AP sources: Biden to allow Afghans to stay longer in US
The Biden administration will continue to allow tens of thousands of Afghans who fled Taliban control more than two years ago to stay and work in the U.S. That is according to two White House officials familiar with the plan, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss details that haven’t been released.
Iowa GOP open to non-Trump prospects as 2024 gets underway
Former President Donald Trump’s persistent flirtation with another White House run is doing little to discourage other potential Republican candidates from stepping up their activity in Iowa, the state that will formally launch the nomination process.
Democrat Finkenauer knocked off US Senate primary ballot
A state court judge has concluded that Democrat Abby Finkenauer cannot appear on the June 7 primary ballot for U.S. Senate because she didn’t gather enough petition signatures, knocking off the candidate considered by many to be the party’s best chance to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley.
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson continues to answer questions in the Senate
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson forcefully defended her record as a federal judge Tuesday, pushing back on Republican assertions that she would be soft on crime and declaring she would rule as an “independent jurist” if confirmed as the first Black woman on the high court.
Senators issue bipartisan call to restore donors' tax breaks
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers called Thursday for restoring the charitable deduction for donors who don’t itemize their taxes, a priority for nonprofits nationwide, but a key senator was noncommittal on the question of whether to support legislation designed to boost payout from foundations and donor-advised funds.
New step to curb tech giants' power advanced by Senate panel
Congress has taken a new step toward reining in the market dominance of Big Tech. Bipartisan legislation advanced by a Senate panel would bar the dominant online platforms from favoring their own goods and services over those of rivals on the platforms.
Black Democratic chair gets lynching threat over Trump essay
The first Black chair of Iowa’s Democratic Party says he received a series of racist messages, including a lynching threat, after writing a newspaper op-ed criticizing former President Donald Trump and the state Republican officials who stood with him at a recent rally in Des Moines.
Critics take aim at charitable money sitting in donor funds
Wealthy philanthropists have long enjoyed an advantageous way to give to charity: Using something called a donor-advised fund, they’ve been able to enjoy tax deductions and investment gains on their donations long before they give the money away.
GOP 2024 contenders enter Iowa, wary of Trump's long shadow
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the West Side Conservative Club, Friday, March 26, 2021, in Urbandale, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)DES MOINES, Iowa – Ambitious Republicans are starting to make moves in Iowa, long a proving ground for future presidents. Pompeo's two-day Iowa trip leads an exceptionally early round of Iowa travel planned by U.S. senators, emerging as national GOP figures. Ecklund, Crawford County Republicans' communication director, has encountered Republicans “ready to move on” and “tired of the extreme controversy” in a county Trump carried by more than 30 percentage points twice. ___This story has been corrected to show Ecklund is the Crawford County Republicans' communication director, not Crawford County Republicans' co-chair.
‘Bad news’: Wave of GOP retirements signals battles ahead
But officials in both parties agree that the surge of GOP departures will make the Republicans' challenge more difficult in the Senate. “Any time you lose an incumbent, it’s bad news,” said Republican strategist Rick Tyler, who briefly worked for failed Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin nearly a decade ago. Several Missouri Republicans are expected to seek the nomination to replace Blunt, but none will be more divisive than former Gov. Two leading Missouri Democrats, former Sen. Claire McCaskill and 2016 Senate candidate Jason Kander, both said they would not run for the open seat. The former president won by the same margin in Iowa, where 87-year-old Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is considering retirement.
75 ex-top prosecutors endorse Biden’s pick for associate AG
FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2021 file photo, Associate Attorney General nominee Vanita Gupta speaks during an event with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. More than 75 former U.S. attorneys are throwing their support behind Gupta for associate attorney general and urging congressional leaders to quickly confirm her to the post. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON – More than 75 former U.S. attorneys are throwing their support behind President Joe Biden’s nominee for associate attorney general and urging congressional leaders to quickly confirm her to the post. She was in charge of the Justice Department’s civil rights division in the Obama administration. The Senate has scheduled the confirmation hearing for Gupta and Lisa Monaco, Biden’s nominee for deputy attorney general, for March 9.
Senate panel votes to advance Garland’s nomination to be AG
Judge Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden's pick to be attorney general, answers questions from Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., as he appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Monday to advance the nomination of Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s nominee for attorney general. The committee voted 15 to seven in favor of Garland's nomination at a meeting on Monday afternoon. The committee’s vote puts him on track for a quick confirmation, potentially within days. AdThe committee’s top Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, said he also intends to support Garland’s nomination.
Garland vows sharp focus on Capitol riot as attorney general
Judge Merrick Garland, nominee to be Attorney General, is sworn in at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, Feb. 22, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. That is what I intend to do as the attorney general," Garland said. Garland said his first briefing as attorney general would be focused on the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Other backers include two sons of former Attorney General Edward Levi. “There have been few moments in history where the role of attorney general — and the occupant of that post — have mattered more,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate Judiciary chairman.
Trump looks to reassert himself after impeachment acquittal
One joked, "We’re going to Disney World!”Now acquitted in his second Senate impeachment trial, Trump is preparing for the next phase of his post-presidency life. And he's confronting a Republican Party deeply divided over the legacy of his jarring final days in office, culminating in the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. Searing video images of the day played on loop during his impeachment trial, which ended Saturday. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who spoke with Trump on Saturday night, acknowledged that Trump is “mad at some folks,” but also “ready to move on and rebuild the Republican Party” and “excited about 2022." That sharp rebuke from his once-loyal defender underscores how dramatically Trump's stock has fallen in Washington since his first impeachment trial just over a year ago.
