U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON – Last week, U.S. Reps. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., and Rodney Davis, R-Ill., along with U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., led the bipartisan Illinois Congressional delegation in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture... Read More
WASHINGTON - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Monday she will step down as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee when the 117th Congress convenes in January, apparently bowing to critics who believe she wasn't aggressive enough in her handling... Read More
WASHINGTON -- Medical experts told a Senate committee Thursday that misguided information about early treatment contributed to giving the United States the world’s highest death rate from coronavirus. Some of them blamed the Food and Drug Administration for halting a... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the longest-serving Republican senator and third in the line of presidential succession, said he has tested positive for the coronavirus. Grassley, 87, had announced earlier Tuesday that he was quarantining after being exposed... Read More
WASHINGTON - A Senate committee left little doubt Tuesday that changes are coming to social media giants Facebook and Twitter for their policies on controlling content posted on their websites. Democrats and Republicans at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing accused... Read More
WASHINGTON — Amid indications President Donald Trump will move to slash the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq before he leaves office, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell attacked the idea in a blistering Senate floor speech Monday. McConnell has been almost unfailingly loyal to Trump, but the Kentucky Republican has openly pushed back... Read More
ATLANTA — Georgia Republicans still aren't acknowledging President-elect Joe Biden's victory. But they are raising the specter of his incoming administration's agenda to rally conservatives ahead of the high-stakes Jan. 5 runoffs. At a joint event Friday, U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue promoted the same message about the battle for control... Read More
ATLANTA — Georgia has unexpectedly become host to a one-state referendum on a national question — Which party should control the U.S. Senate? — and the outcome will likely shape the ambitions of Joe Biden's presidency as well as his party's future. Money, media and political... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee implied Tuesday that government officials will be fired or prosecuted soon for investigating whether Trump administration officials sought Russian assistance to influence the 2016 election. He called the Crossfire Hurricane investigation... Read More
WASHINGTON — Georgia, the state on track to produce the closest finish of the 2020 presidential election, is about to endure an unprecedented political encore that will decide control of the U.S. Senate. The runoff campaigns for both the state's Senate seats are set... Read More
WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York were reelected Tuesday to lead their parties in the Senate during the next Congress. The leadership elections, which occurred behind closed doors Tuesday morning, were held even though it's still unclear which party will hold... Read More
WASHINGTON - Speaking out on the presidential election for the first time since the race was called in Democrat Joe Biden's favor, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said President Donald Trump is "100% within his rights" to challenge the... Read More
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he's been lobbied for months about who would fill Kamala Harris' Senate seat should she be elected vice president, and he admitted it hasn't been fun. "It's not something I'd wish... Read More
WASHINGTON — Republicans brushed back challengers in some of the most competitive Senate contests, bolstering the party's hopes of retaining control of the chamber and erecting a powerful firewall against a potential Joe Biden administration. As of early Wednesday evening, the Senate map stood at 48 Republicans and 47 Democrats, with five... Read More
WASHINGTON — Democrats' hopes of sweeping to a Senate majority faded as marquee contests stretched into overtime early Wednesday and some of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents remained in contention while the vote counts dragged on. Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine, whose defeats had been considered... Read More
WASHINGTON — Three Interior Department divisions have gone without Senate-confirmed leaders during the entire Trump administration, endangering department policies and decisions over violations of laws that govern presidential appointments and nominations. Through a series of appointments that appear to have bypassed the Appointments Clause... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court Monday evening, marking the first time in 151 years that a justice was confirmed without the support of a single member of the minority party. Shortly afterward,... Read More
WASHINGTON — A sharply divided Senate dispensed with a key procedural hurdle Sunday on the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, as Republicans race to a final confirmation vote Monday that will solidify the high court's conservative tilt. In a rare weekend floor vote mostly along party... Read More
WASHINGTON - The GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the full Senate, despite a Democratic boycott on the hearing. The 12-0 vote by the committee virtually assures... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Senate's escalating partisan tug-of-war over judicial confirmations has frayed relationships in the chamber for decades, but Thursday's committee vote on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett threatens to sever the rope. The vote is expected to unfold as it did for previous judicial nominees... Read More
WASHINGTON - Amid ongoing COVID-19 economic aid negotiations and the approaching election, the Senate shot down on Tuesday a standalone measure authorizing a second round of forgivable loans to small businesses. Republicans were unified in their attempt to push forward the bill while nearly... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Senate will put in a long work session this weekend in a bid to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by next Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday. McConnell has repeatedly said... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The Senate appears likely to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court as soon as next Monday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R- Ky., had previously said that he anticipated beginning the process of considering the nomination of Barrett, currently a judge on the 7th U.S. Circuit... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote October 22 on whether to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee set the date Thursday on the fourth day of contentious... Read More
WASHINGTON — Democrats zeroed in on key issues surrounding health care Wednesday on the third day of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings, as Republicans argued members of the other party have overblown their criticisms of a qualified... Read More
WASHINGTON — As Republicans inch closer to confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, and Joe Biden enjoys a national lead over Donald Trump in the presidential race, there’s also an intense battle going on for control of Congress.... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Senate will vote next week on a roughly $500 billion COVID-19 relief package that mirrors an earlier Republican proposal, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday. The decision to push another “skinny” relief bill marked a new attempt... Read More
WASHINGTON — As a law professor, Elena Kagan once described Supreme Court confirmation hearings as a “valid and hollow charade,” because modern-day nominees rarely reveal their views on issues to avoid compromising their impartiality in future cases. Then, in 2010,... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee predicted the outcome of confirmation hearings to the U.S. Supreme Court of Amy Coney Barrett shortly after the first session started Monday morning. “All the Republicans will vote yes, all... Read More
Although Republicans appear to have the votes and the unity to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court — with the potential to move U.S. law in a conservative direction for decades — her Senate confirmation hearings still provide... Read More
