Congress

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GOP Senator Doubles Down on Snarky Town Hall Comment

Joni Ernst's 'we are all going to die' was controversial, but she's not backing off

(Newser) - Joni Ernst isn't backing down from her controversial remarks at an Iowa town hall Friday. After a constituent noted their concerns about Medicaid cuts potentially causing deaths, Ernst responded, "Well, we are all going to die." The following day, after the comment went viral, Ernst posted a...

EU Steps In as Trump Holds Back Radio Liberty Funds

Broadcaster turns to Europe after US withholds $75M in funds

(Newser) - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is now accepting millions in emergency funds from the European Union amid a funding standoff with the Trump administration. The EU grant, totaling $6.2 million, is aimed at keeping the broadcaster operating after the US government withheld $75 million that Congress already allocated to...

'Big Beautiful Bill' Passes With 2 GOP Holdouts

Measure crucial to President Trump's domestic agenda finally clears the House

(Newser) - The "big beautiful bill" has finally cleared the House, by a whisker. The massive spending package crucial to President Trump's domestic agenda passed 215-214 early Thursday after a marathon House session led by Speaker Mike Johnson, reports Axios .
  • The bill: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes tax
...

MTG Suggests Trump Is Being Manipulated

'They think they can manipulate the president, but you can't manipulate the base'

(Newser) - Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is not happy with the direction of the Trump administration, warning people "in the president's ear" are "lying to him." The Georgia Republican appeared on Steve Bannon's War Room on Monday and expanded on an X post from over the weekend,...

Black Female WWII Unit 'Six Triple Eight' Gets Big Honor

Congressional Gold Medal is finally awarded to the mail unit

(Newser) - The only Black, all-female unit to serve in Europe during World War II, commonly known as the "Six Triple Eight," were honored Tuesday with the Congressional Gold Medal, following a long-running campaign to recognize their efforts, the AP reports. The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was credited with...

Platforms Will Have 48 Hours to Remove Flagged Revenge Porn

Congress passes Take It Down Act, which Trump has promised to sign

(Newser) - A bill targeting revenge porn and "deepfake" nudes, supported by first lady Melania Trump, passed the House in a 409-2 vote on Monday after unanimously passing the Senate in February and is now expected to receive the president's signature. What you need to know about the bipartisan Take...

White House Says Trump Will Veto Bipartisan Tariff Bill

Lawmakers are trying to reassert congressional control over tariffs

(Newser) - A bipartisan group of senators wants to reassert congressional control over tariffs, but the administration says the bill will be vetoed if it ever makes it to President Trump's desk. Seven Republican senators, including Sens. Chuck Grassley and Mitch McConnell, have signed onto the Trade Review Act of 2025,...

House Republicans Reach Deal in Proxy Voting Standoff

Tentative deal could bring end to standoff that delayed voting on other matters

(Newser) - A tentative deal on proxy voting for new parents in the US House of Representatives has been reached, potentially ending a dayslong standoff that threatened to delay voting this week on some of the president's legislative priorities. House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who...

Unexpectedly Tight Race in Florida Is in the Spotlight
GOP Sweating a Surprisingly
Tight Race in Florida
the rundown
Mar 31, 2025 8:31 AM CDT

GOP Sweating a Surprisingly Tight Race in Florida

Republican candidate is underperforming in House special election to replace Mike Waltz

(Newser) - Tuesday's election to fill a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court is generating a lot of headlines, but another contest the same day in Florida has unexpectedly surfaced high on the national political radar. The details:
  • The contest: Voters in a heavily Republican district in the central part of
...

AWOL Congresswoman's Story Reflects a New DC Reality

Local media outlets aren't able to cover their representatives in DC much anymore

(Newser) - Politico revisits the remarkable story of former Rep. Kay Granger of Texas , who went AWOL from Congress last year for months before anyone noticed. Turns out, she had entered a facility for patients with dementia back home in Fort Worth. It was a small online outlet, the Dallas Express,...

Chair's Diss to Trans Lawmaker Brings House Meeting to Halt

GOP Rep. Keith Self misgenders Sarah McBride, prompting Dem pushback

(Newser) - A hearing held by a House Foreign Affairs panel came to a sudden and contentious close on Tuesday after a Republican congressman misgendered Sarah McBride of Delaware, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress. The Hill and New York Times report that Rep. Keith Self of Texas, who chairs...

