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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- Opinion
Committees and Hearings: Behind the Scenes of How Congress Really Works
Committees and hearings play a critical role in the operations of Congress. But how are members assigned to committees? And do congressional hearings actually advance legislation and investigations? Kyle Brosnan, chief counsel for The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, goes beneath the surface in today’s edition of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain how Congress really…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Violent Criminals Continue to Pose as Migrant Children to Enter US; Congress Must Act Now
Despite all the “victory laps” Biden administration officials have taken as they brag that their unlawful policies and processing programs have reduced illegal immigration, recent border data shows the opposite. On top of that, there is an undeniable link between the increase in illegal entrants being welcomed into the country and an increase in violent…RJ Hauman -
- Opinion
Thousands of Bills, Back Rooms, Spending Debates: How Congress Really Works
Many Americans have seen a “Schoolhouse Rock” video explaining how Congress operates, or they may have taken political science classes in school. But neither paints the full picture of how Congress “actually works,” Clint Brown says. Take the introduction of bills in Congress as an example, says Brown, vice president of government relations at The…Virginia Allen -
- News
‘Golfing on the Taxpayer’s Dime’: GOP Senator Calls on Federal Employees to Return to Office
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa questioned the Biden administration over its telework policy, citing instances where employees working from home took bubble baths and played golf while on the clock. In a letter sent to all government agencies, Ernst cited a media account of a Department of Veterans Affairs employee who attended a staff meeting while…Harold Hutchison -
- Opinion
It May Not Be a SNAP, but Congress Should Promote Work for Food Stamps
The farm bill is up for reauthorization this year. But despite its name, the vast majority of spending in the farm bill goes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, previously known simply as food stamps. Given the size of SNAP, the farm bill is a significant opportunity to improve the nation’s welfare system….Rachel Sheffield -
- Opinion
Why Founding Fathers ‘Deliberately Made Congress Weak,’ Professor Explains
The Founding Fathers feared the power of the legislative branch from its inception in the late 1700s. They did not want to trade one tyrant for a group of tyrants, one professor tells “The Daily Signal Podcast,” so they “deliberately made Congress weak by dividing it up into these two bodies,” the House and the Senate. …Virginia Allen -
- News
The Biden Administration Lost Contact With 85,000 Children. Here’s How Congress Is Trying to Find Them.
Congressman Chris Smith is preparing to introduce legislation that will require the federal government to locate the 85,000 migrant children it has lost contact with within the U.S. “This is all about accountability and effective interventions for these kids,” Smith, R-N.J., told The Daily Signal. The draft legislation is focused on “locating, establishing contact with,…Virginia Allen -
- News
4 Senate Democrats Urged to ‘Hold Hearings Into DHS’s Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking’
Sen. Ron Johnson is leading an effort by Republican senators to urge four of their Democratic counterparts with relevant committee chairmanships to hold hearings on human trafficking. “Given your committees’ roles in overseeing [the Department of Homeland Security], we urge you to investigate and hold hearings into DHS’s efforts to combat human trafficking,” Johnson, R-Wis.,…Gigi De La Torre -
- Opinion
Senate Passes Defense Spending Bill Without House Amendments on Abortion, Transgender ‘Health’
The U.S. Senate passed its version of the House of Representatives’ military spending bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, on Thursday, but omitting two amendments that the legacy media has spun as Republicans inserting the social issues of abortion and transgender medical interventions into routine legislation. Don’t buy it. The Republicans in the House had…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
Put You ‘IN THE GROUND’: Grad Student Threatens State Senator Over Vote to Protect Kids From Trans Drugs
A Louisiana state senator says he is undeterred despite receiving a death threat after he voted to override a governor's veto on a bill protecting children from experimental "transgender" medical interventions. "No type of threat would ever stop me from trying to save children and keep them from being mutilated or from facing any other…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
