Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
KYIV, Ukraine—A Russian bank in the historic heart of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, has become the epicenter of an escalating crisis that has Ukrainians doubting whether a political solution is still possible to end a three-year-old war against a combined force of pro-Russian separatists and Russian regulars. On March 13, protestors built a wall of cinder…
The Trump administration is promising to reconsider America’s relationship with the United Nations, with the White House aiming to limit U.S. financial contributions to the global body, and to enact reforms. In his first action suggesting a new approach to the international organization, President Donald Trump released a budget proposal Wednesday night that would reduce…
A group of conservative lawmakers came out in support of the House GOP’s Obamacare replacement plan Friday, but even with their backing, an influential bloc of conservatives remain opposed to the bill. President Donald Trump held a meeting Friday in the Oval Office with members of the Republican Study Committee to discuss the health care…
Several members of the House Freedom Caucus shared their concern for the future of entitlement reform, emphasizing disappointment that it was not a part of President Donald Trump’s newly released budget. Reps. Raúl Labrador, R-Idaho; Mark Meadows, R-N.C.; and Louie Gohmert, R-Texas; expressed support for entitlement reform at a monthly Capitol Hill gathering. Trump’s budget…
Senior White House official Kellyanne Conway made the case for some intraparty conflict in remarks Friday. “I’m happy that the Republican Party is not a party just in lockstep, always agreeing with each other,” Conway said at the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit. On the issue of health care, Conway referred to the GOP as…
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order dismantling the previous administration’s climate legacy, according to Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. Inhofe told The Daily Signal that Trump will eradicate the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan next week. “What you’re going to see next week is he’s going to take this power plan…
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer arguably telegraphed his opposition to Neil Gorsuch as the next Supreme Court justice almost 16 years ago when, as a freshman Democrat from New York, he broke what he called a taboo to say the Senate publicly should make ideology a factor in confirming judges. “Schumer deserves credit or blame—depending…
Conservatives in the House are proceeding with cautious optimism as they continue negotiating the bill that repeals and replaces Obamacare following an admission from House Speaker Paul Ryan that the legislation needs to undergo necessary “improvements and refinements.” The concession from Ryan comes just a week after the Wisconsin Republican told his fellow Republicans the…
Two House conservatives expressed support for the Trump administration’s request for billions of dollars in funding to begin work on a planned border wall, saying the nation needs to do “what’s necessary” to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. “We need to do what’s necessary to protect the United States, and we need to pay for that…
Veteran investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson said Thursday it’s possible President Donald Trump is right about government surveillance. “I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility, especially considering The New York Times and USA Today reported that there was wiretapping going on of some of his top people,” Attkisson told “Fox & Friends.” Attkisson, who…
A far-right nationalist party in the Netherlands led by charismatic and controversial leader Geert Wilders failed to score a decisive victory in what was billed as the first electoral test for European populism since last year’s “Brexit” referendum and Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States. Indeed, Wilders did not meet expectations in…
A Veterans Affairs hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida, is facing questions today for removing photos of President Donald Trump and VA Secretary David Shulkin. (Update: The White House has ordered VA hospitals to hang Trump’s photo.) Fox News’ Ed Henry reported Thursday on “Fox & Friends” that U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., and a wounded…
The first payment for President Donald Trump’s long-promised border wall will be $1.5 billion, said Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget. “This is an America first budget,” Mick Mulvaney says. Mulvaney spoke to reporters Wednesday about the Trump administration’s next proposed budget that would slash more than a quarter of…
A group of conservative lawmakers gathered Wednesday to criticize the Obamacare replacement plan offered by House Republican leadership, a bill one of them, Sen. Rand Paul, dubbed “Obamacare lite.” “Stand firm,” Paul said. “Bring down the Paul Ryan plan.” Paul was referring to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s championship of the American Health Care Act as…
Conservatives in Congress met with Vice President Mike Pence Wednesday to discuss the American Health Care Act, the Republican alternative to Obamacare. “It was the most hopeful meeting that I feel like we have been part of, especially when it’s in a large group like that,” Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., told…
House Speaker Paul Ryan has cautioned against making significant changes to GOP leadership’s Obamacare replacement plan for fear the bill would run afoul of Senate rules. But some Republican senators and health policy experts say the bill in its current form already wouldn’t pass muster with the Senate’s parliamentarian, who decides whether provisions of legislation…
A new study by professors from Yale, Stanford, and the University of Pennsylvania challenges the notion that voter ID laws disproportionately affect minorities. “For a perfect example of the term ‘alternate facts,’ look no further,” @LCChurchwell says. The new study finds “no definitive relationship” between tough laws requiring voters to present identification and a dropoff in…
During his Cabinet meeting Monday, President Donald Trump opened by saying, “We have four empty seats, which is a terrible thing.” Trump said it’s “because the Senate Democrats are continuing to obstruct the confirmation of our nominees,” the administration is lacking secretaries of labor and agriculture, a director of national intelligence, and a U.S. trade representative….
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is threatening a government shutdown if funding for a border wall is included in a must-pass government spending bill. “If Republicans insist on inserting poison pill riders such as defunding Planned Parenthood, building a border wall, or starting a deportation force, they will be shutting down the government and delivering…
The Obamacare replacement plan offered by congressional Republicans will face its biggest test yet when the House Budget Committee gathers Thursday to review the bill. The 36-member panel will meet to vote on the proposal, called the American Health Care Act. At least three conservative lawmakers who have spoken out against the legislation hold seats…