New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, one of former President Donald Trump’s loudest defenders in Congress, once harshly attacked Trump over both his rhetoric and policies, claiming that she’d be an “independent voice.” Stefanik, a rising Republican star who is working to replace Rep. Liz Cheney as the House GOP conference chair, has spent much of
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South Carolina is joining Montana in ending federal pandemic unemployment benefits for its residents next month. The Republican governors of both states say the enhanced jobless programs are dissuading people from returning to the workforce and are creating labor shortages. They are the first two states to halt participation in the historic federal expansion of
Continue Reading The Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Rudy Giuliani involves an international cast of characters: Trump White House allies, Republican lawyers, Ukrainian oligarchs, diplomats, right-wing journalists and other figures who aren’t household names. The probe burst into public view last week when authorities raided Giuliani’s home and office in New York City, where he was mayor
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President Joe Biden and senior congressional Democrats plan to make a sustained push for a bipartisan agreement on a scaled-back infrastructure proposal over the next two weeks, according to aides and White House officials. In the latest sign that Democratic leaders are giving bipartisan talks their blessings, aides say that a timeline for passing a
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Alleged US Capitol rioter Anthony Antonio was hooked on Fox News and developed “Foxitis,” his lawyer said Thursday in a virtual hearing interrupted multiple times by another defendant’s profane outbursts. Antonio, his lawyer Joseph Hurley said, had lost his job at the beginning of the pandemic and for the next six months watched Fox News
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Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced late Thursday night that she will not run for reelection this year. “As (husband) Derek and I have given thoughtful prayer and consideration to the season now before us, it is with deep emotions that I hold my head high, and choose not to seek another term as Mayor,”
Continue Reading A triple amputee war veteran who was indicted last year along with Steve Bannon and two others, in an alleged scheme to defraud donors to a crowdfunding effort to build a private US-Mexico border wall, was indicted Thursday for filing false information on his 2019 federal income tax returns, the Justice Department announced. Brian Kolfage,
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Almost a million people signed up for 2021 health insurance coverage on the federal Affordable Care Act exchange during the first 10 weeks of President Joe Biden’s special enrollment period, according to data released Thursday from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That’s well over double the number who turned to the exchange in
Continue Reading Unaccompanied migrant children now spend an average of around 24 hours in Border Patrol custody, a Biden administration official said Thursday, down from the more than 100 hours that CNN reported in March. US law permits children to remain in these jail-like border facilities for only 72 hours before being transferred to the custody of
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The Biden administration is weighing unfreezing $1 billion in Iranian funds that the country could use for humanitarian relief, amid the negotiations for the US to reenter the 2015 nuclear deal and bring Iran back into compliance with its terms. It is not clear whether the release of the funds would occur unilaterally, but one
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Montana will soon stop paying federal pandemic unemployment benefits to its residents, opting instead to provide $1,200 return-to-work bonuses. It is the first state to end participation in the historic federal expansion of jobless benefits, which Congress enacted last spring as the coronavirus pandemic began upending the national economy and costing millions of Americans their
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration is “actively looking” at strengthening security assistance to Ukraine as he pledged support for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression. The top US diplomat arrived in the Ukrainian capital Wednesday night after meeting with the G7 Foreign Ministers in London,
Continue Reading A Capitol riot defendant has asked a federal judge for permission to call his mother, his Capitol riot co-defendant, on Mother’s Day. Eric Munchel, the so-called “zip tie man,” and his mother, Lisa Eisenhart, are charged in the January 6 Capitol riot, with prosecutors alleging they picked up zip ties inside the building and went
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The US Army announced a change to its grooming policy on Thursday, allowing female soldiers to wear ponytails in all uniforms. In January, the Army announced new policies that allowed soldiers to wear ponytails, locs, lipstick and earrings. They were permitted to wear medium-length ponytails on the back of the scalp that did not interfere
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Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday morning signed into law a controversial voting bill aimed at curbing access to mail-in voting in the state, joining a host of other GOP-led states pushing new limits in connection with former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election. In signing the bill during
Continue Reading Top House Democrats are preparing to move a $2 billion supplemental funding bill to address US Capitol security to the floor later this month, despite some outstanding questions — and reservations — among Republicans and even some Senate Democrats about the spending. House Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro and the other leaders of the House and
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President Joe Biden on Thursday suggested he was open to a corporate income tax rate between 25% and 28% to pay for his sweeping infrastructure and jobs proposal, the most concrete view he’s given to date on his negotiating position. “Making sure the largest companies don’t pay zero … and reducing the, the tax cut
Continue Reading The US Secret Service director, testifying for the first time in public since the January 6 insurrection, told members of Congress on Thursday that putting his agency in charge of security preparations prior to the attack would have helped to better protect the Capitol. But agency director James Murray also acknowledged additional precautions could have
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President Joe Biden on Thursday sought to make the case that his sweeping economic proposals are better positioned to bolster the middle class than tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations during a trip to Louisiana. The President stood in front of the Calcasieu River Bridge — a 70-year-old bridge that is 20 years older
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GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is poised to become the next House GOP conference chair, said on Thursday that she “fully” supports a controversial Republican-led effort in Arizona to cast doubt on President Joe Biden’s victory there, arguing that “we want to be able to fix and strengthen our election security and election integrity,” a
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