.

In case the importance of making an impact on the courts is lost on anyone, just note the many setbacks the Trump administration has suffered this year alone thanks to the courts. Delays and changes to the White House-imposed travel and immigration bans have grabbed the most attention. But the administration is also dealing with judicial push back and other potential hurdles on everything from its opposition to the AT&T-Time Warner merger to its transgender military ban.

Now fast forward a couple of years where the Trump judicial appointment surge will have set in across the federal system. Just for this administration alone, that could make a huge difference. And for conservative causes and cases over time, it will be even more significant.

Sure, the tax reform and Obamacare repeal bills may be jeopardized by internal spats between the GOP and the White House. But real history is being made in the courts all thanks to a bad bet made by Senator Reid and remarkable cooperation between the Trump team, Senator Grassley, and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. While the fights with other senators like Flake et al may grab headlines, these judicial confirmations will have a much bigger impact.

And unless the Democrats win control of the Senate in 2018, there's nothing they can do about it.

So on this Thanksgiving weekend the most grateful person in America should be President Trump. An unlikely set of benefactors has truly given him the political gift that will keep on giving.

Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny.

UN Runs Sex Ring

Sick Child Sex Ring Exposed… Dems Will be Horrified by Who They Work for

BY DAVIS
ON APRIL 13, 2017 AT 11:14AM

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Many Democrats in America like to sing the praises of the United Nations. In their eyes, the U.N. can do no wrong and it’s the solution to all the world’s problems.

Unfortunately, reality is much different than that. In fact, the U.N. actually can cause more problems than it solves. U.N. peacekeepers who are sent to bring stability to nations often end up committing gruesome acts, The Associated Press reported.

In Haiti, according to the AP, U.N. peacekeepers would often use food and money to lure children — sometimes as young as 12 — into having sex with them, yet not one of these monsters has been brought to justice.

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This same horror happens all around the world, but nothing is ever done to stop it.

The lack of justice for these victims stems from a classic U.N. problem — a lack of accountability. Legally, the U.N. cannot prosecute peacekeepers. Only the countries from which these peacekeepers originate can do that, and most often they simply don’t.

“If I heard that a U.N. peacekeeping mission was coming near my home in Chattanooga,” Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker stated to the AP, “I’d be on the first plane out of here to go back and protect my family.”

Republicans have been calling for reforms at the U.N. for years, and now that President Donald Trump is in office, it is entirely possible that those reforms can take place.

Democrats should take a long hard look at the reports of rape and sexual violence that are carried out by peacekeepers before they start singing the praises of the U.N.

While the U.N. was a good idea at the time it was created (in the aftermath of World War II), history has shown that it is simply another failed experiment that should be thrown out.

The U.N. is powerless to do anything. If this organization can’t even prosecute its own people for raping children, why should we expect them to do anything to stop world leaders who are committing genocide against their own people?

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H/T WZ

Share this on Facebook and Twitter and let us know what sort of reforms you think Trump should push for at the U.N.

What do you think should happen to those who do this? 

Another Big Fight Coming

Senate braces for fallout over Supreme Court fight

BY JORDAIN CARNEY - 03/28/17 08:28 PM EDT 315

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Senate will vote on Gorsuch on April 7: McConnell

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Senators in both parties are gearing up for a showdown over Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) confidently predicted on Tuesday that the Senate would confirm Gorsuch on April 7, before lawmakers leave town for a two-week recess.

But as Democratic opposition grows, leaders are signaling they’re prepared to push the chamber to the edge as President Trump’s pick comes up for a vote — even if it means using the “nuclear option” to change the Senate’s rules.

“We’re going to get Judge Gorsuch confirmed,” McConnell told reporters during a weekly press conference. “It’ll be an opportunity for the Democrats to invoke cloture. We’ll see where that ends.”

Pressed on if he would have the votes within his conference should Democrats initially block Gorsuch’s nomination, McConnell said he was “confident” the judge will join the Supreme Court.

But Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) returned his own rhetorical fire, arguing that Gorsuch faces a heavy lift to get the 60 votes — including the support of at least eight Democratic senators — he will need to avoid a filibuster.

“It’s going to be a real uphill climb for him to get those 60 votes,” Schumer told reporters.

Facing a mountain of pressure from progressive groups, a growing number of Democrats are coming out against Gorsuch’s nomination.

As of Tuesday evening more than half of the conference has announced opposition. So far, only one senator — Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) — has explicitly said he’ll vote for cloture.

If Republicans can’t get enough Democratic support for Gorsuch’s nomination, they could go nuclear and get rid of the 60-vote filibuster on Supreme Court nominees.

McConnell would need 50 members of his conference to back the change, allowing him to lose two GOP senators and bring in Vice President Pence to break a tie.

