Republican Barry Loudermilk won’t seek reelection

Georgia Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk announced he will not run for reelection this year, the latest Republican to retire amid what’s shaping up to be a tough midterm for Republicans. Loudermilk, who was first elected to Congress in 2014, said in a statement he’s retiring to “spend more dedicated time with my family.” “Although I […]

Top Oversight Republican mulls Bill Gates subpoena in Epstein probe

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer is considering calling Bill Gates to testify in his ongoing Jeffrey Epstein investigation, saying in an interview Wednesday a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the panel are pressing for a chance to question the billionaire Microsoft founder. “We’re certainly looking at that, so we’ll have more […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

Mitch McConnell hospitalized with ‘flu-like symptoms’

Sen. Mitch McConnell checked himself into a local hospital Monday night “in an abundance of caution” after experiencing “flu-like symptoms,” a spokesperson for the Kentucky Republican said Tuesday. McConnell missed Senate votes on Monday and Tuesday. A polio survivor, McConnell has had increasingly public mobility challenges, including a series of falls in recent years, and […]

With just 10 days to negotiate, a DHS shutdown appears inevitable

Congress has 10 days to prevent another shutdown — this one exclusively affecting the Department of Homeland Security. There’s not much optimism about a deal. At issue is one of the thorniest issues in national politics — federal immigration enforcement, including new guardrails for agencies and repercussions for the local jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate […]

Powell pardon wouldn’t end Fed blockade, Tillis says

A presidential pardon of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell would not end Sen. Thom Tillis’ one-man blockade of central bank nominees, the North Carolina Republican said Tuesday. Only the Justice Department resolving its investigation into Powell’s Senate testimony on a massive Fed renovation project would suffice, he added, doubling down on his intention to use […]

Congress ends shutdown, approves $1.2T in funding — and sets up DHS cliff

Congress approved a spending package Tuesday afternoon that secures funding for the vast majority of federal agencies through September, ending the second government shutdown in the span of four months. But what’s left unfinished — funding for the Department of Homeland Security — will be a doozy, with partisan tensions over President Donald Trump’s immigration […]