President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Small Business Administration, former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, passed a key procedural vote in the Senate on Thursday, clearing the path for her final confirmation vote.  The Senate’s vote this afternoon to invoke cloture ended the debate on the Georgia Republican’s nomination, as she now moves on to the confirmation stage. The final cloture vote was 51-43 in favor of invoking cloture. “Like...

Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota announced Thursday she won’t seek re-election in 2026, forcing the Democratic Party to defend another open seat in next year’s midterm and making more difficult their goal of regaining the Senate majority. “I’ve decided not to run for re-election to the Senate in 2026,” Smith said in a social media post. “This job has been the honor of a lifetime. For the rest...