All Monitor Breakfast
- 'We'll keep an eye on them,' White House's Podesta says of freed Taliban
Obama counselor John Podesta said Friday the US has ways to monitor the five former Taliban officials released in the swap for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. He also offered a succinct assessment of what a Hillary Clinton presidency would look like.
Obama's clean-energy push, new EPA rule will prevail, predicts Podesta'We're committed to getting this done,' the White House's John Podesta said Friday of a new EPA proposal to limit carbon emissions from power plants. A business report showing a hit to the US economy contained 'fantasy job loss numbers,' he said.
Leading Democrat: Benghazi is the GOP's new ObamacareThe GOP-led House is forming a select committee on the Benghazi tragedy because 'continuing to focus obsessively on repealing the Affordable Care Act has lost its luster,' Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the DNC, said this week.
- Democratic leader needles GOP: tea party has already won civil war
Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz says tea party candidates might have lost Republican primaries Tuesday, but they've moved the party far to the right.
What a top Democrat thinks will be 'the big issue' in midterm electionsRep. Chris Van Hollen, who has chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, responds to the predictions that Republicans will pick up House seats this year.
Top Democrat offers two ways his party can overcome grim election forecastRep. Chris Van Hollen, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, said at a Monitor Breakfast that Democrats can 'change that calculus' forecasting losses in midterm elections.
How Gov. Bobby Jindal thinks health-care reform should workLouisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has unveiled an alternative to the Affordable Care Act, which he sees as 'a flawed law.' His plan takes a state-focused approach.
Governor Jindal proposes Republican alternative to ObamacareLouisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal wants to repeal Obamacare, and now he's put forward a plan to replace it. It features no individual mandate and a voucher-like program for Medicare.
How Reince Priebus is trying to position the GOP for big wins in NovemberReince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, discusses efforts to move his organization away from being a ' 'U-Haul' trailer of cash' for presidential nominees.
Election 2014 could be year of the 'anti-incumbent,' pollsters sayAt a time when Congress is 'universally despised,' the climate for Election 2014 could be especially unfavorable for incumbents, more than anti-Democrat or anti-Republican, Celinda Lake of the bipartisan Battleground Poll said March 25.
Voters pessimistic about the economy, positive about pot, new poll saysThe Battleground Poll of registered voters, produced by a pollster from each party, found anger at incumbents in Congress, pessimism about the economy, and more openness to legalizing pot.
Republican chairman predicts 'tsunami' victory in NovemberReince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, outlined Tuesday how the GOP is expanding its presence in minority communities and emphasizing issues like Obamacare.
Why Rep. Dave Camp rolled out tax reform plan in an election yearGOP Rep. Dave Camp wants his recently unveiled tax reform plan to bring simplicity to a US tax code that is '10 times the size of the Bible with none of the good news.' It won't get traction this election year, but it starts the conversation.
Sen. Bob Corker 'disappointed' in US handling of Syrian humanitarian crisisAt a Monitor Breakfast, Sen. Bob Corker, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also expressed concern about the situation in Ukraine.
Skimpy pay raises for federal workers a worry for Obama budget directorObama's fiscal 2015 budget calls for a 1 percent raise for federal workers. Recent years have been worse, with pay freezes. There's no 'crash' yet in workforce quality, but OMB Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell worries it could happen.
Top GOP taxwriter pushes overhaul of tax code: We can't 'afford to wait'Top GOP taxwriter Dave Camp aims to simplify the massive US tax code to promote growth. He says he's aware of the political risks, especially in an election year, and is willing to take them.
Union defeat at VW plant: NLRB shouldn't muzzle community leaders, Corker saysAt a wide-ranging Monitor Breakfast meeting with reporters, Bob Corker, the ranking senator on the Foreign Relations Committee, also voiced concern over Russia and Ukraine.
CBO chief: Partisan slings and arrows are of no effect on its reportsThe White House didn't like the recent Congressional Budget Office report showing that a $10 minimum wage would cost the economy 500,000 jobs. Director Douglas Elmendorf defends both the report and the CBO's work in hyperpartisan times.
- Minimum wage hike would cost 500,000 jobs? CBO director defends the estimate.
A number of economists from the White House and beyond have criticized a CBO report on the effects of potentially boosting the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. But CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf isn’t backing off.
Obama adviser: 'Some optimism' for expecting US economy to strengthenGene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, hopes Republicans' tactic of contesting each increase of the national debt ceiling is permanently 'off the table.' He also offers cautious hope that the economy will keep improving.