A Lot of Democrats Are Skipping Trump Address

Trump speech to joint session of Congress expected to focus on immigration

(Newser) - Lawmakers have gathered at the Capitol for President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, the first of his second term, but a lot of Democrats have decided to be elsewhere. Rep. Don Beyer, one of numerous House Democrats boycotting the address, said Tuesday that Trump is addressing...

Democrats May Bring Eggs to Trump Address

Props under discussion as well as color-coordinated outfits and a possible walkout

(Newser) - Democrats will look to turn the spotlight away from President Trump as he gives the first speech of his second term to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, but will it be with noisemakers, eggs, coordinated outfits, or a staged walkout? Democrats are reportedly divided on how they...

She Rushed to DC With Newborn for House Vote

Rep. Brittany Pettersen is leading push to allow remote voting for new mothers in Congress

(Newser) - A Democratic lawmaker who voted with a weeks-old baby in her arms this week is pushing to change the rules on proxy voting in the House. Rep. Brittany Pettersen flew from Colorado to Washington, DC, with her four-week-old son for Tuesday night's vote on a budget resolution . "Unfortunately,...

Budget Framework Passes After All-Night 'Vote-a-Rama'

Rand Paul was the only Republican to vote against measure supporting Trump's agenda

(Newser) - Republican senators pushed a $340 billion budget framework to passage early Friday, chugging through an all-night session and Democratic opposition in a step toward unleashing money the Trump administration says it needs for mass deportations and border security. The hours-long "vote-a-rama" rambled along in a dreaded but crucial part...

$7B Arms Sale to Israel Won't Wait for Congressional Review

Democratic lawmaker criticizes end run on oversight

(Newser) - The Trump administration has told Congress it's moving ahead with weapons sales to Israel totaling more than $7 billion, circumventing the review being conducted in a House committee. The State Department made the notification on Friday, the New York Times reports. Congress had put a hold on a $1...

Yellen: I'll Take Those 'Extraordinary Measures'

Treasury secretary tells Congress she plans measures to avoid hitting debt ceiling

(Newser) - In one of her last acts as Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen said her agency will start taking "extraordinary measures," the special accounting maneuvers intended to prevent the federal government from hitting the debt ceiling, on Tuesday. Yellen made the announcement in a letter sent to congressional leaders on...

Johnson On Track to Lose First Round of Speaker Vote
Mike Johnson Is
Re-Elected as House Speaker
UPDATED
Jan 3, 2025 1:46 PM CST

Mike Johnson Is Re-Elected as House Speaker

Two GOP dissenters changed their minds, enough to give him the win

(Newser) - Mike Johnson will keep his gavel. The new Congress convened on Friday with one big question hanging in the balance: Did Johnson have the votes to retain his position as House speaker? The answer turned out to be yes, on the first round of balloting no less, reports CNN . Johnson...

Congresswoman's Decline Puts Age Back in the Spotlight
Congresswoman's Decline
Puts Age Back in the Spotlight
the rundown
Dec 23, 2024 11:15 AM CST

Congresswoman's Decline Puts Age Back in the Spotlight

Kay Granger, 81, has been having 'dementia issues,' says her son in Texas

(Newser) - The weekend's surprise story about 81-year-old congresswoman Kay Granger of Texas has once again put the issue of lawmakers' ages front and center . New details have since emerged about Granger, who has not cast a vote in the House since July:
  • Dementia: Her son tells the Dallas Morning News
...

Shutdown Vote Suggests What's in Store for Trump
Shutdown Vote Suggests
What's in Store for Trump
the rundown
Dec 22, 2024 9:10 AM CST

Shutdown Vote Suggests What's in Store for Trump

Right flank of his party in Congress rebuffed him on the debt limit, previewing 2025 fights

(Newser) - Now that the dust has settled on the shutdown drama in Washington , one theme in coverage has emerged: President-elect Trump tested the limits of his political clout with the right flank of his party and was quickly rebuffed. It suggests he faces a tougher-than-expected slog in Congress next year. Coverage:...

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