Congress Weighs Changes That Could Seriously Impact Farmers, Hidden in Funding Bill
Congress is debating an expansion of a migrant-worker visa program. Tucked within the Department of Homeland Security’s $91.5 billion spending bill for fiscal year 2024 are changes to the H-2A and H-2B visa programs. The H-2A visa is specific to temporary agriculture work, while the H-2B is a temporary work visa for non-agriculture work….Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
4 Images Reveal How Congress Is Committing an $11 Billion Fraud on American Public
Perhaps the single biggest legislative fight this year has been over federal spending. There’s a good reason for that: The national debt is now an eye-popping $32.5 trillion (roughly $250,000 per household), and out-of-control deficit spending is one of the main reasons why families are struggling with inflation. In May, Congress passed a bipartisan deal…David Ditch -
- News
GOP Senators Rip Democrats’ Bill They Say Would Eviscerate Supreme Court
A bill from Senate Democrats to be marked up in committee Thursday would destroy the independence of the Supreme Court, a group of Republican senators said at a Wednesday press conference. Six GOP lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee spoke about how the Supreme Court “ethics” bill drawn up by Democrats on their committee would…Jarrett Stepman -
- News
Jim Jordan Threatens to Hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in Contempt of Congress
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray Monday threatening to hold him in contempt of Congress after the FBI allegedly failed to comply with subpoenas issued earlier in the year. Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote that the FBI’s compliance in two separate subpoenas has been “wholly inadequate” and warned the House Judiciary…Jake Smith -
- News
These 49 Senators Voted to Confirm Biden EEOC Pick Seen as Likely to Force Transgender Ideology on Employers
The U.S. Senate narrowly confirmed Kalpana Kotagal, President Joe Biden’s pick to serve on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in a move critics warn will force transgender ideology on employers across America. “I’m incredibly concerned about Kalpana Kotagal’s record of support for radical transgender ideology,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal in a statement Wednesday…Tyler O’Neil -
- News
Conservatives Urge Senators to Oppose Gen. Brown for Chairman of Joint Chiefs
Calling him the “wrong man for the job,” a group of conservative leaders strongly opposes the president’s nomination of Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown to be the nation’s highest-ranking military officer as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In an open letter to senators, the 30 leaders of conservative groups urge the lawmakers…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Senate Democrats’ Supreme Court ‘Ethics’ Bill Is Really About Disapproval of Rulings
If you hadn’t heard by now, Democrats in Congress and their left-wing allies are really in a state of panic about the Supreme Court, and it’s easy to see why. The Left can’t risk leaving the country to the American people and their elected legislators, but need politically driven judges to impose their agenda. Well,…Thomas Jipping -
- News
EXCLUSIVE: Senator Challenges Biden Admin to Fly Pro-Life Flags After Pride Celebration
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL: Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska is calling on President Joe Biden and his federal agencies to show inclusivity toward pro-life Americans by flying pro-life flags during October, which is Respect Life Month. The Nebraska senator sent 20 letters to Biden administration agencies with this request, first obtained by The…Mary Margaret Olohan -
- News
Congress Expands Biden Corruption Probe to DOJ, IRS, Secret Service as Hunter Deposed
Amid whistleblower allegations that the Justice Department stymied the investigation of Hunter Biden by federal prosecutors and IRS agents, the president’s son was deposed Thursday in a civil suit regarding his laptop. Lawyers in a defamation suit brought by computer repair shop owner John Paul Mac Isaac questioned the younger Biden, who Isaac has said…Fred Lucas -
- News
‘SEVER EVERY TENTACLE’: Va. Senate Candidates Pledge to Probe SPLC’s Federal Ties Amid Attack on Moms for Liberty
Two leading Republican candidates in Virginia’s U.S. Senate race have pledged to investigate the federal government’s use of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-wing smear factory that recently put parental rights groups like Moms for Liberty and Parents Defending Education on a “hate map” with chapters of the Ku Klux Klan. Scott Parkinson, former…Tyler O’Neil