No Republican has yet said they wouldn’t support a rules change if Democrats block Gorsuch’s nomination, but a growing number of GOP senators are urging their colleagues to find a way to avoid that fight.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) took to the Senate floor on Tuesday, pleading with his colleagues to talk to each other and find agreement.

“I hope somehow or another we’ll have the ability to avoid what I see as something that’s very, very detrimental to the United States, and in the process very detrimental to our country,” he said.

Corker added that unless senators are able to avoid going nuclear, the Senate will eventually turn into a “six-year House term.”

Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Susan Collins (Maine) are also walking a fine line, refusing to either implicitly support or directly rule out using the nuclear option if Democrats block Gorsuch’s nomination.

“I really hope that it doesn’t come to that,” Collins told reporters. “I don’t want to change the rules and the Senate, and I hope we’re not confronted with that choice.”

It wouldn’t be the first time the Senate nearly went nuclear only to back down. In 2005, the bipartisan “Gang of 14” reached a deal to avoid getting rid of the filibuster on all judicial nominations in return for Democrats limiting which nominees they would try to block.

Collins, McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are the only three members of the group left in the Senate.

Manchin, who is up for reelection in a state that Trump won by more than 40 points, signaled on Tuesday that he’s huddling with colleagues about how to preserve the 60-vote procedural threshold for Supreme Court nominees.

“I want to make sure I’m talking to my colleagues and everything and see if we can get to a point where we can prevent from going to, basically a blow up, if you will, the nuclear option,” he told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Manchin confirmed that the red-state lawmaker will help get Gorsuch’s nomination over the procedural threshold.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) said separately that Gorsuch should get an “up-or-down vote” but didn’t specifically say she would vote for cloture. She remains undecided on a final vote on his nomination. 

“I’m in the process of reviewing the materials he submitted and testimony from his hearing before the Judiciary Committee while I continue to consider his nomination,” she said.

More mainstream Democrats, including Sens. Patrick Leahy (Vt.) and Ben Cardin (Md.), are hinting that they would also like to avoid a fight over the nuclear option.

Leahy, a former Judiciary Committee chairman, told a Vermont publication that he isn’t “inclined to filibuster” Gorsuch, but later appeared to walk back his comments.

“Unless #JudgeGorsuch provides REAL answers to written Qs & senators are given ample time for review & debate, he will be filibustered,” he wrote on Twitter.

Cardin said on Tuesday he would vote against Gorsuch’s confirmation but left the door open to helping him overcome the 60-vote procedural hurdle.

“I want to see what accommodations are made,” he said when asked if his opposition to Gorsuch also meant he would vote no on cloture.

He recommended that Schumer and McConnell get together and talk.

Republican leaders haven’t specifically said they would go nuclear on Gorsuch, but they’ve begun to lay the rhetorical groundwork for the decision by accusing Democrats of abusing their power.

“What our colleagues are doing are basically saying that no nominee of President Trump or any Republican nominee is going to get confirmed to the Supreme Court because they are going to require 60 votes to do so,” charged Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas). “This would be unprecedented in our nation’s history.”

Democrats are facing a mountain of pressure from both sides over Gorsuch’s nomination: outside GOP groups are pouring in millions of dollars, while progressive groups charge that supporting Gorsuch would be on par with enabling Trump.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is asking its members to target Leahy over his “squishy” comments, as well as Manchin and Michigan Democratic Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, warning them against supporting cloture on Gorsuch.

“Voting against the filibuster is the same as voting for Gorsuch. Republicans can easily win a confirmation vote that only takes 50 votes to win. But getting the 60 votes to break the filibuster would be much harder,” they wrote in their email to supporters.

Peters and Stabenow have both announced their opposition to Gorsuch.

Trump Follow The Mantra To Keep Friends Close And Enemies Closer.

Romney and Trump to discuss secretary of state position, NBC source says

Antonio José Vielma | @AJ_Vielma

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Romney and Trump to discuss Sec. of State position: NBC News  6 Hours Ago | 02:41

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will meet with Donald Trump this weekend to discuss the secretary of state position, a source close to the president-elect with direct knowledge of his thinking told NBC News.

In March, the former Massachusetts governor called Trump "a phony" and "a fraud" when discussing the then-candidate. Trump, who endorsed Romney in 2012, has called him a loser, adding that Romney begged for his endorsement and "would've dropped to his knees" for it. He has also said that he "choked like a dog" during his 2012 presidential campaign against President Barack Obama.

During the primaries, Romney campaigned with Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the Buckeye State. Last week after the election, however, Romney called Trump to congratulate him on his surprise win.

Others reportedly under consideration for the secretary of state position include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Another possibility is Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, who told CNBC on Wednesday he's "in the mix" for the job.

Separately, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told NBC News on Thursday he will not be in Trump's cabinet, instead choosing to focus on "strategic planning for the emerging Republican majority."

This story is developing. Please check back for further updates.

—NBC News contributed to this report.