S.A. Miller
Articles by S.A. Miller
Obama immigration executive action to haunt Democrats, Republicans warn
Citing the precedent being set by President Obama, Democrats should brace themselves for new tax cuts, a rollback of environmental regulations and a raft of other unilateral steps bestowed through executive action as soon as the next Republican president takes the oath of office, GOP lawmakers warn. Published November 20, 2014
GOP will turn ‘nuclear option’ to its advantage
Under pressure from a large faction of rank-and-file members, Senate Republican leaders are warming to the idea of keeping the rule change known as the "nuclear option" that Democrats imposed to end filibusters of nominations. Published November 19, 2014
Jason Chaffetz voted chairman of House Oversight Committee
Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz won a hotly contested race Tuesday to become the next chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, putting him in charge of the panel that has doggedly pursued the Obama administration on issues ranging from the IRS targeting scandal to the Fast and Furious gun-walking operation. Published November 18, 2014
Larry Hogan, Maryland governor-elect, includes Democrats on transition team
Preparing to launch a Republican administration in deep-blue Maryland, Gov.-elect Larry Hogan on Monday introduced a transition team that included some familiar Democratic faces as he moved to avoid some of the partisan confrontations that stymied the state's last Republican governor. Published November 17, 2014
Elizabeth Warren joins Senate Democrats’ leadership team, continues meteoric rise
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's meteoric political rise as a liberal rabble-rouser landed her a job on Senate Democrats' leadership team Thursday, as the party voted to return all of the top leaders who presided over last week's devastating election losses. Published November 13, 2014
Elizabeth Warren gets leadership post by Senate Democrats
The Senate Democratic Caucus will have fewer members as the minority party in the next Congress, but they will have a larger leadership team. Published November 13, 2014
Senate Democrats to tackle Keystone, NSA snooping in lame-duck session
With just a few weeks left in power, Senate Democrats want to clear the decks of spending bills and force votes on dozens of President Obama's judicial nominations, but a brewing fight over the Keystone XL oil pipeline already has split Democrats and proved a major distraction. Published November 12, 2014
Nancy Pelosi leadership secure for now, but House Democrats eyeing successors
Many of House Democrats are privately eyeing a post-Nancy Pelosi era, saying they think she will cede power when President Obama's tenure ends in two years. Published November 11, 2014
Democrats press for minimum wage hike after ballot successes
The success of ballot measures that raised the minimum wage in four red-leaning states provided one of the only bright spots for Democrats in an otherwise bleak midterm election and vaulted the issue to top of the agenda for President Obama and his beleaguered party. Published November 9, 2014
Obama vows to use executive action on immigration before new GOP Congress is sworn in
President Obama said Sunday that he plans to proceed with an executive order to ease immigration laws before the end of the year, despite dire warnings from Republican leaders that it will damage his relationship with the new GOP-run Congress. Published November 9, 2014
George Bush says brother Jeb ‘wrestling’ with decision to run for president
Former President George W. Bush put the odds at 50-50 that his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, will run for president in 2016. Published November 9, 2014
Obama didn’t get the message from voters, says new GOP senator
Sen.-elect Shelley Moore Capito said Sunday that President Obama did "not really" get the message that voters sent in the midterm elections when they gave Republicans complete control of Congress. Published November 9, 2014
House Republicans expand majority to near-historic size
The wave of GOP victories in elections Tuesday expanded the Republican majority in the House to near-record levels, sweeping out longtime Democratic incumbents in solid blue Northeast states and from some of the party's last vestiges in the South. Published November 5, 2014
Sandra Fluke defeated in California state Senate race
California voters overwhelmingly rejected birth-control crusader Sandra Fluke in her bid for state Senate Tuesday, as she lost by 22 percentage points. Published November 5, 2014
Election beating yet to turn Senate Democrats against Harry Reid
Despite devastating loses, Senate Democrats showed little sign of ditching the leadership team that led them to an Election Night disaster. Sen. Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who will lose his job as majority leader in the new GOP-run Senate, appeared ready to run for minority leader. Published November 4, 2014
Pryor loses Arkansas; Cotton wins 2nd GOP Senate gain of the night
Republican Thomas Cotton emerged victorious in the U.S. Senate race in Arkansas, defeating incumbent Sen. Mark L. Pryor Tuesday and solidifying the GOP's hold on a state that not long ago was dominated by the Democratic Party. Published November 4, 2014
Undecided voters unpredictable, unreliable, but could decide control of Senate
Candidates trailing in polls and counting on a boost from late-deciding voters to put them over the top on Election Day probably should be working on concession speeches instead. Published November 3, 2014
Brown, Hogan neck and neck heading into Maryland election
Democrat Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown and Republican Larry Hogan called in the big guns for the final week of a tight race for governor in Maryland, with national organizations and top political figures joining an election battle that will decide whether the Democratic Party keeps its lock on power in the state. Published October 29, 2014
Democrats use race-baiting fliers to spur black vote
The spate of campaign fliers that use images of lynchings, Jim Crow laws and the recent racial unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, to urge blacks to vote in next week's election somehow failed to grab the attention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Published October 29, 2014
Joni Ernst inches ahead of Bruce Braley in Iowa home stretch
Republican Joni Ernst has widened her lead over Democrat Rep. Bruce Braley in Iowa's race for U.S. Senate, according to a new poll released Wednesday. Published October 29, 2014