Congress

Senate Democrats appeared ready to reject President Donald Trump’s request for a short-term extension of a key surveillance authority Wednesday, arguing the president’s promise to eventually find a permanent intelligence head wasn’t good enough. The action deepened a legislative standoff over Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the U.S. government to […]

ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones did not answer questions from lawmakers at a House Administration Committee hearing Wednesday, invoking her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Wallace-Jones and the Democratic fundraising platform have been under scrutiny for years, as House Administration Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., and other Republicans have pressed her on allegations of fraudulent donations and […]

Recent proposals to regulate artificial intelligence show Democratic paths diverging between cooperation and compromise on the one hand and sweeping regulations on the other. Growing public angst about the new technology and its impact on jobs, communities and the environment has fueled both ends of the spectrum and, even in the case of the most […]

House Republicans cleared a $70 billion reconciliation package Tuesday to fund immigration enforcement agencies for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term. On a party-line vote of 214-212, the House cleared the reconciliation bill that the Senate passed last week. Independent Kevin Kiley of California, who caucuses with the Republicans, voted no. Final passage of […]

Congress spent another day stalled on the renewal of a key surveillance authority Tuesday, as President Donald Trump declined to help clear a legislative path and instead dug in on his temporary choice in Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. Lawmakers and the White House are sliding closer to the deadline Friday when […]

The Senate parliamentarian was never meant to be in the spotlight — let alone an office with political influence. But as Republicans lurch toward a habit of using the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process to fund key government agencies, they are increasingly putting the fate of the party’s biggest spending priorities in the hands of a […]

Republicans in Congress face two major tasks this week: wrapping up reconciliation 2.0 and renewing a controversial spy powers authority before it expires Friday. The House returns with a final sprint to clear roughly $70 billion for immigration enforcement through President Donald Trump’s term, which GOP leaders are hoping to finish in the first half […]

House lawmakers passed a bill Monday aimed at preventing future executive branch interference in some legislative branch agencies, a year after President Donald Trump fired the librarian of Congress. It would allow House and Senate leaders to appoint the heads of both the Library of Congress and the Government Publishing Office, removing that power from […]

Former Sen. Bob Packwood, whose immense political influence was marred by a major sexual misconduct scandal, died Saturday at the age of 93.  The Oregon Republican served nearly 27 years in the Senate, but resigned in 1995 after the Senate Ethics Committee voted to recommend expelling him for sexual misconduct, abuse of office and obstruction […]

Senate Republicans early Friday could not muster enough votes to move forward on a long-term reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, leaving the key surveillance power, which expires next week, in limbo as both chambers leave the Capitol for the weekend. The Senate voted 47-52 on the motion to proceed to […]