Political News

WASHINGTON - The Blue Dog Coalition urged the Trump administration Tuesday to fix problems community-based financial institutions are encountering as they try to access the Paycheck Protection Program. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Jovita Carranza, administrator... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, led by Reps. Andy Levin, D-Mich., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., is pressing for the inclusion of funding and a directive in the next coronavirus stimulus bill to enable the National Labor Relations Board... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says an emergency proxy-voting plan for members that could be voted on as soon as Thursday is a fine first step, but he would like to take a second look at technology that... Read More

The day started like any other gloomy Monday in the oil market’s worst crisis in a generation. It ended with prices falling below zero, thrusting markets into a parallel universe where traders were willing to pay $40 a barrel just... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he will sign an executive order “to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States” because of the coronavirus. “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that defendants in criminal trials can only be convicted by a unanimous jury, striking down a practice that has already been abandoned by all but one state. Writing for the majority on... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration must reinstate nutrition standards for school meals that the Agriculture Department eliminated in 2018, a federal court in Maryland ruled this week. The plaintiffs were the Center for Science in the Public Interest as well... Read More

WASHINGTON - Congress made little progress on immigration reform last year, but state legislatures are keeping the ball rolling. Nearly every U.S. state passed legislation related to immigration in 2019, according to a report by the National Council on State... Read More

New York Attorney General Letitia James ordered four companies to immediately stop selling unauthorized coronavirus home test kits and purported cures. "This isn’t a game," James said in a post on Twitter. "Giving people a false sense of security is... Read More

WASHINGTON - Scores of public health experts responded with shock and anger this week to the decision by the White House to halt U.S. funding to the World Health Organization. The move, announced by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, comes... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — New White House guidelines outline a phased approach to restoring normal commerce and services, but only for places with strong testing and seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases. President Donald Trump unveiled his administration's plans to ease... Read More

WASHINGTON - After weeks of calls for some kind of tech-based system to allow members of Congress to work from their districts during the COVID-19 pandemic, the chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee proposed a decidedly low-tech alternative --... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The Republican party is moving forward with plans to hold its National nominating convention in Charlotte, N.C. this summer, despite continued uncertainty over when the coronavirus outbreak will finally crest and go away. "Truthfully, there really isn't a... Read More

WASHINGTON - Reps Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., and Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., are among the bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers named to a White House panel tasked with counseling the White House on when and how to get the economy moving again... Read More

WASHINGTON - Ahead of an expected White House announcement on the easing of restrictions meant to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, governors across the nation are preparing for a "new normal" that will be quite different from the... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas — A state judge said Wednesday afternoon that all voters in Texas afraid to contract COVID-19 through in-person voting should be allowed to vote by mail during the pandemic. State District Judge Tim Sulak of the 353rd District... Read More

President Donald Trump nudged the nation’s governors on Wednesday to get ready to reopen their economies and dubiously threatened to override them should they refuse, as the country’s coronavirus death toll continued to skyrocket. Speaking from the White House Rose... Read More

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has signed into law bipartisan legislation that enables veterans to virtually attend Department of Veteran Affairs claims hearings from home. The legislation was introduced by Reps. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C, and John Katko, R-N.Y. in October.... Read More

WASHINGTON - In an unprecedented move, President Donald Trump's name will be printed on the stimulus checks the Internal Revenue Service is about to start sending to millions of Americans across the country. The inclusion of Trump's name was first... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., a tireless advocate for fiscal responsibility whether on her own or as co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition of House Democrats, has been awarded the 2020 Fiscal Hero award by the Committee for a... Read More

WASHINGTON - The global economy will likely experience the worst recession since the 1930s as governments around the world fight to end the coronavirus outbreak and restart their economies, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. The organization, which is headquartered... Read More

When the coronavirus started shutting down livestock markets, Darvin Bentlage knew his farm would take a hit. Springtime cattle sales usually bring in about a third of his ranching income, and cattle prices were already at a low, he said. ... Read More

WASHINGTON - Former President Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden on Tuesday, re-entering the political fray after months of maintaining his neutrality. The former president's endorsement came a day after Biden's last remaining rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., gave his endorsement... Read More

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers will not return to Capitol Hill for regular legislative activity before May 4, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday. “As the country continues working together to flatten the curve, following the advice of health experts, the full... Read More

The governors of California, Oregon and Washington announced Monday that they've come to an agreement on a shared vision for reopening their economies and controlling COVID-19 in the future. In a joint statement, Govs. Gavin Newsom, Kate Brown and Jay... Read More

WASHINGTON - The bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus is urging the House leadership to seize opportunity from a grave national crisis and adopt new policies ensuring members can carry out their obligations to debate and vote on legislation even if they... Read More

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed a series of bills this past weekend that dramatically expand voting rights in the state, by eliminating its voter ID requirement, increasing access to early voting and making Election Day a state holiday. “Voting is... Read More

Coronavirus is testing election systems like never before. Voting has traditionally been a private, yet social affair, with citizens turning out to public polling places to make their voices heard and show the receipt of their civic duty with the... Read More

WASHINGTON - H.E. Emily Haber, Ambassador of Germany to the U.S. claimed the German response to confronting the coronavirus epidemic on the health front was not that different from other European Union countries, but that Germany was able to better... Read More

WASHINGTON Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president on Monday during a livestream conversation between the former rivals for the Democratic nomination. “We’ve got to make Trump a one-term president and we need you in... Read More