Congressional & Capitol Hill News

The Daily Signal delivers comprehensive congressional news with reporting and conservative commentary on House and Senate activities, legislative priorities, committee investigations, leadership battles, and the fight for conservative policy in both chambers of Congress.
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    • News

    Meet the 8 New Members of the Senate

    While Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives in Tuesday’s elections, the GOP likely strengthened its Senate majority by three seats, to gain a 54-seat majority. One race, in Mississippi, won’t be decided until Nov. 27, as incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith, appointed in April, is set to face Democrat Mike Espy in a runoff because…
    Tristan Justice
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    • Opinion

    Senate Election Results Give Republicans Opportunity to Confirm More Judges Faster

    The 2018 election results are encouraging, if for no other reason than that more progress can be made in filling judicial vacancies. First, a snapshot of where things stand right now. President Donald Trump has made almost 40 percent more nominations to life-tenured positions than the average for his five predecessors of both parties at…
    Thomas Jipping
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    • News

    Washington Voters OK Sweeping Gun Control Measure Raising Age for Some Purchases

    Washington voters approved a ballot initiative on Tuesday that will raise the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 and impose a 10-day waiting period to purchase the firearms. According to the Seattle Times, Ballot Initiative 1639, or I-1639, passed with just over 60 percent of the vote at the time of reporting. The…
    Chuck Ross
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    • News

    With Her Win, Marsha Blackburn Could Become ‘Most Conservative Woman in Senate’

    NASHVILLE, Tennessee—Lisa Williams, who cast her ballot Tuesday for Republican Marsha Blackburn in the suburb of Brentwood, said she voted to promote the 15-year House veteran to the Senate because of her character. “I voted for Marsha, I have met her, and I have watched her over the years. And she is as true to…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    Senate Democrats Should Remember Their Own Advice From 2016

    Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly in February 2016, and President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to that vacancy on March 16, 2016. The left had a single mantra for the Senate: Do your job. Specifically, they demanded that the confirmation process move forward, starting with a Judiciary Committee hearing. They have changed…
    Thomas Jipping
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    • News

    Capitol Police Arrest Democratic Staffer Suspected of Doxing GOP Senators

    U.S. Capitol Police have arrested a Democratic staffer suspected of posting the personal information of at least one U.S. senator to the internet. The home addresses and other personal information of three Republican senators, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch of Utah, were posted to Wikipedia on Sept. 27 by an…
    Andrew Kerr
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    • Opinion

    Investigate the Senate Democrat Wrecking Machine

    How did we get here? The Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination circus didn’t happen by accident. The emergence of incredible—and by “incredible,” I mean the literal Merriam-Webster definition of “too extraordinary and improbable to be believed”—accusers in the 11th hour was no mistake. It is my contention that this grand unearth-and-destroy spectacle was planned, coordinated, and…
    Michelle Malkin
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    • News

    Democratic Lawmakers in House, Senate Suggest Resurrecting Earmarks

    Democrats are floating the idea of reinstating budgetary earmarks as a way to build support for funding the government on time, but some of their Republican counterparts are skeptical. “I don’t know who’s going to be in the majority next year,” Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said on  C-SPAN’s…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    How George Washington Warned Us About Tribalism and Disunity

    Sept. 19 is the 222nd anniversary of the publication of President George Washington’s Farewell Address. Appearing in newspapers nationwide, it announced Washington’s intention to retire from public life after his second term. For most of American history, the Farewell Address was required reading in grade schools across the nation and was continually invoked in the…
    Richard Lim
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    • News

    Rally in Washington Will Urge Disillusioned Democrats, Leftists to ‘Walk Away’

    The founder of the movement that showcases stories of why people are walking away from leftist ideology and the Democratic Party is bringing a march and rally to Washington next month to send a message he hopes the mainstream media won’t be able to ignore. It’s a milestone for what he calls the #WalkAway Campaign….
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • News

    Trump to Shut Down Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Washington Office

    The Trump administration will order the Palestine Liberation Organization to shutter its Washington, D.C., office in a bid to increase pressure on Palestinian leadership amid stalled peace talks. “We have been notified by a U.S. official of their decision to close the Palestinian mission to the U.S.,” PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said in a statement…
    Will Racke
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    • Opinion

    School Discipline Policy Belongs at the Local Level, Not Washington

    Teacher unions and progressive special-interest groups cried foul earlier this year when the White House suggested that federal directives on school safety could be rescinded. But if a recent hearing held by the Federal Commission on School Safety is any indication, state and local policymakers don’t need Washington to micromanage student discipline policies. These state…
    Jonathan Butcher
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    • Opinion

    Media Misses: 222 Mentions of Impeachment in 1 Day

    We break down the top media moments this week—and plenty of misses. Media hysteria was at an all-time high. According to the Media Research Center, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, CNN and MSNBC mentioned “impeachment” 222 times over a period of 18 hours as news broke about former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. How will President Donald…
    Ginny Montalbano
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    • Opinion

    Podcast: A High Schooler Goes to Washington

    On today’s edition of The Daily Signal podcast, Rob Bluey and Ginny Montalbano interview high school student Genna Montalbano (Ginny’s younger sister) about her experience at Turning Point USA’s High School Leadership Summit. Genna reveals her favorite conservative speakers and what advice she’ll share with her peers. We also have: Clips from Attorney General Jeff Sessions,…
    Robert B. Bluey
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    • Opinion

    Senate Is Dragging Its Feet on Major Prison Reform Bill

    It is rare these days in Washington to see bipartisan support for anything, let alone for a major issue with far-reaching implications for the nation. This is why the bipartisan passage in the House, 360-59, of the First Step Act to reform our federal prisons is such big news. The 360 “yes” votes included 134…
    Star Parker
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    • News

    Democrat Senator Worries His Party Is Going Too Far Left

    Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., is worried his party is alienating moderate voters by moving too far to the left. “If we as a Democratic Party are going to move from a minority at every level that is dedicated to resistance, to a majority that is capable of governing, we have got to move from grievance…
    Peter Hasson
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    • Opinion

    Senate Is Killing State Welfare Reform

    Few policy reforms have been as popular as welfare-to-work. Why, then, is the U.S. Senate trying to kill state efforts at encouraging able-bodied adults to get a job? Welfare-to-work was one of the signature policy wins of the 1990s, resulting in the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The legislation was signed by…
    Jameson Taylor
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    • Opinion

    Liberals’ Misleading Spin on Senate Republicans’ 2016 Supreme Court Confirmation Approach

    Recent remarks by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., show the script that the left will be using to oppose President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee to fill the vacancy from the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. The most prominent point so far is that the Senate should wait until after the 2018 election to consider Trump’s…
    Thomas Jipping
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    • Opinion

    Senate Should Be Wary of These 3 Subsidy Myths

    As the Senate is considering the farm bill, it should be wary of the many misleading claims made by agricultural special interests. Here are three common myths, debunked: Claim: Farmers are struggling financially. Reality: The opposite is true. Farm households have far greater median income and wealth than non-farm households. In 2016, the median income of farm…
    Bryan Cosby
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    • Opinion

    What It Takes for the Senate to Solve Our Disastrous Debt Crisis

    The Congressional Budget Office’s latest long-term budget outlook, released this week, shows that the nation is still on an unsustainable budget path, with no improvement since CBO’s last long-term report. Without swift action to reverse the current course, the nation is headed toward a fiscal disaster. CBO projects that over the next 30 years, debt…
    Justin Bogie
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