Re: Julian Castro

 President Barack Obama will make it official Friday afternoon, when he will announce his intent to nominate Castro to be the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

He’ll still have to navigate the Senate confirmation process, but Republicans will not be able to filibuster either nomination after Democrats last year detonated the “nuclear option” getting rid of the 60-vote rule for nominations.

Having successfully defied the Tea Party on the debt ceiling, now it is time for Boehner and McConnell to use that momentum to pass three bills: An extension of unemployment benefits for people suffering long-term joblessness; a minimum wage hike; and, most important of all, immigration reform.

“All modern presidents have done this,” said Kenneth Mayer, a University of Wisconsin political science professor who has studied the presidency extensively. “All presidents utilize the tools of executive power to implement policies.”

Landrieu has voiced her displeasure that Louisiana has not accepted federal aid to expand Medicaid.
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“Yes. I have talked about it,” Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., said Tuesday between votes. “I have been trying to lead a broad coalition of Democrats and Republicans, rich and poor, business interests and consumers alike, to explain to Governor [Bobby] Jindal that the decision he made was not right. It is not in Louisiana’s economic interest, leaving $16 billion on the table.

Re: Ron Wyden

All of that may be true, but so is this: On Thursday the Oregon Democrat will become the most liberal chairman in the modern history of the Finance Committee, the most powerful panel in the Senate.

Whitehouse has given a “time to wake up” floor speech about climate and environmental issues each week the Senate’s been in session for the past 58 session weeks.

The Senate voted 96-0 Thursday to confirm Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) as U.S. ambassador to China.
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Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Baucus would go down in history for his work on the “landmark” Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare.

Obama signs $956 billion farm bill

Sen. Jon Tester, MT-D

President Obama risks muddling his message when he heads to Michigan on Friday to sign a farm bill that cuts $8 billion in funding for food stamps.

The NRCC also announced Tuesday that Schock will serve as chairman of the NRCC’s March dinner — one of the committee’s top fundraising events of the year. Schock pledged to raise an additional $1 million for the committee before the March 26 event.

The funds will go toward aiding the NRCC’s efforts to keep control of the GOP’s House majority. Republicans have boasted they want to expand their 17-seat advantage over Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.

Coburn is resigning at the end of 2014 

The House Ethics Committee is reviewing allegations that one of the House GOP’s rising stars violated ethics rules by mingling taxpayer and political money during a competitive campaign for a party leadership position, according to several sources.

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who delivered the GOP response to the State of the Union address, is accused of hiring political operatives to work alongside her official staff during her bid for the chairmanship.

At an afternoon panel moderated by GOP leaders and former Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Holtz-Eakin, members expressed support for tying a one-year increase to the nation’s borrowing limit to a repeal of the health law’s so called risk corridors, a provision that mitigates risk for insurance companies.