The (Second) Trial of Donald Trump

 We are hours away - as this is published - from the start of the Trump trial in the Senate. There are links to a number of useful resources in my post of Wednesday 3rd February

It was reported in the Washington Post that the proceedings are likely to begin with debate over whether the Constitution permits the trial of a former President. The Congressional Research Servic discuss the various arguments here. This document has also inbuilt links to a number of documents relevant to the trial.

There are a number of ways to follow the trial - directly and indirectly

DIRECT

Senate Floor Proceedings

C-SPAN 2

Live Coverage is also expected on many TV websites (and on your TV) but these will cover proceedings at their editor's discretion.

INDIRECTLY

Reports on the trial will also be posted on News websites -  these may require subscriptions! My main sources will be

Washington Post

Politico

The Hill

Roll Call

The Guardian

CNN

BBC News

Following Congress

For newer readers of Washminster - a short guide to following events in Congress.

The best resources come from the Houses and Senate themselves.

House of Representatives

The website can be found at http://www.house.gov There is lots of background information. Click on the tabs underneath the main header

- Members of the House [Representatives] - the district (UK - constituency); name; party; Office - do see the 'Key to Room Codes' on that page - and in future posts I will give some of the background to each of the Office Buildings); Telephone number; and the Committees that each member sits on. This page can be listed alphabetically either by State or by Members' last name.

- Leadership - Names (with pictures) of the leadership of each of the two parties. Currently the Republicans (also referred to sometimes as the G.O.P.) are the Majority, and the Democrats are the Minority.

- Committees - these are the powerful workhorses of the House. Woodrow Wilson (when writing as a scholar, before he became President) wrote that "The House sits, not for serious discussion, but to sanction the conclusions of its committees as rapidly as possible. It legislates in its committee rooms...". They are much more powerful than Westminster committees - although the power of the Leadership (the Speaker) has greatly increased in recent decades.

- Legislative Activity - This page has key links to resources enabling the House to be followed from off Capitol Hill - and indeed across the world. You can look ahead with the House calendar (the coming year); the more immediate schedule; keep up to date with the day's business as it happens - Floor proceedings.  The live streaming of committee meetings and hearings can be found at https://www.congress.gov/committees/video When the day is over, you can read the Daily Digest of the Congressional Record for the previous day (and other dates).

- The House Explained - is a good resource for learning about the House and how it works.

The Rules Committee has on its website, a 'parliamentary Bootcamp' - which provides an excellent course on House practice and procedure.

Senate

The Senate website is https://www.senate.gov. The red tabs take you to -

- A list of Senators, with key information about each. It also tells you which 'class' they are - this tells you when they are up for re-election. Class 1 Senators are up for re-election in November 2018.

- Committees

- Legislation and Records - allows you to search by bill number and track floor activity; and using the blue sidebar you can follow other Senate activities - such as confirmations and Treaty ratifications. The Senate calendar and Floor Schedule can be accessed at https://www.senate.gov/legislative/calendars.htm 

Other red tabs take you to information about the Seanate's history; the art it contains; advice on visiting the Senate; and other reference material.

The Senate website is compact - so worth exploring the various links on the site - because there is a host of information to be uncovered.

The Media

To watch Congress - C-SPAN is the place to head to. Again it is a website worth exploring. As well as live streams from the House and Senate - there is a vast, searchable, video library. This not only covers proceedings within Congress - but programmes about history, the courts, and political issues. I hope to produce a post shortly just on C-SPAN.

Congress has three main newspapers devoted to it - and they each have websites. You can subscribe to newsletters and alerts from each of them. They are

Politico
The Hill
RollCall

I'm a big fan of (even if President Trump isn't), and a subscriber to

The Washington Post
New York Times

US Elections

Yes, we all know about the Presidential election in November - but it's not the only game in town. There will be Congressional elections (34 of the 100 Senate seats and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives), plus various State & local elections and some referenda)

Over the next few months, Washminster will (as it has in previous elections) preview some of the key contests.

