U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, one of eight members of the chamber to cross party lines and endorse a GOP plan to end the nation’s longest government shutdown, defended his vote on the Senate floor Monday amid intense party criticism of the deal.

“Many of my friends are unhappy. They think we should have kept our government closed indefinitely to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump defended allowing foreign students to study in the United States as a “good” practice and pushed back on a call to reduce their numbers, saying it would be financially destructive to the nation’s higher education system.

“You don’t want to cut half of the people, half of the students from all over...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate gave final approval Monday night to a deal that could end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, sending it to the House, where Democrats are launching a last-ditch effort to block the measure because it does not address health care costs.

Senators approved the shutdown deal on a 60-40 vote, a day after ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a major funding package Monday night that is likely to bring to an end the longest partial government shutdown in history.

On a 60-40 vote, the Senate sent to the House a measure that would fund the government through Jan. 30 and provide full-year appropriations for the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democrats from across the political spectrum expressed opposition to a Senate deal to end the longest partial government shutdown, less than a week after the party was celebrating major election victories.

A handful of candidates also criticized Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, even though he opposed the agreement, with...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The passage of Proposition 50 divided the Southern California district Rep. Linda Sánchez represents — which made her reelection decision more a question about where rather than if.

But Sánchez, a Democrat, says she has made up her mind: She is running in the new California’s 41st Congressional District, which snakes ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A deal that could end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is poised to head to the House, where Democrats are launching a last-ditch effort to block a spending agreement reached in the Senate that does not address health care costs.

The push comes as Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., urged House members on Monday to start...Read more

WASHINGTON — A deal that could end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is poised to head to the House, where Democrats are launching a last-ditch effort to block a spending agreement reached in the Senate that does not address health care costs.

The push comes as Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., urged House members on Monday to start...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s idea of mailing $2,000 “dividend” payments from tariffs to U.S. citizens marks a throwback to the stimulus checks distributed during the COVID crisis, with similar economic risks.

After floating the idea of tariff dividend payouts for months, Trump on Sunday offered the specific amount of “at ...Read more

California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the Trump administration Monday for “doing everything to put America in reverse” and trying “to vandalize California’s leadership” on climate, warning that the country risks losing its competitive edge in the clean energy economy.

The remarks came during his trip to Brazil, where Newsom joined ...Read more

Jimmy Kimmel’s wife, Molly McNearney, got candid about the “tension” she’s felt with her relatives who support Donald Trump.

While speaking on the “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast alongside Kimmel, McNearney admitted that her husband’s feud with Donald Trump has made her already tricky family relationships even more difficult.

�...Read more

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York is facing mounting pressure to step aside as leader of the Senate Democratic caucus after eight members voted against his wishes Sunday, joining Republicans in a bid to end the longest government shutdown in history.

The vote was just the latest development in a troubling week for the 74-year-old ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — President Donald Trump has pardoned more than 20 people who contributed to the push to overturn his loss in Michigan's 2020 election, providing a sign of support for allies who have faced investigations from state prosecutors.

Late Sunday night, Ed Martin, who is working as the Republican president's pardon attorney, posted a...Read more

WASHINGTON — New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman announced Monday that she won’t run for reelection next year, opening up a safe Democratic seat that includes Trenton and Princeton.

“I made a commitment years ago to always lead the charge on behalf of those I represent, and I believe I have fulfilled that commitment to the very best of ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is scrambling to develop a plan and message on still-high prices after the White House appeared caught off guard by how the affordability issue helped drive Republican losses last Tuesday.

Trump appeared defensive on the matter last week, blaming GOP candidates and lawmakers for talking too little about how...Read more

At a hearing before the Supreme Court last week, a majority of the justices thankfully expressed real skepticism over Donald Trump’s bizarre and clearly illegal effort to utilize an emergency economic powers provision that doesn’t even mention tariffs to institute random tariff rates on pretty much every country in the world, shaking the ...Read more

The Supreme Court has again denied a petition to overturn the right to gay marriage filed by Kim Davis, the embattled former Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and has spent the last decade petitioning courts to grant her relief.

“The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied,” justices wrote in their ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday it would hear arguments in a case challenging a Mississippi state law allowing the state to count ballots in federal elections that arrive after Election Day.

Monday’s order came after Mississippi asked the justices to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that found ...Read more

In a New York Times report on the air traffic control mess Thursday, much skepticism was struck over the flight-cutting actions of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who actually happens to be one of the few really competent members of the Trump administration.

The Times report suggested that Duffy’s motivations were political and that he ...Read more

ATLANTA — President Donald Trump signed a sweeping set of preemptive pardons that includes all 18 of his co-defendants in the Fulton County, Georgia, election interference case, a senior Justice Department aide said Monday.

The pardons are largely symbolic, because none of the people named is currently charged in federal court. And they have ...Read more