The election of Indiana auto-parts magnate Mike Braun, former money manager Mitt Romney of Utah, and Florida businessman-turned-politician Rick Scott has doubled the number of business leaders in the Senate to a half-dozen. And now they’re hoping to bring some outside-the-Beltway common sense to the chamber. Braun revealed that he is thinking of forming a “Senate Business Caucus” of the lawmakers to steer policy. “I’m going to try to maybe organize a group of us that distinguish ourselves by the fact that we come from the real world,” he said, adding, “I hope that trend continues.” …
I picked the place to join @MajorCBS for @TakeoutPodcast this week, talking my first bill – “No Budget, No Pay” – securing the border, and taking a Hoosier business-minded approach to out-of-control spending in D.C. You can hear our full discussion this weekend. pic.twitter.com/4tHieElIhv
— Senator Mike Braun (@SenatorBraun) January 8, 2019
She has served since 2009 in the House, but now California Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier is encouraging younger women to push her and other older lawmakers out of office. “The sooner you shove all of us Baby Boomers out of Congress, and the millennials take over, a lot of the issues that we struggle with today in Congress will be dealt with,” Speier, 68, said in referencing topics such as gun control and same-sex marriage. “Push us out, the sooner the better,” she said at a book signing for her autobiography, Undaunted. …
Democratic communications warrior Jeremy Funk has joined as national press secretary at Allied Progress, a Washington-based consumer watchdog that targets Wall Street and their “friends” in Washington. Funk is noted for his rapid-response skills with the progressive super PAC For Our Future and issue-advocacy shop Americans United for Change.
Early predictions have Republicans keeping the Tennessee Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Lamar Alexander in two years. A University of Virginia Center for Politics analysis said bluntly, “It’s hard to imagine any Democrat beating any Republican in 2020.” Outgoing Republican Gov. Bill Haslam is seen as the one to beat.
