The House was not in session last week. Along with roll call votes, the Senate also passed the Emergency Medical Services for Children Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 776), and a bill (S. 929), to redefine the eastern and middle judicial districts of North Carolina.

There were no key votes in the House this week.

SENATE VOTES

SAUDI ARABIA WEAPONS SALES: The Senate has failed to overturn President Trump’s veto of a bill (S.J. Res. 36), sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., to disapprove of the proposed sale of military products and services to Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy. Menendez cited concerns about Saudi Arabia’s killing of civilians in its intervention in Yemen’s civil war, and said that the weapons sales could also enable “the Saudis to manufacture their own similar weapons in the future or transfer our American-made technical know-how to other countries.” A supporter of the veto, Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, said: “Rejecting these sales at this time will reward recent Iranian aggression and risk Iranian miscalculation, which will lead to disaster if Iran continues down its current path.” The vote to override the veto, on July 29, was 45 yeas to 40 nays, with a two-thirds majority needed to override.
YEAS: Susan Collins, R-Maine; Angus King, I-Maine

ARIZONA DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Michael T. Liburdi to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for Arizona. Liburdi was general counsel to Arizona’s governor from 2015 to 2018; otherwise, he has been a private practice lawyer in Phoenix since 2004. The vote, on July 30, was 53 yeas to 37 nays.
YEAS: Collins
NAYS: King

NORTH DAKOTA DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Peter D. Welte to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for North Dakota. Welte has been a private practice lawyer in Fargo since 2015, and from 2003 to 2015 was a North Dakota state’s attorney. The vote, on July 30, was 68 yeas to 22 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King

TEXAS DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Sean D. Jordan to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the eastern district of Texas. Jordan was a senior member of the Texas solicitor general’s office from 2004 to 2012, and since 2012 has been a private practice lawyer in Austin. The vote, on July 30, was 54 yeas to 34 nays.
YEAS: Collins
NAYS: King

SECOND TEXAS DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Mark T. Pittman to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the northern district of Texas. Pittman has been a judge on a Texas state appeals court since January 2017, and was previously a federal government attorney at several different agencies. The vote, on July 31, was 54 yeas to 36 nays.
YEAS: Collins
NAYS: King

THIRD TEXAS DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Jeffrey Vincent Brown to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the southern district of Texas. Brown has been a judge on Texas’s supreme court since 2014, with 13 previous years as an appeals court and district court judge in the state. The vote, on July 31, was 50 yeas to 40 nays.
NAYS: Collins, King

FOURTH TEXAS DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Brantley Starr to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the northern district of Texas. Starr has been an attorney in the Texas attorney general’s office since 2006, with the exception of three years as a private practice lawyer in Austin and three years as staff attorney for a judge on Texas’s supreme court. The vote, on July 31, was 51 yeas to 39 nays.
YEAS: Collins
NAYS: King

FIFTH TEXAS DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Jason K. Pulliam to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the western district of Texas. Pulliam has been a private practice lawyer in San Antonio since 2015, was previously a state appeals and county court judge in Texas, and began his law career as a defense counsel in the Marines. The vote, on July 31, was 54 yeas to 36 nays.
YEAS: Collins
NAYS: King

PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of William Shaw Stickman IV to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the western district of Pennsylvania. Stickman has been a private practice lawyer in Pittsburgh since 2007. The vote, on July 31, was 56 yeas to 34 nays.
YEAS: Collins
NAYS: King

U.N. AMBASSADOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Kelly Craft to serve as ambassador to the United Nations. Craft has been the ambassador to Canada for two years, and previously was a director of numerous nonprofit groups in Kentucky, as well as running a marketing and business consultancy. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that in her time as ambassador, Craft has effectively advocated for the U.S. while strengthening cooperation with Canada on trade and other policy issues. The vote, on July 31, was 56 yeas to 34 nays.
YEAS: Collins
NAYS: King

BUDGET PLAN: The Senate has passed the Bipartisan Budget Act (H.R. 3877), sponsored by Rep. John A. Yarmuth, D-Ky. The bill would outline a budget for fiscal 2020 and 2021 that includes higher spending limits for military and nonmilitary discretionary spending, suspend the federal government’s debt limit through July 2021, and extend through 2029 spending cuts for several mandatory spending programs. A supporter, Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., said it would lower discretionary government spending as a percentage of the economy and work to rebuild the military. An opponent, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the bill’s debt limit suspension “is fiscally irresponsible and has never been seen in our history.” The vote, on Aug. 1, was 67 yeas to 28 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King

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