Nic Cage is very Vice Presidential.

Can you see it?

Image by Nati Harnik / AP

Via: joebidenlookingatthings

Image by Reuters

Image by AP

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The president has gotten some pretty sweet #SWAG from foreign nations, according to the federal Register. Too bad he's not allowed to keep most of it.

Some of these images are representations of the gift description provided by the Department of State and are not a picture of the actual gift received.

Graf von Faber-Castell ‘‘Perfect Pencil’’ from His Excellency Jose´ Manuel Durao Barroso, President of the European Commission.

Via: andys-pens.co.uk

#WRITINGSWAG.

Via: andys-pens.co.uk

Gold medal created by the Czech mint featuring an image of President Obama from The Honorable Petr Tulpa, Mayor of Jablonec Nad Nisou, Czech Republic.

Via: coincollectingnews.org

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Today he nominated the head of the Walmart Foundation to be his budget chief.

President Barack Obama nominated Sylvia Mathews Burwell, a one-time Clinton deputy-OMB director and current president of Walmart's charitable arm the Walmart Foundation, to be his next budget chief Monday.

But it was not long ago Obama was using ties to Walmart as a wedge issue attacking Hillary Clinton's service on the board of directors of the world's largest retailer.

"While I was working on those streets watching those folks see their jobs shift overseas, you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Walmart," then-Senator Obama said to Hillary Clinton in a 2008 debate.

Bill Clinton defended his wife's service at Walmart saying it was "it was the right thing for her to do."

The Obama campaign responded through spokesman Bill Burton by saying, "if they want to defend her service to one of the least environmentally-friendly, least labor-union friendly companies in the country, they're welcome to do that."

While attacking Clinton for her ties to Walmart, the Obama campaign went further, posting a Clinton "fact check" page on their website with links to stories saying Clinton was silent on labor issues while on Walmart's board, that she did not improve the experience of female employees, that Walmart resisted unionization when she was a director, and that she did not "rock the boat on labor or gender issues while at Walmart."

During the 2008 campaign Michelle Obama quit the board of a Wal-Mart supplier eight days after her husband told an AFL-CIO forum in Trenton, NJ, "I won't shop there" while discussing the retail chain according to the Chicago Sun Times.

“You'd think [because] he served in the Senate, it'd be different. But he evidently doesn't like to interact with members of Congress,” the Senator tells BuzzFeed.

UNITED STATES - APRIL 26: Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., at a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry committee markup of the 2012 Farm Bill.

Image by Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday admonished President Obama for his poor relationship with Congress and questioned the White House's ideological motives in pursuing its economic agenda.

"You know, I served with this guy in the Senate and had a few interactions with him as president, and I don't understand him," Sen. Chuck Grassley told BuzzFeed in an interview, adding, "I think his policies are leading towards the Europeanization of our economy. But I don't know if that's coming because it's his over all goal and he really wants us to become more socialist, or just the cumulative effect of a policy here and a policy there. But he's sure heading in that direction."

Grassley, one of the Senate's old bulls and a 22-year veteran of the chamber, became clearly frustrated when discussing the sequester, and harshly criticized Obama.

"You'd think [because] he served in the Senate, it'd be different. But he evidently doesn't like to interact with members of Congress," Grassley, said, questioning "why should he be travelling around the country for three months on this sequester thing, when he had 18 months to offer an alternative? If you wanted to fly around and waste a lot of time flying around, you could have put a few republicans on the plane with him and negotiate with all those lost hours on that airplane."

Grassley also dismissed Obama's Friday morning summit with congressional leaders. "If you were really serious about doing something about the sequester, why would you wait until it goes into effect to call Republican leaders over to the White House, the first time you've talked to them in two months?"

In the interview, Grassley also warned that should Obama nominate one or more people to the Supreme Court, he needs to stick to the middle of the political spectrum if he hopes to avoid a major political fight.

Noting that nominees during the Clinton era saw relatively high levels of support in the Senate, Democrats made clear at the start of the Bush administration that
"'it's a whole new ball game, and these judges are going to get a whole new review and ideology is a legitimate thing.' Well that's the environment we're in," Grassley said.

If Obama wants to avoid a fight with Senate Republicans, he'll need to be moderate in his court choices, Grassley argued.

