MIAMI — Dozens of friends, relatives and former political colleagues are asking a federal judge to show leniency to former U.S. Rep. David Rivera when he is sentenced later this week, while prosecutors are urging the court to impose a significant prison term on the former Miami congressman for secretly acting as an agent of Nicolás Maduro’s...Read more

The confusion surrounding a proposed civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia hasn’t exactly disappeared: The White House is still claiming it depends on the country normalizing relations with Israel, even if that’s not part of the written agreement. At least Congress now has the text for review. Having seen its flaws, legislators should demand ...Read more

MAPLEWOOD, Mo. — After Missouri voters added abortion protections to the state constitution in 2024, Kelly McCoomb decided to keep her yard sign supporting the measure in the basement of her suburban St. Louis home.

Abortion access is important to McCoomb. She wants her daughter to grow up in a state where the option is available if needed, ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. Rep. David Valadao, a Hanford Republican, and progressive Democrat Randy Villegas are battling in California’s most closely watched House race, a contest that could help determine control of Congress.

Valadao has repeatedly defied the odds by winning the Central Valley swing district, where Democratic voters ...Read more

Two of the biggest names in politics are headed to the Central Valley this week to rally support for their preferred candidates in California’s crucial 22nd District race.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will join a campaign event Wednesday in Bakersfield for Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed legislation that would amend the Clean Air Act to ensure states would not be penalized for conducting prescribed burns intended to prevent larger, uncontrolled wildfires by unanimous consent on Tuesday.

Under current law, states are required to meet air quality standards for particulate matter pollution. ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court has refused to halt a Florida federal judge’s decision to penalize President Donald Trump and his lawyers for “bad faith” conduct in his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service while he appeals.

The order on Tuesday leaves in place a July ruling that barred Trump and certain U.S. ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office reaffirmed its opinion Tuesday that “pocket rescissions” are illegal, dealing a modest blow to President Donald Trump’s announcement last week of plans to cancel $810 million in spending without the approval of Congress.

In a letter to congressional leaders, the GAO —the investigative ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rep. Kevin Kiley and former Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan are virtually tied in the race for the Sacramento region’s 6th Congressional District race, according to a new poll by a group backing Kiley.

The poll, provided first to The Sacramento Bee, found Kiley and Pan each garnered roughly 37% support among 927 ...Read more

Like many Minnesotans, Niraphanh Insomphou’s family arrived here in the 1970s after her parents fled Laos. Over the decades, her siblings became U.S. citizens, but Insomphou — who has intellectual and developmental disabilities and is unable to speak — did not.

For nearly 40 years, she has lived in group homes and Medicaid has covered her...Read more

WASHINGTON — The White House is using Customs and Border Protection funding to run pro-Trump political advertisements, Democratic appropriators said Tuesday.

The funding comes from last year’s massive GOP budget reconciliation law and was intended for CBP, said House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and House Homeland ...Read more

Cuba’s leaders will learn “the hard way” if they don't enact political and economic changes, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday night, adding that the Trump administration is pushing for democratic elections in Venezuela.

In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News commentator Sean Hannity, Rubio said Venezuela needs economic ...Read more

In the early months of 2022, Democrats in Congress came close to passing an appropriations bill that did not include a provision barring federal funding for abortions — maybe the closest it had ever come in more than 40 years.

But those who wanted the Hyde Amendment included won the battle in the end. Three months later, the U.S. Supreme ...Read more

One of the most important elections in recent Latin American history will take place Sunday in Brazil. Incumbent president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has recently been emphasizing the issue of national sovereignty. One reason: The challenger, Flávio Bolsonaro, has the strong backing of the Trump administration — and the U.S. has been ...Read more

The two men seeking to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom as California’s next governor will debate before a prime-time audience Wednesday evening in what is expected to be voters’ only chance to see Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton spar one-on-one before the November election.

A race that before the June primary drew national ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Under a light rain on Sunday at the Australian ambassador's residence in Washington, CNN hosted its third annual tennis tournament, the Kangaroo Cup, pitting Beltway journalists against administration officials. The event aims to inject some levity into an historically adversarial relationship, reminding both sides of the spirit ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators is pushing the Commerce Department to release long-delayed guidance for states seeking to use remaining funds from a $42 billion broadband grant program.

In a letter first shared with CQ Roll Call, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., with Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine; Angus King, I-Vt...Read more

WASHINGTON — Senate appropriators began plotting ways to defend their power of the purse Monday after President Donald Trump announced plans to cancel $810 million in appropriated funding without the approval of Congress.

The so-called pocket rescission to claw back funding, announced Friday night, drew immediate condemnation from ...Read more

The likely return to power of a separatist political party in Quebec is set to create a new challenge for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, just as he tries to hold the country together in the midst of a trade war with the U.S.

Residents of the French-speaking region will vote on Oct. 5, and surveys show they’re poised to choose the Parti ...Read more