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CNN to host GOP presidential debates ahead of Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire primary
WASHINGTON — Republicans hoping to become their party’s presidential nominee will have two more chances to debate next month, following an announcement Thursday that CNN will host one debate in Iowa and another in New Hampshire. The first debate is scheduled for Jan. 10 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and the second debate […]
Divided over immigration, U.S. Senate blocks advancing aid for Ukraine, Israel
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate failed to move forward Wednesday with a $111 billion spending package that would have bolstered aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the Southern border amid deep disagreement about immigration policy. The 49-51 procedural vote, which needed at least 60 senators to advance the bill toward final passage, represents a significant […]
U.S. House Oversight leader demands probe into ‘political interference’ in FBI HQ move
WASHINGTON — The chair of the House Oversight Committee is calling on a government watchdog to investigate any “political interference” in the site selection process for the new FBI headquarters. In addition, as House Republicans step up their interest in the growing dispute between Maryland and Virginia over where the headquarters should be moved from […]
White House urged to hold off on FBI HQ move to Maryland while review continues
WASHINGTON — Virginia lawmakers are asking the Biden administration to “pause” work on a new headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation until a government watchdog can complete a review into how a Maryland site was selected. The letter from 11 members of Virginia’s congressional delegation to Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management […]
White House points to defense spending in states in new plea for Ukraine aid
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is warning Congress that without more funding for Ukraine, the United States will no longer be able to provide that country with military assistance — and emphasizing the multiple states from Arkansas to Michigan to Pennsylvania where businesses already have benefited from earlier aid. Cutting off U.S. funding would not […]
New York Republican George Santos expelled by U.S. House in bipartisan vote
WASHINGTON — New York Republican George Santos on Friday became the sixth lawmaker in history and the first member of the GOP to be expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives. The 311-114 bipartisan vote, which required two-thirds support, followed months of scandal that culminated in a federal criminal indictment and a damning report from […]
At U.S. Senate lunch, Rand Paul aids Joni Ernst in choking emergency
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst is doing okay after a fellow senator, Rand Paul of Kentucky, had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on the Iowa Republican when she choked on food during a closed-door GOP lunch Thursday. “Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats. Thanks, Dr. @RandPaul!,” Ernst wrote on […]
Investigation launched into site selection process for new FBI headquarters
WASHINGTON — The watchdog for the General Services Administration will investigate the process that led the federal agency to choose a Maryland site over two others for the new FBI headquarters. Acting Inspector General Robert Erickson wrote in a letter released Thursday that the “objective will be to assess the agency’s process and procedures for […]
Democrats split on placing conditions on military aid to Israel
WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress are divided on whether to set guardrails on additional military aid to Israel as that country responds to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks with airstrikes and a ground war in Gaza. It’s not yet clear what those conditions would be or how they would affect congressional support for aid […]
Schumer on U.S. Senate floor condemns ‘rank antisemitism’ amid Israel-Hamas war
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the nation’s highest-ranking Jewish official, spoke from the chamber on Wednesday about the rise of antisemitism in the United States since the attack by Hamas militants on Israel and that nation’s airstrikes on Gaza. Schumer, speaking to a mostly empty chamber, an unlikely setting for what he described […]
U.S. Senate panel advances former Maryland governor’s nomination to lead Social Security
WASHINGTON — Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley moved one step closer Tuesday to becoming the next Social Security commissioner, a role that would become increasingly difficult as the program inches closer to insolvency during the next decade. The U.S. Senate Finance Committee voted 17-10 to send O’Malley’s nomination to the floor, though it’s not clear […]
Three presidential debates, one VP debate scheduled ahead of 2024 election
WASHINGTON — The Democratic and Republican nominees for president would debate three times next year if both candidates agree to a schedule released Monday by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. “The United States’ general election debates, watched live worldwide, are a model for many other countries: the opportunity to hear and see leading candidates […]