New Breed Leader
New Breed Leader's JournalTed Cruz holding up all State Dept nominees over Russian pipeline
What's he hiding?
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/ted-cruz-holding-all-state-department-nominees-over-russian-pipeline-n1273009?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma
WASHINGTON - The Senate’s push to confirm nominees to critical diplomatic positions has ground to a halt over objections from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is holding up all State Department nominees to pressure the Biden administration over Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, four people with knowledge of the situation told NBC News.
Thirteen nominees approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are in indefinite limbo as Cruz delays full Senate confirmation in an effort to get the administration to reverse its waiver of sanctions on the company overseeing the pipeline's construction. In most cases, the nominees would fill roles unrelated to U.S. policy toward the pipeline, which would carry natural gas from Russia to Germany.
Among those being blocked are Brett Holmgren, awaiting confirmation as assistant secretary of State for intelligence, and Daniel Kritenbrink, tapped for assistant secretary overseeing East Asia and Pacific affairs. Two undersecretaries — some of the most senior roles in the department — are also being held up, including one that oversees human rights and democracy.
President Joe Biden’s pick for assistant secretary for international narcotics and law enforcement is also among those being delayed. Cruz is also holding up nominees for ambassadorships to a half-dozen African countries, including Somalia, Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A Cruz spokesperson referred NBC News to previous reporting about Cruz’s efforts to block State Department nominees, but did not comment on why the senator is holding up positions that are unrelated to the pipeline. The State Department declined to comment.
Cruz previously held up key Biden nominations over his concerns about the pipeline, including CIA Director William Burns and Deputy Secretary of State Brian McKeon. But the senator ultimately allowed those nominations to proceed after the Biden administration indicated in March that it would slap sanctions on companies building the pipeline.
The State Department did impose sanctions on some Russian ships and entities involved in the pipeline, but waived them on the company behind the pipeline, to the dismay of Republicans and Democrats alike who oppose the nearly complete conduit. The Biden administration said it was in U.S. national security interests to waive the sanctions, which are opposed by U.S. ally Germany.
The project will double Russian gas shipments to Germany while bypassing Ukraine, whose economy relies on fees from gas that transits through the country. Lawmakers from both parties fear that could increase Russia’s leverage over the former Soviet republic.
AZ GOP lawmakers strip the Dem SoS of authority in election lawsuits
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1408623572516577285A dire warning about Ron DeSantis
https://twitter.com/KwikWarren/status/1407782382619463685?s=19https://twitter.com/KwikWarren/status/1408035069952991238?s=19
Parliamentarian: Dems only get one more chance to sidestep GOP this year
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The bombshell ruling effectively means Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) will be able to use only one more reconciliation vehicle to pass Biden's key legislative priorities this year. He will not be able to divide up the $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan and the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, as well as Biden's calls to expand Medicare and lower the price of prescription drugs, into multiple reconciliation packages, as was envisioned only a few weeks ago.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/556483-parliamentarian-democrats-only-get-one-more-chance-to-sidestep-gop-this-year
Happy Birthday Stevie Wonder
A reminder from Walter Shaub: Stay engaged
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1389552647821316098Agency run by Trump holdover is delaying stimulus to SSI/SSDI recipients
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_605bae35c5b6531eed018de9?ns
Millions of disabled and retired Americans are still waiting for their $1,400 stimulus payments because of a holdup at the Social Security Administration, House Democrats said Wednesday.
Social Security hasn’t handed over payment information that the Internal Revenue Service needs to send the coronavirus relief checks to nearly 30 million people receiving retirement or disability benefits, Democrats said.
We understand that these beneficiaries are waiting because the Social Security Administration has not sent the necessary payment files to the Internal Revenue Service,” House Ways and Means Committee chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said in a letter to Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul.
Liberal Librarian: Joe Biden and the DC Press Corps: A love story
https://establishmentbar.blogspot.com/2021/03/joe-biden-and-dc-press-corps-love-story.html?m=1#disqus_threadThe fact of the matter is that the DC press was fine with Trump. He abused them to their faces, put their lives in danger, but at least he paid them attention.
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