The Senate GOP’s latest attempt to rewrite the Affordable Care Act showed few signs of gaining traction Thursday, further imperiling the party’s quest to overhaul Barack Obama’s 2010 health-care law. At least three Republican senators said Thursday they remained opposed to bringing up the revised bill, while two rank-and-file Republicans announced plans to offer their…
While testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday about the ongoing Trump-Russia probe, Attorney General Jeff Sessions faced repeated questions about his role in President Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey. Sessions said that his decision to recuse himself from the Russia probe was “not because of an asserted wrongdoing,” and insisted…
WATCH THE LIVE EVENT HERE. Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper are testifying in front of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Monday, and the main topic of discussion is expected to be ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. President Trump fired Yates for declining to defend…
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 bipartisan $1.1 trillion spending bill that will keep the federal government running through September was approved Wednesday by the House. The bill does not include any funding for President Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, secures funding for Planned Parenthood, and adds $15 billion to the military’s budget. The National Endowment…
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…
The White House on Tuesday denied the House Oversight Committee’s request for documents relating to former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was fired in February for lying to the vice president. Additionally, the committee’s leaders said Flynn “inappropriately” accepted money from foreign governments. In a letter to the committee’s chairman, Jason Chaffetz, White House…
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,…
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.…
The U.S. Senate confirmed Neil M. Gorsuch to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, capping more than a year of bitter partisan bickering over the ideological balance of the nation’s highest court. Senators voted to confirm Gorsuch, 49, a Denver-based judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, who will become the…
Speaking to reporters a week before his scheduled trip to Moscow, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday there is “no doubt in our mind” that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government is behind a chemical attack that killed dozens of Syrians on Tuesday, and “it’s time that the Russians really need to think carefully about…
Two Democratic senators — Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota — said Thursday that they would vote to confirm President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. Manchin, who frequently crosses the aisle to side with the GOP, said he found Gorsuch to be “an honest and thoughtful man,” and that…
This morning Trump tweeted in support of former White House National Security Adviser Mike Flynn just one day after it was reported that he would be willing to be interviewed about the Trump campaign’s potential ties to Russia in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Early Friday morning, he wrote: “Mike Flynn should ask for immunity…
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Mike Flynn, the former national security adviser for President Donald Trump, has informed the FBI and the House and Senate intelligence committees that he is willing to be interviewed in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Flynn was privvy to information about foreign policy deliberations and was…
The Senate Intelligence Committee is holding open hearings Thursday on Russian interference in the U.S. election through technology and disinformation, with a slate of academic and cybersecurity experts scheduled to testify, including former NSA director Gen. Keith Alexander. The hearing will explore the various ways Russia tried to influence the U.S. presidential election and is…
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…
A lawyer for Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, reached out to the House Intelligence Committee to volunteer his testimony before the panel, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) said during a Friday press conference. Manafort has offered to be “voluntarily interviewed” by the committee, but whether it will happen in either open or closed session…
President Trump unveiled his 2018 budget proposal Thursday, providing the clearest view yet of the policies he wants to use to deliver on his campaign promises. The plan includes a $54 billion increase in defense spending and a substantial bump for border security, while calling for deep cuts to most federal agencies, including roughly 30…
In a Wednesday press conference, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) said officials “don’t have any evidence” that the Obama administration ordered wiretapping of Donald Trump while he was running for president. “Are you going to take the tweets literally?” he asked. “If you are, then clearly the president is wrong.” However, Nunes also…
Democrats in Congress have long argued that the ongoing intelligence committee investigations into Russia’s interference in the presidential election and the Trump campaign’s ties to the Kremlin are unlikely to get to the bottom of the issue. Now a group of “Never Trump” Republicans are planning to pressure GOP leaders to establish a bipartisan select…
The White House on Monday walked back key point of President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated allegation that President Barack Obama wiretapped his phones in Trump Tower during the 2016 election. Namely, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump wasn’t referring to wiretapping when he tweeted about wiretapping. “I think there’s no question that the Obama…
President Donald Trump will allegedly donate his presidential salary to an undetermined charity at the end of the year, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters during a Monday press briefing. In November, Trump promised to forgo the $400,000 salary, telling 60 Minutes that “I’m not going to the take the salary.” However, federal…
Kellyanne Conway, a senior counselor to President Donald Trump, doubled down Sunday night on claims that President Obama had wiretapped and spied on Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election. As usual, Conway’s comments, which were made in an interview at her home in Alpine, New Jersey, were not supported by any evidence. She…
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Friday that he has “not seen any evidence whatsoever” to support President Trump’s claim that he was wiretapped by the Obama administration during the 2016 campaign. “I think when [White House Press Secretary] Sean Spicer isn’t even willing to talk about it, you know there’s a…
President Trump on Monday signed a new version of his immigration executive order, following a federal court’s block last month of the original order he issued Jan. 27. No cameras were present as Trump signed the revised order, which newly excludes Iraq — an ally in the fight against the Islamic State — from the…
After President Trump used Twitter over the weekend to accuse former President Barack Obama of wiretapping his phones, FBI Director James Comey asked the Justice Department to publicly reject his claims, senior U.S. officials told The New York Times on Sunday. Comey made the request on Saturday, saying the allegation is baseless and must be…
Former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper denied President Trump’s allegation that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 election. “If something like that happened, would this be something you would be aware of?” asked NBC News host Chuck Todd. “I would certainly hope so,” Clapper replied. “I can’t say —…
President Donald Trump took to Twitter early Saturday to accuse former President Barack Obama of tapping his phones ahead of the election. “Is it legal for a sitting President to be “wire tapping” a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!” he wrote. He went on to…
