The Senate voted 97-0 to confirm the judicial nomination of Nelson Roman.

Roman was confirmed Thursday to serve as U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

"I hear the president reducing or lowering American values by his comments" the Iowa Republican said.

Republicans will wait until after the Memorial Day recess to begin the process of passing annual appropriations bills for fiscal 2014.

"The majority leader announced we'll begin the process of funding our government in June through an open appropriation," Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said on the House floor Thursday.

Republicans once again rejected Democrats’ unanimous consent agreement to form a conference committee on the House and Senate budgets on Thursday.

Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Republicans are holding the budget process “hostage” after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) objected for a fifth time to appointing conferees to work out the massive difference between the House and Senate budget resolutions.

The legislation allows government to borrow money to fulfill bondholders and Social Security payments. 

A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday went to the Senate floor to call on President Obama to take tougher action against Syrian President Bashar al Assad, including arming his opposition and possibly missile strikes.

In a colloquy, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) all said Obama should put military pressure on the Syrian regime by arming rebel groups fighting the Assad regime.

Graham and McCain have long been hawkish on Syria, but the pressure from Levin and Menendez points to growing support in Congress for tougher actions against Syria.

McCain even suggested that the U.S. could use precision strikes to target Syria's ballistic missiles and chemical weapons.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday that President Obama’s trip to Austin, Texas, was “a great way to at least look like you’re doing something about job creation."

“Today, the president plans to travel to Austin, Texas. I understand his trip includes a visit to a technical high school and a chat with workers,” McConnell said. “The idea, I presume, is to show folks that the White House has once again ‘pivoted’ to jobs. And if you’re someone who’s all about the visual, then of course putting on a pair of goggles or showing up at a factory is a great way to at least look like you’re doing something about job creation.

“Whether or not that means you’re actually getting the job done — well, that’s a different story.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) vowed that GOP obstructionism would not stop the Senate from voting on the nomination of Tom Perez to serve as the Labor Secretary.

“My Republican colleagues can try every trick in the book — and I’m sure they will — but I assure Mr. Perez … will have his day in the Senate,” Reid said on the Senate floor Thursday morning.

Nevada's House delegation is fighting back over a new bias against holding government conferences at resorts and casinos, and has proposed a bill that would prevent discrimination toward Las Vegas and other resort cities as conference sites.

The federal government has reason to be shy about holding meetings in resort cities — the General Services Administration (GSA) held an infamous $800,000 retreat in Nevada in 2010 that drew universal scorn from members of Congress. That criticism has prompted several federal agencies to scale back travel plans, find alternative conference sites or cancel trips altogether.