But let's kick things off with an overview of the Senate. Whatever the result of the Presidential election, the Senate elections could play a key role in setting, or limiting the direction of American politics in coming years. Even the most ambitious, charismatic President could find his or her (isn't it wonderful be be able to write that phrase at last) plans could be derailed by the Senate. ALL legislation must pass the Senate, and confirmations for Executive and Judicial positions must be made by the 100 member body. The rules of the Senate give a lot of power to individual Senators - who can hold up or even block legislation and confirmations.

At present, 34 of the 100 seats will be up for election. The current make-up of the Senate is Republicans 54, Democrats 44 and 2 independants. (Both of these, Bernie Sanders & Angus King, usually vote with the Democrats). A net gain of 4 seats would give the Democrats control if Clinton wins (the Vice-President has the casting vote in the event of a tie). If Trump wins, the Democrats need a net gain of 5. But a bare majority is not the most important outcome for Presidential-Congressional elections. To end a filibuster (a key tool in the arsenal of a minority) 60 votes are needed. If the President has vetoed legislation passed by both Houses, 67 votes are needed to override that veto.

The Democrats have 10 seats to defend. Currently Cook (the Cook Report, a highly regarded forecaster of US elections) lists 8 of these as Solidly Democratic. 1 (Colorado) is classed as leaning Democratic.

But what makes the election exciting is that 24 Republican seats will be contested. 6 are currently thought to be toss-ups by Cook - enough for the Democrats to take control. North Carolina 'leans Republican - so is in British terms, marginal; and 6 'likely Republican - less marginal, but potentially vulnerable. Eleven are seen as Solid.

Five months out, and there is much that could change. However, these are the elections that could define the presidency of Trump or Clinton. Washminster will help you keep your eye on the critical contests.

Visit to Washington

I arrived back this week after a superb fortnight in Washington DC. As long time readers of this blog know, I love the city - its history, its buildings, its coffee shops - and its political activity. I was able to indulge myself with all these during my stay.

For me the highlights included

* watching the special Sunday session of the Senate on May 31st -
( To watch the video follow the links: C-Span video - Part 1 ; Part 2)

* sitting in two hearings of the House Rules Committee ( Rules Committee website - which has videos of all meetings 'Committee Hearings Archive')

* many hours watching the House of Representatives from its gallery

* A tour of Congress, led by a good friend of "Washminster", Bob Carr (a former Representative from Michigan, who served as Chairman of the Transportation Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee), and from whom I have learnt a lot about the workings and recent history of the House.

* Two events at the Bipartisan Policy Center . One on improving health and healthcare - focussing on avoidable lifestyle chronic disease (a particular interest of mine - and a political priority) - video available here and the other about  the challenges for leadership in the second term of a presidency.
C-SPAN 3 plans to broadcast the meeting on Sunday, Jun 28 at 4:30pm EDT (9-30pm UK)

* A visit to the battlefield of Gettysburg

* some great time spent with friends who live in the Washington area.

But now, I am back home - and will be commenting on events in the British Parliament (I will make my first visit to the 56th Parliament of the UK, later this week) - as well as events and issues in the USA, EU & France.

A quiet week ahead?

Well that may be too much to hope for in this fast moving world! But on the legislative front, the news making events are likely to occur OUTSIDE the chambers.


The House of Commons and House of Lords have a week's break. In the US Monday is President's Day - and the House of Representatives has a "District Work Week", while the Senate has a "State Work Period".

Legislative Explorer

An article in PS (one of the APSA [American Political Science Association] journals) - "Legislative Explorer: Data-Driven Discovery of Lawmaking" - drew my attention to this interesting and useful application. At first sight it gives a visual representation of how bills make their way (or don't make progress) through Congress. The path of every bill is shown from introduction to its eventual end - which, in a very few cases, involves becoming law. It's a superb visualisation - and as an educator - I really appreciate how representing things in different ways can aid understanding (and assist long-term retention).

