Tag: Congress

Ellison Will Resign from Congress If Elected DNC Chairman

Following up on this report in the Washington Times yesterday, as well as pressure from other DNC candidates and Democratic Party insiders, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) told his hometown newspaper he would commit to being a full-time Democratic National Committee chairman if he is elected to the position:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison will vacate his congressional seat if he wins the chairman job at the Democratic National Committee, he told the Star Tribune Wednesday morning.

Ellison conceded Wednesday that a full-time chair is what the party wanted after the losses of the 2016 presidential and congressional elections. He said he came to the decision after difficult soul-searching and hearing from the more than 400 voting members of the DNC who said they wouldn’t vote him as long as he was a sitting member of Congress.

The previous chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was a Florida congresswoman.

“Serving my neighbors in Congress and fighting for them has been the best job I’ve ever had,” Ellison said, in an e-mail. “Whether it was for immigration reform, worker’s rights, gender equity, or social justice, we stood side by side so that every person in American … is treated with respect and given every opportunity to succeed. Until the DNC Chair election, I plan to continue doing just that.”

If Ellison wins and vacates his seat, Minnesota governor Mark Dayton – a Democrat – will call for a special election in 2017 to fill the seat, which represents the reliably Democratic stronghold of Minneapolis.  Ultimately, the Democratic minority in the House of Representatives wouldn’t change or be affected much.

By pledging to do so, Ellison takes the issue off the table for the rest of his candidacy. Whether that will lead to more support for his candidacy among committee members – the 447 party insiders who will elect the next chairman – remains to be seen.

Senate Democrats Urge Heitkamp and Manchin to Turn Down Trump Offers

Following up on this story from a few days ago, CNN’s Manu Raju and Ted Barrett are reporting Senate Democratic leaders Charles Schumer and Dick Durbin are urging their colleagues Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Manchin to not accept any positions in the Trump administration, at the risk of weakening the Democratic Party’s hand in the Senate.

Neither Heitkamp nor Manchin would say much about the nature of their discussions with the incoming administration, but when Manchin was asked about the possibility of the GOP picking up his Senate seat if he were to take a job with the administration, he said, “The people of West Virginia sent me here… I got to do what I can to make sure I’m helping my people.”

If Trump picks one or both of them to be in his cabinet, that would leave Democratic ranks in the Senate at 53-47 or 54-46 for at least the next two years. Depending on the political winds two years from now, the Republicans could potentially expand on that majority during the midterm elections, though the general historical trend has been that the party in power loses congressional seats during midterms.

DNC Chairman Candidates and Democratic Senator Respond to DAPL Decision

There was a big development over the weekend in the ongoing protests about the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in North Dakota: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied the easement for the DAPL to be built under Lake Oahe, a big win for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe which had opposed the project.

Here is how the declared candidates for the DNC chairmanship stand on the DAPL issue:

Rep. Keith Ellison:

South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison:

“I applaud the Army Corps for heeding the concerns of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and agreeing that an alternate route for the DAPL is needed to protect the safety and dignity of the nearby Reservation. While I was discouraged that the process proceeded as far as it did without necessary consultation, today’s announcement is a welcome indication that the Obama Administration has heard the voices of the Standing Rock Sioux and their many supporters. I hope the federal government builds on today’s decision to foster appropriate respect for Indigenous peoples in the future. And make no mistake: if the Trump Administration attempts to reverse today’s decision, or otherwise disregards the legitimate interests and concerns of Indigenous peoples, the Democratic Party will stand strongly with the first Americans.”

Because she is up for re-election in 2018, I’m also including Democratic senator Heidi Heitkamp’s statement as well:

“It’s long past time that a decision is made on the easement going under Lake Oahe,” said Heitkamp. “This administration’s delay in taking action — after I’ve pushed the White House, Army Corps, and other federal agencies for months to make a decision — means that today’s move doesn’t actually bring finality to the project. The pipeline still remains in limbo. The incoming administration already stated its support for the project and the courts have already stated twice that it appeared the Corps followed the required process in considering the permit. For the next month and a half, nothing about this project will change. For the immediate future, the safety of residents, protesters, law enforcement, and workers remains my top priority as it should for everyone involved. As some of the protesters have become increasingly violent and unlawful, and as North Dakota’s winter has already arrived – with a blizzard raging last week through the area where protesters are located — I’m hoping now that protesters will act responsibly to avoid endangering their health and safety, and move off of the Corps land north of the Cannonball River.

“Additionally, our federal delegation and governor have been working together in a bipartisan effort to push for more federal resources for law enforcement who have worked day and night through weekends and holidays to support the safety of our communities. The administration needs to provide those funds – whether the protesters remain or not.”

