Ramsey Touchberry

Senate guy for @dcexaminer. Alum: @WashTimes, @Newsweek.
@UFJSchool 🐊 FL native. [email protected]

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

Vote-a-rama status update from Thune. Seems to hinge on Cassidy's anti-weaponization fund amendment

"He's redrafted it many, many times in the last 13 hours, so we're trying to push to get him to do something with it and soon."

On Byrd Rule compliance he's "not sure it's finally resolved yet"
"But we're trying to get him to offer it so we can just get it voted on."

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

Collins on the latest claims against Platner: "These are obviously troubling allegations, and he has a lot of questions to answer."
#MESen

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

Sanders has a different tune following the NYT story: "Not right now," he repeatedly told me and other reporters when asked for comment.

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

I asked Sen. Bernie Sanders if there's concern sexual assault allegations could come out on Graham Platner after the #MESen candidate privately assuranced Dems there's no "credible" forthcoming claims

Sanders: "Who are you with?"

Me: "The Examiner."

Sanders: "Why don't we examine income and wealth inequality?"

Platner previously denied anything else would come to light before the extramarital sexting news.

[Andrew Desiderio @AndrewDesiderio]

Split-screen in the Senate press gallery: Sen. Susan Collins is about to cast her 10,000th consecutive vote as Graham Platner is on @chrislhayes addressing today’s @nytimes story

[Hailey Bullis @HaileyBullis1]

New: Rep. Jared Golden ruled out replacing Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, whose campaign is mired in controversy.

“I’m not going to be a candidate for the United States Senate in 2026,” Golden said. “I can assure you of that.”

Read more via me and @lauren_greennn:

https://t.co/acbSNCGDFK

[Frank Thorp V @frankthorp]

Sen MURKOWSKI says if they don't do something about the weaponization fund in the recon bill, it will fail on final passage.

“If it doesn't limit it, if it still is viewed that there could be an opportunity for the department or the president to gain access to a fund that has some of the same contours that we're dealing with, as it was presented to us, I think you, you lose, you lose this vote on final, "Murkowski told @NBCNews, "There's enough people who really have great, grave concerns about the fund."

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

Platner to appear tonight on MS NOW

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

Schumer declines to comment to myself and other reporters on the latest allegations aginst Platner and if he still supports him
#MESen

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

Schumer declines to comment to myself and other reporters on the latest allegations aginst Platner and if he still supports him
#MESen

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

"We're still doing Maine," DSCC Chair Gillibrand responds to @mkraju on standing by Platner as she walks into chamber.
#MESen

[David Sivak @DISivak]

News: Thune spoke with Trump today, per a source. The phone call comes as Rs usher the recon bill through the Senate

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) says reconciliation is "not our only chance to kill" the DOJ anti-weaponization fund, citing Blanche's nomination as a potential avenue that "we can hold up if we feel like he's not keeping up with his promise."

[David Sivak @DISivak]

New w/ @ramsberry1: Senate Republicans pump the brakes on Todd Blanche’s AG nomination https://t.co/F67Qbdh5tC

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

Cassidy, who recently lost his primary to Trump-backed Rep. Letlow, later changed his vote, bringing it to 7 GOPs to buck Trump's ballroom

Follows 12 also voting against DOJ fund

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

A bid to block Trump's ballroom construction (using public or even *private* funding) without congressional approval failed but got a half-dozen Republicans to side with the Dem-led effort:

Collins (battleground reelection)
Sullivan (battleground reelection)
Husted (battleground reelection)
Tillis (retiring)
Murkowski
Moran
https://t.co/skGYLagfvk

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

A bid to block Trump's ballroom construction (using public or even *private* funding) without congressional approval failed but got a half-dozen Republicans to side with the Dem-led effort:

Collins (battleground reelection)
Sullivan (battleground reelection)
Husted (battleground reelection)
Tillis (retiring)
Murkowski
Moran
https://t.co/skGYLagfvk

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

Dems could've helped Tillis pass this easily but instead united mostly against. Fails 15-84

3 Dem yesses
Klobuchar
Hassan
Cortez Masto

12 GOP yesses
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Curtis
Ernst
Husted
Moran
Murkowski
Rounds
Sullivan
Tillis
Young

[Ramsey Touchberry @ramsberry1]

Dems now against Tillis's anti-weaponization fund

Schumer's office: "The Tillis amendment would leave the underlying potential of a slush fund alive, AND hand Trump and Vance $1.7B in new money for a vague 'fraud enforcement' operation – that literally doesn’t exist (??)—with no guardrails, no oversight, to target blue states and organizations on Trump’s enemies list."