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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Husted Officially Files for Race That Could Determine Control of the Senate
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is officially running to keep his Senate seat come 2026. The Daily Signal was on the ground in Columbus to speak to Husted as he filed his paperwork on Friday morning with Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office. In the 2026 midterm election, Husted will likely face former Democrat Ohio Sen….Rebecca Downs -
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Indiana’s GOP Supermajority Senate Could Vote Against Map That Could Save Trump From Impeachment
Today, the Indiana State Senate will vote on redistricting legislation that could help Republicans hold the House in the midterms and save President Donald Trump from future Democrat impeachments. The bill to change Indiana’s congressional map from a 7-2 Republican advantage to a 9-0 sweep will be voted on by Indiana’s Senate this afternoon. The…Jacob Adams -
‘WADA Shame’: Senate Panel Examines Olympics Doping
A Senate subcommittee on Tuesday heard a lack of confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s ability to combat cheating at the Olympics. The hearing, “WADA Shame: Swimming in Denial Over Chinese Doping,” comes after an April 2024 report detailed how top Chinese swimmers tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug just months before they were allowed to…Jacob Adams -
GENIUS or Not? Senate Passes Major Cryptocurrency Law
The Senate on Tuesday afternoon passed the GENIUS Act, which would standardize regulations for a growing cryptocurrency market, stablecoins. The bill passed on a bipartisan 68-30 vote. GENIUS Act proponents say it will save money for American businesses and boost the dollar's value, but opponents call it a “weak bill" that would risk financial stability…George Caldwell -
Turley on Free Speech Amid Deportation Unrest, Condemns Senator’s Disruptive Behavior
As the riots in Los Angeles continue to rage and temperatures still flare from Thursday’s debacle when a U.S. senator forcibly entered a press event for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and began shouting at her, a nationally renowned free speech expert weighed in on the tense political atmosphere and the looming questions of the…Lucy Spence -
Senate ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Overhaul Rattles GOP
It will not be easy to pass the “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill by the July 4 deadline Senate leadership is eyeing. On Monday, the Senate Finance Committee—which handles matters such as health care and taxes—released its draft legislative text for the “big, beautiful bill.” This 10-year budgetary framework is the vehicle for fulfilling a number…George Caldwell -
Student Loan Reform Is Underway – Now the Senate Can Strengthen It
The House version of the reconciliation package in Congress, passed on May 22, marks a long-overdue step toward fiscal responsibility in higher education. The policies in HR 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, should encourage students and taxpayers. These include eliminating the inflationary Grad PLUS loan program, placing borrowing caps on…Madison Marino Doan -
Democrat Senator Criticizes Party Over Los Angeles Riots
Sen. John Fetterman on Monday condemned the Los Angeles riots that have broken out in reaction to the deportation of illegal aliens. “I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration—but this is not that,” Fetterman, D-Pa., wrote in a post on X. “This is anarchy and true chaos,” the Pennsylvania senator continued, including…Jacob Adams -
Antisemitic Violence ‘Threat Level’ Prompts Congress to Act, Lawmaker Says Ahead of Hearing
Following two recent attacks that appear to have been motivated by antisemitism, Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, says such threats have reached a frightening level. “When it comes to the antisemitic violence that we have seen, I don’t think the threat level has been this high in decades,” Pfluger told The Daily Signal ahead of…Virginia Allen -
Senate Report Confirms the Wisdom of Secretary Kennedy’s Revised COVID-19 Vaccine Schedule
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recently announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend routine COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women and healthy children. Kennedy also said that COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for those under 65 will undergo new clinical trials—an attempt…Robert Moffit -
Fractious Factions: Why Passing ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Through Senate Will Be Difficult
As Senate Republican leadership rushes to pass the “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill, the math to get to a GOP consensus in both houses of Congress has suddenly gotten much harder. The “big, beautiful bill,” a 10-year budget package, is the main legislative vehicle for delivering on President Donald Trump's campaign promises and can be…George Caldwell -
Got Whole Milk? Senate Panel Moves to End Low-Fat Only Rule in School Lunches.
The Make America Healthy Again movement claimed another win this week when the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday that would once again allow whole and reduced-fat milk to be served in school cafeterias. “I’m encouraged to see the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act advance. This common-sense, bipartisan…Jacob Adams -
Senate Changes to ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Could Threaten House Passage
After its passage by narrowest of margins in the House of Representatives, Republicans' “big, beautiful” budget reconciliation bill is facing the prospect of major changes in the Senate, which could make it extremely difficult to pass when the revised bill is returned to the House. The bill passed the House by a 215-214 margin with…George Caldwell -
‘We Have an Agenda,’ Thune Says of GOP Senators on Budget Bill
“We’re anxious to have the ball and run with it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Tuesday, referencing the budget reconciliation bill that has passed the House and is now being considered by the upper chamber. The South Dakota Republican emphasized that he thought Republicans had a vision for what they would like to…Jacob Adams -
Ditch COVID Spending Spree: Congress Can Save $1.16 Trillion by Returning to 2019 Budget Trajectory
Fiscal conservatives lately have argued that the federal government should spend as it did before COVID-19 ruined everything. Thankfully, the global pandemic is a speck in the rearview mirror. Only a few diehards cling bitterly to their masks and grow misty with lockdown nostalgia. Restoring spending to its trajectory in fiscal year 2019—the last before COVID-19 wandered…Deroy Murdock -
Musk Triggers Political Earthquake in Congress
After weeks of being withdrawn from Washington politics, Elon Musk suddenly sent a shock wave through the Senate. On Tuesday, CBS released a clip of Musk criticizing what President Donald Trump calls the “big, beautiful bill”—a budget reconciliation package that would ensure funding for major campaign promises, such as border security and the extension of…George Caldwell -
Senate Republicans Accuse Congressional Watchdog Agency of Partisan Bias
The Government Accountability Office—an ostensibly nonpartisan congressional watchdog—has come under fire in recent days from Republicans, who accuse it of showing bias and overstepping its bounds. Established in 1921, the GAO does not possess veto power over Congress, but it has generally been respected as a rules-keeper and referee for both chambers. The agency is…George Caldwell -
Senate Should Make House’s Big, Beautiful Bill Bigger, More Beautiful
On Thursday at 6:54 a.m., the U.S. House passed the Trump and Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act. (Yup, that is this 1,118-page measure’s official title.) By a snare-drum-tight, 215-214 vote, all but three Republicans and zero Democrats chose to give Americans $4.1 trillion in tax relief, along with their bacon, eggs, tea, and toast….Deroy Murdock -
Ron Johnson Predicts GOP Senators Will Put Up Roadblock To ‘Stop the Process’ On Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said Sunday on CNN that he believes there will be enough GOP members to halt President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” until their concerns are addressed. Despite Trump pushing Republicans to pass his budget reconciliation package, some GOP lawmakers have remained unconvinced. While on “State of the…Hailey Gomez -
The Librarian of Congress Should Support the Founders’ Goal of Protecting American Creators
President Donald Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on May 9. Since then, he’s announced that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will assume the role of acting librarian of Congress. Trump’s ultimate decision of whom to appoint as the librarian of Congress is of more consequence than people might think. The classic image of…Adam Mossoff