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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau are separating after 18 years of marriage. In a brief statement issued by the prime minister on Instagram, he said that after "many meaningful and difficult conversations" the pair have "made the decision to separate." "As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build," said Trudeau in his post, which was also shared by Sophie's account. For the well-being of their children, the Trudeaus are asking Canadians to respect the family's privacy at...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who oversaw a moratorium on offshore drilling after the BP oil spill and promoted alternative energy sources, announced he will step down in March — and on the short list as a possible replacement is outgoing Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire.

OLYMPIA — Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed higher taxes on gas, soda, candy and gum Tuesday in order to avoid more government cuts and to help fund education in response to a court order. In her final budget plan, Gregoire said a budget without new revenues would force the closure of state parks, eliminate food assistance programs and cause additional cuts in education.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Chris Gregoire's time in office may be best remembered for the major deals she helped broker, often in late-night bargaining sessions in which negotiators were ordered to find a resolution. Now the Democrat, two months away from leaving Washington state government, is looking to finalize one more big agreement.

President Obama met with a group of Democratic governors on Friday and discussed plans to work around Congress toward policy goals. Gov. Jack Markell, the Democratic governor of Delaware and the vice chairman of the National Governors Association, told The Hill that the meeting was “very good” and said many of the governors were responsive to ideas about bypassing Congress. “There was a sense that none of us should wait, we can’t wait for things to happen in Congress,” Markell said of the meeting. “We’re going to do what we can do [now].” Obama has positioned himself against Congress as...

Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire February 13, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington State has signed into law a gay “marriage” bill that will force church-owned facilities to accommodate homosexual ceremonies. Gregoire, a lame-duck Democrat governor who proposed the bill earlier this year, celebrated the end of defining marriage as between a man and a woman as she signed the bill on Monday. “I’m proud our same-sex couples will no longer be treated as separate but equal,” she said. The bill makes Washington the sixth U.S. state to redefine marriage, in addition to the District of Columbia. Click...

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Chris Gregoire handed gay rights advocates a major victory Monday, signing into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage in Washington state, making it the seventh in the nation to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. Gregoire signed the bill surrounded by gay rights supporters. “I’m proud our same-sex couples will no longer be treated as separate but equal,” she said. OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Chris Gregoire handed gay rights advocates a major victory Monday, signing into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage in Washington state, making it the seventh in the nation to...

As Washington's legislature works diligently to force homosexual marriage on its constituents, one of the more high-profile corporate entities in the Evergreen State has volunteered to help. In a January 24 statement, Starbucks vice president Kalen Holmes announced that the coffee retailing giant was proudly joining “other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington State legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples.” Holmes emphasized that the measure, which would legalize homosexual partnerships as equal with traditional marriage, “is aligned with Starbucks business practices” and is “core to who we are and what we value as a company.” The Seattle Times...

Gregoire blames Wall Street for state's budget messBy MANUEL VALDES Associated Press Published: Oct 29, 2011 at 9:31 AM PDT SEATTLE (AP) - Echoing President Barack Obama, Gov. Chris Gregoire said "this is what Wall Street has done to our state" when she proposed eliminating health insurance for the poor and reducing even further support for education and public safety. The shift to populous, national rhetoric was a change for the Democrat, as was her seeming willingness to at least consider tax hikes to help the state deal with a $2 billion budget deficit. While Republicans rapped Gregoire for blaming...

No link yet, just breaking on Fox News, Christine Gregoire has announced she will not seek reelection as Washington's Governor.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has called a 10 a.m. Monday news conference in Olympia to announce her future plans. The Democrat is expected to say whether she'll seek a third term. Congressman Jay Inslee says he'll run for governor if Gregoire does not.

The National Governors Association (NGA) announced Wednesday that Gov. Chris Gregoire was picked to chair the group. Gregoire was named chairwoman of the bipartisan organization of governors by the NGA executive committee. She becomes the second woman to lead the association.

Just days before Washington state voters decide whether to impose a first-ever state tax on six-figure incomes, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has jumped into the middle of the fray. With a week to go before the Washington ballot initiative, Perry, a Republican, has taken an unusually aggressive swipe at Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat. Perry sent letters Friday to 90 leading businesses in Washington – including Amazon, Microsoft and Starbucks – inviting them to relocate to Texas, which also has no income tax. "If Washington doesn't want your business, Texas does,” said Perry. “Texas has no personal income tax and...

Democratic governors defend health care overhaulJon Lentz WASHINGTON Fri Jun 25, 2010 4:35pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A small group of Democratic governors this week launched a counter-attack over the federal healthcare overhaul, firing back against legal challenges from nearly two dozen state attorneys general who are seeking to overturn the new law. In a sign of the partisan divisions over the landmark health care law, each governor is a Democrat representing a state with a Republican attorney general trying to strike down the legislation. The governors of Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Washington requested permission to file an amicus, or...

WA Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) leads a short list to replace Solicitor General Elena Kagan, the WH has told members of Gregoire's home-state delegation. Gregoire, a 2-term incumbent and a former WA AG, has been a rumored contender for other admin positions. But the WH has informed top aides to WA members that she is under serious consideration, according to several sources inside the delegation. An admin official confirmed Gregoire's name is one of those being considered. Gregoire endorsed candidate Obama just before the WA caucuses in '08, offering a helping hand as Obama picked up two-thirds of the state's...

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Calling it a "sensible and modest" solution to Washington's historic budget crisis, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Friday approved a revenue package that nets roughly $780 million to avoid deeper cuts in education, health care and human services.Consumers will pay more for a basketful of convenience-store favorites: Soda, bottled water, major-brand beer, candy and cigarettes. Service businesses will send the state a larger share of their gross sales, from attorneys and lobbyists to hairdressers and janitors.Out-of-state companies also were targeted for more revenue, either by recalculating how taxes are charged or shrinking certain exemptions in response to court...

WA Legislature OKs tax increase for 911 upgrades THE ASSOCIATED PRESS OLYMPIA, Wash. -- State lawmakers have approved a bill that lets counties and the state increase taxes on land lines and cell phones to pay for 911 system upgrades. Voice-over-Internet phone services would be taxed as well under the bill, which got final approval from the state House on a 56-34 vote Friday.

Quietly, Democratic lawmakers have already moved to make it harder for Attorney General Rob McKenna to spend money suing the federal government over health care. The reaction to the Republican lawman joining a 13-state attack on President Obama's health care bill has come swiftly. Not only are Democrats considering a budget proviso blocking the lawsuit, but McKenna already faces new controls on his spending. Office of Financial Management Director Victor Moore sent a letter Tuesday revoking McKenna's blanket exemption to a freeze on state contracts. The exemption, which Moore had granted days earlier, allowed the attorney general's office to pay...

Gov. Chris Gregoire today directed state Corrections Chief Eldon Vail not to accept any new parolees from Arkansas until matters arising from the Maurice Clemmons case have been addressed and resolved. Glenn Kuper, a spokesman for the governor, said Gregoire was taking the unusual step because she wants "to make sure that the system is appropriate to protect Washington residents."

[V]oters in two liberal states on opposite ends of the country will also take up measures to limit spending. The outcomes will give us a clear sense of the public mood toward runaway spending. ... The voter-initiated measures on next month's ballot are modeled after Colorado's 1992 Taxpayer Bill of Rights (Tabor). They prohibit state spending from increasing faster than the growth of state population plus inflation in any given year. Extra revenue would be rebated back to the taxpayers, and if officials wanted to raise taxes beyond the limit they would have to seek a public referendum. Tabor worked...