WASHINGTON — Over a six-decade political career, Steny H. Hoyer, currently the longest-serving Democrat in the House, built a legacy of influence few can match.

When the former majority leader announced his retirement Wednesday after nearly 45 years in Congress, it marked the end of a political career that saw the Maryland Democrat rise ...Read more

Picture a bridge with a clearly posted warning: without a routine maintenance fix, it will close. Engineers agree on the repair, but the construction crew in charge refuses to act. The problem is not that the fix is controversial or complex, but that making the repair might be seen as endorsing the bridge itself.

So, traffic keeps moving, the ...Read more

In a surprising victory for gun advocates last week, a federal court struck down California’s longstanding ban on the open carrying of firearms. The decision appears to be a seismic shift for the Golden State, yet the practical effect on gun carrying in cities such as Los Angeles may be far less dramatic. The true danger of the court’s ...Read more

President Donald Trump has said a pardon for Sean “Diddy” Combs is off the table after reportedly receiving a personal letter from the disgraced hip-hop mogul.

During an interview with The New York Times, the 79-year-old MAGA leader said that Diddy “asked me for a pardon through a letter,” but that he was not considering granting his ...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said he planned to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient María Corina Machado as soon as next week, as he weighs the future governance of the nation following the weekend operation to capture strongman Nicolas Maduro.

“I understand she’s coming in next week ...Read more

Rep. Julia Brownley, a Democrat who has represented swaths of Ventura and Los Angeles counties for more than a decade, announced Thursday that she would not seek reelection.

"Serving our community and our country has been the honor of my lifetime. Every step of this journey has been shaped by the people I represent, by their resilience, their ...Read more

DENVER — Colorado Treasurer Dave Young dropped out of the race for the hotly contested 8th Congressional District on Friday morning, further narrowing the Democratic field ahead of the June primary.

Young, who is in his second term as state treasurer, cited a family member’s “serious health situation” for why he’s leaving the ...Read more

DENVER — Attorney General Phil Weiser on Thursday expanded a lawsuit filed to keep U.S. Space Command in Colorado to now encapsulate a broader “revenge campaign” that he said the Trump administration was waging against Colorado.

Weiser named a litany of moves the Trump administration had made in recent weeks — from moving to shut down ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democratic members of Congress on Thursday called for oversight hearings and independent probes into the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a federal immigration agent as well as the wider Trump administration approach to immigration enforcement.

The lawmakers raised concerns about whether the American people would have doubts about...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday voted to advance a resolution aimed at preventing President Donald Trump from taking more military action against Venezuela days after U.S. forces bombed Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Senators voted 52-47 to discharge a war powers resolution from the Senate Foreign Relations ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Five Senate Republicans broke with party leaders Thursday to advance legislation that would rein in President Donald Trump's use of the U.S. military in Venezuela, a move that comes as a growing number of GOP lawmakers have expressed unease about the White House's threats to use force to acquire Greenland.

The procedural vote, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday delivered a stinging rebuke to President Donald Trump’s Venezuela action, moving ahead with a bid by Sen. Adam Schiff and his colleagues to bar the use of U.S. military forces to act in or against Venezuela unless Congress gives its consent.

The 52-47 vote came after often angry and puzzled lawmakers got ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, a longtime Democratic leader from suburban Maryland, will join former Speaker Nancy Pelosi in not seeking reelection this year.

“I did not want to be one of those members who clearly stayed, outstayed his or her ability to do the job,” Hoyer said in an interview with The Washington Post published ...Read more

At 17 years old, Melissa Loch has never cast a ballot. It’s something the politically minded Arlington Heights, Illinois, student is eager to do for the first time this year.

But she’s not stopping there.

Loch is training to become an election judge as part of a new effort by the Cook County clerk’s office to engage more young voters —...Read more

WASHINGTON — An overarching theme of the second Trump administration’s relationship with Congress has been forging ahead without pausing to let lawmakers weigh in. That dynamic has proven out at an agency that is responsible for regulating 20% of the economy: the Food and Drug Administration.

Despite its typically low profile, the FDA has ...Read more

As we kick off a new year, it’s a good time to assess President Donald Trump’s performance on the economy. He came into office a year ago with his “America First” philosophy. He promised to bring down the cost of living, create jobs, reduce illegal immigration at the border, enact big corporate and income tax cuts, and more. So, how is ...Read more

The muscular foreign policy of President Donald Trump is not about glory for glory’s sake. It is a clear expression of America First.

Trump’s understanding of our national interests is simple and clear: Critical assets and strategic geography are core; both must be secured for the defense and prosperity of American citizens.

It doesn’t ...Read more

President Donald Trump’s campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize no doubt fueled his decision to launch an unprovoked invasion of Venezuela. Instead, the military strike is more likely to yoke him to a bipartisan history of presidential adventurism abroad, from Democrat Lyndon Johnson’s Vietnam fiasco to Republican George W. Bush’s Iraq debacle...Read more

"You are going to be the proud owner of 25 million people," the late Gen. Colin Powell told Pres. George W. Bush before the president authorized the Iraq War, according to journalist Bob Woodward. "You will own all their hopes, aspirations and problems. You'll own it all."

There are 6 million more people in Venezuela than there were in Iraq in ...Read more