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

    ‘Very Effective’: GOP Senators Talk About DOGE

    Canceling federal contracts and grants are real savings that can be done at the executive level through the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, some Republican senators assert, although with an eye to using congressional action as well to cut costs. “I think it’s been very effective, and it can be very effective. And I…
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  • opinion

    Congress Needs to Step Up and Codify DOGE’s Savings

    Government waste is nothing new. For years, reports from Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s Festivus Report and the Government Accountability Office have detailed billions in taxpayer dollars squandered on frivolous projects—yet little has changed. The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, initiative has joined the fight, once again exposing inefficiencies, fraud, and abuse. However, unless Congress…
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  • opinion

    13 Winners and Losers From Trump’s Address to Congress

    President Donald Trump turned his joint address to Congress into a rally Tuesday night, declaring “America is back,” and connecting the vigorous actions taken in the first six weeks of his administration to the campaign promises made en route to a mandate victory for Republicans in the 2024 election. Trump’s speech came just six weeks…
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  • news

    ‘Come Out Swinging’: GOP Members of Congress Anticipate Trump’s Address

    Republican members of Congress shared with The Daily Signal what they expect—and hope—to hear in President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.  Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal he expects Trump to “come out swinging … like he did in his second inaugural” on Jan. 20. “I think…
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  • news

    White House Announces Themes of Trump’s Address to Congress

    The White House has unveiled the theme of President Donald Trump’s Tuesday night address to a joint session of Congress. In his speech focused on “The Renewal of the American Dream,” Trump will highlight accomplishments from his second term so far, what he has done for the economy, the push for additional border security funding,…
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  • opinion

    Senators, Protect Women’s Sports from Gender Ideology Invasion

    For decades, women fought for the equal rights that men in this country had enjoyed from its inception. Yet recently, and under Democrat rule, these hard-fought freedoms have been thrown into jeopardy from the Left demanding that women share their sports and private spaces with men pretending to be the opposite sex. Female athletes have…
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  • news

    White House Urges Senate Democrats to Join Americans in Supporting Common Sense Measure

    FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—President Donald Trump’s White House is calling on Senate Democrats to represent the vast majority of Americans by voting Monday night to bar males from girls and women’s sports. “Given America’s overwhelming support to protect women’s sports, Senate Democrats should put aside their left-wing agenda and vote to pass this nonpartisan,…
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  • news

    House vs. Senate: GOP’s Budgetary Tug-of-War Begins in Earnest

    After the passage of the House of Representatives’ budget resolution on Tuesday, GOP lawmakers face a major challenge: getting Senate Republicans to sign off on the plan without making too many changes so as to make it impossible to pass when it comes back to the House. This complicated game of legislative sudoku will require…
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  • news

    Senate Dems Obstruct GOP Effort to Remove Biden’s Handcuffs on American Energy

    DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Senate Democrats blocked a resolution to overturn a Biden administration regulation hampering domestic energy production Tuesday afternoon. Senators voted 54-to-42 to defeat the resolution. Three Senate Democrats—Catherine Cortez-Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada and John Hickenlooper of Colorado—joined with Republicans to vote “yes” on repealing the Biden administration regulation. Republican Louisiana Sen. John…
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  • news

    EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Groups Urge Congress to ‘Avoid Fake Spending Cut Gimmicks’

    FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A coalition of conservative organizations, led by a think tank founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, is warning Congress against using “gimmicks” to cut spending. The coalition, led by Advancing American Freedom, praises Congress’ efforts to cut spending, but urges it to make cuts that will last. “We stand ready to work…
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  • news

    The Sneaky Way Government Unions Rake in Taxpayer Money, and How Congress Can Fight It in Reconciliation

    While public-sector unions file lawsuits to block President Donald Trump’s reforms to the bureaucracy, federal government workers are getting paid by the taxpayer for time they spend doing work for those very same unions. The little-known practice of “official time” allows bureaucrats to bill the taxpayer for hours they spend doing work for the union….
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  • news

    Senate GOP Blocks Dem Effort to Make Immigration Enforcement Package About Anything Other Than Border Security

    DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Senate Republicans blocked nearly 30 amendments from Democrats intended to derail the upper chamber’s budget blueprint to fund President Donald Trump’s border security agenda during an overnight session that concluded early Friday morning. The Senate took the first step in unlocking more than $340 billion in spending to fund the president’s border security…
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  • news

    Senate Confirms Kash Patel as FBI Director

    The Senate confirmed Kash Patel to become FBI director today on a narrow vote of 51-49. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaksa joined Democrats in voting against the nomination.   President Donald Trump nominated Patel to reform the FBI, which has been the subject of several whistleblower complaints in recent…
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  • news

    Trump’s Pro-Union Labor Secretary Pick Draws Scrutiny From Senators of Both Parties

    Senators from both parties had tough questions Wednesday for Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, who breaks the traditional GOP mold in her support of unions. Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican congresswoman from Oregon who represents Trump’s efforts to woo union members, came under fire from Republicans concerned about her previous policies on…
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  • news

    Patel, Stefanik, McMahon Among Picks Awaiting Senate OK

    Just short of a month into President Donald Trump’s second term, the Senate has already confirmed the vast majority of Trump’s top Cabinet nominees.  Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., celebrated the feverish pace of the confirmations, writing on X, “The liberal media told you [Tulsi Gabbard’s, Pete Hegseth’s, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s] Cabinet nominations were…
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  • news

    Senate Confirms Gabbard as Intel Chief

    The Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence in a 52-to-48 vote on Wednesday. Gabbard, who served four terms in the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021 as a Democrat but subsequently became an independent and then a Republican, was approved on a near-party-line vote. All 45 Democrats and the two nominal…
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  • news

    Members of Congress Warn About Looming Debt Crisis

    As Republicans in Congress explore how they will accomplish President Donald Trump’s agenda through budget reconciliation, concerns about a national debt crisis percolate in the background. “Whether new spending comes in the form of tax relief or actual new spending, such as a border wall … it will have to be offset, because it can’t…
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  • opinion

    4 Charts Show Why Congress Must Embrace Spending Restraint

    This year, Congress is expected to pass at least one major legislative package through what is known as the reconciliation process, which enables easier passage for certain types of budgetary changes. The top goal for reconciliation will be extending and improving on the success of the 2017 tax cuts, which were a big success for…
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  • news

    Musk Backs Congress Reining in Bureaucratic Spending

    Amid President Donald Trump’s and entrepreneur Elon Musk’s public push to downsize the federal government, Sen. Mike Lee is advocating for the REINS Act, a bill that would rein in agencies’ power and give Congress more of a say in spending decisions. The bill has even received support from Musk himself, who reposted on X…
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  • news

    Senators Introduce Bill to Protect Supreme Court Justices

    After an escalation in political violence over the past several years, including protesters at the homes of Supreme Court justices, several United States senators introduced legislation on Wednesday to increase the penalties for those that threaten federal judges, including Supreme Court justices.  The bill, sponsored by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Mike Lee,…
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