Political News

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden slammed the slow rollout of the coronavirus vaccine by President Donald Trump’s administration Tuesday, saying the plan was falling “far behind” where it needs to be. “As I long feared and warned, the effort to... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Two staffers in the office of every House and Senate member on Capitol Hill are now eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine, the Office of the Attending Physician announced Monday night. In addition, attending physician Brian Monahan said... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis would continue its work during the 117th Congressional session with House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., returning as chair of the subcommittee.  Since its... Read More

WASHINGTON - The more-than-century-old tradition of feting the new president with a post-inauguration luncheon is the latest casualty of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which has hosted the lunch, with limited exception, since 1953,... Read More

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blocked a bid by Democrats on Tuesday to hold a stand-alone vote on increasing the amount of recently agreed upon stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000. McConnell did not specifically explain why... Read More

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump’s signature on the sweeping coronavirus relief and federal spending bill passed by Congress just before Christmas will likely spare the nation’s public transit the drastic cuts in services and employees the industry has been anticipating... Read More

Nineteen state attorneys general filed an amicus brief this month supporting a lawsuit that seeks to require the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to regulate Internet sales of “ghost gun” components. Ghost guns refer to homemade or... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted overwhelmingly Monday to increase COVID-19 relief checks to $2,000, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger payments and sending the bill to the GOP-controlled Senate, where the outcome is uncertain. Democrats led passage, 275-134,... Read More

WASHINGTON — Incoming members of the White House Office of Digital Strategy were announced Monday in a press release from the Biden-Harris transition team.  In the release, the Biden-Harris transition described the incoming members as “diverse, accomplished, and talented individuals”... Read More

ATLANTA (AP) — When Georgia Republican Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock advanced to the Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoff, they faced the immediate challenge of winning over the 2 million voters who chose one of the 18 other candidates... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Workers installed 192 glittering Waterford crystal triangles on Times Square’s New Year’s Eve ball Sunday in preparation for a pandemic-limited celebration that will lack the usual tightly packed crowds of revelers. The ball is a 12-foot... Read More

LONDON (AP) — First came the Brexit trade deal. Now comes the red tape and the institutional nitty gritty. Four days after sealing a free trade agreement with the European Union, the British government warned businesses to get ready for... Read More

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed a $900 billion pandemic relief package, ending days of drama over his refusal to accept the bipartisan deal that will deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and avert... Read More

BRUSSELS (AP) — Just a week before the deadline, Britain and the European Union struck a free-trade deal Thursday that should avert economic chaos on New Year's and bring a measure of certainty for businesses after years of Brexit turmoil.... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans shot down a Democratic bid on Thursday to pass President Donald Trump's longshot, end-of-session demand for $2,000 direct payments to most Americans as he ponders whether to sign a long-overdue COVID-19 relief bill. The made-for-TV... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump pardoned more than two dozen people, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, in the latest wave of clemency to benefit longtime associates and supporters. The actions,... Read More

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump made good on a threat Wednesday, vetoing the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act. Congress passed the fiscal year 2021 defense spending plan earlier this month with more than the two-thirds majority needed in both... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress who handle environmental issues are adding their voices to a federal court case that threatens to roll back protections of the 1972 Clean Water Act. They are siding with the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that... Read More

Less than a month before he is sworn in, President-elect Joe Biden has not yet selected his attorney general, a key role given how politicized the department became under President Donald Trump and while federal officials are investigating Biden’s son.... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump injected confusion into the outlook for COVID-19 relief on Tuesday night, demanding changes to the bipartisan legislation approved by Congress less than 24 hours earlier. In a surprise video announcement posted on his Twitter account,... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday appointed his Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill the Senate seat being vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. The child of Mexican immigrants, Padilla will be California’s first Latino senator,... Read More

WASHINGTON - While most eyes on Capitol Hill this past week have been on developments related to the coronavirus relief package and the omnibus federal spending bill, there have been a number of other things going on. Among these were... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Democrats in Congress are preparing legislation intended to capitalize on President-elect Joe Biden’s pledge to reform the Justice Department. The most recent examples are bills introduced last week in the House and Senate to reinstate the Justice Department’s... Read More

A joint report from the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in Politics, non-profit organizations dedicated to researching and tracking election finance, reveals that women participated in record numbers during the 2020 election cycle.  There are... Read More

Continued delays in the review of ballots cast two months ago in one New York county could mean the state's 22nd Congressional District will go without representation at the start of 117th Congress in January. During a State Supreme Court... Read More

WASHINGTON - Democrat Rita Hart filed a complaint with the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, challenging the election results in Iowa's 2nd Congressional District. Hart, who trails her Republican opponent, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, by only six votes, has gained votes... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian Institution can start the process of building two new museums in Washington honoring the history of women and American Latinos after Congress clears a massive year-end omnibus bill. Separate bills authorizing both museums passed the House... Read More

HOUSTON (AP) — A Tuesday court hearing over a U.S. program shielding immigrants brought to the country illegally as children highlights the peril the program still faces even under an incoming Democratic president who has pledged to protect it. A... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — People with private health insurance will see the nasty shock of “surprise” medical bills virtually gone, thanks to the coronavirus compromise passed by Congress. The charges that can run from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package Monday night that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths. Lawmakers tacked... Read More