The most powerful Republican in North Carolina, Senate leader Phil Berger, cut off Senate Democrats’ debate Monday night during a controversial map vote, in a rare move the minority party leader likened to that of “a dictator.”

It’s an allowable procedural move that’s been used in the House to end debate and get right to a vote, but ...Read more

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel announced he would withdraw from a confirmation hearing set for Thursday “because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time.”

Paul Ingrassia was scheduled to appear before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in his bid...Read more

WASHINGTON — Adelita Grijalva and Arizona asked a federal court on Tuesday to allow someone else to administer her oath to be the state’s 7th District representative since Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to do so, nearly a month after she won a special election.

While federal law states that the speaker administers the oath of office to ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — President Donald Trump’s threats to run a GOP primary challenger against Rep. Thomas Massie have come to fruition.

Ed Gallrein, a Trump-endorsed candidate from Shelby County, officially launched his campaign against Massie Tuesday morning.

“I’ve dedicated my life to serving my country, and I’m ready to answer the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump potentially closed the door to another reconciliation bill Tuesday, telling Republican senators at the White House that this summer’s “big beautiful bill” contained “everything” he desired and that no additional legislation is necessary.

Soon after the reconciliation package became law in July, ...Read more

Former President Joe Biden completed a round of radiation therapy at a Penn Medicine cancer center in Philadelphia Monday as part of his treatment for prostate cancer, according to a family representative.

Biden, 82, announced in May that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of the disease that had spread to his bones.

A spokesperson ...Read more

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., has joined fellow Senate Republicans in signing on to a letter urging top health officials in the Trump administration to rescind approval for a drug used in one of the most common methods of abortion.

In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary ...Read more

Sen. John Fetterman, D.-Pa., said he’d back a Republican plan to override the Senate filibuster if it meant passing a bill to reopen the government.

In an interview with The Inquirer Tuesday, Fetterman admonished fellow Democrats who balk at the notion of using the so-called “nuclear option” to end the filibuster: “When I ran for Senate...Read more

WASHINGTON — While much of the government enters its fourth shutdown week Wednesday, what does keep going strong are the charges and countercharges from Republicans and Democrats.

California Republicans blame Democrats for being stubborn and hurting constituents. Democrats say it’s Republicans who are being obstinate and spreading pain.

As...Read more

President Trump has reportedly demanded the Justice Department pay him $230 million in compensation for past investigations against him — and he just may get his wish.

Trump’s claims against the department, which he’s staffed with allies including his former personal attorney, is without precedent, according to The New York Times.

...Read more

WASHINGTON — Democrats’ hold on a House swing district in North Carolina’s northeastern corner is in jeopardy after the Republican-controlled state Senate approved a new congressional map Tuesday.

The redrawn lines, which are expected to receive final approval by the GOP-led state House later this week, would dramatically reshape North ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The federal government shutdown is approaching the second longest in U.S. history; however, Maryland lawmakers haven’t been idle as its members have often been front and center while parties spar over health care, rescissions and federal workers.

“Democrats want to reopen the government, but we will not be a rubber stamp for ...Read more

Despite a White House denial that President Donald Trump is considering commuting Sean “Diddy” Combs’ 50-month sentence for prostitution-related charges, TMZ is standing by its report that the president is “vacillating” on the matter and could make a decision this week.

Combs has served 13 months of his sentence at Brooklyn’s ...Read more

In the 1987 book “Trump: The Art of the Deal,” Donald Trump introduced the notion of “truthful hyperbole,” which he called an “innocent form of exaggeration and very effective form of promotion.” The idea is to use sensational imagery or language to get attention and generate excitement — regardless if it has anything to do with ...Read more

In the first week of October, with the government shutdown underway, the Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee to head up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Neil Jacobs.

Jacobs, who served as the acting under secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere during the first Trump Administration, is best ...Read more

President Donald Trump has argued that he needs to deploy National Guard troops across state lines to protect federal personnel and property or to support overwhelmed local law enforcement in cities he claims are “overrun” by crime.

But a Stateline analysis of U.S. Census Bureau and federal crime data shows that Trump’s deployments and ...Read more

In the annals of American politics, few figures have reshaped the landscape as profoundly as President Donald Trump. His bombastic style, unfiltered rhetoric, and policy disruptions galvanized the Republican base while triggering a seismic reaction among Democrats.

As Trump’s second term approaches its end in 2029, the GOP stands at a ...Read more

Small businesses challenging many of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs urged the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm lower court rulings that the import levies amount to a massive illegal tax on American companies.

Trump usurped the power of Congress to tax when he issued levies in February and April under an emergency law that was never ...Read more

President Donald Trump vowed to boost beef imports from Argentina as the U.S. faces soaring meat prices. But any increases may offer little relief to consumers — and risk angering American ranchers.

Trump said on Sunday that buying more meat from Argentina would “bring our beef prices down” while also aiding the struggling South American ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide if “habitual drug users” should lose their gun rights under the Second Amendment.

The Trump administration is defending a federal gun control law dating to 1968 and challenging the rulings of two conservative appeals courts that struck down the ban on gun possession by any “...Read more