Nebraska Governor Takes a Pass on Senate Bid

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Gov. Dave Heineman of Nebraska said Saturday he would not be a candidate for the Senate seat in his state that will become vacant next year because Sen. Mike Johanns is not running for a second term.

“After careful consideration of all of the issues involved in a race for the United States Senate, I have decided to keep my focus on being the best governor that I can for the citizens of Nebraska,” Heineman said in a letter to his supporters. “Every day, I enjoy the challenges and opportunities of being the governor of the best state in America.”

Heineman, a popular Republican governor who could have almost certainly waltzed to victory in 2014, is the latest in a string of prominent elected officials who are taking a pass on running for the Senate. Several veteran incumbent senators have also announced their retirements, with some saying they are frustrated by the dysfunction in Washington.

Senate Republican leaders in Washington have spent months trying to persuade Heineman to run. While there is little danger that the seat could slip into Democratic hands in the deeply-conservative state, there is no room for error in the GOP’s quest to win control of the Senate next year.

Even the prospect of serving as a senator in the Republican majority, should the party pick up six seats and assume control from Democrats, was not attractive enough to Heineman, aides said. He is among a long list of governors who have taken a pass on joining Congress after being a chief executive of a state.

Johanns, a former governor and agriculture secretary in the administration of President George W. Bush, announced in February that he would not run for a second term next year. The decision from Heineman opens the door to a wide-open race in Nebraska, where there is also a competitive governor’s race next year.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Chuck Hagel to West Point Cadets: Sexual Assault Is a ‘Profound Betrayal’

SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(WEST POINT, N.Y.) -- Speaking at the commencement ceremony at the United States Military Academy at West Point, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told cadets that sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military are a “profound betrayal” and charged them with the responsibility to stamp out the sexual assault problem plaguing the military.

“You will need to not just deal with these debilitating, insidious and destructive forces but rather you must be the generation of leaders that stops it.  This will require your complete commitment to building a culture of respect and dignity for every member of the military and society,” Hagel said as he delivered the commencement address at West Point. “Sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military are a profound betrayal, a profound betrayal of sacred oaths and sacred trusts.  This scourge must be stamped out.”

“We are all accountable and responsible for ensuring that this happens.  We cannot fail the Army or America.  We cannot fail each other, and we cannot fail the men and women that we lead,” he said.

Hagel’s remarks at the esteemed military academy came during the same week as a U.S. Army sergeant was accused of secretly taking dozens of photos and videotaping naked female West Point cadets over five years.

President Obama addressed the issue of sexual assault in his speech at the commencement ceremonies for the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Friday, telling the graduates that there is “no place” for sexual assaults in the military.

“We must acknowledge that even here, even in our military, we’ve seen how the misconduct of some can have effects that ripple far and wide,” Obama said at the Naval Academy commencement ceremony Friday. “Those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that make our military strong.  That’s why we have to be determined to stop these crimes, because they’ve got no place in the greatest military on Earth.”

Over the past month, the military has dealt with a number of sexual assault scandals, causing military leaders and the president to speak out against the problem.

Earlier this month, the lieutenant colonel in charge of the Air Force’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office was arrested for alleged sexual battery, and the Army  announced that the coordinator of a sexual assault prevention program at Fort Hood, Texas, was under investigation “for pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates.”

The Pentagon reported this month that 26,000 sexual assaults occurred in the military in 2012, a 37 percent increase since last year.

The figure, coupled with the recent sexual assault cases involving those charged with leading programs to prevent such incidents, led Hagel to order the retraining, re-credentialing and re-screening of all sexual assault prevention coordinators and military recruiters.

Several members of Congress have proposed legislation aiming to stop the sexual assaults occurring in the military.

Earlier this month, a bi-partisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill which would take the prosecution of sexual assaults in the military out of the chain of command, preventing commanders from handling the cases of their subordinates.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Did Attorney General Eric Holder OK Attempt to Hack Journalist’s Email?

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Justice Department stopped short of saying that Attorney General Eric Holder O.K.’d the investigation into Fox News reporter James Rosen. But critics have seized on a comment Holder made last week, asking if the attorney general misled Congress.

The Obama administration has been criticized for reportedly seizing Rosen’s emails and phone records, and for tracking his movement in and out of the State Department through security-badge records, as it investigated possible leaks of information about North Korea. Last week’s Washington Post report added fuel to an already controversial time for the Justice Department, which seized phone records of Associated Press reporters and offices.

In a statement on Friday, the Justice Department said the Rosen investigation had been approved “at the highest levels” of the Justice Department, including “discussions with the Attorney General.”

