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CLAIRE MCCASKILL

Ample opportunities for viewers to follow Chauvin trial

In this image from Minneapolis city surveillance video, Minneapolis police are seen attempting to take George Floyd into custody May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minn. Floyd’s name is more widely known than Chauvin's, but calling it the “Floyd trial” would wrongly imply that the victim was the one on trial. Most called it the Chauvin trial. CourtTV called it “The Death of George Floyd Murder Trial.” ABC said it was the “Derek Chauvin Trial, 10 Months After George Floyd’s Death.”For some of the specialty networks, the trial offers a rare opportunity to increase viewership, both on the air and online. CBS' website will carry its own coverage, along with that of the network's Minneapolis affiliate, he said.

Wave of retirements signals battles ahead for Republicans

But officials in both parties agree that the surge of GOP departures will make the Republicans' challenge more difficult in the Senate. Several Missouri Republicans are expected to seek the nomination to replace Blunt, but none will be more divisive than former Gov. Ahead of Greitens' announcement, some Republicans worried that he could jeopardize the Senate seat if he emerges as the party's nominee. The former president won by the same margin in Iowa, where 87-year-old Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is considering retirement. AdMeanwhile, Blunt predicted political success for Republicans in Missouri and beyond during a Monday news conference.

Deal or no deal: Virus aid tests Biden 'work together' plea

He hung out in the Senate cloakroom chatting up legislators as vice president. But some of Biden’s courtship is also directed at members of his own party to make sure a deal gets done. As vice president, Biden was a trusted emissary to Capitol Hill for Obama, who had served just four years in the Senate. Lott said Biden was not someone he recalls as often being in the room when Senate leadership was trying to work out a deal on major bills. “There’s people who say you can’t work with the other side,” Biden said a year ago.

Donor backlash fuels GOP alarm about Senate fundraising

The GOP already faces a difficult Senate map in 2022, when 14 Democratic-held seats and 20 Republican ones will be on the ballot. That includes at least two open seats that Republicans will be defending because of the retirements of GOP Sens. One of those lawmakers, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, is the new chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a post that makes him the public face of the Senate Republican fundraising efforts. But two senior Republican strategists involved in Senate races say the cumulative effect of the companies' decisions could have a bigger impact. That puts more pressure on the NRSC and the leading Senate Republican outside group, Senate Leadership Fund, to cover the difference.

Republicans recoil from Missouri Sen. Hawley after siege

“Supporting Josh Hawley ... was the worst decision I’ve ever made in my life,” former Missouri Sen. John Danforth told The Associated Press on Thursday. “Assault on democracy: Sen. Josh Hawley has blood on his hands in Capitol coup attempt,” read the headline of the editorial. Hawley, who defeated Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in 2018, was once celebrated by the Republican establishment as a rising star. Seated near Hawley, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney blasted those who objected to finalizing President-elect Joe Biden’s election. Now Danforth wonders how Hawley will be able to work with his Senate colleagues, even Republicans, moving forward.

'Great damage': Republicans recoil from Missouri Sen. Hawley

“Supporting Josh Hawley ... was the worst decision I’ve ever made in my life," former Missouri Sen. John Danforth told The Associated Press on Thursday. Soon Hawley and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz were leading about 10 other senators in the effort — notably not winning over Sens. With Hawley sitting near, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney blasted those who objected to finalizing President-elect Joe Biden’s election. The student bar association at the University of Missouri law school, where Hawley taught, issued a statement calling for his resignation. Now Danforth wonders how Hawley will be able to work with his Senate colleagues, even Republicans, moving forward.

Trump's task: Resetting campaign that GOP fears is slipping

This year's campaign, other Republicans worry, may instead resemble 1980 or 2008: a close race until, at the end, it decidedly wasn’t. Reviewing data afterward, campaign aides worried as they started to see Trump’s support begin to slip. Trump’s campaign worries that it is losing support among suburban voters, women and older voters. The Democrat on Monday will make a trip to Ohio for his general election campaign, another state Trump won convincingly in 2016. Trump’s campaign believes the hearings could change the political narrative away from the virus and draw attention to Biden’s refusal to say whether he would expand or “pack” the Supreme Court.

As Trump holds back, tech firms step in on election security

It was the first that Schiff, then the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, had ever heard of it. Two years later, Schiff says that breakdown is still emblematic of the disjointed effort among government agencies, Congress and private companies as they try to identify and address foreign election interference. Most of the hacking attempts by Russian, Chinese and Iranian agents were halted by Microsoft security software and the targets notified. The current director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, a close Trump ally, tried to end most in-person election security briefings — a decision he later reversed after criticism from lawmakers from both parties. Lawmakers say that in restricting what's given to Congress, the administration is effectively restricting what it tells the public about election security and misinformation.