House Democrats come out en masse against DHS funding bill

Only a handful of House Democrats are expected to back a DHS funding bill this week after top party leaders spoke out against it during a closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the meeting. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was among the many Democrats who spoke out against the bill, […]

Judge denies lawmaker request for ‘independent monitor’ to oversee Epstein files release

A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the Justice Department’s disclosure of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, while conceding the lawmakers have raised “legitimate concerns” about the department’s compliance with the law. In a 7-page opinion, U.S. District […]

House Oversight to depose Ghislaine Maxwell

Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, will sit for a deposition before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Feb. 9, chair James Comer said Wednesday. The announcement came during a markup of contempt measures for Bill and Hillary Clinton, who refused to comply with subpoenas to sit for scheduled depositions last […]

Capitol agenda: Lawmakers nearly at the funding finish line

Congress is on track to avoid another shutdown, but it needs to clear several hurdles in a short amount of time in order to beat its month-end deadline. The pressure is on the House to pass four of the most challenging spending bills Thursday — to fund the departments of Defense, HHS, Labor, HUD, Transportation, […]

Trump’s Greenland tariffs could squeeze Hill Republicans

President Donald Trump’s threat to weaponize steep new tariffs as part of his bid to acquire Greenland could soon put queasy Republicans on the spot. House and Senate Democrats plan to force votes as soon as next month to block the European tariffs Trump announced over the weekend, according to two aides granted anonymity to […]

Congress clinches bipartisan health deal

Congressional leaders reached a bipartisan, bicameral health care deal early Tuesday morning they hope lawmakers will pass later this week as part of a four-bill government spending package. Alongside funding for the departments of Defense, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security through Sept. 30, senior appropriators are proposing a crackdown on drug […]

Capitol agenda: Movement on a health plan, but not Trump’s

Lawmakers are eyeing a health care deal this week, but it’s far from the “Great Healthcare Plan” that President Donald Trump outlined last Thursday. Here’s a rundown of the latest developments and why Trump’s grander ambitions are looking DOA on Capitol Hill: — The deal Republicans could get: After weeks of committee-level negotiations, congressional leadership […]

‘No longer in my hands’: How Hill Republicans stopped caring about DOJ releasing the Epstein files

One month after the congressionally mandated deadline to release all its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Justice Department has made only a fraction of the files public — and it remains silent on its plans to fully comply with the law. Also keeping quiet about the DOJ delays are congressional Republicans, almost […]

Louisiana’s Letlow prepares Senate bid after Trump endorsement

Rep. Julia Letlow is preparing to jump into the Louisiana Senate race against GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy after President Donald Trump publicly endorsed her, according to three people granted anonymity to disclose a yet-to-be-announced bid. Letlow is expected to announce her decision as soon as Monday, according to two of the people, though the date […]