Here’s how the department explained its decision to investigate Rosen, in a background statement:

The Department takes seriously the First Amendment right to freedom of the press.  In recognition of this, the Department took great care in deciding that a search warrant was necessary in the Kim matter, vetting the decision at the highest levels of the Department, including discussions with the Attorney General.  After extensive deliberations, and after following all applicable laws, regulations and policies, the Department sought an appropriately tailored search warrant under the Privacy Protection Act.  And a federal magistrate judge made an independent finding that probable cause existed to approve the search warrant.

Attorney General Holder understands the concerns that have been raised by the media and has initiated a reevaluation of existing Department policies and procedures.  This review will include extensive engagement with representatives of the media.  The Department must strike the appropriate balance between its obligation to enforce the laws preventing leaks of classified information and First Amendment rights, and, through a new media shield law and appropriate updates to the Department’s internal guidelines, we are committed to achieving that balance.

When Holder appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on May 15, four days before the Post reported on the Rosen investigation, Holder expressed skepticism of prosecuting reporters, as lawmakers asked him about the AP probe.

“You’ve got a long way to go to try to prosecute people — the press for the publication of that material,” Holder told the committee, according to a transcript service.

But he also said that he had never been aware of potential prosecutions of reporters.

“Well, I would say this. With regard to the potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material, that is not something that I’ve ever been involved in, heard of or would think would be a wise policy,” Holder said, responding to Georgia Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson’s suggestion that reporters’ First Amendment rights should be protected.

The Rosen leak was part of another prosecution — of the alleged leaker — but the Justice Department did suggest, in seeking a warrant for Rosen’s Gmail account, that he may have broken the law.

FBI agent Reginald Reyes wrote in an affidavit that “there is probably cause to believe that the Reporter has committed or is committing a violation of section 793(d), as an aider and abbettor and/or co-conspirator, to which the materials relate.”

Conservatives have seized on Holder’s comment, asking if the attorney general lied to Congress when he made it. Fox’s Karl Rove has asked that question, as have Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey and Townhall.com’s Katie Pavlich.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

President Obama's Weekly Address: Paying Tribute to Our Fallen Heroes on Memorial Day

The White House(WASHINGTON) -- In a Memorial Day themed weekly address, President Obama celebrates U.S. troops and paid tribute to those who died while serving in the military.

"They are heroes, each and every one.  They gave America the most precious thing they had – 'the last full measure of devotion.'  And because they did, we are who we are today – a free and prosperous nation, the greatest in the world," he said.
 
"Every time a threat has risen, Americans have risen to meet it.  And because of that courage – that willingness to fight, and even die – America endures," he said. "That is the purpose of Memorial Day.  To remember with gratitude the countless men and women who gave their lives."

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

GOP Weekly Address: Oklahoma 'Hit Hard,' But 'Not Knocked Out'

US Senate(MOORE, Okla.) -- In this week's Republican address, Oklahoma's senior senator, Jim Inhofe, speaks about the tornado that devastated Moore, Okla. this week.

Oklahoma has been hit hard, but we're not knocked out," Sen. Inhofe says in the address, delivered on location in Moore.

Inhofe says in times like these, whether during other tornadoes that struck Oklahoma in the past, or after the Oklahoma City bombing, Oklahomans always take care of each other, and praised those this week who demonstrated selfless acts "to ensure the safety and protection of their fellow neighbors, and their friends, and their students."

“The accounts of two elementary schools that were wiped out by the winds of 200 miles an hour have struck a chord, I think with all Americans – with everyone watching us now -- all Americans across the country," Inhofe says.

"Second-grade teacher Tammy Glasgow kept praying with her students and reminding them how much she loved them as she and her students took cover in a school closet; We had Suzanna Haley, she was a first-grade special education teacher in Briarwood Elementary School, suffered a severe injury when part of a school desk was impaled in the back of her leg while protecting the students in her classroom. The most heart-wrenching testimony I’ve heard is from the person who was responsible for matching the missing kids with the missing parents," he continues.
 
“The individuals who lived through these storms are volunteering in the recovery and assisting efforts right now, and they’re America’s real heroes."

Expressing his gratitude to those from around the country who have come to Oklahoma to give their time, money and energy to help people who are injured or displaced, Sen. Inhofe, urged people to continue to think of the victims who "desperately need your help right now, they need your money."  

"If you are able, please visit the American Red Cross website at AmericanRedCross.com or the Salvation Army website at SalvationArmyUSA.com to volunteer," he says.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Another Fallen Bridge Unlikely to Spur Infrastructure Funding

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- It's almost as if Washington has seen this movie before: a bridge collapses, groups decry the nation's crumbling infrastructure and Congress does nothing.

Like the tragic Minneapolis, Minn. bridge collapse in 2007 that came before it, Thursday's Mount Vernon, Washington collapse is unlikely to spur Congress to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into fixing roads and bridges.

The political inertia in Washington around transportation funding and projects hasn't eased despite President Obama's nearly constant push for additional funding.

