Senate
GOP doubts about Georgia and North Carolina have Republicans shifting focus in battle for Senate
ATLANTA | Republicans once saw Georgia and North Carolina as promising pieces of their strategy to keep control of the Senate. But hopes of winning the two states have been fading, and the GOP is increasingly focused on playing defense elsewhere with five weeks until the midterm elections. Republicans haven’t abandoned the Southern battlegrounds, which […]
Dr. Nicole Saphier, Trump’s 3rd surgeon general pick, faces Senate grilling
WASHINGTON | Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Donald Trump’s third nominee to serve as surgeon general, will face lawmakers at her confirmation hearing Wednesday in the latest attempt to fill the post known as the nation’s doctor. Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News Channel contributor, is Trump’s newest pick after entrepreneur and wellness influencer Dr. […]
Trump agreed to new ethics rules to get a crypto bill across the line. But that might not be enough
WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump had been hearing the message loud and clear for weeks about the sweeping cryptocurrency bill being written in the Senate: to get it across the line, he would have to agree to ethics provisions that apply to him, too. First, Trump agreed to a measure that would bar him and […]
The GOP was confident about keeping its Senate majority. Now the fight for control is wide open
WASHINGTON | Republicans appeared to have a firm grip on the Senate heading into the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. But with less than two months until Election Day, control of the chamber is now up for grabs. Democrats have found themselves competing in states that once seemed beyond their reach as […]
POLMAN: A stupid war could once again trigger a blue electoral tsunami
Republican President George W. Bush’s stupid war in Iraq (launched on false premises and bogus promises) triggered a blue tsunami in the 2006 midterms and resulted in Democratic takeovers of the House and Senate. Today, Republican President Donald Trump’s stupid war in Iran (launched with inept planning and bogus promises) could help trigger a blue […]
Zelenskyy’s direct plea helped unlock Russia sanctions in the Senate. What’s next is uncertain
WASHINGTON | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the U.S. Capitol hours after Lindsey Graham’s funeral to an unusually attentive audience. Half the Senate gathered for the closed-door meeting. Senators set their mobile phones down and focused their attention. Along with representatives from the House, they listened as Zelenskyy fielded questions about his country’s strategy […]
The hidden politics of time: How clocks, calendars — and now-contentious time zones — came to be
NEW YORK | It flies. It heals all wounds. It can be of the essence, and it can be money. We thrill in the best of it, lament the worst. We’re warned not to waste it, since we can’t turn it back — even as we try to make up for when it’s lost. And […]
Kentucky governor demands transparency on Sen. McConnell’s health
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is directly asking Sen. Mitch McConnell, the state’s most powerful figure in Congress, to disclose more about his condition after three weeks of silence from the 84-year-old since he was hospitalized in Washington. The letter released Wednesday from Beshear, a Democrat who is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028, to […]
Trump’s fixation on voting has had mixed results. He still has ways to affect November’s elections
ATLANTA | President Donald Trump has tried many ways to tighten his grip on U.S. elections, from signing executive orders to pushing restrictive legislation in Congress. Monday’s Supreme Court ruling siding with states that accept late-arriving mail ballots was the latest example showing the limits of his reach. It followed back-to-back rulings last week that […]
Senate for first time approves a war powers resolution in a rebuke to Trump over Iran conflict
WASHINGTON | The Senate for the first time approved a war powers resolution Tuesday seeking to block U.S. military action against Iran, as lawmakers warily watch President Donald Trump’s efforts to resolve a conflict that the administration launched on its own and now needs Congress to fund. It was the 10th time the Senate has […]