WASHINGTON — The 118th Congress will welcome around 80 new members, and not all of them are strangers to the job. More than a dozen members of the incoming class have previously worked as congressional staff, whether that means calling the shots or answering the phones.

One became the face of efforts to impeach former President Donald Trump, ...Read more

The Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan remains on hold, after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request from the federal government to temporarily reverse a lower court order that blocked rollout of the plan.

A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based appeals court on Wednesday rejected the request in a brief ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron will dine on lobster, caviar and an Oregon cheese named the best in the world while listening to Grammy-winner Jon Batiste at the U.S. president’s first state dinner on Thursday.

Batiste, one of the nation’s most award-winning musicians, will perform with his father, Michael Batiste, according ...Read more

DENVER — Secretary of State Jena Griswold ordered a mandatory recount in the 3rd Congressional District race on Wednesday, saying the margin of difference is so slight between Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and her Democratic opponent, Adam Frisch, that the ballots need a second tally.

Boebert leads Frisch by 550 votes out of more than ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A U.S. House committee can now get a look at six years of Donald Trump’s tax returns, a week after the Supreme Court cleared the way for their release.

A Treasury spokesperson on Wednesday said the department complied with the court’s decision and made the documents available to the Ways and Means Committee, though wouldn’t...Read more

WASHINGTON — Rep. Ted Lieu won a four-way contest Wednesday to be the next House Democratic Caucus vice chair, replacing fellow Californian Pete Aguilar, who was elected to serve as caucus chair.

Vice chair is the No. 5 ranking position in Democratic leadership when the party is in the minority, which Democrats will be come January. Until ...Read more

Street protests across China have evoked memories of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations that were brutally quashed in 1989. Indeed, foreign media have suggested the current unrest sweeping cities across China is unlike anything seen in the country since that time.

The implication is that protest in China is a rarity. Meanwhile, the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — House Democrats tapped Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York on Wednesday to lead them in the next Congress, and elected California Rep. Pete Aguilar as House Democratic Caucus chair.

The historic selection of Jeffries as the incoming minority leader means he will replace Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., in January as the highest-...Read more

WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Wednesday officially elected New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as their next leader by unanimous consent, making him the first Black lawmaker to lead a congressional party caucus.

Jeffries’ new role won’t start until January when the new Congress is sworn in and Republicans take control of the House. His No. 1 ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department turned over six years of Donald Trump’s tax returns to a House committee after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the release.

A spokesperson Wednesday said Treasury complied with the court’s decision.

The Ways and Means Committee has been seeking the returns, saying it needs them to consider ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Earmarks are here to stay — at least for one more Congress.

House Republicans voted Wednesday against a proposed earmark ban during a conference rules meeting, a vote which held larger implications as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy seeks to become speaker.

The conference voted 158-52 against an amendment proposed by Rep...Read more

MIAMI — Just four years after Florida’s Legislature made sure politicians would have to resign before running for federal office, they seem poised to change the rules again.

The impetus is Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely speculated to be eyeing a presidential run, especially following this year’s landslide reelection victory.

“...Read more

WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday approved resolutions that would enact a labor agreement reached by the White House, freight rail carriers and rail unions and provide an additional seven days of paid sick leave to rail workers.

Both resolutions have been deemed necessary by Democrats, some Republicans and President Joe Biden. Progressives ...Read more

WASHINGTON — House Democrats tapped Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York on Wednesday to lead them in the next Congress, and elected California Rep. Pete Aguilar of California as House Democratic Caucus chair.

The historic selection of Jeffries as the incoming minority leader means he will replace Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, in ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Legislation to overhaul how Congress counts presidential electoral votes should be attached to the must-pass spending omnibus bill on its way out of the Senate, Sens. Joe Manchin III and Amy Klobuchar said Wednesday.

Speaking at a National Council on Election Integrity event, Manchin said the Electoral Count Reform Act was “...Read more

After Wednesday's uncontested vote among House Democrats, much of the nation will start getting to know Hakeem Jeffries as the first Black American to lead a party conference in Congress. Having followed the Brooklynite for decades, we’ve got some insight on, and some advice for, the new House Democratic leader and possible future speaker.

...Read more

WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Wednesday officially elected New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as their next leader by unanimous consent, making him the first Black lawmaker to lead a congressional party caucus.

Jeffries’ new role won’t start until January when the new Congress is sworn in and Republicans take control of the House. His No. 1 ...Read more

Before the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile and Sandra Bland were propelled into the media spotlight, their names were Twitter #hashtags.

In 2020, Twitter was essential to the spread of historic Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality across the world.

But Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter ...Read more

The verdicts in a high-profile, monthslong trial of Oath Keepers militia members were, as one defense lawyer acknowledged, “a mixed bag.” Leader Stewart Rhodes was found guilty on Nov. 29, 2022, of the most serious charge – seditious conspiracy – for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and was acquitted on ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, addressing a postelection gathering of congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday, said he hoped he could work with Congress on funding the government, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and supporting Ukraine.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy looked on stoically as Biden spoke. After the ...Read more