Senate

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday accused Democrats of trying to "blow the Senate up" in order to jam through President Obama's nominees.

The Republican leader blasted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for considering the "nuclear option" — changing Senate rules through a majority vote — to prevent a filibuster of Obama's judicial and Cabinet nominees.

“He’s been trying to get 51 votes on his side to blow the Senate up,” McConnell said. “What I fear is that the majority leader is working toward breaking his word to the Senate and the American people and blowing up this institution. … He wants to have no debate — ‘Do what I say and do it now.’”

The Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would criminalize making fraudulent claims about receiving military metals.

Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) introduced the Stolen Valor Act, which passed in the House on a 390-3 vote earlier this week. Heck served in the military prior to running for office.

The Senate rejected a farm bill amendment that would have reformed the U.S. sugar program.

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) introduced an amendment that would have reformed the subsidies and import restrictions on sugar within the United States. The amendment failed on a 45-54 vote Wednesday.

The Senate voted 99-0 on Wednesday on a resolution that calls for strengthening U.S. and international sanctions against Iran.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced the resolution, which would reaffirm the United States’ support for Israel and recognizes the threat a nuclear Iran would pose to the West. 

The Texas Republican said that he doesn’t trust members of his own party to negotiate a budget conference report.

The Senate rejected a farm bill amendment that would have turned food stamps into a state block grant program.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced the amendment, which he said would have saved $300 billion over 10 years. The amendment failed on a 36-60 vote on Wednesday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Democrats are trying to exercise a "power grab" by rushing the nomination of Srikanth Srinivasan to serve on the D.C. Circuit Court.

“Senate Democrats were incensed that Republicans had the temerity to exercise their advice and consent responsibility to block a grand total of one — that’s right, one — nominee to the D.C. Circuit,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

“What did our Democrat colleagues do in response? They consulted with the White House and pledged to pack the D.C. Circuit with appointees, quote, ‘one way or the other’ — meaning using the nuclear option.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called on Republicans to work with Democrats to keep student loan rates low.

If Congress doesn’t act by July, student loan interest rates will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) bucked members of his own party Tuesday by objecting to a GOP request to prohibit budget committee conferees from raising the debt ceiling.

“If my colleagues on this side of the aisle think that we are helping our cause as fiscal conservatives by blocking going to a conference on the budget, which every family in America has to be on, because of certain requirements that they demand, then we are not helping ourselves with the American people at all,” McCain said of his own party.

The Senate rejected two amendments to the farm bill Tuesday that would have changed the $4 billion-worth of cuts to food stamps.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) introduced an amendment that would have cut at least an additional $12 billion for the supplemental food assistance program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. His amendment failed on a 40-58 vote.

“My goal is simple to restore integrity to the supplemental food assistance program,” Roberts said ahead of the vote.