July 2026
Congressional stock-trading bill passes the House
Lawmakers took a step Wednesday toward reining in their own stock trading, a move Republicans hope will burnish Congress’ image as they head home for an extended August break. In a mostly party-line 232-198 vote, the House passed a GOP-led bill that would bar members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from buying new […]
Jay Clayton heads toward DNI confirmation vote
The Senate is on track to vote next week on President Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, after he cleared a key committee hurdle. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., filed cloture on the nomination Wednesday, a day after the Senate Intelligence Committee advanced it 9-8 along party lines. A cloture […]
Appropriators ponder alternatives to annual shutdown threats
As Congress struggles, yet again, to pass a funding extension to head off a government shutdown this fall, House appropriators took some time Wednesday to think about other ways of doing business. For more than three hours, the Appropriations Committee debated the merits of tweaking the budget process in an effort to take shutdowns off […]
Bill to ban certain Chinese cars approved by Senate panel
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved a series of six nominations and seven bills on Wednesday, including a measure to limit the use of vehicles and vehicle technologies developed by foreign entities of concern on American roadways. The bill, introduced by Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, and co-sponsored by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., would […]
Fight at the museum
Lawmakers went for a Smithsonian sequel this week, as a top museum official and a nearly identical group of witnesses appeared for their second congressional hearing. Republicans have thrust the National Museum of American History into the spotlight and accused it of rewriting history two days in a row, first at the House Oversight Delivering […]
Republicans: Time is not on your side
There are plenty of variables when writing campaign strategies. But one thing that you can’t control is time. How often have we heard losing candidates complain, “If we’d only had another week?” But Election Day is fixed and finite and every politician must adhere to that reality — including the president. Right now, looking at […]
Tick bites snag Congress’ attention as red meat allergies rise
Rep. Morgan Griffith would love to eat an all-beef hot dog. But the eight-term Virginia Republican from one of the biggest cattle-producing districts in Congress doesn’t eat red meat — against his will. Griffith is one of the at least 450,000 Americans who have been diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome, a disease caused by a tick […]
Funding extension passes House, heads for Senate rewrite
The House passed a short-term funding patch Tuesday night that is designed to head off a partial government shutdown this fall. The continuing resolution passed on a mostly party-line vote of 220-205, with only one Republican — Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie — joining most Democrats in opposition. Six Democrats broke with their party to support […]
Trump-backed candidates sweep to victory in Arizona primaries
Candidates backed by President Donald Trump swept through their Republican primaries in Arizona on Tuesday while the Democratic primary for a key Phoenix-area battleground House race remained uncalled as of early Wednesday morning. In the GOP gubernatorial primary to take on Gov. Katie Hobbs, voters overwhelmingly backed Rep. Andy Biggs, an anti-establishment conservative and former […]
Can the GOP trifecta meet their ‘mandate’ moment?
When Republicans won in 2024, they promised to use their coveted trifecta to deliver on an “unprecedented and powerful mandate” for President Donald Trump’s agenda. With few legislative days left ahead of midterms, some argue they should have done more. It’s left some lawmakers questioning the effectiveness of their red hat-trick and whether the “lame […]