Mitch McConnell
Senate Democrats’ voting rights push stalls in the face of GOP opposition
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans shut down efforts to open debate on a sweeping elections reform and voting rights bill brought to the Senate floor by Democrats Tuesday night.
Senate GOP filibuster blocks commission to probe U.S. Capitol attack
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Friday blocked consideration of a bill creating a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate what happened leading up to and during the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol.
U.S. House OKs commission to probe Jan. 6 Capitol attack, but McConnell objections may doom it
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted Wednesday 252-175 to give the go-ahead to the formation of an independent, bipartisan commission that would investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, despite objections from Republican leaders that the scope of the commission was not wide enough and other investigations are ongoing.
U.S. Senate confirms Merrick Garland as attorney general
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Wednesday confirmed Merrick Garland to serve as U.S. attorney general in a 70-30 vote.
Election reform to return as a priority for Dems in Congress
WASHINGTON — Democrats who control Congress by narrow margins and the White House are making a fresh attempt to move forward a massive package that tackles dark money in campaigns, voter suppression and election security.
Kyrsten Sinema is wrong to defend the Senate filibuster
As the 117th Congress begins, the US Senate is in chaos. And Senator Minority Leader Mitch Connell is to blame.
Congress passes massive ‘first step’ in pandemic relief with $900B package
WASHINGTON — Congress on Monday night approved the first major COVID-19 relief measure since the spring, a sprawling spending bill that would provide $900 billion in pandemic-related aid but still didn’t go far enough for many Democrats. House leaders divided the bill into two parts and passed the emergency relief portion on a 359-53 vote. […]
Congress strikes deal on new pandemic relief after settling dispute over Fed lending
WASHINGTON — A deal on a coronavirus relief package finally emerged on Sunday night, after members of Congress resolved a days-long impasse over a provision sought by U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania to ensure that several temporary Federal Reserve lending programs will end this year. Working through that disagreement over the Fed was a […]
Workers’ COVID-19 lawsuits could be quashed under GOP push in Congress
WASHINGTON — A wrongful death lawsuit filed in connection with a Tyson meat packing facility in Iowa alleged that managers secretly took bets on how many employees would get sick from COVID-19.
U.S. House passes bill to avert government shutdown while relief talks drag on
WASHINGTON—The House on Wednesday voted to pass a stopgap spending bill, preventing a government shutdown and giving a group of bipartisan lawmakers another week to negotiate a coronavirus relief package.
Congress set to strip Confederate names from U.S. military bases, flouting Trump veto threat
WASHINGTON — Congress this week is expected to pass a massive defense policy bill that President Donald Trump has threatened to veto because it would remove the names of Confederate generals from military bases across the South.
As states face the loss of federal help amid ‘the worst part of the crisis,’ Washington is at a standstill
WASHINGTON — The number of coronavirus infections across the country is swelling at a perilous time for state governments, just weeks before federal support rushed through Congress in the pandemic’s early stages is set to end.