"It's what Democrats demanded of Republican presidents. Are you going to nominate middle of the road people or are you going to nominate extremists. If they fall their own admonitions and nominate people in the middle of the road, I think you won't have as much opposition," he said.

The Newark mayor's State of the City address Tuesday will be a pointed defense of his record. A stable budget, increased development, and reduced crime, says a city official.

Image by Alex Wong / Getty Images

In his seventh State of the City address Tuesday evening, Cory Booker will make the case to Newark residents, and to political observers well outside the city limits, that his record as mayor — under increasing scrutiny as he considers a bid for national office — has been marked by success, grounded in hard data.

According to a city official with knowledge of the speech, Booker will focus on a broad picture of Newark's budget — arguing that his administration has reined in costs, while growing revenue, despite having inherited "dysfunction found across government agencies when his administration arrived almost seven years ago," said the official.

The speech, to be delivered at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in downtown Newark, will push back against a narrative picked up most prominently in a New York Times article last December: that Booker is better liked outside the Central Ward than inside; that he has ignored his managerial responsibilities in favor of boosting his national profile; and that, as the Times piece puts it, he has "proved to be a better marketer than mayor."

Booker took that criticism hard when the Times story was published, and has aggressively tried to rebut the thesis in subsequent interviews, including one with BuzzFeed earlier this year. In the January interview, he called the story "just the worst thing of this last month," he said. "Just frustrating as heck to see your career, your service, your heart and soul like that."

The State of the City will be an opportunity to argue directly against these and other lines of criticism that have only picked up speed since Booker announced last December that he would prepare a bid for the U.S. Senate.

The mayor, said the official, will offer up an array of statistics that poke holes in the recent critiques: a population increase for the first time in 60 years; a billion dollars of development in the last year; an additional $1.5 billion slated to come; and a decrease in crime over his tenure in office, despite a spike in violence during 2011 and 2012. Statistics from the Newark Police Department, according to the official, show that since 2006, murder in the city is down 17%, and shooting incidents are down 27%.

Booker's office also points to an October 2012 poll, obtained last Friday by the New Jersey Star-Ledger, that shows the mayor in good standing with his city.

The polling — conducted by the national firm Global Strategy Group, for the Newark mayoral race in 2014 — shows Booker with a 70% favorability rating and a 65% approval rating, among local residents. Asked if they would vote to reelect Booker to a third term — which, he says, he has already ruled out — 58% of respondents said they'd give him their vote.

"He took a city government on the verge of financial collapse and made very consistent, very tough management decisions, and has restored stability and accountability," said the official.

“A lot of time I get unpleasant [responses],” the 79-year-old lawmaker says of reactions to his offbeat Twitter musings. Assume Twitter Dead.

Senator Chuck Grassley talks to supporter Allan Frandson before the Republican Party of Iowa's Regan Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa September 17, 2010. REUTERS/Brian C.

Image by Brian C. Frank / Reuters

WASHINGTON — Everybody's favorite senatorial tweeter, Chuck Grassley, is giving up his signature mix of personal observations, misadventures, and politics for a more staid, policy-focused approach to social media.

And it's all your fault.

Grassley, who in September will turn 80, has delighted the Twitterverse with random observations about life in Iowa, hilariously abbreviated sports scores, and spot-on criticisms of the History Channel's decidedly unhistorical programming.

But all that is going away thanks to the snarky — and, occasionally, downright nasty — responses to his tweets.

"I try to be more policy-oriented now than I used to be, not every little personal thing," Grassley said in an interview with BuzzFeed.

@ChuckGrassley in a happier time

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Being leader of the free world is not all it's cracked up to be.

It is a tough job to rule the Galactic American Empire!

Image by (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Like when you're giving a speech and this happens.

Via: http://(Official%20White%20House%20Photo%20by%20Pete%20Souza)

And when you are challenged to a karate contest to settle international scores.

Image by Getty Images

When you get hug-bombed by Power Rangers in your own house.

Image by (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Some of these are stupider than others…

Losing their health insurance.

Source: @nosniboRlekiM  /  via: shutterstock.com

Not making enough money on YouTube.

Source: @Siggyv  /  via: shutterstock.com

Their flight delay.

Source: @EvanSchrage  /  via: soisthisthingon.files.wordpress.com

Not being able to afford girl scout cookies.

Source: @ChildFireHD  /  via: leahsthoughts.files.wordpress.com

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Leader of Iowa Republicans says the process that gave us Michele Bachmann may need to go. But don't touch the caucuses.

