Senate

WASHINGTON — The chances are dimming for Trump supporter Ed Martin to win Senate confirmation as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Martin is currently the interim U.S. attorney. His term expires May 20. Republicans who normally endorse... Read More

WASHINGTON — After a two-week recess, House Republicans have returned to Washington with one big item on their agenda: passing the “one, big, beautiful bill” President Donald Trump needs to codify and advance his agenda on tax cuts, border security... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection next year, saying in a social media post “it’s time to pass the torch.” Durbin, who is now 80, was... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday evening approved a measure that would block some of the tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed on Canada, with a quartet of Republicans voting with their Democratic colleagues. Prior to the vote, Sen. Mark... Read More

WASHINGTON — A Senate panel demanded answers from the Federal Aviation Administration Thursday about why thousands of warnings about near misses between Army helicopters and commercial aircraft at Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C., were largely ignored before a Jan.... Read More

WASHINGTON — FBI director nominee Kash Patel told a Senate committee Thursday he would not target investigations at people for political reasons but avoided directly answering questions about his previous provocative statements. Patel is President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead... Read More

WASHINGTON — On a day loaded with events related to the incoming second Trump administration, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday named Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to fill the Senate seat being vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance. “This is... Read More

WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. started a weeklong campaign Monday to convince congressional leaders he’s the right person to lead U.S. health care policy. He is President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Wednesday took the Food and Drug Administration to task for failing to curb the corporate greed he says has led to an epidemic of obesity and diabetes across the U.S. Sanders, who chairs... Read More

WASHINGTON — Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Thursday withdrew his name from consideration to be the president-elect’s attorney general, bowing to a lack of support on Capitol Hill and the fallout from sexual misconduct allegations. Gaetz announced his decision... Read More

WASHINGTON — Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to urge her colleagues to “seriously consider” her latest farm bill proposal, calling it “the best and probably only path forward” to pass the massive... Read More

WASHINGTON — At the end of every election cycle, it seems, a single word or phrase becomes the subject of debate or object of scrutiny. This year that phrase appears to be “recess appointments,” the method President-elect Donald Trump wants... Read More

WASHINGTON — The outgoing chief executive officer of a troubled health care system sued members of the U.S. Senate Monday after they subpoenaed him to testify about what appeared to be windfall profits for himself and business associates. Ralph de... Read More

MADISON, Wis. — Vice President Kamala Harris made headlines on Tuesday by telling a Wisconsin Public Radio host she supports eliminating the Senate filibuster in order to codify abortion rights across the nation. “I think we should eliminate the filibuster... Read More

WASHINGTON — Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee berated the Supreme Court Tuesday for its July 1 decision that said most presidential actions are immune from prosecution. The decision in Trump v. United States was prompted by the Jan. 6,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate failed to approve a bill Tuesday that would expand women’s rights to in vitro fertilization in the face of ongoing opposition from Republicans. It was the second time in three months Republicans blocked the Right to... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is leading an effort in the Senate to create a grant program to ensure students with epilepsy or a seizure disorder are surrounded by trained and prepared individuals in the event of an episode.... Read More

WASHINGTON — Legislation introduced in both the House and Senate on Thursday seeks to hold the world’s largest fossil fuel companies accountable for the climate change damages they’ve caused. Sponsored by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Rep. Jerry Nadler,... Read More

WASHINGTON — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., wrote a letter this week demanding an explanation from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on why he revoked plea bargains for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two of his accomplices. They... Read More

WASHINGTON — Four senators reintroduced a bill Thursday to reduce the number of harmful fake replicas on the internet created by artificial intelligence. It would require internet companies to remove the “deepfakes” as soon as they are notified by the... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday voted unanimously in support of bipartisan legislation intended to insure the nation continues to make progress in regard to Alzheimer’s and dementia research.  Both now move on to the House, where they will be... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate approved two major bills on internet regulation Tuesday intended to protect children online. They also are raising First Amendment concerns about government censorship. The vote represents a legal watershed in expanding government regulation over the kinds... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., plans to resign from the Senate in late August, bowing to pressure from fellow Democrats to step down in the wake of his federal bribery conviction. Menendez, who has not released a formal announcement... Read More

NEW YORK — Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey was convicted Tuesday on charges that he took bribes from businessmen and foreign governments. Some of his fellow senators called for him to resign. The trial in federal court in... Read More

WASHINGTON — Advocates for low-income persons raised a possibility during a Senate hearing Tuesday that the federal government will allow more non-lawyers to take over responsibilities now limited to attorneys. Their goal is to close “the justice gap” between wealthy... Read More

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked legislation that would have protected women’s access to contraception, dismissing the bill as nothing more than a political stunt by Democrats in an election year. The bill, the Right to Contraception Act, needed... Read More

WASHINGTON — A trio of Democratic senators assailed abortion bans in Republican-led states on Tuesday, pointing to a new report that suggests those laws are forcing women’s health care providers to turn away patients, shut down practices and abandon those... Read More

WASHINGTON — After days of debate over amendments that had nothing to do with air travel and were ultimately shelved, the Senate on Thursday night passed the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill in resounding, bipartisan fashion. The final vote, which... Read More

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan Senate bill would provide $275 million to advance federal research and enhance medical services for women experiencing menopause. The bill, the Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act, was introduced Thursday by Sen. Patty Murray,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is considering legislation to stop judge shopping after a Texas federal judge rejected pleas to revise his jurisdiction’s method for assigning cases. The threat to use legislation to force federal judges to follow a case... Read More