In February, Obama renewed his nearly annual call for $50 billion in additional transportation and infrastructure spending as part of his 2014 budget request. But Republicans said the proposal amounted to an unfunded wish list.

To be sure, Congress did pass a highway transportation funding bill last year, but infrastructure spending advocates say it's simply not enough. The bill allocated just enough money to keep transportation spending at status quo levels and it only funded projects for two years, as opposed to the usual five or six.

So how much is enough?

For roads and bridges alone, the Federal Highway Administration estimates that every year $190 billion would need to be infused into the system compared to the $103 billion currently being spent.

When you take into consideration all of the country's infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers says that about $3.6 trillion is needed by 2020 to fix the country's mounting problems.

And Obama keeps pushing for more infrastructure spending, arguing that the jobs construction projects create are good for the economy and good for business.

"When you ask companies who brought jobs back to America in the last few years, they'll say, if we upgrade our infrastructure, we'll bring even more," Obama said earlier this year at a port in Miami, Florida. "So what are we waiting for?"

As the White House is eager to point out, infrastructure spending is one of the few things that the pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the labor union AFL-CIO can agree on.

What is Congress waiting for?

"Infrastructure has always been non-partisan," said Rob Puentes, Director of the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program. "The reason that it's contentious in Washington is because the morning prayers are contentious in Washington."

And Republicans, who are deeply enmeshed in a battle with Democrats over where to cut spending, aren't eager to authorize new projects, or worse yet, raise the 18 cents per gallon gasoline tax that is used to currently fund transportation projects.

States, Puentes said, have already taken matters into their own hands since Congress has proven that it won't do more. Puentes calls it a "silver lining."

"As everyone was looking for the federal government to respond, the states kind of did it themselves," Puentes said. "They are making progress. They are doing what they can with limited resources."

Perhaps in a nod to that shift from the federal government to state and local governments, Obama found a new Transportation Secretary for his second term in Charlotte, N.C. Mayor Anthony Foxx.

"The Federal Government has got to be responsive and has to understand what it's like when you're a mayor or a Governor or a county executive trying to get these projects up and running," Obama said when announcing Foxx's nomination. "Which also means that we have the potential of continuing to streamline our approvals and get rid of some difficulties in permitting that slow projects down, because we want to get people back to work and we want to get this country moving,"

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Menendez: Immigration Reform Doesn't Have 60 Votes Yet

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Gang of Eight immigration bill does not yet have a 60-vote majority in the Senate, according to one of its authors, Sen. Bob Menendez.

During an interview with Univision's Jorge Ramos, Menendez, D-N.J., appeared confident that Congress will pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. But he said the Senate bill's backers haven't yet cobbled together a large enough majority to avoid a potential filibuster.

"We don't currently have 60 votes identified in the Senate," he said during the interview with Ramos, which was conducted in Spanish for Al Punto, Univision's Sunday public affairs show. "We need to add more votes on the floor."

Menendez's comments are surprising, considering the positive outlook of the bill's supporters this week. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the legislation on a bipartisan 13-5 vote, encouraging the bill's backers that they could attract a majority on the Senate floor.

"This is a significant first step, and there will be more tests to come, but this accomplishment makes me guardedly optimistic for the success of the legislation," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of the bill's authors, said in a statement after the committee vote.

Menendez's assessment might not carry such a dire warning in the short term. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said that he will not block the immigration bill from coming to the floor, despite opposition from some conservative members and activists. But the bill could face a filibuster if and when leaders move it to a final vote.

Plus, leading members of the Gang of Eight have set a high target for the level of support they hope to lure; 70 votes, pulling from majorities of both Democrats and Republicans in the upper chamber.

A strong majority of 70 votes, they believe, is not only possible but necessary to cajole the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to act. Despite his evaluation of the current level of support, Menendez believes that is possible.

"We want to push this bill forward with the most positive votes we can find … so we can put pressure on the House," he said. "I want to have a good vote in the Senate so we send the message that the Republicans and the Democrats are together in favor of immigration reform."

Menendez framed his projection about the votes as a call to action for Latino supporters of the bill. He urged them to call their members of Congress to build the support necessary for the legislation to pass.

"The community in your state, in every state, should be contacting your state's two U.S. senators saying that they want comprehensive immigration reform, that they are going to judge their political future based on this vote," he said. "And if we do this, both in the Senate and, later, with the members of the House of Representatives, we can achieve the victory that we want."

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Obama Nods to Drones in Naval Academy Speech

John Moore/Getty Images(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) -- President Obama gave a nod to his newly articulated drone policy as he addressed the graduating class of the U.S. Naval Academy on Friday.

“We still face threats from al Qaeda affiliates and individuals caught up in its ideology,” Obama said, addressing the academy’s graduation ceremony in Annapolis, Md. “Will still need to conduct targeted strikes against terrorists before they kill our citizens.”