Image by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Grassley said Monday it may be time for Iowa Republicans to end the legendary Ames Straw Poll, but insisted the state's much derided caucus system is still sound.

When asked during an interview with BuzzFeed what steps the state can take to maintain its first-in-the-nation status, the 79-year-old Republican said: "Well, maybe not have the straw poll." But "beyond that," he said, the state's primary system remains viable.

An expensive and consuming ritual derided for its lack of success in predicting the eventual GOP presidential nominee, the quadrennial straw poll has become a key moment for movement conservatives in the state. Whether it was tapping evangelical firebrand Pat Robertson in the 1987 straw poll or Rep. Michele Bachmann in 2011, conservative Christians have used the poll as a way to make their voices heard not only in the state, but nationally.

Indeed, Bachmann's win vaulted her, albeit briefly, to the top of the GOP pile, kicking off a revolving door of figures who auditioned as the movement's alternative to Mitt Romney.

That, in turn, forced the former Mass. Governor further and further to the right, a tactic that helped undermine his general election bid against President Obama.

Grassley is the dean of the state's Republican party, and opposition from him could give a boost to those in the party looking to do away with the poll.

Grassley, however, insisted the state's some what antiquated caucus system — which still uses paper ballots — remains an effective way for both parties to pick nominees.

However, he did acknowledge that some form of monitoring is needed to avoid the kind of problems that marred the 2012 caucuses. Although Romney was originally declared the winner — result that helped build momentum as the race moved into New Hampshire — former Sen. Rick Santorum was ultimately named the victor.

"You can't have Santorum a loser one day and winner the next day. Even though it's very close. But I don't think that destroys the credibility of it," he said.

"A lot of people say the caucus isn't viable anymore. I don't think that's true. But we're going to have to make sure we can prove to the candidates as well as to the voters that their ballots are going to be counted, and counted on time," Grassley added, quipping that maybe state officials should bring in some sort of "Jimmy Carter style monitoring."

Grassley also aggressively pushed back against the broader question of whether or not Iowa should retain it's position as "First In the Nation" for its primaries.

"Well you might say seven or eight of them haven't amounted to much. But don't forget, Obama wouldn't be president of the United States if hadn't of beat Mrs. Clinton in Iowa. Because he had to show people an African American could get elected in a white state. And then Jimmy Carter came down and lived here for two years, or he wouldn't have been president of the United States."

"So we have made some presidents."

Meanwhile, Grassley predicted that if Rep. Steve King — one of the most conservative members of the House — decides to run for outgoing Sen. Tom Harkin's Senate seat, it could clear the primary field next year.

"[Rep. Tom] Latham pulled out. That leaves King as an incumbent congressman. Is he going to run or not? He's looking at it very seriously," Grassley told Buzzfeed.

And while there are other solid Republicans considering a run, "if King runs I don't think any of those run. If [he doesn't] run, we could have a Republican primary, but it'd be amongst people who are fairly well known."

Grassley said he's upbeat about Republican chances to taking Harkin's seat.

"I think there's two things that tell me we've got a chance at wining. Number one, there's a vacancy. Number two, Iowa's kind of a purple state … Iowa can go either way, ya know. We've got equal division in the congressional delegation, we've got one house controlled by the Republicans, one by Democrats in the state legislature, we've got a Republican governor."

But with a Democratic primary unlikely, Grassley did worry that money could become a factor.

"I think money will be a big problem, because I think Democrats will have plenty of money, particularly if they don't have a primary … Now I think if it looks like Republicans have a good chance of winning, we could probably get the money. But the trouble is you might not know that until a year from this summer. Our primary's in June," he said.

Despite his role as the elder statesman of the party, Grassley said he's not getting seriously involved in the primary: though he has spoken to one candidate. "I said to him, 'You're the only one I'm going to encourage to run, I'm not going to tell anyone they shouldn't run.' Because everyone I've heard talked about is a viable candidate … that's as far as I'm going to go. I'm not going to get involved in the primary."

“The chatter is he's up to something,” says one Florida operative.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush

Image by David Manning / Reuters

If Jeb Bush decides to convert his media tour into a presidential bid in a couple years, he won't have to look far for a campaign staff: The well-funded education foundation he runs out his office in a Miami hotel is stacked with former political operatives, a large communications team, and a rapidly growing staff whose work stretches into 40 states.

