In The News

WASHINGTON — Wary of a narrow majority, one of President-elect Joe Biden's closest allies in Congress isn't sure the Democratic Caucus can afford to see any more House members join the new administration. "I think we better bring that to a halt," Majority Whip James E. Clyburn told reporters... Read More

WASHINGTON — Katherine Tai, chief trade counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee, is reported to be President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to be America's trade negotiator. Tai would lead the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, an agency she knows well from her committee work... Read More

WASHINGTON - The House has passed a week-long stopgap bill to keep the government open through Dec. 18 so lawmakers can continue to negotiate both a longer-term spending package and coronavirus relief. The bill passed 343-67. If the stopgap measure... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of lawmakers from both the House and Senate circulated details of the $908 billion coronavirus relief proposal, though significant hurdles to its passage remain. Among them is the fate of proposed aid to state and... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia’s former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe made a widely anticipated move official Wednesday, announcing he's once again running to lead the Commonwealth. The governor's race in Virginia is expected to be one the marquee political contests of... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Witnesses at a congressional hearing Tuesday clashed over whether to continue authorizing a law that blocks federal funds from being used to pay for abortions. Two doctors said withholding the funds was unfair to low income and minority... Read More

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden intends to nominate Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcia L. Fudge to be secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, several news reports said Tuesday. The move would create an opening in a solidly Democratic district that could lead to Nina Turner,... Read More

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers were finalizing a one-week stopgap funding measure Tuesday to avoid a partial government shutdown starting Friday at midnight, with the only add-ons expected to be a package of expiring health care program extensions, according to Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard C. Shelby.... Read More

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden's first round of selections for his health team clarified how the incoming administration will approach the COVID-19 pandemic and other health care issues, which were major themes of his campaign. Biden introduced the team to the public at... Read More

WASHINGTON — The House voted 335-78 on Tuesday to adopt a final version of the $731.6 billion defense authorization measure, setting up a possible end-of-year showdown as President Donald Trump has vowed to veto the legislation. House leaders have said they would cut the upcoming... Read More

WASHINGTON – This week, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., introduced the Youth Mental Health Services Act to improve mental health services for students in primary and secondary schools. “It’s a lot harder being a kid in 2020 than when I was... Read More

The Supreme Court on Tuesday evening rejected a last-gasp bid by the GOP to reverse Pennsylvania's certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the electoral battleground. As is their custom, the justices did not explain the rationale for their decision.... Read More

Luke Letlow bested a field of fellow Republicans in the runoff election Saturday to represent Louisiana's 5th Congressional District representing the central and northeastern parts of the state. Letlow, who was chief of staff for the retiring incumbent, Rep. Ralph... Read More

WASHINGTON - In what is probably one of her last acts as a member of Congress, retiring House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., introduced a continuing resolution to extend federal government funding through Dec. 18. Widely expected, the move... Read More

A New York State Supreme Court judge ordered election officials Tuesday to recount some of the approximately 60,000 absentee ballots cast in the still undecided House race between incumbent Rep. Anthony Brindisi and his Republican challenger, Claudia Tenney. The ruling... Read More

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate the presidential election results in four key battleground states citing "unconstitutional irregularities" he says helped Joe Biden prevail over President Donald Trump. In a 154-page complaint, Paxton... Read More

WASHINGTON — Although expected to pass with bicameral and bipartisan support, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 is unlikely to contain provisions that would integrate a reserve component or National Guard for the United States Space Force.... Read More

WASHINGTON — Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack has emerged as a leading candidate for secretary of agriculture in the Biden administration, reprising a role he held under President Barack Obama, according to people familiar with the nomination process. The people said that while Vilsack... Read More

LOS ANGELES — With the coronavirus running rampant in Los Angeles and hospitals projected to overflow by Christmas, officials have fallen back on a familiar refrain: Stay home. "My message couldn't be simpler: It's time to hunker down. It's time to cancel everything," Los... Read More

ATLANTA — President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn Georgia's election results have met a wall of opposition from an unlikely source: Republican state officials and GOP-appointed judges who have loudly rejected his calls to undo Joe Biden's narrow victory in the state. As two more of the president's... Read More

WASHINGTON — After making a big splash last week and injecting a sense of optimism into long-delayed coronavirus relief talks, a bipartisan $908 billion plan is hung up over the specifics of aid to states and localities and liability protections for... Read More

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin as defense secretary, according to two people familiar with the decision, making him the first African American to lead the Pentagon. Austin has already had a career punctuated by firsts — including as the... Read More

WASHINGTON — This week, the American Worker Holiday Relief Act was introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. “With the economy backsliding as COVID-19... Read More

WASHINGTON – This week, Rep. Abby Finkenauer, D-Iowa, introduced the Rural Revitalization Now Act to provide up to $50,000 in student loan relief for people who commit to live and work in rural communities for at least eight years. The... Read More

Members of two Virginia churches are trying again in a lawsuit filed on Friday to challenge the governor’s restrictions intended to control the spread of coronavirus. The lawsuit says the restrictions Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam announced in mid-November “discourage the... Read More

MADISON, Wis. — This week, Governor Tony Evers announced that COVID-19 Lodging Grants have been awarded to 663 Wisconsin lodging operators.  The grants aim to provide stabilization to the state’s lodging industry as it continues to be impacted by the... Read More

WASHINGTON - A decade after Republicans, then in the majority in the House, banned them in their conference rules, the practice of Congressionally-directed spending -- otherwise known as the use of earmarks -- is poised for an almost certain comeback.... Read More

A new survey report from Gallup suggests that Americans’ positive outlook on their mental health is on a nine-point decline from last year, a new low point in Gallup’s 20-year history of measuring Americans’ view on their mental health. The... Read More

PHILADELPHIA — Polls had only been closed in Florida for a few hours last month when elections offices started closing up shop for the night, too. Almost all the votes were counted and reported, and there just wasn't much left to do at... Read More

Georgia's embattled Republican governor and elections chief asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by an ex-Trump campaign lawyer whose "outlandish" claims of fraud tied to Dominion Voting Systems Inc. machines are, they say, comparable to a work of fiction. The... Read More