Obama laid out his drone policies in another speech Thursday seeking to explain why, how, and when the U.S. will decide to kill Americans living abroad.

Obama raised the issue on Friday as he addressed the graduates on new security challenges.

He also made what could be construed as a mention of the IRS scandal that has dogged his administration over the past two weeks. A major theme in his speech was failing public trust in government institutions, and the president mentioned “civil servants” and “misconduct.” It’s unclear whether that’s what Obama meant.

“Every day our civil servants do their jobs with professionalism, protecting our national security and delivering the services that so many Americans expect. But as we’ve seen again in recent days, it only takes the misconduct of a few to further erode the people’s trust in their government. And that’s unacceptable to me, and I know it’s unacceptable to you,” Obama said.

“And against this backdrop, what I said here four years ago remains true today. Our military remains the most trusted institution in America. When others have shirked their responsibilities, our armed forces have met every mission we’ve given them. When others have been distracted by petty arguments, our men and women in uniform come together as one American team,” Obama continued.

The president condemned sexual assaults in the military, a major topic of discussion on Capitol Hill after a Pentagon study earlier this month found reported incidents on the rise.

“Those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong,” Obama said. “That’s why we have to be determined to stop these crimes because they’ve got no place in the greatest military on earth.”

He blasted the “foolish across-the-board budgets cuts known as the sequester, which is threatening our readiness” and pledged to fight for military funding.

The president shook hands and congratulated each of the 1,047 graduates -- 764 Navy ensigns, 264 Marine Corps 2nd lieutenants, and three Air Force 2nd lieutenants; 841 men and 206 women. He then donned an overcoat after his speech as rain drizzled over the crowd.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Obama, Chris Christie to Reunite on Jersey Shore

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(NEW YORK) -- President Obama and N.J. Gov. Chris Christie will reunite once again when the president visits the Jersey Shore Tuesday.

The post-Memorial Day trip comes as the New Jersey coast prepares for its first summer season after Superstorm Sandy. A senior White House official confirmed the visit to ABC News.

Obama and Christie have become something of a political odd couple since the storm’s devastation nudged them closer together in the fall. The October storm, which came ashore shortly before the 2012 presidential Election Day, and Christie’s praise for Obama are credited with helping Obama overcome a negative media spiral after his debate performances against Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee.

Their meeting comes as Christie’s Democratic opponent State Sen. Barbara Buono is struggling to sustain a credible challenge to Christie’s gubernatorial re-election bid.

A poll earlier this month showed Buono trailing Christie by 32 percentage points.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

At Naval Academy Commencement, Obama Talks Sexual Assault in Military

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) -- As a cold rain poured down on the commencement ceremony, President Obama addressed the graduating class of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Friday and used the recent scandal of sexual assaults in the military as a call for the graduates to restore trust and honor in America’s institutions.

“We must acknowledge that even here, even in our military, we’ve seen how the misconduct of some can have effects that ripple far and wide,” Obama said at the Naval Academy commencement ceremony.  “In our digital age, a single image from the battlefield of troops falling short of their standards can go viral and endanger our forces and undermine our efforts to achieve security and peace.  Likewise, those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that make our military strong.  That’s why we have to be determined to stop these crimes, because they’ve got no place in the greatest military on Earth.”

“Class of 2013, I say all this because you’re about to assume the burden of leadership.  As officers, you will be trusted with the most awesome of responsibilities -- the lives of the men and women under your command,” he said.

“When your service is complete, many of you will go on to help lead your communities, America’s companies.  You will lead this country.  And if we want to restore the trust that the American people deserve to have in their institutions, all of us have to do our part.  And those of us in leadership -- myself included -- have to constantly strive to remain worthy of the public trust. As you go forward in your careers, we need you to carry forth the values that you’ve learned at this institution, because our nation needs them now more than ever,” he continued.

Obama, who was speaking at his second Naval Academy commencement ceremony since becoming president, also touched on his drone policy, which he laid out in a speech Thursday.

“We still face threats from al Qaeda affiliates and from individuals caught up in its ideology.  Even as we move beyond deploying large ground armies abroad, we still need to conduct precise, targeted strikes against terrorists before they kill our citizens,” he said. “And even as we stay vigilant in the face of terrorism and stay true to our Constitution and our values, we need to stay ready for the full range of threats -- from nations seeking weapons of mass destruction to cyber criminals seeking to unleash weapons of mass destruction.”    

Dressed in their dress whites and dress blues, the graduates sat through a two and a half hour ceremony as a cold rain drenched them. Obama apologized for the poor weather, but noted “that Marines and folks in the Navy don't mind a little water.”

Wearing an overcoat, the president stood in the rain as he shook hands with each of the 1,047 graduates -- 764 Navy ensigns, 264 Marine Corps 2nd lieutenants, and three Air Force 2nd lieutenants; 841 men and 206 women.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio