House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday he opposes the new Trump administration “zero-tolerance” policy of forcibly separating immigrant children from their parents at the border. Ryan said Congress should address the issue with legislation, and a draft of a compromise immigration bill that circulated on Capitol Hill late Thursday would end the practice of…
The House passed the $1.3 trillion spending bill Thursday, approving the massive package to fund the federal government through September. The 2,232-page bill was released late Wednesday after congressional negotiators finalized its terms. The proposal increases spending on the military and border protection and provides $1.6 billion for President Trump’s proposed border wall, but it…
One month before Donald Trump won the Republican nomination, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy claimed in private that Trump was likely receiving payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin. “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” the Republican leader said in audio of a June 15, 2016 exchange, listened to, verified, and reported…
On Thursday, the House narrowly passed the American Health Care Act, 217-213. Every Democrat voted against the GOP health-care bill, as did 20 Republicans. 217 Republicans voted in favor. The bill passed after a lengthy struggle by Republican leadership to win over moderates who were concerned the bill threatened coverage for people with pre-existing conditions,…
A little-noticed amendment to the Obamacare repeal effort now before the House would let U.S. employers gut health coverage, The Wall Street Journal reported. Such a provision would affect about half the country, and the amendment lets states obtain waivers from certain Affordable Care Act regulations, freeing insurers from a mandate stipulating that they cover…
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said a shutdown of the U.S. government would be necessary in order to fix the “mess” in Congress. “The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there!” Trump tweeted. “We either elect more Republican Senators…
President Trump has admitted that running the country is not quite as easy as he thought it would be. In an interview with Reuters published Thursday, Trump opened up about his impressions from his first 100 days in the White House, saying he feels like he’s in his “own little cocoon” and misses driving. “I…
On Wednesday, President Trump will announce his plan to overhaul the tax code, including his proposal to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, White House officials told The Washington Post on Monday. Independent analysts have estimated a cut this severe could cost the federal government $2.4 trillion over 10 years,…
Democrat Jon Ossoff fell just short of the 50 percent mark in Tuesday’s special election for a House seat in Georgia’s 6th congressional district, an affluent and reliably conservative area in Atlanta’s northern suburbs that has sent Republicans to Congress since electing Newt Gingrich in 1978. Ossoff won roughly 48 percent of the vote in…
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday calling for the end of America’s lottery system for H-1B work visas in favor of a merit-based system, Axios reports. The “Buy American, Hire American” order will look to scrap the existing visa application system, which enters applicants into a lottery for limited number of visas.…
Senate Democrats successfully filibustered the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court, garnering the 41 votes to vote against cloture, or the ending of debate on the nomination. The vote ended with 55 votes in favor of ending debate, and 45 against. The move almost certainly means Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell…
President Trump said in a Wednesday interview with The New York Times that he believes former national security adviser Susan Rice committed a crime in allegedly seeking to unmask the identities of Trump associates mentioned in intercepted communications. “I think it’s going to be the biggest story,” the president told the Times, though he declined…
Samantha Bee takes a look at Trump’s first major failure as president, “Let’s check in with the winning, shall we?” “He couldn’t sell Obamacare repeal to a House that voted for it 60 times already?” she asked. “Closing deals is the one thing President Big Boy Truck was supposed to know how to do!”
Colbert mocked Donald Trump’s failure to push through a plan repeal and replace Obamacare, noting that despite the weight of the White House behind the bill, the GOP had to add it to the “cabinet of broken Republican dreams.” “The White House tried to get this thing through,” Colbert said during his opening monologue on…
During escalating tensions for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) to recuse himself from investigations of Trump team contacts with Russian officials on Tuesday morning, Nunes reportedly canceled all upcoming full committee meetings. Multiple outlets reported the move, based on sources, the morning of a public hearing set for Tuesday, which Nunes had previously…
President Trump has urged a vote on the American Health Care Act on Friday after the vote was postponed Thursday due to a lack of sufficient support to pass it. According to The Washington Post, Trump delivered an ultimatum: Pass the bill or he will move on from the repeal-and-replace cause. House Speaker Paul Ryan…
Republicans say they still plan to put the American Health Care Act up for a vote on Thursday, even as the White House and House Republican leaders continue to work to whip up enough votes to ensure passage. Late Wednesday, the White House and the conservative House Freedom Caucus reportedly reached a deal to strike…
Breitbart released an audio of Paul Ryan prior to the election saying he had no interest in sticking up for Donald Trump. “I am not going to defend Donald Trump not now, not in the future,” Ryan can be heard saying. “Look, you guys know I have real concerns with our nominee,” Ryan continued. “I…
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Monday released its cost estimate for the American Health Care Act, the Republican proposal to replace ObamaCare. The CBO’s report says that the GOP plan would reduce the federal deficit by $337 billion by 2026, with the most savings coming from “reductions in outlays for Medicaid and from the…
John Oliver ripped apart the latest healthcare reform, referring to it as “shitty Obamacare”. He then proceed to exposes the American Health Care Act, championed by the House speaker, Paul Ryan, saying: “You may not have wanted it, it looks awful, but it’s here anyway” which he likened to “Pirates of the Caribbean 5: The…
GOPer Rep. Jason Chaffetz said to CNN on Tuesday that some Americans regarding to their healthcare choice may come down to buying a new iPhone or paying for medical coverage. “You know what, Americans have choices. And they’ve got to make a choice,” said Chaffet. “And so maybe, rather than getting that new iPhone that…
A new bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate—the crux of President Obama’s signature health-care law—and replace it was released on Monday. The legislation would offer individual tax credits to purchase health insurance and would reportedly keep the ACA’s protections for those with pre-existing conditions; but would allow insurers to raise premiums for…
President Donald Trump addressed both houses of Congress Tuesday night. You can read his speech as provided by the White House below: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States, and Citizens of America: Tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black History Month, we…
Unable to reach their congressional representatives the old-fashioned way — by phone, email, and in person — Americans across the country are getting creative. While Republican lawmakers like Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.) have faced down angry constituents who peppered them with questions about everything from repealing the Affordable Care Act…
U.S. intelligence officials have withheld some sensitive intelligence from President Trump because of concerns about the information being leaked or compromised, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. This purported move underscores distrust between the intelligence community and the new administration as a result of reports that Trump’s campaign team had contacts with…
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested hundreds of undocumented immigrants in at least six states this week in a surge of what federal officials labeled “routine enforcement actions.” The raids targeted illegal immigrants known to have criminal records beyond their immigration status, though some immigrants without a history of crime were arrested as…
President Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on Iran on Friday morning, days after White House officials warned Tehran of being put “on notice” for its ballistic-missile test firings last weekend. The executive order targeted individuals and companies, and resemble the moves made by the Obama administration after previous tests. The White House has not accused…
Right after President Trump signed an executive order that bans U.S. entry from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia for 90 days while suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days, the rule already faces partial challenge in court. Immigration lawyers acting on behalf of two Iraqi men, one a former U.S.…
President Trump will speak to House and Senate Republicans at the GOP’s annual policy retreat on Tuesday, the first retreat in a decade where the GOP controls both houses of Congress and the White House. Vice President Mike Pence will also address the congressional Republicans, as will British Prime Minister Theresa May, marking the first…
Early Thursday, after voting down dozens of amendments proposed by Democrats over seven hours, Senate Republicans approved a budget resolution measure officially beginning the process to repeal the Affordable Care Act, with no replacement yet proposed. The resolution, which passed on a partisan 51-48 vote — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) joined all Democrats present in…
