Senate

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From left, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speak to the media after the Senate passed the debt ceiling plan, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., leaves the Senate floor after they passed the debt ceiling plan, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speak to the media after the Senate passed the debt ceiling plan, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., along with GOP leadership, speaks to the media after the Senate passed the debt ceiling plan, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to the media after the Senate passed the debt ceiling plan, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to the media after the Senate passed the debt ceiling plan, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, speaks to the media on Capitol Hill after the Senate passed the debt ceiling plan on Aug. 2, 2011. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, speak to the media on Capitol Hill after the Senate passed the debt ceiling plan on Aug. 2, 2011. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Sen. Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, is the Senate majority leader.

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LOGJAM LIFTED?: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, is all smiles as he walks to the Senate floor Sunday to announce that a deal has been reached on the debt ceiling. It must still pass both houses of Congress. (Associated Press)

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, gives a thumbs up when asked about a deal an the debt ceiling as he heads to the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sunday, July 31, 2011. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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From left: Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, head July 31, 2011, to the Senate floor on Capitol Hill to vote on the debt-limit solution crafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (second from right), Kentucky Republican, walks July 31, 2011, to the Senate floor at the Capitol for a vote on a debt-limit solution crafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. McConnell is joined by Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (left), of Arizona, and Sen. John Barrasso (rear center), Wyoming Republican. (Associated Press)

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (second from right), Kentucky Republican, walks July 31, 2011, to the Senate floor at the Capitol for a vote on a debt-limit solution crafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. McConnell is joined by Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (left), of Arizona, and Sen. John Barrasso (rear center), Wyoming Republican. (Associated Press)

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, speaks from the floor of the Senate on July 30, 2011, at the Capitol in Washington. (Associated Press/Senate Television)

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"Republicans' short-term plan is a nonstarter in the Senate and in the White House," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, with Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, looking on. "It appears to me at this stage that the Republicans are more interested in trying to embarrass the president than doing what's right for the country." (Associated Press)

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Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, while testifying as a nominee in June 2010, reportedly told a Senate panel she had never been asked about her opinion or had offered any comments about proposed health care legislation while solicitor general. (Associated Press)

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Flanked by Republican New Jersey state Sen. Thomas H. Kean (left) and Democratic state Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney (right), New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie answers a question after signing public employee benefits legislation into law on Tuesday, June 28, 2011, in Trenton, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, makes his way to the Senate floor, where he introduced a bipartisan resolution Tuesday to authorize continued use of "limited" U.S. military force in Libya. The resolution is co-sponsored by Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican.

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Associated Press CIA Director Leon E. Panetta is poised to move to the Pentagon following unanimous Senate approval Tuesday of his nomination to head the Defense Department. He begins his new job July 1.