It is common practice for undeclared presidential candidates to build a campaign infrastructure under the guise of a political action committee, but Bush appears to be laying the groundwork for a potential campaign through his foundation, multiple Florida political strategists told BuzzFeed.

"The chatter is he's up to something," said Florida Democratic operative Christian Ulvert. "He has a robust staff and has positioned himself on policy issues. You can safely say his eyes are focused on some form of higher office."

"I think you look at history and get a good indictor of that after [his firs gubernatorial race in 1994] when he lost he kept his campaign staff together. He has a historical precedent for being prepared and I think he's still doing that," added Sarasota-based Republican strategist Jamie Miller.

Though people close to Bush stressed that he has not yet decided whether to pursue the presidency in 2016, the former Florida governor hasn't been shy about keeping the speculation alive. Asked on the Today show Monday whether he would rule out a run, he replied, "I won't, but I won't declare it today either."

Bush also made news this week by announcing he no longer supports a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants — a move that, improbably, put him to the right of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on the issue, and prompted more buzz that he has his eye on the Republican primaries.

Bush said he will make a decision next year. In the mean time, he will continue promoting his new book, Immigration Wars, and working at his Foundation for Excellence in Education, which a spokesperson confirmed is expanding rapidly.

Allison Aubuchon, the foundation's deputy communications director, rejected the notion that the organization exists, in part, has a waiting room for would-be campaign staffers.

"Our team has grown solely to better support our reform mission, to provide a quality education for each and every child – it's the great equalizer. Anyone who suggests other reasons for our growth is incorrect, but I'll agree we are fortunate to work with a highly skilled team," Aubuchon said.

But with a bevy of seasoned political operatives, including an eight-member communications team, the foundation is packed with practiced campaign staffers. Aubuchon herself is the former press secretary for the Florida Senate Majority office; events director Brandi Brown was on the staff of Bush's successful 1997 gubernatorial campaign; marketing director Erin Price was a political fundraiser in New York; and communications director Jaryn Emhof had the same title under Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater.

What's more, one Republican strategist involved in Florida politics said Bush's foundation is staffing up and adding field organizers to focus on grassroots work.

Aubuchon said the foundation is only adding staff to "support growing education reform efforts throughout the county."

Still, many in Florida's political class are convinced that Bush is keeping his options open by retaining political talent at his foundation.

"The best politicians are always prepared and they keep their networks active and growing, and for Jeb to do that, whether it's just to push educational reforms which are obviously close to his heart, that's what good politicians do," Miller said.

Another Republican, who has worked with Bush for years and requested anonymity to speculate about his plans, said that he is more serious about running than national pundits have acknowledged.

But until the guessing game comes to an end, Bush should have little trouble attracting talented young operatives eager to hitch their wagons to Jeb-mentum, said Florida Democratic strategist Steven Schale.

"Jeb is the kind of guy that if you're young and hungry in politics, whether he runs for president or not, working with him is a great place to start in your career," Schale said.

Supporters of the immigration reform movement say the governor's new position on a pathway to citizenship won't last long. “Jeb Bush is rusty,” says Sharry.

Image by William Thomas Cain / Getty Images

His new book may argue against a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers, but activists aren't worried that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has abandoned their cause, chalking up his apparent flip-flop on the issue to being a "rusty" politician who will fall back to his original stance on the issue by the week's end.

"I was very surprised at the comments by Governor Bush," said Eliseo Medina, the secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, on a press call with reporters Tuesday. "He's always been a strong supporter of immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship."

Bush writes in the book, published Tuesday, that he would support legislation that allows for a "permanent legal residency," while preserving what he calls "the cherished fruits of citizenship."

But the book — titled Immigration Wars, and co-written by the conservative immigration lawyer, Clint Bolick — was met with fierce criticism Monday by immigration activists who pointed out that the governor has previously supported exactly what he denounces in the new release.

In an interview with CBS News last summer, Bush said, "You have to deal with this issue. You can't ignore it. And so, either a path to citizenship, which I would support — and that does put me probably out of the mainstream of most conservatives — or a path to residency of some kind."

Bush's aside about the beliefs of "mainstream" conservative movement gestures toward what Frank Sharry, executive director of the America's Voice Education Fund, claims is the primary reason for the governor's new position.

