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Border talks stuck as Senate nears vote on package for Israel, Ukraine aid
WASHINGTON — The success of the U.S. Senate in passing a $106 billion global security supplemental aid package hinges on a bipartisan agreement about U.S. border security, but any deal was at an impasse Tuesday. “There will not be a national security bill unless and until there is serious and significant changes in security at […]
Congress is haggling over border security: Where does it stand?
WASHINGTON — As Congress negotiates the White House’s $106 billion supplemental aid request for Israel, Ukraine and U.S. border security, fights over immigration policy have tied up the request. The White House sent its proposal that includes nearly $14 billion in supplemental border security funding to Congress in late October, but it will likely look […]
U.S. House votes to bar use of public lands for housing migrants
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Thursday passed a bill to bar the use of public lands for temporary housing for migrants applying for asylum. The bill, H.R. 5283, passed with a majority of Republicans in support, 224-203. It’s likely dead on arrival in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority. Many Democrats […]
Maryland, Virginia lawmakers tussle over FBI HQ decision at congressional hearing
WASHINGTON — Members of a U.S. House committee on Tuesday grilled the head of the General Services Administration over the agency’s recent decision to place the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s new headquarters in Maryland instead of Virginia. “The process — or lack thereof — raises many questions that need to be answered,” the chair of […]
Democrats’ struggle to keep U.S. Senate majority complicated by Manchin decision
WASHINGTON — U.S. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III announced Thursday he does not plan to run for reelection come 2024, giving Republicans an opportunity to pick up a seat and increasing their chances of flipping U.S. Senate control. A centrist who has long frustrated his party’s leadership and outside advocacy groups with his views on […]
U.S. Supreme Court considers case dealing with gun rights and domestic violence
WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court justices during Tuesday’s oral arguments seemed to lean toward upholding a federal law that prevents the possession of firearms by a person who is subject to a domestic violence protective order. Liberal and conservative justices appeared to side with the Biden administration’s position that the 1994 federal law is in […]
Mike Johnson of Louisiana elected speaker of the U.S. House after three weeks of stalemate
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Wednesday voted for Louisiana’s Mike Johnson as speaker in a chamber that has been frozen for more than three weeks after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted. In a 220-209 party-line vote, all Republicans present backed Johnson, 51, a strongly conservative lawyer who represents northwest Louisiana’s 4th District. All […]
Mike Johnson of Louisiana picked as newest GOP nominee for U.S. House speaker
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans late Tuesday voted to tap Louisiana’s Mike Johnson as speaker after the GOP nominee from earlier in the day was tanked. Johnson, 51, is the fourth Republican nominee attempting to break the deadlock in the lower chamber that has been leaderless and frozen for three weeks. He is the second […]
Emmer nominated for U.S. House speaker but drops out after Trump opposition
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans Tuesday voted to tap Minnesota’s Tom Emmer as speaker following five rounds of ballots — but Emmer quit the race just four hours later, after he was attacked by the GOP’s most powerful figure, former President Donald Trump. After beating six candidates, Emmer, the No. 3 Republican, faced an uphill […]
U.S. House Republicans mull eight new candidates for speaker in advance of votes
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Monday night gathered behind closed doors to hear the pitches of eight candidates for the speaker’s gavel, as the chamber approaches three weeks without a speaker. Monday’s nearly three-hour meeting was meant to produce a leading GOP candidate, so that when Republicans vote behind closed doors on Tuesday, there […]
Jim Jordan’s bid to be U.S. House speaker ends after rejection by GOP in closed meeting
WASHINGTON — Ohio Republican Jim Jordan is no longer the Republican nominee for speaker of the U.S. House. Shortly after a failed floor vote Friday on Jordan’s bid, Republicans held a closed-door meeting where Jordan failed to garner enough votes from his fellow GOP lawmakers to stay in the race as their nominee. “I told […]
U.S. House gripped by paralysis again after GOP punts proposal for speaker pro tem
WASHINGTON — A resolution meant to temporarily allow U.S. House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina to move critical legislation won’t be acted on, House Republicans said following a tense, closed-door meeting on Thursday. But it appeared that the House will vote a third time on whether Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan will serve […]