House approves bill to expand gun-sale background checks
The Democratic-controlled House on Wednesday approved a measure requiring federal background checks for all firearms sales and transfers, the first major gun control legislation considered by Congress in nearly 25 years.
Congress mulls cap on what Medicare enrollees pay for drugs
With health care a top issue for American voters, Congress may actually be moving toward doing something this year to address the high cost of prescription drugs.
Congress prepares to skip planned recess if shutdown goes on
Staring down the next deadline to pay federal workers, the White House shifted tactics, trying to bypass House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to negotiate with rank-and-file lawmakers even as President Donald Trump dug in for a prolonged shutdown.
Congress approves $400 billion for farmers, forests, poor
After months of debate and negotiation, Congress voted final approval Wednesday to a massive farm bill that will provide more than $400 billion for agriculture subsidies, conservation programs and food aid.
US judge criticizes plan to reunify families split at border
A federal judge, responding to a plan to reunify children separated at the border, said he was having second thoughts about his belief that the Trump administration was acting in good faith to comply with his orders.
Government falls short of deadline to reunite kids, parents
Some immigrant toddlers are back in the arms of their parents, but others remained in holding facilities away from relatives as federal officials fell short of meeting a court-ordered deadline to reunite dozens of youngsters forcibly separated from their families at the border.
House rejects GOP immigration bill, ignoring Trump
The Republican-led House resoundingly rejected a far-ranging immigration bill Wednesday despite an eleventh-hour endorsement by President Donald Trump, as the gulf between the GOP’s moderate and conservative wings proved too deep for leaders to avert an awkward election-year display of division.
House GOP struggles with immigration bill ahead of recess
Struggling to find the votes to pass an immigration overhaul, House Republicans are focusing on a slimmed-down bill to stem the crisis of separating immigrant families at the border.
Mississippi runoffs: 1 could be polite, the other combative
The Republican and Democratic campaigns heading into the June 26 runoffs for Congress and Senate are likely to have sharply contrasting tones.
Immigration fight, tension on tariffs await Congress’ return
This was supposed to be the quiet time on Capitol Hill, but Congress returns to work Monday facing a showdown in the House over immigration while Senate Republicans are trying to stop an all-out trade war after President Donald Trump’s decision to impose import tariffs on close U.S. allies.
CEO Zuckerberg apologizes for Facebook’s privacy failures
Under fire for the worst privacy debacle in his company’s history, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg batted away often-aggressive questioning from lawmakers who accused him of failing to protect the personal information of millions of Americans from Russians intent on upsetting the U.S. election.
Congress back from break with to-do list to keep Trump happy
The Republican majority in Congress was on a glide path to the midterms, having passed tax cuts into law and backed off budget battles with a year-end funding package. But President Trump was not impressed.
Congress’ immigration push sputters as guns grab attention
It’s taken just two weeks for Washington’s immigration battle to fade from blistering to back-burner.
Lots of talk, little action in Congress after shootings
For a brief moment after the Las Vegas massacre last fall, Republicans and Democrats in Congress talked about taking a rare step to tighten the nation’s gun laws. Four months later, the only gun legislation that has moved in the House or Senate instead eases restrictions for gun owners.
Senate rejects immigration bills; young ‘dreamers’ in limbo
The Senate has left hundreds of thousands of “Dreamer” immigrants in limbo, rejecting rival plans that would have spared them from deportation and strengthened the nation’s border security.
Congress takes on immigration issue amid election pressures
The Senate begins a rare, open-ended debate on immigration and the fate of the “Dreamer” immigrants today, and Republican senators say they’ll introduce President Donald Trump’s plan. Though his proposal has no chance of passage, Trump may be the most influential voice in the conversation.
Often at odds, Trump and GOP relish tax win, court picks
Donald Trump’s unpredictable, pugnacious approach to the presidency often worked against him as Republicans navigated a tumultuous but ultimately productive year in Congress.
Congress averts shutdown, sends Trump stopgap spending bill
Congress on Thursday passed a stopgap spending bill to prevent a government shutdown this weekend and buy time for challenging talks on a wide range of unfinished business on Capitol Hill.
Facing pressure, House OKs anti-harassment training
Pressured to respond to burgeoning sexual misconduct allegations, the House easily approved a bipartisan measure Wednesday requiring annual anti-harassment training for lawmakers and aides after a debate that rang with lawmakers’ own accounts of such episodes.
Female lawmakers allege harassment by colleagues in House
For years, Republican Rep. Mary Bono endured the increasingly suggestive comments from a fellow lawmaker in the House. But when the congressman approached her on the House floor and told her he’d been thinking about her in the shower, she’d had enough.
