Formal and Informal Powers in the Senate

Formal Powers of the Senate are ones that are stated in the constitution (Article I)

• Confirming major presidential appointments 
• Ratifying Treaties with other nations by 2/3 vote
• Trying impeachment cases
• Review and provide advice of presidential appointments and nominations
• Elect the Vice President if electoral votes are tied
• Power to debate, modify or block a bill proposed by the house
• Consider any legislation or bill introduced by the president
• Expulsion of members with 2/3
• Ability to Censure Members

Informal Powers of the Senate are things that the Senate does but they are not stated in the Constitution 

• Filibuster and Cloture
• Congressional Investigations

Senate Research

1. Jeff Sessions was first elected as a Senator in 1997 and recently won reelection in 2014 meaning that his fourth term will be over in 2020

2. Senator Sessions have been on the Armed Services subcommittee on air land, and seapower. He has also been on committees of the budget, subcommittees of clean air and nuclear safety, green jobs and the new economy, transportation and infrastructure, water and wildlife, administrative oversight and the courts, crime and drugs, terrorism, technology, and homeland security, and international narcotics control caucus. He chairs the subcommittee on immigration, border security, and refugees as well as the subcommittee on strategic forces.

3.S Senator Sessions is ranked 9th in seniority of the Republican Party, in terms of the whole senate he is ranked 18th.

4. Jeff Sessions top contributors are Southern Company, Balch and Bingham , Drummond Company, Collazo Enterprises, Vulcan Materials, Lockheed Martin. As far as companies from Huntsville Lockheed Martin, Dynetics, and AT&T are some of his top contributors.

5. With Senator sessions being offered to be the Attorney General his seat in the senate will have to be filled. Governor Bentley will have to appoint a short-term replacement and set an election date to officially fill his seat.

6. Gary Palmer is a lawmaker that interest group are rating him as 100%. Representative Mo Brooks is asking Governor Bentley for Senator Session potentially opening seat in the senate.

7. Jeff Sessions has been nominated to be the Attorney General by President Elect Donald Trump. The Attorney General is the head of the Department of Justice and it is supposed to represent the United States in legal matters, supervise and direct the administration and operation of the offices, boards, divisions, and bureaus that comprise the Department, Furnish advice and opinions, formal and informal, on legal matters to the President and the Cabinet and to the heads within the Department, represent or supervise the representation of the United States Government in the Supreme Court and all other courts, perform or supervise the performance of other duties required by statute or Executive Order.

8. Jeff Sessions nomination can cause controversy because he has to be confirmed by the senate and his racist remarks as a federal prosecutor.

9. The Senate would have to confirm Sessions by a simple majority for him to become the Attorney General

10. Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch were both AG's for Obama, Alberto Gonzalez for Bush, and janet Reno for Clinton.

Pat McCrory Refusing to Concede

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory is refusing to concede to his reelection results leaving him more than 6,000 votes behind his democratic challenger Roy Cooper. Governor McCrory had lodged complaints in at least fifty counties about voting irregularities. Some of these irregularities include votes from the dead, people who voted in multiple states, and felon voters. The Cooper campaign team believes that he has won fairly and even tough it was a slight margin. They claim that the margin was significant enough that there is nothing that the McCrory legal can do to change the results.

Jeff Sessions New Justice Department

CNN wrote an article about Alabama senator Jeff Sessions wand what the Justice Department may look like in the next four years. Senator Sessions was offered by president elect Donald Trump to be the next Attorney General. Sessions' main focus is on traditional criminal law like drug and immigration enforcement. Senator Session wants to take a look at the scope narrowly for federal authority and to emphasize deference to states. Many conservatives are supporters of this decision even senator Ted Cruz who was also considered for the same position. Cruz says that this is necessary change from the Obama administration. Cruz was speaking at the conservative Federalist Society and said "'Do not follow the example of the previous administration'" as he realized that many sitting before him may be in the new administration. Sessions already has one democrat backing him that is Senator Joe Manchin. Sessions considers Manchin as a friend and believes that he can work with him. Sessions has been on the Senate Judiciary committee for six years and the new Democrat to take over, Senator Dianne Feinstein, predicts that it will not be smooth sailing but she says that the process will still remain fair and a complete review of the new nominee. 

Stalling the Veteran Crisis Line Bill

According to Fox News Nevada Senator Harry Reid and US Representative David Young blame each other for stalling the Veteran Crisis Line Bill. This bill would make the necessary changes needed to the veterans' suicide hotline. After twenty-two veterans committed suicide in Young's district he wrote a letter to the VA expressing his concerns about the Veterans Crisis Line. The hotline is supposed to help veterans with emotional trauma and mental health crisis but he claims that there were many calls, letters, emails, and other communication networks were not answered. The bill was passed unanimously in the House but it has slowed down when it reached the Senate. Young claims that it is because of senior Senator Harry Reid who is about to retire. The Senate has its own hotline to see if the bill will pass by a unanimous vote but unlike the house this did not happen. Senator Reid claims that the GOP decided to take a vacation instead of staying a couple more day to pass the bill.

Election Follow Up

According to The Gazette, Rod Blum won his house seat over challenger Monica Vernon in most of the precincts. Blum said that he is glad to be back in office because he has done what he has said that he would do: work on reforming Congress and balancing the budget. Vernon had called Blum to congratulate him and said that she would continue working on the issues that she campaigned for. This was a great win for Blum because this district is primarily a democratic. Blum has beat the demographics twice and has claimed his seat for the second term. This was also to a plus from Trump winning the state of Iowa.

Election Follow Up

According to The Gazette, Rod Blum won his house seat over challenger Monica Vernon in most of the precincts. Blum said that he is glad to be back in office because he has done what he has said that he would do: work on reforming Congress and balancing the budget. Vernon had called Blum to congratulate him and said that she would continue working on the issues that she campaigned for. This was a great win for Blum because this district is primarily a democratic. Blum has beat the demographics twice and has claimed his seat for the second term. This was also to a plus from Trump winning the state of Iowa.

TV ad Spending Doubles in the Final Week

According to CNN it has gotten data from Kantar Media/CMAG that Clinton has more than doubled her tv ad spending in the final week. She went from $14 million to $32.5 million. Kantar Media is a company that tracks campaign spending money. Clinton has been also buying more airtime in Florida, a must win state for Trump, and in blue states to block out trump ads. In the mean time the Republican National Committee placed its first ad buy spending $2.9 million in Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, and Iowa. Trump Has pledged to spend $25 million this week all the way to the election and $100 million since September. Some states are seeing ads for the first time or the second in a long time due to Trump's effort to win over undecided voters. Both campaign plan to air an ad during game 7 of the world series.

Early Voting Turnouts Hurt Clinton

According to Politico this past Sunday was the last day for early in-person voting for the state of Florida. Compared to 2012 there were significantly less African-American voters that voted early this year. thirteen percent of Florida is comprised of African-American voters and they typically cast about ninety percent of their  ballots as democrats. This year whites and mixed races have casted eighty percent and seventy-six percent of early ballots compared to 2012. Alcee Hastings, a prominent figure in Florida's African-American population, has told Clinton's aide that they need to put more money in the black community. He was told that someone would get back with him but no one did. Bottom line is that the Democratic party has relied heavily on the African-AMerican early vote and since this year it has been really low it allows for the Republicans to hang in the race a little longer.