U.S. Senate News
This section focuses on the upper chamber of Congress, from major policy debates to confirmation hearings. The Daily Signal provides a conservative look at Senate priorities.
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news
Senate Panel Hearing Spotlights Charter Schools for Special-Needs Kids
Sen. Bill Cassidy on Thursday urged parents and school choice advocates to continue efforts to promote the educational benefits of charter schools, with an emphasis on children with special needs. Cassidy, R-La., who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, hosted a hearing on the charter school movement, “Chartering Excellence: A Policy Briefing… -
opinion
EXCLUSIVE: Marshaling Senate Support for the Justice for Angel Families Act
This morning, I sat down with Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., to discuss the Justice for Angel Families Act, a bill he’s pushing alongside Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas. The legislation would extend support to “Angel Families”—immediate relatives of those killed by illegal immigrants or international drug cartel members. By amending the 1984 Victims of Crime Act,… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Congress Answers Call to Defund Second-Largest Transgender Hormone Provider
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The House Energy and Commerce Committee has announced its portion of the reconciliation bill would slash Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding. Now, a conservative think tank is urging Republicans in Congress to act to defund the abortion giant. The reconciliation bill contains language removing funding for organizations that participate in transgender medical… -
opinion
Congress Must End, or Radically Amend, Temporary Protected Status for Immigrants
The Temporary Protected Status immigration program was enacted into law in 1990. Its original intent was to give a brief safe haven to aliens in the U.S. without regard to their legal or illegal status when man-made situations or natural disasters temporarily made return to their countries unsafe. The law gives the homeland security secretary… -
opinion
Alcatraz: Should Congress Turn Part of a National Park Back Into a Prison?
President Richard Nixon, a native Californian, promoted an idea in 1972 to turn an iconic stretch of California's coastline into a national park. It would include the headlands around the Golden Gate and two nearby islands. One was Angel Island, and the other was Alcatraz—where a federal prison had been permanently closed nine years earlier…. -
news
The Fight That Will Define This GOP Congress Is Happening Right Now
Piece by piece, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans are assembling President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill.” House committees have acted fast on their instructions laid out in the budget resolution, slashing or increasing spending to deliver on the agenda that propelled Republicans to victory in the November elections. Nevertheless, the biggest fights, on taxes and… -
news
Un-Kemp’d: Georgia’s GOP Governor to Forgo Senate Bid
Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that he will not run for Senate in 2026, dashing hopes that he would help flip Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff’s seat from a state that Donald Trump won in 2024. “I have decided that being on the ballot next year is not the right decision for me and… -
news
‘Unjustified Burdens’: Senate Passes Resolution to Repeal Biden-Era Appliance Rule
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—The Senate passed a joint resolution to repeal a Department of Energy appliance standard on Wednesday by a margin of 52-46, further advancing the rollback of Biden-era green energy regulations on household appliances. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is the lead sponsor of the joint resolution of disapproval, HJ Res. 42, which aims to nullify a rule issued… -
news
Contender to Replace Durbin as Senate Democrat Whip Is Pro-Abortion, Pro-LGBTQ
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, a hard-core liberal, is seen by insiders as a leading contender to succeed the retiring Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois as the Senate Democratic whip in the next Congress. Schatz has served in the Senate since December 2012 and currently serves in a party leadership role as the chief deputy whip…. -
news
Democrat NH Senator Backs Rep’s Bid for Elevation to Retiring Lawmaker’s Senate Seat
Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., received a major political boost in his bid to move up to the Senate when he was endorsed Friday by Sen. Maggie Hassan, his fellow New Hampshire Democrat. Pappas is running for the nomination to be the Democrat candidate in the November 2026 election to replace Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. Shaheen… -
news
Durbin Confirms Intent to ‘Pass the Torch,’ Setting Off Jockeying by Would-Be Senate Successors
In the wake of longtime Illinois Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin announcing his retirement Wednesday, politicians are looking back on the 80-year-old Senate minority whip’s tenure and also looking ahead to who will replace him. “In my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch. So, I am announcing today that I will not be… -
opinion
Will Congress Ensure Only Citizens Vote?
By May 7, all U.S. citizens are supposed to have their federally required “Real ID” so that they can travel by air or enter a federal building. But what about using them to register to vote to ensure they are legally present in the country and eligible to vote in our elections? The SAVE Act,… -
news
Andrew Cuomo Faces Criminal Referral to DOJ for Allegedly Lying to Congress
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky on Monday afternoon referred current New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution. Comer said the former governor “knowingly and willfully made false statements to Congress” regarding his involvement in a state government report that underreported the… -
news
Pro-Palestinian Candidate Jumps Into Michigan’s Senate Race
Abdul El-Sayed, a former Michigan health official known for his pro-Palestinian sympathies, has jumped into the Democratic primary to replace the retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., in the Senate. El-Sayed, who served as the director of the Wayne County public health department from March 2023 until this month, previously ran unsuccessfully for Michigan governor in… -
news
Race to Succeed McConnell in Senate Heats Up
After former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced in February his intention to retire at the end of his current term, it set off a wave of speculation over who would jump into the race to replace the elder GOP statesman. So far, only Daniel Cameron, who served as attorney general of Kentucky from… -
opinion
With Loss of Power in Congress, the Left Turns to Theatrics
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. I’ve mentioned in other videos that there’s been a poverty among the Democratic Party of constructive… -
opinion
New Senate Proposal Moves the Ball on Closing Down Department of Education
Will the U.S. Department of Education end with a bang or a whimper? So far this year, President Donald Trump’s executive orders have arrived with a bang, directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take “all necessary steps” to close the agency. The department proceeded to cut overgrown staff rolls and plans to move programs for… -
opinion
Congress: Defend Americans’ Voices at the Ballot Box and Pass the SAVE Act
The right to vote is one of America’s most sacred privileges, making the integrity of our elections an issue of paramount importance for our country. So why is the Left so determined to undermine it? The surge of illegal aliens pouring across the border during the Biden administration, combined with lax voter ID laws in… -
opinion
Members of Congress Must Be Present to Represent
President Donald Trump’s win in November was so sweeping of a mandate that Republicans won control of both the House and Senate. Control of Congress is critical to moving Trump’s vast America First agenda forward—and because of the slim majority held by Republicans in the House of Representatives, one would hope they’re working together in… -
news
AOC Wallops Schumer in Potential 2028 NY Senate Primary, Poll Finds
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., would trounce Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a hypothetical 2028 Democratic Party Senate primary, according to a poll conducted by Data for Progress, a self-described “progressive” think tank. The left-wing group surveyed 767 likely primary voters in such a New York Democrat Senate primary contest from March 26 to…