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The House overwhelmingly passed legislation on Tuesday (407 to 19) that would overhaul the federal visa waiver program and bar those from Iraq, Syria, Iran and the Sudan, or those who have visited those countries in the last five years, from traveling to the United States without a visa. Action on the proposal comes in response to the recent attacks in Paris from ISIS operatives, and the shooting in California by a couple that expressed support for the terror group on social media. "This will help neutralize the threat from foreign terrorists entering our country," House Speaker Paul Ryan said...

"Our No. 1 goal for the next year is to put together a complete alternative to the left's agenda," Mr. Ryan said. . ."

The Senate seems poised to pass a bill that will gut parts of Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood for a year. President Obama will most certainly veto this legislation, making this possible legislative victory a symbolic gesture. But it would represent some progress in Republican efforts to repeal the presidents' signature domestic achievement, which has been marred by failure. Just as Democrats used the process of reconciliation to pass Obamacare back in 2010, Republicans alluded to using it during their winter meeting in Hershey, Pennsylvania in January. After months of wrangling over deadlines for the reconciliation process, the Senate agreed to start...

At this point, it’s abundantly clear that the US is on the wrong side in the Mid-East. Washington has always resorted to covert operations and support for unsavory characters on the way to bringing about regime change in countries whose governments aren’t deemed conducive to American interests. That’s nothing new. Usually, however, there’s at least a semi-plausible argument to be made for why Washington feels the need to support one side over the other. In Syria, there’s no such argument.

For IN the NOW with Anissa Naouai, The Resident hits the streets of Washington Square Park in New York City to ask people: will you sign up to take a Syrian refugee into your home?

Oversight: A federal agency keeps stonewalling congressional efforts to access its internal communications. What's the problem here? If the agency's global warming claim was honestly arrived at, just turn over the documents.

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 4038, a bill to beef up security measures for admitting refugees from Syria and Iraq into the United States, in a vote 289 to 137 on Thursday. Only two Republicans voted against the bill, while 47 Democrats joined the majority in voting to pass the legislation.

The House of Representatives Thursday defied President Obama’s threat of a veto and voted, 289-137, to impose new screening requirements on Syrian and Iraqi refugees trying to enter the United States. The bill was supported by 47 Democrats. Only two Republicans opposed it. The House plan would bar any refugees from Syria or Iraq from entering the United States until the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Director of National Intelligence certify that each one is not dangerous. “If our law enforcement and our intelligence community cannot verify that each and every person is not a security threat, then they...

In a stinging rebuke to President Barack Obama by Republicans and Democrats, the House ignored a veto threat Thursday and overwhelmingly approved GOP legislation erecting fresh hurdles for Syrian and Iraqi refugees trying to enter the United States. Forty-seven Democrats joined all but two Republicans as the House passed the measure by a veto-proof 289-137 margin, a major setback to the lame duck president on an issue —the Islamic State group and the refugees fleeing it — that shows no signs of easing. The vote exceeded the two-thirds majority required to override a veto, and came despite a rushed, early...

Obama's veto tested

Rep. John Fleming, R-La., said Wednesday morning that Tea Party favorite Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., won't run for a fourth term, and instead plans to retire at the end of the current Congress to return to his home state. "Trey wants to go back to South Carolina, and God bless him for that," Fleming said on C-SPAN. When asked if that's what Gowdy has told other Republicans, Fleming confirmed it. "At the end of his term, yes," he said. "He plans to go back home, and he wants to finish his work on the Benghazi special committee. But he loves...

POLITICO has an interesting piece this weekend which I can only think is an effort by the White House to cripple Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) efforts to achieve a rapprochement with conservatives in general and the Freedom Caucus (HFC) in particular. Titled Obama and Ryan: Covert collaborators, it is unique in being sourced entirely from White House sources. President Barack Obama and House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) haven't had a face-to-face meeting in more than two-and-a-half years. And despite Ryan's election this week and Obama's congratulatory call to him in advance of the vote, there still isn't one scheduled.But...

Newly-elected Speaker Paul Ryan said in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he's "redesigning" his leadership job. "I'm redesigning this job. I don't think it can work going forward like it's worked in the past. I can't pick up where John (Boehner) left off. It has to be done differently," Ryan said, referring to Rep. John Boehner's, R-Ohio, recently ended tenure as speaker. The House elected Ryan as speaker last Thursday and Boehner resigned from his leadership post and congressional seat. Ryan told host John Dickerson that he wasn't elected "dictator of the House" and...

In a rare late-night session, the Senate gave final approval to an ambitious budget and debt deal early Friday, sending it to President Barack Obama to sign. The final vote on passage was 64-35, as Democrats joined forces with Republican defense hawks over the objections of GOP presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio, all of whom voted against the deal. The bill is aimed at averting a debt default, avoiding a partial government shutdown and setting spending priorities for the next two years. Earlier in Friday's session, the Senate voted 63-35 to end debate on the measure....

The House of Representatives voted 266-167 Wednesday to approve a budget deal that raises the nation's debt ceiling through March 2017, potentially avoiding a fiscal crisis that could have ensued if the nation defaulted on its loans. The measure amounts to one final package crafted by House Speaker John Boehner with other legislative leaders and President Barack Obama, as Boehner wraps up a tumultuous career leading the House and an even longer career in Congress. The deal also clears the plate for GOP speaker nominee Paul Ryan, who surprised some conservatives Wednesday when he announced he would support the measure....

Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin was elected the 62nd speaker of the House on Thursday, taking the gavel that he never sought to wield from John A. Boehner, who relinquished it under fire. But the personal jubilance and high expectations felt by Mr. Boehner, who was elected in a sweeping Republican takeover of the House in 2011, have been replaced with a grim recognition that Mr. Ryan's ascent stems not from electoral victory but rather the chaos in the ranks of his party's sizable majority. Mr. Ryan received 236 votes, a comfortable margin that included several of the hardline...

Oh Air Now.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Wednesday that he thinks Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would be an "outstanding" speaker of the House.

House Republicans formally nominated Rep. Paul Ryan for speaker Wednesday, looking to him to help unify the party after a tumultuous period -- though defections in the ranks could preview some last-minute drama on the House floor.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and 18 other Republicans on the committee introduced a resolution on Tuesday to start impeachment proceedings against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.