But upon a closer look this app has even more uses. It contains data from the 93rd Congress to the present day - about specific Bills (and their passage); and members of Congress. I was playing with it at the weekend and was able to track the movement in ideological position of certain legislators over their career - both in terms of their move on the liberal/conservative scale - and their relative position within each Congress.

The visual contrast between the spread of ideological position within and between parties was also evident from the graphics.

There are also some very useful statistics on the success rates of bills, and you can see how general progress develops of the life of each Congress.

I can see that I'll be using this tool a lot!

You can visit it at http://www.legex.org/app.html

Whatever happened to the G.O.P.?

 

The crisis is averted ...for the moment, but it's been a disastrous time for the USA - and Congress has had its reputation shredded. How did it come to this?

There are many reasons why Congress has got itself into such a mess. Bipartisanship has become rare - the parties getting further apart; civility has flown out of the window and a new "macho" politics has taken hold. The same 'win at all costs', aggressive attitude which brought the banking industry to ruin has infected politics. Who would have imagined that so many members of Congress would be prepared to allow the US to default on its debts?

Even at the 11th hour and 59th minute - 18 Senators and 144 Members of Congress (that's 30% of its membership) voted against the last deal to avoid a default!

I listened to Senator's Cruz's speech in the debate (thanks to the miracles that are C-SPAN and wifi-enabled iPads) - it was full of slogans and a complete blindness to the impact that his advocacy, if successful, would have on the rest of the world - let alone ordinary Americans.

Newt Gingrich has always been of interest to me - he's had a big impact on the Republican Party and Congress. He has a good understanding of how powerful the use of language can be - and was adept at using congressional procedures to advance his ends. But he was a bomb thrower. His tactics poisoned Congress. His successors are worse - what we saw in recent days and weeks was a host of political suicide bombers - prepared to destroy everything - and hurt lots of people - in order to advance their ideology.

Legislatures need to be about "deliberation" and negotiation. Different views and interests have to be accommodated with 'give and take'. The alternative is violence. It's time to call a halt on the destructive politics which has paralysed a great institution and a great country. Some older people will remember the Republican leaders of old - they fought their corner, certainly - but did so with respect for other people and theirm points of view. They are sorely missed.

Please do send me your comments.

Politics in America

I have received the latest volume of this excellent book published by CQ Roll Call. This covers the 113th Congress and includes biographical details of every member of Congress and details of election results. I have been buying Politics in America since the 2002 version (107th Congress) and used both my own copies and earlier volumes whilst in Washington for background research on the individuals who had been (or are) whips.

It is available in the UK through Amazon (your purchase through this website will cost you the same, but contribute to "Washminster") - or from CQ Roll Call in the USA.



I also buy National Journal's "Almanac of American Politics". That is not yet available, but can be ordered at

 

(My order is already in).

The American Senate

An excellent C-SPAN video of an in-depth interview with Richard Baker, Historian Emeritus of the US Senate




I've downloaded the book for my summer reading. It is available in kindle and hardback versions.

DCA

When I flew into Washington DC last month, instead of using Dulles (the international airport, which I did fly out from on my return), I flew into National Airport. It has been renamed after President Reagan, but I know – and respect the views of – many of my friends who, on principle, refuse to call it after a President who was disliked as much as he was loved.


The airport is really convenient for the city. It is on the blue and yellow metro lines – and is only a short distance from the Capital (3 miles away). On my 25 mile walk from Mount Vernon to the Senate last year, we walked on the Mount Vernon Trail through the grounds of the airport. Many members of Congress use the airport to travel between Washington and their home districts.

Construction began in 1940, after President Roosevelt made a recess appropriation of $15 million to build a new Airport by reallocating funds from other purposes. Some of the original buildings can still be seen. (The terminal itself is modern).