"It was aimed at paving the way for a run for president," Sharry said. "He decides to shoot out what he thought would be the middle of the debate, and a somewhat progressive position."

"It just speaks to how fast the politics have changed," he added.

According to data released Tuesday by the polling firm, Latino Decisions, Hispanic voters now view citizenship as the mark of truly comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Forty-four percent of Latino voters — a plurality — said they would be more likely to support Republican candidates if their party would take a leadership role in passing a bill that includes a pathway to citizenship.

"This is terrible timing on a book coming out when times are changing at lightening speed," said Clarissa Martinez de Castro, a director at the National Council of La Raza.

"It just seems to me that Jeb Bush is rusty," said Sharry. "He is going to be an outspoken proponent again by the end of the week."

Already Tuesday morning, in an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Bush softened on the position backed by Immigration Wars, saying he would support a pathway to citizenship after all "if you can craft that in law where you can have a path to citizenship where there isn't an incentive for people to come illegally."

Have you see this drone?

The drone probably doesn't look like this.

Image by Kirsty Wigglesworth, File / AP

A pilot for Alitalia airlines flying into New York's JFK airport told controllers he spotted a drone.

"We saw a drone, a drone aircraft," the pilot was heard telling the control tower on radio calls according to ABC News.

"The FAA is investigating a report he saw a small, unmanned or remote-controlled aircraft while on final approach to Runway 31 Right," FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said in a statement to CNN.

And now the FBI is looking for help investigating the incident, asking for tipsters with information to come forward.

The press release reads:

On Monday, March, 4, 2013, at approximately 1:15 p.m., the pilot of Alitalia Flight #608 spotted a small, unmanned aircraft while on approach to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Alitalia flight was roughly three miles from runway 31R when the incident occurred at an altitude of approximately 1,750 feet. The unmanned aircraft came within 200 feet of the Alitalia plane.

The FBI is investigating the incident and looking to identify and locate the aircraft and its operator. The unnamed aircraft was described as black in color and no more than three feet wide with four propellers.

"The FBI is asking anyone with information about the unmanned aircraft or the operator to contact us," said Special Agent in Charge John Giacalone. "Our paramount concern is the safety of aircraft passengers and crew."

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 212-384-1000. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

The Hispanic community now cares more about passing immigration reform than fixing the economy, according to data released Tuesday. “A convergence of aspiration and opportunity,” says Martinez de Castro.

Senators John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Marco Rubio, Bob Menendez and Dick Durbin give a news conference on comprehensive immigration reform on Capitol Hill in January.

Image by Alex Wong / Getty Images

Latino voters now consider immigration reform a higher priority than improving the economy, according to polling data released Tuesday — a dramatic shift in attitude from last November.

The majority of respondents in the Latino Decision poll — 58 percent in total — said immigration reform was the "most important issue" facing the Latino community, followed by creating jobs and fixing the economy at 38 percent. Asked the same question last November — in an election-eve poll also conducted by Latino Decisions — 53 percent of voters chose the economy as their prime cocnern, while just 35 percent prioritized immigration.

Matt Barreto, a principal at Latino Decisions and an associate professor of political science at the University of Washington, called the change a "direct flip from what we found in November," he said. "This is now the top issue."

The reversal, said immigration reform activists Tuesday in a press call with reporters, shows that the Hispanic community no longer just has "the economy in their minds and immigration in their hearts," said Clarissa Martinez de Castro, a director at the National Council of La Raza. "This poll shows that immigration is becoming an even higher priority for this population. That's extremely significant."

Martinez de Castro said there has been some doubt — and an argument that has persisted among members of the Republican party — that Latino voters don't see immigration as a issue comparable to the economy. "We finally put that to rest," she said.

The poll also demonstrates that the vast majority of Latino voters — 93 percent of respondents — hope for comprehensive immigration reform legislation before the end of 2013. Only six percent of voters said it was "not too important" or "not at all important" that Congress and the president address immigration reform this year.

"This poll proves to Congress," added, Eliseo Medina, the secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, "that the alarm clock is ticking, and still ringing loud and clear. The 2012 elections may be over, but Latinos expectations for immigration reform are not."

Asked about a possible reason for the reason for the shift, the activists on the call pointed to the ongoing discussion about the Senate's bipartisan immigration reform bill, and the president's attention to the issue during his inaugural address and his State of the Union last month.

