August 2026
Trump heads west as Senate eyes pre-midterm recess
Just as Senate GOP leaders plan to begin moving several big-ticket items ahead of a planned August recess, President Donald Trump will head out west for a Los Angeles-area fundraiser and an economic speech in Las Vegas. Trump is set to return to Washington, D.C., Wednesday night — when the chamber could be a few […]
Plaskett, Moylan advance in territorial primary elections
Two territorial primary elections over the weekend saw Democratic Del. Stacey Plaskett advance in her bid to become the next governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, while Guam Del. James C. Moylan came out unscathed in the Republican primary for his nonvoting House seat. Nearly half of the nearly 21,000 Democratic voters in the Virgin […]
Blanche bid to move ahead with weaponization fund ‘dead’
The Senate is back on track to consider acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to lead the Justice Department permanently after two key GOP holdouts said they were “pleased” with a deal they struck. The DOJ said in a statement posted Sunday night that it has “rescinded” a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund meant to compensate […]
Ethics panel urges censure of Chuck Edwards for ‘beyond inappropriate’ behavior
The House Ethics Committee recommended a censure of Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., after an investigation found there was “substantial reason to believe” he violated sexual harassment and hostile workplace rules. The panel’s report, released Monday, concluded that Edwards engaged in “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct” toward two female staffers of his. Edwards denied his conduct […]
Senate’s funding patch adds Trump requests but blocks grant rule
Senate appropriators announced a bipartisan deal Sunday to fund the government into early December, while temporarily blocking a contested Trump administration rule that critics say would politicize the awarding of federal grants. The draft continuing resolution, unveiled Sunday afternoon, would extend current funding through Dec. 11 — a week later than House Republicans proposed in […]
The not-so-secret filibuster society
President Donald Trump has made his position clear: He wants Senate Republicans to nuke the legislative filibuster and push through a sprawling voter ID bill. It’s enough to make some Republicans think twice before leaping to the filibuster’s defense, as the arcane details of Senate procedure spark strong emotions and bitter online feuds. But others […]
Kay Granger, trailblazing Texas congresswoman, dead at 83
Former House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger, the first Republican woman to lead the powerful spending committee, has died at the age of 83. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced her death in a Sunday night post on X, calling her a “dear friend who will be greatly missed.” “Throughout her career, she broke barriers for women […]
Negotiations on Senate stopgap spending bill drag
The timeline is slipping for senators to strike a bipartisan deal on a short-term funding patch before their August recess as leadership struggles to work out the finer details. Senior appropriators had been hopeful of unveiling text before the weekend for a stopgap measure expected to keep the government funded into early December. But sources […]