Information about the airport can be found here.

Congressional "Casualties"

Roll Call regularly updates its Casuality List - Members who have either left, or have announced that they are leaving Congress. It's a useful tool for seeing which races will be fought in an "Open" seat. Incumbents have great advantages, and many seats only change hands when a long serving member retires. It's also useful for noting who is moving on - as many of you know, I am coming to the end of my studies for my Ph.D. looking at whips in  the four Houses of the US Congress and UK Parliament. As I shall be visiting Washington DC shortly I'm keen to know which whips and former whips will be leaving town at the end of the year.

The current list of "casualties" is

Appointed to Senate — (1 House: 1R)


House: Dean Heller (R-Nev.), 51, 3 terms

Running for Senate — (12 House: 6D, 6R)

House:
Todd Akin (R-Mo.), 64, 6 terms
Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), 50, 7 terms
Rick Berg (R-N.D.), 52, 1 term
Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), 61, 7 terms
Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), 56, 3 terms
Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), 49, 6 terms
Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), 40, 2 terms
Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), 64, 3 terms
Connie Mack IV (R-Fla.), 44, 4 terms
Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.), 38, 3 terms
Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), 56, 6 terms
Bob Turner (R-N.Y.), 70, 1 term

Running for Other Office — (3 House: 1D, 2R)

House:
Bob Filner (D-Calif.), 69, 10 terms
Ron Paul (R-Texas), 76, 8 terms *running for president, & has announced retirement at end of this Congress.

Mike Pence (R-Ind.), 52, 6 terms

Retiring — (23 House: 14D, 9R; 10 Senate: 6D, 1I, 3R)

House:
Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), 69, 14 terms
Steve Austria (R-Ohio), 53, 2 terms
Dan Boren (D-Okla.), 38, 4 terms
Dan Burton (R-Ind.), 73, 15 terms
Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), 52, 5 terms
Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), 62, 12 terms
Geoff Davis (R-Ky.), 53, 4 terms
Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), 71, 18 terms
David Dreier (R-Calif.), 59, 16 terms
Barney Frank (D-Mass.), 71, 16 terms
Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.), 68, 13 terms
Charlie Gonzalez (D-Texas), 66, 7 terms
Wally Herger (R-Calif.), 66, 13 terms
Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), 73, 10 terms
Dale Kildee (D-Mich.), 82, 18 terms
Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), 77, 17 terms
Brad Miller (D-N.C.), 58, 5 terms
Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), 70, 9 terms
John Olver (D-Mass.), 75, 10 terms
Todd Platts (R-Pa.), 50, 6 terms
Mike Ross (D-Ark.), 50, 6 terms
Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), 40, 3 terms
Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), 74, 10 terms
Senate:
Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), 87, 3 terms
Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), 68, 5 terms
Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), 64, 3 terms
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), 68, 3 terms
Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), 77, 4 terms
Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), 69, 3 terms
Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), 70, 4 terms
Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), 70, 2 terms
Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), 65, 3 terms
Jim Webb (D-Va.), 66, 1 term

Defeated in Primary — (3 House: 1D, 2R)

House:
Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), 65, 8 terms
Don Manzullo (R-Ill.), 67, 10 terms
Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), 60, 3 terms

Resigned — (6 House: 5D, 1R; 1 Senate: 1R)

House:
Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), 41, 3 terms
Jane Harman (D-Calif.), 66, 6 terms
Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), 61, 8 terms
Chris Lee (R-N.Y.), 47, 2 terms
Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), 47, 7 terms
David Wu (D-Ore.), 56, 7 terms
Senate:
John Ensign (R-Nev.), 53, 2 terms

Died — (1 House: 1D)

House: Donald Payne (D-N.J.), 77, 12 terms

US Congress

Monday was President's Day - so this week will see the Chambers in the US Capitol Building silent. Actually that's not true, there will be regular tours (I've assisted with one tour - though my regular experience is with tours of the Palace of Westminster) going through the chambers - and as a former parliamentary staffer, I know that a "recess" doesn't mean that work halts (I remember the occasion when one MP walked into his office just as the House had risen for the summer recess and declared - "now that's that's over, we can get down to some work"!).

One of the values gained from reading the US Constitution is that a clearer picture can be gained of the 'architecture' of the institutions. The Constitution sets out the roles of each institution (Art 1 Section 1 - "All legislative powers shall be vested in..."); its powers - see Art 1 Sect 8; it's makeup (the bodies within the institution - Congress = House of Representatives + Senate) - and who is eligible to be a Member (both in terms of qualifications and election)...

Have a read of Article One

Where Britain Leads - everyone else follows...

My little joke.... I refer to the fact that Parliament returned yesterday. The US Congress returns today, and a special session of the French parlement is being held today and tomorrow.

The websites for these institutions are

US House of Representatives
US Senate
French Assemblee nationale
French Senat

(the French Parlement sites are available in English - from the home pages above)

Of course, the European Parliament beat everyone - returning for a committee week last Monday. The next plenary session will be held in Strasbourg on 12th - 15th September. A weekly summary of events in the European Parliament is available here, while the Draft Agenda for the September plenary is accessible here.

Elections in 2012

As with any year, 2012 will see a number of important elections. Washminster will be focusing on the elections due in the USA and France (and a little on the London mayoral election and the other local elections in the UK). Already these elections are regularly in the news.

The US Elections will be held on November 6th 2012. The race which will dominate international coverage will be the Presidential Election. We've seen in recent days how the competition for the Republican nomination is developing. President Obama will seek re-election, but there is some chatter about a challenge for the Democratic nomination. The possibility of a serious third party challenger has also been discussed. On the same day there will be elections for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives. One third of the Senate seats are also in play. The Americans have moved to a system where most local, state and federal elections are held on the same day in November.

In France the two main national elections are held on separate days. The Presidential Election will see its first round on April 22nd. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the votes cast, a second round will be held on May 6th, a contest that will only involve two candidates. The first round of the elections for the Assemblee nationale will take place on June 10th - with a second round one week later.

In September 2011, on Sunday 25th, elections will be held for half of the Senat seats (the upper House of the French Parlement). These are indirect elections. Further details about the electorate and the seats which are being fought, can be found here.

Reducing the number of Confirmations

One of the roles of the Senate is to give "advice and consent" to the President concerning the appointment of "Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States" (Art II Section 2).

The Senate is to consider S. 679 Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011. It was reported out of Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee yesterday. It will reduce the number of positions requiring confirmation. A Press Relese from the committee is available here.

US Constitution Article 1

An annotated version of the text of Article I is available here.

History

A love of history is very useful for studying law and politics. For one thing human nature doesn't change. Lord Acton's dictum that "power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely" was true in Ancient Greece and Rome; in Medieval England - and is true today (which is why law is needed to curb these tendencies).

History is particularly useful for understanding Common Law systems - such as those in the UK and USA. It can explainthe background to current practice - and makes certain odd behaviour - in Parliament and Congress - understandable.

Websites relating to the institutions of Government have history links - follow the links below -

UK Parliament
UK Supreme Court

US Congress - House of Representatives
US Congress - Senate
US Supreme Court

The Senate

Roy Blunt was Majority Whip in the House of Representatives the last time the Republicans had control of the House. Last year he was elected to the Senate. During an interview at the conference I attended last week, he spoke of the differences he found in the Senate.

The Capitol Building itself

This is a guide to the parts of the Capitol Building. The sound of a train can be heard - Union Station is very close!

Follow the links to the websites for the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Mount Vernon to the Senate

This is the record of a walk from George Washington's estate in Virginia - along the Mount Vernon Trail - through the city of Washington DC - to the steps of the US Senate