3 w. ago Chuck Schumer should quit – but would his imaginary friends agree? | Arwa Mahdawi

The US government was shut down for weeks – and then Democrats shrugged their shoulders and gave upChuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has a pair of very sweet imaginary friends. They’re a middle-class couple called Joe and Eileen Bailey and they live on Long Island. At one point the imaginary couple, who feature in Schumer’s 2007 book, Positively American, were called the O’Reillys. According to the Hill, one Schumer aide said the name then was changed because the publisher thought O’Reilly was “too ethnic” for mass consumption. Another aide said that claim was false, and Schumer just wanted a name that “sounded more national”. Naming strategy aside, the key point here is that Schumer has said he runs all his policy decisions by this completely fictional couple. He’s referred to them hundreds of times throughout his political career.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago House gears up for vote to end government shutdown after historic 54

The government could reopen as soon as Wednesday, potentially ending the longest shutdown on record

Politics

3 w. ago Moment senate votes to reopen U.S government after longest shutdown in history

The Senate has passed legislation to reopen the government on Monday (10 November), bringing the longest shutdown in history closer to an end after a small group of Democrats struck a deal with Republicans.

Politics

3 w. ago Bulletin briefing: US Senate votes on shutdown, Thailand suspends ceasefire and a new species

Senate votes to end government shutdown. Read more here.

Events

3 w. ago Senate votes to end government shutdown as Chuck Schumer faces calls to resign

The funding bill has passed in the Senate and the House will have to approve it next

Politics

3 w. ago Senate votes to end government shutdown as Chuck Schumer faces calls to resign: Live updates

The funding bill has passed in the Senate and the House will have to approve it next

Politics

3 w. ago Senate votes to reopen the government as the future of health care subsidies remains uncertain

Republicans are split about whether to vote to extend enhanced tax credits for the health care marketplace while Democrats do not trust Republicans to follow through

Politics

3 w. ago Senate kicks off votes to end shutdown as Chuck Schumer faces calls to step aside: Live updates

If the funding bill passes in the Senate, the House will have to approve it next

Politics

3 w. ago Senate Democrats defend breaking ranks to end shutdown as Johnson to finally swear in Arizona’s Adelita Grijalva

Decision to advance bill that would reopen government has sparked furor from party and base; House speaker to swear in Democratic representative when chamber returns, a month after her election winSenate Democrats who defected in shutdown vote: ‘This was the only deal’How each senator voted on legislation to end US government shutdownThe eight Democratic and Independent senators who broke ranks with the party to advance a bill that would end the government shutdown – the longest in US history – have defended their decisions amid furor from their party and base.“What happened tonight is not the closing of a chapter. It’s the opening of an opportunity. What the chapter does close is the damaging shutdown that is only getting worse, that is only going to impact more and more people,” said Angus King, the Independent lawmaker from Maine who caucuses with Democrats. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump latest: Eight Democrats cross the aisle to vote with GOP senators as government shutdown appears to end

New agreement passed by upper chamber extends federal funding through to end of January and allows time for further negotiations on range of issues, including Affordable Care Act subsidies

Politics

3 w. ago Senate votes to END longest government shutdown in US history as gang of rogue Democrats cave and join GOP

Lawmakers were locked in tense negotiations during a rare Sunday session in an effort to find a solution to the shutdown

Politics

3 w. ago Senate votes to END longest government shutdown in US history as 'gang of eight' rogue Democrats cave and join GOP

Lawmakers were locked in tense negotiations during a rare Sunday session in an effort to find a solution to the shutdown

Politics

3 w. ago US Senate takes steps toward vote to end historic federal shutdown

Senators plan to vote on advancing House-passed stopgap funding bill, suggesting end to 40-day shutdown in reachThe US Senate on Sunday moved toward a vote on reopening the federal government, suggesting that an end to the historic shutdown, now in its 40th day, is within reach.Senators plan to vote on advancing a House-passed stopgap funding bill as early as Sunday night, with the understanding that it would be amended to combine a short-term funding measure with a package of three full-year appropriations bills, the Senate’s Republican majority leader, John Thune, said. Continue reading...

Events