Thune blasts Jeffries, Schumer as ‘afraid of their shadows’ as DHS funding fight heats up

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., doesn’t have confidence that top congressional Democrats want to fix Homeland Security funding as Congress gears up for tense negotiations in the coming days.  With the partial four-day government shutdown now over, Democrats and Republicans are readying to relitigate the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bill, which threatened […]

Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on range of issues including Russia-Ukraine war

President Donald Trump said he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday to discuss a range of issues, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, while stressing that their relationship ‘is an extremely good one’ that will bring ‘many positive results’ in the coming years. The president and Xi also discussed Trump’s upcoming trip to […]

Democrats plan DHS funding offer as Thune floats long-term punt

Democratic and Republican leaders showed no sign of narrowing their differences on Department of Homeland Security funding Wednesday as a Feb. 13 deadline draws nearer. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reiterated demands for new restrictions on immigration enforcement agencies at a joint news conference. Flanked by other Democratic leaders, […]

Shutdown averted for now, but Senate warns DHS fight could trigger another in days

As the House crushed Republican resistance to a Trump-backed funding package to end the latest partial government shutdown, lawmakers in the upper chamber weren’t confident that Congress could avoid being in the same position in the coming weeks. President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., brokered the deal to end the shutdown […]

Tim Scott on DOJ probe into Powell: ‘I do not believe that he committed a crime’ in Fed HQ testimony

Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott on Wednesday said he did not believe Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell committed a crime during his congressional testimony last year about the central bank’s headquarter renovations. “I was the one asking the questions,” he said on Fox Business. “Jay Powell was responding to me. Obviously, he and I have […]

Federal judge grills DOJ lawyers over censure of Democratic senator

A federal judge on Tuesday appeared receptive to the claim from Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., that the Pentagon is retaliating against him for protected political speech, raising concerns about potential violations of the First Amendment. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon is considering whether to issue a preliminary injunction that would halt War Secretary Pete […]

What replaced USAID? Inside the Trump administration’s global health overhaul

For months after the Trump administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, critics warned that America’s global health programs were being gutted. What drew far less attention was what replaced it.  In December 2025, the White House quietly rolled out the America First Global Health Strategy, shifting control of U.S. global health aid from […]

Capitol agenda: Lawmakers brace for a DHS shutdown

Congress just launched itself onto a nine-day runway to overcome deep partisan divides over the fate of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda — and conditions are trending toward another lengthy shutdown for the Department of Homeland Security. According to several senators, DHS funding talks were largely on hold while lawmakers waited for the House […]