GOP's McConnell: Trump morally responsible for Jan. 6 attack
Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – In his speech from the Senate floor, Sen. Mitch McConnell delivered a scalding denunciation of Donald Trump, calling him “morally responsible” for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Ad“He didn’t get away with anything yet,” said McConnell, who turns 79 next Saturday and has led the Senate GOP since 2007. It was a stunningly bitter castigation of Trump by McConnell, who could have used much of the same speech had he instead decided to convict Trump. “There is no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the event of that day," he said. It withered completely last month, after Republicans lost Senate control with two Georgia runoff defeats they blamed on Trump, and the savage attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters.
‘Distressing and emotional’: Senators relive horror of riot
Reporters vie for a response from Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, as Senators take a dinner break while arguments continue in former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – For 90 tense minutes, members of the Senate relived the horror. The rioters were “58 steps” from senators at one point, impeachment manager Eric Swalwell told them. Senators were silent afterward, some sitting quietly and alone, as if to process it all. He walked out of the room in the middle of the presentation, as impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett detailed the threats to Pence’s life.
Takeaways from legal filings for Trump's impeachment trial
(Senate Television via AP)WASHINGTON – The legal sparring around Donald Trump's impeachment trial is underway, with briefs filed this week laying out radically different positions ahead of next week's Senate trial. “Some Members called loved ones for fear that they would not survive the assault by President Trump’s insurrectionist mob,” the impeachment managers wrote. Trump’s team denies that the impeachment trial can be held because he is no longer in office. Ad“It is denied that President Trump ever endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” they wrote. AdIt is true that no president has faced impeachment proceedings after leaving office, but House managers say there's ample precedent.
Takeaways from legal filings for Trump’s impeachment trial
(Senate Television via AP)WASHINGTON – The legal sparring around Donald Trump's impeachment trial is underway, with briefs filed this week laying out radically different positions ahead of next week's Senate trial. “Some Members called loved ones for fear that they would not survive the assault by President Trump’s insurrectionist mob,” the impeachment managers wrote. Trump’s team denies that the impeachment trial can be held because he is no longer in office. Ad“It is denied that President Trump ever endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” they wrote. AdIt is true that no president has faced impeachment proceedings after leaving office, but House managers say there's ample precedent.
As Wisconsin's Johnson weighs future, Trump ties take a toll
Not Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson. Bishop criticized fellow Republicans like Johnson who parroted claims of illegal election activity, even as he remains a Johnson backer. A number of Republicans are eyeing a run for either Senate or governor, depending on what Johnson does. Potential Republican Senate candidates include U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy and Kevin Nicholson, who lost a 2018 Republican Senate primary. Mandela Barnes, the state’s first Black lieutenant governor, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and state Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee.
Janet Yellen wins Senate approval as treasury secretary
President-elect Joe Biden, right, listens as Janet Yellen, who Biden nominated to serve as Secretary of the Treasury, speaks at The Queen theater, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – The Senate on Monday approved President Joe Biden’s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nation’s 78th treasury secretary, making her the first woman to hold the job in the department's 232-year history. Yellen, a former chair of the Federal Reserve, was approved by the Senate on a 84-15 vote, becoming the third member of Biden’s Cabinet to win confirmation. Before the approval by the full Senate, Yellen had received unanimous backing from the Senate Finance Committee. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, told Yellen that Biden’s plan represented a “laundry list of liberal structural economic reforms.”As Treasury secretary, Yellen, 74, will occupy a pivotal role in shaping and directing Biden’s economic policies.
Yellen's nomination as treasury secretary advances in Senate
President-elect Joe Biden announced Yellen as his nominee for Treasury Secretary. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)WASHINGTON – The Senate Finance Committee approved President Joe Biden’s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nation’s 78th treasury secretary on Friday, setting up a final vote that would make her the first woman to hold the job. The Finance Committee approved her nomination on a 26-0 vote. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the incoming chair of the Finance Committee, said he hoped to get Yellen's nomination approved by the full Senate later Friday, but the vote was not scheduled. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Yellen that Biden’s plan represented a “laundry list of liberal structural economic reforms.”As treasury secretary, Yellen, 74, would occupy a pivotal role in shaping and directing Biden’s economic policies.
Chaos, violence, mockery as pro-Trump mob occupies Congress
On Wednesday, hallowed spaces of American democracy, one after another, yielded to the occupation of Congress. There was a heavy police presence at the Capitol on Thursday morning, including officers from D.C., Maryland and Virginia and the D.C. National Guard. Trump told his morning crowd at the Ellipse that he would go with them to the Capitol, but he didn’t. Video footage also showed officers letting people calmly walk out the doors of the Capitol despite the rioting and vandalism. Shortly after being told to put on gas masks, most members were quickly escorted out of the chamber.
EXPLAINER: How Congress will count Electoral College votes
(Samuel Corum/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – Wednesday’s congressional joint session to count electoral votes could drag late into the night as some Republicans plan to challenge Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in at least six states. Under federal law, Congress must meet Jan. 6 to open sealed certificates from each state that contain a record of their electoral votes. The Constitution requires Congress to meet and count the electoral votes. The presiding officer opens and presents the certificates of the electoral votes in alphabetical order of the states. If they do not both agree, the original electoral votes are counted with no changes.