Higher Social Security payroll taxes no longer taboo for GOP
Some Republicans are slowly warming to the idea of raising payroll taxes on upper-income households to shore up Social Security. Rep. Lloyd K. Smucker of Pennsylvania, a top candidate to lead House Budget Committee Republicans in the next Congress, said Thursday that raising the cap on income subject to Social Security payroll taxes could be […]
Former Rep. Charles Hatcher dies at age 87
Former Rep. Charles Hatcher, who championed Georgia’s peanut industry for over a decade until losing his seat in House in 1992, has died at the age of 87. The Georgia Democrat died Tuesday in Alexandria, Va., according to local news reports. The cause of death was not specified. “Georgia lost a true public servant and […]
Vance sidesteps endorsing Thune to continue as leader, plays coy on 2028 plans
A day after Donald Trump said flatly that someone else will be president in two-and-a-half years, Vice President JD Vance reignited the 2028 embers Thursday with another turn at the White House briefing room podium, though he played coy about his own plans. Vance sparred with reporters over the conflict with Iran, gas prices, data […]
At the Races: Labor Day reds and blues
Welcome to At the Races! Each week we bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call campaign team. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. By Daniela Altimari, Mary Ellen McIntire and Niels Lesniewski Organized labor is ramping up for the midterms. In her annual State of the Unions address […]
Second Epstein petition looks for Republican support
For Rep. Thomas Massie, time is running out in his latest effort to extract more files from the Justice Department related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He’s leading a push to sidestep House leaders and bring another bill to the floor, dubbing it the Epstein Files Transparency Act II. It would allow state […]
Massachusetts primary results offer hope across the Democratic spectrum
An 80-year-old progressive who’s been in Congress for nearly five decades won a key Senate primary by demanding “Medicare for All” and embracing transgender rights. A pair of septuagenarian House Democrats turned back younger, more liberal challengers by highlighting the benefits of seniority and their skill at bringing federal funding home to their districts. And […]
Congress looks to stop horsing around on wild mustangs and burros
Wild horses roaming the untamed West have become a symbol of the American frontier. But through gaps in existing policy, many still find themselves in slaughter pipelines across both the southern and northern borders each year. Advocates are calling on Congress to change that and codify protections for wild mustangs and burros into federal law, […]
Democratic race for Pappas seat in New Hampshire grows increasingly bitter
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The last competitive Democratic House primary of the year hasn’t been shaped much by the centrist vs. progressive narrative that has dotted intraparty contests around the country this year. What’s more noticeable is how the crowded contest for New Hampshire’s 1st District has turned negative over the past month, especially between the […]
Top Dems, voting groups gear up for potential midterm ‘emergency’
Some congressional Democrats and voting-rights advocates are taking President Donald Trump’s not ruling out a national emergency declaration around November’s midterm elections seriously and literally. Trump raised eyebrows last month during an interview with conservative commentator Wayne Allyn Root, who had suggested to the president that he could simply declare a national emergency before the […]
Members renew proxy voting push ahead of next Congress
By the time Brittany Pettersen’s son was 6 months old, he’d taken 24 flights. The Colorado Democrat’s son is no world traveler — his time on planes as an infant was spent with Pettersen flying back and forth to Washington for votes. As the House considers potential rules changes for next Congress, Pettersen and other […]