There is no statement from New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley at this time. This post will be updated if that changes.

UPDATE: I received the following statement from Ray Buckley:

“I am pleased that the Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to explore alternate routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline. We need to ensure the protection of sacred and historic tribal sites as an integral part of American history and our larger culture.

“This victory belongs to the people of the Standing Rock Reservation and all the supporters and protestors who have passionately defended the land.”

DNC Chair Candidates Publish Their Platforms

As the race for chairmanship and other elected leadership posts in the Democratic National Committee heats up, candidates have begun putting out their platforms.  Here are the ones that are out so far (Note that candidates with an asterisk next to their name are incumbents running for re-election):

DNC Chair Candidates
Sally Boynton Brown
Ray Buckley
Pete Buttigieg
Keith Ellison
Jehmu Greene
Jaime Harrison
Peter Peckarsky
Tom Perez
Sam Ronan
Robert Vinson Brannum

DNC Vice Chair Candidates
Michael Blake
Melissa Byrne
Mitch Ceasar
Maria Elena Durazo *
Liz Jaff
Lorna Johnson
Latoia Jones
Grace Meng *
Rick Palacio
Adam Parkhomenko

DNC Vice Chair of Civic Engagement and Voter Participation Candidates
Karen Carter Peterson
Melissa Fazli
Chris Reeves
Yasmine Taeb

Secretary Candidates
Ana Cuprill
Roberta Lange
Jason Rae
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake *

Treasurer Candidates
Joyce Amico
Bill Derrough

National Finance Chair Candidates
Henry Muñoz III *

Withdrawn/Did Not Run
Xavier Becerra (Opted not to run. Nominated Attorney General of California December 1.)
Howard Dean (Declared November 10. Dropped out December 2.)
Ilyse Hogue  (Opted not to run December 21.)
Steve Israel (Opted not to run)
Martin O’Malley (Opted not to run)
Vincent Tolliver (Declared for Houston DNC Forum January 28, expelled from the race January 31.)

As more candidates get in the race and publish their platforms, they will be added to this list.

Gillibrand Announces Opposition to Waiver for Mattis Nomination

New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand (a potential 2020 presidential candidate) announced that she would oppose a waiver in order for retired General James Mattis’s nomination as Secretary of Defense to proceed.

At issue: the National Security Act of 1947, a longstanding federal law saying nominees for Secretary of Defense must have been retired from active duty for at least seven years. Mattis retired as a four-star general in 2013, meaning that he couldn’t be eligible for the position until 2020 as the law currently stands. Getting around this law would require a congressional vote granting him a waiver, so he can be considered and the Senate can give him an up-or-down vote.

Mattis and the Trump administration have run into a possible snag: Democrats could require a 60-vote supermajority to grant Mattis the waiver, meaning they could unilaterally block his nomination if their expected 48-member caucus holds together with at least 41 votes.  Senate Democrats changed the rules in 2013 requiring only a simple majority to confirm executive branch nominees. Most Trump cabinet appointees could be confirmed on that rule change alone, but because the rule change did not apply to this potential vote on a waiver, the 60-vote threshold still stands. Gillibrand – who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee which would hold confirmation hearings for Mattis – will require a 60-vote threshold for the waiver, an aide told Politico.

Howard Dean Drops Out of DNC Chairman Race

Governor Howard Dean (D-Vt.) released this video for the Association of State Democratic Chairs meeting happening in Denver this weekend.

In addition to announcing his withdrawal from the race, he did not endorse another candidate and encouraged that whoever gets elected to the post take the job as a full-time position – a seeming reference to Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) who is a sitting member of Congress.  Based on the number of endorsements he has accumulated, Ellison remains the front-runner in the race, but that doesn’t mean anything at this point. The winner has to receive the votes of at least 224 out of the 447 voting members of the Democratic National Committee.

Dean’s withdrawal leaves three confirmed candidates in the race (Ellison, New Hampshire Democratic Party chairman Ray Buckley, and South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Jaime Harrison) which creates some interesting dynamics.

