The partial government shutdown that went into effect Saturday is throwing the fate of oversight at the Department of Homeland Security into peril, with the department’s independent watchdog warning...
In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here. The 2026 Winter Olympics are in full swing and that […]
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) dismissed concerns Sunday over President Trump going after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) earlier this week, chalking it up to a friendly disagreement. The president called the Oklahoma governor a “RINO” — or a "Republican in name only" — on Wednesday after Stitt announced that the National Governors Association (NGA), which...
The cryptocurrency industry is ramping up its spending ahead of the midterm elections after accumulating a massive war chest in the wake of several key wins in 2024. The industry’s leading super PAC network, Fairshake, had more than $193 million in cash on hand at the start of 2026 and has already announced several of its targets this cycle — boosting Rep. Barry Moore...
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) reiterated Sunday that he will not support Kevin Warsh, President Trump’s nominee to chair the Federal Reserve, until the Department of Justice (DOJ) concludes its probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell. “I've tried to make it very clear that I have no intention of supporting any confirmation of any Fed board...
Many Republicans are flatly rejecting President Trump’s proposal for a one-year 10-percent cap on credit card interest rates, warning that it will be unsustainable in the long run. Trump’s proposal echoes a long-standing push by progressive Democrats and a few conservative firebrands on Capitol Hill to implement credit card interest rate caps, which would limit...
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Thursday that she presented her Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump during their meeting at the White House. “I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters in Washington. Machado said she told Trump that 200 years ago...
The Commission of Fine Arts postponed a review Thursday of President Trump's White House ballroom, as the president has not appointed new members to replace those he fired in October. Arts commissioners were meant to meet Thursday for an "information presentation" about construction on the ballroom, The New York Times reported. The review was pushed...
Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) has been sued by the ex-wife of a former congressional aide who is accusing the onetime Arizona senator of breaking up her 14-year marriage through “intentional and malicious interference,” according to a lawsuit filed in Moore County, N.C. The plaintiff, Heather Ammel, is accusing Sinema of seducing her ex-husband, who...
Senators are scrambling to find a way forward on key cryptocurrency legislation after the Senate Banking Committee postponed a highly anticipated markup following the loss of a major industry player’s support. Late Wednesday, Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announced he was delaying Thursday morning’s markup of the crypto market structure bill. The Senate markup...
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on Thursday claimed Minnesota state officials are staging "an insurgency against the federal government" as they push back on expanding federal immigration operations in Minneapolis. Miller appeared on "The Charlie Kirk Show" on Real America's Voice and was asked if the federal government was looking at possible...
The Trump administration during court proceedings earlier this week apologized for deporting a student attempting to fly home for Thanksgiving break last year. Babson College student Any Lucia Lopez Belloza was detained on Nov. 20 at Boston Logan International Airport before boarding a flight to surprise her family in Texas for the holiday. Lopez Belloza,...
President Trump met with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) on Wednesday at Trump’s request to discuss the hold that the president put on the $16 billion Gateway tunnel project linking New York City and New Jersey. Schumer emphasized to Trump the urgent need to promptly release his hold on the major project, which has...
The House Democratic Women's Caucus (DWC) commended the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for lifting the black box warning on estrogen-based products for hormone replacement therapy (HRT). In November, Kennedy announced that the FDA would be removing the black box warning from estrogen-based HRT...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded Thursday to accusations from President Trump that Ukraine was stalling a peace deal in the country’s ongoing war with Russia, saying his country will “never be a stumbling block for peace.” “Ukraine has never been and will never be a stumbling block to peace,” Zelensky posted on the social platform...
A nearly 100-year-old federal ban on mailing handguns through the U.S. Postal Service is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced, according to an opinion released Thursday by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The 15-page opinion concluded that a 1927 law, which made it illegal to use the Postal Service to mail concealable firearms, such as pistols...
An ally and former adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin and former President Boris Yeltsin said the country could use nuclear weapons against Europe should Russia ever be on the verge of defeat in its ongoing war with Ukraine. “What is defeat of Russia? If Russia comes ever close to a defeat, that would mean...
The Senate on Thursday passed a package of three spending bills, hitting the halfway mark in its push to fund the government for fiscal 2026 ahead of the end-of-month deadline. Senators green-lighted the second three-bill minibus, 82-15. The package included measures to fund the Commerce, Justice, Energy and Interior departments through the end of September. ...
