Author: Kate Scanlon

Vice President Kamala Harris may be spending more time on Capitol Hill. President Joe Biden’s understudy, as president of the Senate, has already cast 26 tiebreaking votes for Democrats since the ticket took office on Jan. 20, 2021. That’s due to the 50-50 Senate split between the parties. And with tightening Senate races, it’s possible…

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) on Friday criticized Democratic House leadership for not taking up legislation to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. Spanberger has introduced and advocated legislation that would prevent lawmakers, their spouses, and their dependent children from buying, selling, or trading individual stocks, requiring them to divest from their investments or place…

Some House Republicans and senators have adopted increasingly hostile postures toward the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, traditionally the nation’s premier business lobbying organization. Corporate America has increasingly weighed in on issues including race, voting rights, and abortion, prompting some Republicans to seek to penalize corporations they call “woke.” The Chamber is nonpartisan and has historically…

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) unveiled bipartisan legislation Thursday to withhold economic or military aid to any country that recognizes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expected annexation of regions of Ukraine. Putin plans to annex four territories in the country on Friday, the Kremlin announced Thursday, a move that has been met with…

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Wednesday downplayed the possible impact of abortion on the midterm elections, arguing voters nationally are chiefly concerned about inflation, crime, and the border. “That’s clearly where we’re going to be putting the focus,” he said during a press briefing. The Supreme Court in June struck down its nearly…

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Tuesday asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to drop permitting reform from a crucial stopgap funding bill, clearing a path for the legislation to pass as Congress scrambles to fund the government before an end-of-week deadline. MIDTERM ELECTIONS EXPECTED TO COST $9.3 BILLION A stopgap bill with the permitting…

A House office has voted for the first time to unionize, the Congressional Workers Union announced. HOUSE GOP EYES TIGHTER DC CONTROL The Washington and district offices of Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) voted on Thursday and Friday of last week, with the workers union tabulating the results on Monday. Neither the Congressional Workers Union nor…

As House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) unveiled the GOP’s “Commitment to America” on Friday in the Pittsburgh area, Democrats sought to counter his platform with a visit by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who spoke at an event with the city’s steelworkers union. In a show of unity, McCarthy was joined by lawmakers…

If Republicans succeed in winning a House majority in November, one of their areas of focus may be the capital city itself. Many House Republicans have painted Washington, D.C., as a sort of left-wing boogeyman and petri dish for policies of which they disapprove, such as COVID-era vaccine and mask requirements. They also point to…

The House passed a series of police reform bills Thursday after last-minute negotiations among Democrats delayed the effort. LIZ CHENEY BLASTS PARTY FOR TREATING TRUMP ‘AS THOUGH HE WERE A KING’ The deal ultimately united centrist and progressive lawmakers in the party on a key issue ahead of the midterm elections. The Senate is unlikely…