  • Two of the candidates (Ellison and Harrison) are African American. The other (Buckley) is white and openly gay. All three represent constituencies in the Democratic coalition.
  • Two of the candidates (Buckley and Harrison) represent the second and third states in the existing order of the presidential primaries. In both their cases it would raise legitimate questions about whether or not they would be willing to reform or significantly alter the primary calendar and nominating process, lest their home state lose power and influence over the process.
  • Two of the candidates (Buckley and Ellison) are over the age of 50.  Harrison is in his early 40s. This could create a generational divide in terms of outlook for the party’s future, priorities, values, etc. Harrison has said that if he is elected chairman, he will create a Vice Chair position to be filled by someone under the age of 35. Given that Hillary Clinton underperformed with millennials in the recent election, Harrison’s youth could be an asset.
  • Each of them come from states with different political leanings. Ellison represents an urban district in a solidly blue state (Minnesota). Buckley leads the party in a swing state with a track record of voting for both parties in federal, state, and local races (New Hampshire). Harrison leads the party in a solidly red state where Democrats have not been very successful in recent years (South Carolina).
  • Two of the candidates (Buckley and Ellison) come from states with predominantly white populations. Only Harrison comes from a state with a significant minority population – African Americans account for nearly 28 percent of South Carolina’s population according to the most recent census data. Ellison comes from and represents the Upper Midwest – the region of the country that determined the election. This could be an asset for him in making his argument.
  • All three candidates come from small states population-wise, according to the most recent census data. (Minnesota – 5.5 million, 10 electoral votes; South Carolina – 4.9 million, 9 electoral votes; New Hampshire – 1.3 million, 4 electoral votes)
  • Two of the candidates (Buckley and Harrison) are sitting state party chairmen. If either of them were elected, he would be a full-time DNC chairman.  Of those two, Buckley and his state party produced the best results in the recent election, delivering New Hampshire for the presidential and Senate races.  Ellison said he might be open to leaving his congressional seat to do the DNC chairman job full-time. The fact that Buckley and Harrison have had to run their state parties and have lived and operated outside of Washington D.C. could be an asset in making their case for why they can best lead and reform the party, as opposed to a sitting member of Congress who has lived and worked in the capital for years. The party’s recent experience with Debbie Wasserman Schultz could also make it averse to choosing another member of Congress as DNC chairman.

There is still the possibility of other candidates jumping in the race, particularly Ilyse Hogue (president of NARAL Pro-Choice America) and Stephanie Schriock (president of Emily’s List).

Former California Speaker John Perez Running for Xavier Becerra’s Congressional Seat

Former California Assembly speaker John Perez – who announced yesterday he was considering a run for DNC chairman – announced he will be running for Congress. This just in from Democratic strategist Dave Jacobson:

Perez apparently sent out a press statement shortly after the Becerra news broke.

If Perez is going to run for Becerra’s seat in California’s 34th congressional district, that would presumably take him out of contention for the DNC chairman race.

Becerra Chosen to be Next Attorney General of California

The Los Angeles Times just sent out a news alert announcing Governor Jerry Brown has appointed Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) to be the next attorney general of California, taking over for outgoing Attorney General Kamala Harris who was recently elected to the U.S. Senate.

More details:

Becerra, 58, has served 12 terms in Congress and was making a bid to become the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee when Brown called him unexpectedly to offer the job.

“It’s a phenomenal opportunity,” Becerra said. “It means I get to be home a lot more.”

Becerra, who is the highest-ranking Latino in Congress, would be the state’s first Latino attorney general.

He worked in the Civil Division of the attorney general’s office from 1987 to 1990 before entering Congress. Becerra earned a law degree from Stanford Law School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University.

He said in an interview Thursday morning he had always wanted to return to the office.

Becerra, if confirmed, would be the first attorney general appointed by a governor since Thomas Lynch, who was tapped by former Gov. Pat Brown in 1964.

The choice will no doubt send political shock waves through California because Becerra was not on any of the widely circulated lists of picks. Before Nov. 8, the conventional wisdom had been that the governor would choose a caretaker, perhaps even a career staffer who would simply carry out the office’s functions through the 2018 elections.

Becerra must be confirmed by the state Senate and Assembly, both handily controlled by Democrats.

The office of attorney general is perhaps second only to the governor in power, with broad authority to file sweeping legal action and defend California law.

UPDATE: Here’s the statement from Becerra:

 

Mark Warner Won’t Run for President in 2020

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told the Wall Street Journal that he would not be running for president in four years, despite the fact that he flirted with a possible run back in 2008. “I think that window is probably shut,” he told a group of WSJ reporters and editors. He also said he would look for areas and issues where he could cooperate with Republicans and the Trump administration. Warner is up for re-election to the Senate in 2020.

Democrats Weigh In On Party’s Direction, Message and Future

Several Democrats – including a DNC chair candidate, an Obama cabinet secretary, and a potential 2020 presidential candidate – penned a collection of mini op-eds for the Washington Post outlining their vision for the party and its future. All of them are worth reading.