Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee escalated their all-out war with Chairman Chuck Grassley Wednesday; boycotting the scheduled hearings surrounding six of President Trump’s judicial nominees.
“The committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (CA), and the other Democrats on the committee wrote a letter to Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley Monday demanding that he postpone the hearings until after recess when the Senate returns to Washington on November 13th,” writes Town Hall.
“The Committee has never before held nominations hearings while the Senate is in recess before an election,” Democratic Senators wrote. “The handful of nominations hearings that have been held during a recess have been with the minority’s consent, which is not the case here — in fact, we were not even consulted.”
Grassley slammed Feinstein’s complaints in a scathing letter released to Congressional lawmakers just hours later, saying “You specifically agreed not to object to the timing of hearings scheduled for October 10, 17, and 24.”
h/t Town Hall
BRAIN FREEZE: Feinstein ‘REGRETS’ Releasing Transcripts, Blames ‘BAD COLD’
Prominent Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said this week that she “regrets” publishing congressional interviews with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, saying a “bad cold” may have “slowed down her mental facilities.”
The liberal lawmaker was speaking with NBC News when she pressed to explain her decision to unilaterally release the transcripts without speaking with other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, mainly Chairman Chuck Grassley.
“The one regret I have is that I should have spoke with Senator Grassley before. And I don’t make an excuse but I’ve had a bad cold and maybe that slowed down my mental facilities a little bit,” said Feinstein.
Sen. Grassley expressed his confusion and outright anger over Feinstein’s decision earlier this week, saying he was “confounded” as to why she would release the transcripts without speaking with other members of the Committee.
President Trump himself weighed-in on the issue on social media Wednesday, blasting “Sneaky Dianne Feinstein” for releasing Congressional testimony in an “underhanded and possibly illegal way.”
The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018
DIANNE DENIED: California Democrats REFUSE to Endorse Sen. Feinstein
Longstanding US Senator Dianne Feinstein was harshly rebuked by California Democrats over the weekend; failing to secure enough votes to officially garner her party’s endorsement as she hopes to win her fifth term in office.
The Senator was unable to secure the 60% threshold necessary for the party to endorse a specific candidate, with upcoming progressive politician Kevin de Leon making deep inroads into Feinstein’s liberal base.
“With Democrats still licking their wounds from the 2016 election, some of the party’s biggest stars, including U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, urged unity ahead of the midterm elections,” writes ABC News. “They reminded more than 3,000 activists gathered this weekend that President Donald Trump is their common enemy.”
Kevin de Leon rose to prominence in recent months after authoring the party’s ‘Sanctuary State’ legislation, a bill that limits local authorities’ cooperation with federal authorities in cracking down in illegal immigration.
The party’s indecision highlights a major rift within the progressive movement, with politicians and activists unsure how to tackle President Trump and their GOP opponents ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.