Supreme Court vacancy watch Day 228: Oops
It's Thursday, September 29, and Day 228 since Justice Antonin Scalia died and Mitch McConnell decided no nominee would get any Senate attention: No meetings, no hearings, no votes. It's also Day 197 since Merrick Garland was nominated by President Obama to fill that vacancy.
It's all over but the gloating about having done the bare minimum to keep the government's light on until November 14. Well, gloating and regrets over the thing they did yesterday that now maybe they should reconsider.
U.S. lawmakers on Thursday expressed doubts about Sept. 11 legislation they forced on President Barack Obama, saying the new law allowing lawsuits against Saudi Arabia could be narrowed to ease concerns about its effect on Americans abroad.A day after a rare overwhelming rejection of a presidential veto, the first during Obama's eight years in the White House, the Republican leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives opened the door to fixing the law as they blamed Obama, a Democrat, for not consulting them adequately.
"I do think is worth further discussing," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, acknowledging that there could be "potential consequences" of the "Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act," known as JASTA.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said Congress might have to "fix" the legislation to protect U.S. service members in particular.
So, there's that. As White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says, it's "a pretty classic case of rapid onset buyer's remorse." The law, which provides an exception to the legal principle of sovereign immunity in cases of terrorism on U.S. soil, could increase tension with Saudi Arabia which is already heightened over the Iran nuclear agreement. And it might be a slightly cavalier thing to do to the law surrounding sovereign immunity. But they'll think about all that later.
That and how to fund the government after December 9, the last day of funding in the continuing resolution that passed last night and the president signed today. And whether or not to do anything about that Supreme Court vacancy. And hell, maybe even a replacement plan for Obamacare. But we'll all be lucky if they manage just that government funding bit.
Can you chip in $3 to each of these candidates to end Mitch McConnell's Senate leadership?