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GOP senators walk out of vote on subpoenas in U.S. Supreme Court ethics inquiry
WASHINGTON — South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham and Republican colleagues stormed out of a Democratic-led U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Thursday to authorize subpoenas for two high-profile GOP operatives as part of an ethics probe into undisclosed financial ties to U.S. Supreme Court justices. The panel voted 11-0 to subpoena billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow […]
Israel and Hamas agree to temporary cease-fire, hostage release deal
WASHINGTON — Israel and Hamas have reached a deal for a short-term humanitarian ceasefire that will allow the release of some hostages and increase humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, U.S. officials said late Tuesday. President Joe Biden praised the agreement to release 50 of the approximately 240 hostages taken by Hamas during the […]
Wee hours U.S. Senate drama: GOP colleagues on the floor battle Tuberville blockade
WASHINGTON — After a marathon day and late-night vote to avert a Thanksgiving government shutdown, four U.S. Senate Republicans held the floor until the wee hours Thursday, urging their Alabama colleague to lift his months-long objections to hundreds of U.S. military nominations. Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Todd Young of Indiana, Joni Ernst of Iowa […]
Tuberville blockade of military nominees could be evaded after move by U.S. Senate panel?
WASHINGTON — The Democratic-led Senate Committee on Rules and Administration approved a resolution meant to bypass Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade of hundreds of U.S. military nominees as he continues to protest a Pentagon abortion policy. The Rules Committee voted 9-7 along party lines to, in essence, temporarily change a Senate floor process to allow […]
U.S. Supreme Court unveils new ethics code, but critics say it doesn’t go far enough
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court released a new ethics code Monday, just days before the Democrat-led U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary again attempts to subpoena two high-profile GOP donors following revelations that justices accepted undisclosed luxury trips and engaged in other potential conflicts of interest. Despite the headlines and the committee’s springtime request […]
VA reports major uptick in veterans’ care after passage of toxic exposure law
WASHINGTON — Veterans’ care in the United States set all-time records in fiscal year 2023, “shattering” the agency’s performance in previous years, in large part because of an expansion of benefits under the Biden administration, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough said Monday. McDonough spoke at the National Press Club less than a week […]
U.S. House turns aside attempt to censure Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib over Israel remarks
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to quash an effort to censure Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib after Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene accused her of “antisemitic activity.” The motion to table the resolution, introduced by Greene on Oct. 24, succeeded in a 222-186 vote Wednesday night. The Georgia Republican falsely accused […]
Three top military nominees near U.S. Senate votes despite Tuberville blockade
WASHINGTON — The battle over Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade of U.S. military promotions over a Pentagon abortion policy inched forward Wednesday after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer brought three top nominees to the floor, including President Joe Biden’s pick for the U.S. Marines’ second-in-command after its top general suffered a medical emergency. Schumer filed cloture […]
Tuberville to seek floor vote on No. 2 Marine leader after commandant hospitalized
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who for months has been blocking hundreds of military promotions in protest of a Pentagon abortion policy, plans to call a floor vote on the nominee for second-in-command of the U.S. Marines Corps after its top leader Gen. Eric M. Smith suffered a health emergency Sunday. Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, […]
Tuberville blockade on military nominees could be evaded by tweak in U.S. Senate rules
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats are mulling a strategy to bypass Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s months-long hold on hundreds of military promotions in protest of a Pentagon abortion policy that was authorized in the aftermath of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The Alabama Republican has been refusing to join other senators in the routine action […]
Mike Johnson of Louisiana elected speaker of the U.S. House after three weeks of stalemate
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Wednesday voted for Louisiana’s Mike Johnson as speaker in a chamber that has been frozen for more than three weeks after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted. In a 220-209 party-line vote, all Republicans present backed Johnson. All Democrats present voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. […]
Mike Johnson of Louisiana picked as newest GOP nominee for U.S. House speaker
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans late Tuesday voted to tap Louisiana’s Mike Johnson as speaker after the GOP nominee from earlier in the day was tanked. Johnson, 51, is the fourth Republican nominee attempting to break the deadlock in the lower chamber that has been leaderless and frozen for three weeks. He is the second […]