Little clarity on Iran from Trump, but new help ahead for Ukraine
Lawmakers and European officials hoping to get clarity on the U.S.-Iran conflict from President Donald Trump at a NATO summit likely left disappointed. During a Wednesday evening press conference in Ankara, Turkey, the first reporter to question him characterized the Iran standoff as a “strategic dead end for you” and asked why Trump has been […]
Contractor curbs on repair data causing Marines ‘significant’ issues
The Marine Corps is facing “significant” challenges keeping some of its most important weapons in working order, because Marines too often must rely on contractors for equipment upkeep, the service’s second-ranking general recently wrote to a Senate panel. Gen. Bradford Gering, the Marine Corps assistant commandant, described for the Armed Services Committee cases involving several […]
So far, Trump’s midterm campaign schedule slightly behind 2018 pace
President Donald Trump’s midterms campaign schedule has been lighter this year than his pace of hitting the road for Republican candidates during a 2018 midterm elections cycle that saw big Democratic gains. The GOP campaigner in chief had, between Jan. 1, 2018 and July 7, 2018, held nine road shows to boost Republican congressional hopefuls, […]
Progressive staff group urges sexual misconduct overhaul
Sweeping moves to address sexual misconduct at the Capitol may not be coming anytime soon, given the slow pace of change in Congress. But even “low-hanging fruit” could make a difference, some staffers say. The Congressional Progressive Staff Association laid out some ideas in a letter sent to lawmakers on Tuesday. “Staff safety is crucial,” […]
Congress faces its own summer heat dome
The sweltering Fourth of July weekend is over, but for both parties in House and Senate leadership, the heat is still cranked up. Both chambers are likely to return next Monday to the same sweat-inducing tangle of legislative problems that left them stumped as they headed out of town at the end of June. Speaker […]
Former House GOP tax writer Bill Archer dies at 98
Former Rep. Bill Archer, a Texas Republican who spent three terms chairing the powerful House Ways and Means Committee in the 1990s, died Saturday at his farm in Stanley, Va. He was 98. Archer, who came to Congress in 1971, was elected to fill former President George H. W. Bush’s House seat. He got his […]
Platner weighs ‘best path forward’ as he denies sexual assault allegation
Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, said Monday that he was “taking time to reflect on the best path forward” as he denied a Politico report that he had sexually assaulted a woman he previously dated. “Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, […]
In Congress, a bipartisan annoyance with the Supreme Court
The most recent Supreme Court term has left Congress grappling with how to respond to a court that experts say has grabbed considerably more power for itself. Conservatives were rankled by a Supreme Court decision quashing President Donald Trump’s effort to limit birthright citizenship, for example. Democrats, meanwhile, were outraged by a decision allowing Trump […]
As McMorrow exits Senate race, the fight for her supporters begins in Michigan
Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s decision to end her campaign for Senate sets up a fierce contest between the Democratic Party’s establishment and progressive wings with about a month to go until the primary. “I haven’t been shy about calling for new leadership and a better Democratic Party. I mean it.” McMorrow said in a […]
Trump ethics disclosure throws curveball at Senate crypto talks
The newly disclosed scale of President Donald Trump’s personal cryptocurrency-related profits since taking office last year comes right at a sensitive moment for Senate negotiations on a major digital assets bill that GOP leaders want to bring to the floor this month. Trump’s potential crypto conflicts have been a sticking point in negotiations over a […]