Latinos see the moment as "a convergence of aspiration and opportunity," said Martinez de Castro.

José Enrique Serrano is a Democratic Congressman representing parts of the Bronx. Serrano worked with Chavez to bring Venezuelan heating oil to the South Bronx.

Via: @RepJoseSerrano

"It's simply insulting that a Democrat Congressman would praise the authoritarian ruler Hugo Chavez. Chavez systematically cracked down on the basic freedom and liberties of Venezuelans, nationalized private industries, and befriended anti-American dictators like Castro, Ahmadinejad, and Assad. Americans should stand together with the freedom loving people of Venezuela as they hope for a peaceful transition to a democracy, instead of praising the former dictator."

I met President Chavez in 2005 when he came to my district at my invitation," said Congressman Serrano. "His focus on the issues faced by the poor and disenfranchised in his country made him a truly revolutionary leader in the history of Latin America. He understood that after 400 years on the outside of the established power structure looking in, it was time that the poor had a chance at seeing their problems and issues addressed. His core belief was in the dignity and common humanity of all people.

"When he visited, President Chavez offered a new type of program to the people of the Bronx. He had harnessed the power of his nation's oil resources and was using their profits—through Citgo—to enact social spending programs. Now he offered people in the Bronx that were struggling economically the same deal. He would provide home heating oil at a huge discount, provided the savings were reinvested in programs that benefited the underserved and underprivileged. I am proud to report that we have benefited from that program ever since, with millions invested in our community through this program and through a grant program he set up.

"Though President Chavez was accused of many things, it is important to remember that he was democratically-elected many times in elections that were declared free and fair by international monitors. Even today, people in North America seem unable to accept that Venezuelans had taken our admonitions to have democracy to heart and elected the leader of their choice. President Chavez carried out the programs that his constituents wanted enacted, and won reelection. This too was revolutionary in the history of Latin America.

"President Chavez was a controversial leader. But at his core he was a man who came from very little and used his unique talents and gifts to try to lift up the people and the communities that reflected his impoverished roots. He believed that the government of the country should be used to empower the masses, not the few. He understood democracy and basic human desires for a dignified life. His legacy in his nation, and in the hemisphere, will be assured, as the people he inspired continue to strive for a better life for the poor and downtrodden."

With a potential filibuster of an appeals court nominee, the administration ramps up the pressure on Senate Republicans. Caitlin Halligan's nomination didn't go forward in 2011, but President Obama renominated her this year.

Image by Jim McKnight / AP

WASHINGTON — Although Supreme Court nominees are all over the news when vacancies occur at the high court, appeals court nominees — who represent smaller portions of the country but frequently have the final say because the Supreme Court hears fewer than 100 cases a year — rarely capture the public's attention.

President Obama's administration, like administrations before it, would like that to change.

A cloture vote is expected Wednesday on D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Caitlin Halligan, whose nomination didn't go to a vote in the previous Congress. And the White House is hoping that it will be able to draw enough attention so that it can pressure Republicans into allowing a final vote on her nomination.

The 60-vote threshold was forced by Republicans, and Majority Leader Harry Reid filed the cloture petition setting up Wednesday's vote.

The court is considered one of the most important appeals courts in the nation, hearing important agency and administrative appeals. Moreover, the court's judges — particularly younger ones — are almost always considered among potential Supreme Court nominees for future high court vacancies.

When Halligan's nomination was considered in December 2011, Republicans blocked the nomination with a 54-45 vote, with Sen. Orrin Hatch voting present. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the sole Republican to vote for cloture, and she was joined by Independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

After the Senate vote, Obama said in a statement, "Ms. Halligan has the experience, integrity, and judgment to serve with distinction on this court, and she has broad bipartisan support from the legal and law enforcement communities. But today, her nomination fell victim to the Republican pattern of obstructionism that puts party ahead of country."

Halligan had served as a law clerk to D.C. Circuit Judge Patricia M. Wald and Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer. She later spent a decade working in the New York Attorney General's Office, the last five years of which she served as solicitor general, the state's top appellate lawyer.

Although there were criticisms of Halligan's substantive positions taken as a lawyer, administration officials point to statements made at that time about the need for the judgeship to be filled as a changed circumstance.

The ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, for example, said in December 2011, "[W]e should be having a discussion on reducing the staffing for this court, not filling a vacancy. This seat is not a judicial emergency." Sen. Lindsey Graham echoed that contention to Roll Call.

Since that time, though, another vacancy has been added to the court, meaning that only seven of the court's 11 authorized judgeships are filled. The administration notes that with those vacancies — a vacancy rate of 36% — the court of appeals has never been this understaffed.

According to statistics provided Tuesday by the White House, the caseload for each active judge has increased almost 15 percent since the Senate considered Halligan's nomination in 2011 and more than 21 percent since President George W. Bush nominated Peter Keisler to the court in 2006. There are 188 pending cases for each active judge on the D.C. Circuit currently, according to the administration, compared to 164 in 2011 and 155 in 2006.

"Senator Grassley's concerns about her qualifications haven't changed, no matter how many vacancies there are," Grassley communications director Beth Levine told BuzzFeed Tuesday.

An email seeking comment from Graham's office was not immediately returned late Tuesday afternoon.

Following the Senate's approval Monday night of the nation's first out lesbian Asian-American judge, Pamela Chen, on a voice vote, the White House released an extensive graphic detailing the diversity of President Obama's judicial nominees and the Senate course to confirmation that they have faced.

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Speaker John Boehner doesn't want to approve anything hastily or with a minority of the Republican vote. But that doesn't leave many options moving forward.

Image by J. Scott Applewhite / AP

WASHINGTON — The House is tired of constant legislative "cliffs" and crises, Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday, and will strive to move away from using them to move tough decisions.

"Because we've had all of these fiscal cliff issues, there are a lot of other things the American people want us to address," Boehner said.

So, after voting this week to approve the continuing resolution to fund the government, the House likely won't be passing many major bills in the near term.

Boehner insisted the House will not continue to operate as it did with the Violence Against Women Act, either, which passed with a minority of the Republican majority supporting it.

But last-minute deal-making during crises or votes without a majority of Republicans have enabled the House to approve its only recent major pieces of legislation. When the Republican majority in the House has supported a bill, it has all but ensured the legislation would be dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

In recognition of that dynamic, Boehner has repeatedly called for the Senate to act first — on nearly everything.

"There's not an appetite to continue to pass legislation in the House that's only going to go die in the Senate," said Rep. Aaron Schock, an Illinois Republican, invoking House Republicans' sequestration replacement bills as an example. "What more can we do, keep passing bills? I mean, we get made fun of when we vote on ObamaCare 60 times."

What House leaders have done recently is to allow votes on major bills, including the fiscal cliff deal and Sandy relief funding, that they knew would not garner support from a majority of Republicans. Boehner indicated Tuesday that he hopes to move away from that trend — but many Republican lawmakers concede that it might make sense with the GOP only controlling the House.

"We pass things out of here all the time with majorities, and the White House and the Senate never takes them up," said Rep. John Fleming, a Louisiana Republican. "So, what difference does it make if it's a majority or a minority of Republicans?"

A notable exception: When the House votes Wednesday to approve a continuing resolution to fund the government, the measure is expected to receive support from a majority of Republicans.

"For the first time, really, in the past two years, we're on the same page," Fleming said. "I voted against the two previous continuing resolutions, and I'm happy with this one. So I don't think (Boehner is) going to have any problem getting that majority he's looking for among Republicans."

But there will be no such assurance if the Senate sends the bill back with amendments to re-target sequestration cuts to domestic spending — in which case Boehner might have to decide whether to do exactly what he doesn't want to, and bring another measure to the floor without a majority of his conference's support.

It hasn't happened yet. “I've been calling every month,” Gillibrand says.

Image by Seth Wenig / AP

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama offered to host a dinner for female senators at the White House — and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand isn't about to let him forget it.

"I've been calling every month," Gillibrand said in an BuzzFeed Brews interview Tuesday night.

The president made the offer during a flight aboard Air Force One, where he was joined by Gillibrand and Sen. Chuck Schumer.

During the flight, as the senators and the president shared lunch, Obama asked Gillibrand to share her thoughts on legislative priorities. She said, "If you need legislative success on a bipartisan basis, you should work with the women senators."

When Gillibrand mentioned quarterly dinners that are held for the Senate's female members, she was surprised by the president's response.

"We would love to have you as our guest" at the White House, Obama said, according to Gillibrand.

The dinner hasn't been firmed up yet, but Gillibrand says she's still working to set it up.

“The bottom line is, if we had 51 percent of women in Congress, we would have never spent the last two years debating access to birth control,” Gillibrand says.

WASHINGTON — Congress would be more productive and fair if it was composed of at least 51 percent female lawmakers, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Tuesday.

"The bottom line is, if we had 51 percent of women in Congress, we would have never spent the last two years debating access to birth control," Gillibrand said in an interview during BuzzFeed Brews.

But women aren't just focused on different issues, Gillibrand said: They also approach legislating differently by "put(ting) aside party politics and self-aggrandizement."

"Even the most conservative women in the Senate I have common ground with," Gillibrand said.

Gillibrand, a vocal advocate for equal pay for women, said the Senate and Congress as a whole could learn from the comity shown by female legislators of both parties.

"We like to celebrate each other's victories…and relate to each other as people," Gillibrand said. "That commonality really drives us together."

"We talk about the men," she added. "But we don't tell them what we say."

Changing Congress is only the first step.

Image by Alex Wong / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — As one of 20 women in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has embraced her role as a force to advance women's standing in politics — even in her literature selections.

In a BuzzFeed Brews interview on Tuesday, Gillibrand said she read The Hunger Games as "a women's rights book" — but was "really disappointed in the ending" when Katniss, the protagonist, ended up tending to a garden instead of, say, going into politics.

Gillibrand has chosen a different path for herself. "When I first entered the Senate, I thought, what can I do to move this ball?" she said.

"I want to create a Rosie the Riveter for our generation," Gillibrand added.

Although women have made progress penetrating the notoriously male-dominated halls of Congress, Gillibrand is hoping for a better ratio yet: A legislative branch composed of at least 51 percent women.

"I think when you have male and female voices at the table, you're just going to have better outcome," she said.

President Barack Obama apparently agrees, and offered to host a quarterly dinner at the White House for female senators. Gillibrand accepted and is trying to firm up the engagement.

Gillibrand also acknowledged the unique professional and personal challenges those female voices in Congress must grapple with, including balancing their family lives and children with their legislative duties.

"When you have children, you need to make them lunch," she laughed. She added, "I try to make sure their teeth are brushed, because no one wants to smell their teeth in the car."

She also tries to keep her schedule as flexible as possible, and open from 5 to 7 p.m. to pick her children up from school. As a senator, it's not always easy.

But Gillibrand says she tries to channel her experiences as a mother toward understanding and advocating for a range of other policy issues — from equal pay for women to gun violence, particularly in light of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

"There's not a parent in the world who didn't look at Sandy Hook and fear for the safety of their own children," Gillibrand said. "The intensity of that issue and the severity of what happened has really brought it home to me that we really have to do much better."

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Divestment campaigners labeled “anti-American.”

One of the hosts of Fox News' The Five, Greg Gutfeld, tonight compared student groups who call on universities to divest from oil companies to Islamists, complaining that their "profoundly anti-American ideology" has "infected campuses" with a radical anti-clean-underwear agenda.

He further claimed that the protestors, who sometimes hunger-strike to draw attention to their cause, needed to lose weight.

"Let 'em starve for a while, they could stand to lose a few pounds," he said.

Gutfeld blamed environmental activist Bill McKibben for the dire state of affairs.

"Look at the leader, Bill McKibben, who is also blocking the Keystone pipeline," he said. "It's abandonment of consuming, forcing you to return to a communal lifestyle. No cars, no stores and no clean underwear."

Said Gutfeld, a former staff writer for Prevention magazine: "Remember how the goal of the radical Islamists is to force existence back to a time when Mohammad walked the earth? The only difference between them and the divestors is the radical Islamists cut to the chase."

The protests are nonetheless not a long-term concern, Gutfeld argued, because the protestors themselves will eventually abandon their principles and work for their parents.

"It's just a cause that they get involved with until they get an internship at their dad's law firm," Gutfeld said.

Host Andrea Tantaros added that the students were hypocritical for criticizing oil companies while using oil-based public transportation to pursue their interests in improvised rock music.

"It is the stupidest thing I've ever seen," Tantaros said. "Even your stinkiest hippie, Greg, uses fossil fuel at some point in the day whether that's to take a bus to not buy deodorant or to a Phish concert or to get on his iPad to buy new Birkenstocks. They all use it."

Source: youtube.com