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For a party with such distrust in the mainstream media, Republicans certainly put a lot of stock in the headlines about PEPFAR. While thousands of people would most certainly not die from the targeted cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Senate Republicans are determined to keep throwing taxpayer dollars at the Democrats’ woke programs in the name of “foreign aid.” In a blow to Donald Trump’s goal to end government bloat and abuse, moderate senators — led by Susan Collins (R-Maine) — threw a tantrum over the White House’s plan to shave a fraction ($400 million) of...

The convictions will have major ramifications for the Minnesota Senate and the state's political landscape. Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, was found guilty of first-degree burglary in a stunning conclusion to a legal saga that began more than a year ago. In April 2024, Mitchell was arrested and charged with first-degree burglary after allegedly breaking into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home with the intent to take items that once belonged to her late father. A second felony charge, possession of burglary or theft tools, was later added by prosecutors. Mitchell’s trial began on Monday and featured body-camera footage, several witnesses, and...

President Donald Trump has a Texas-sized conundrum on his hands as Republicans prepare for a Senate primary in the state, with GOP Sen. John Cornyn making his case for the White House to get involved as he tries to fend off a challenge from state Attorney General Ken Paxton. But, so far, Trump is staying on the sidelines. “I’ve talked to him about it a number of times. He is not ready to make that endorsement,” Cornyn told NBC News on Tuesday. “I think as we start advertising and closing the gap in the polls, hopefully he’ll see fit to...

In epic news for the MAGA movement and its mass deportation agenda, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) has pushed forward legislation that, if passes, will finally put an end to birthright citizenship, codifying into federal law what President Trump has tried to accomplish via executive order. As background, the 14th Amendment’s provision that made all former slaves citizens of the United States after the US Civil War has since been used to enshrine the concept of “birthright citizenship,” meaning that anyone who is born here is a citizen even if neither parent is an American citizen, or even here legally. Because...

Senate Republicans blasted through Democratic and internal opposition to pass President Donald Trump’s multibillion-dollar clawback package early Thursday morning. The final vote tally was 51-48, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining every Democrat in voting against it. The package will now be sent to the House, which has until Friday to pass it. The $9 billion rescissions bill tees up cuts to "woke" spending on foreign aid programs and NPR and PBS that Congress previously approved. Republicans have pitched the bill as building on their quest to root out waste, fraud and abuse...

The Senate voted 51-50 Tuesday evening to advance President Donald Trump's rescissions package out of committee, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The three GOP senators who voted against the package leaving the committee are Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Susan Collins (Maine), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). As of now, it isn't clear if the GOP has the votes for final passage of the bill. The Senate will also vote to begin debate on the rescissions package, according to the Politico news outlet. The package that was approved by the House would cut $9.4 billion in funding from the...

The Senate on Monday confirmed the first judicial nominee of President Trump’s second term. Whitney Hermandorfer will now be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit, the Cincinnati-based bench that hears appeals from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee Hermandorfer, of Tennessee, was confirmed by a 46-42 vote along party lines. She will replace an Obama pick, Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch. Twelve senators did not vote.

Senate breaks second hurdle to formally begin debate on rescissions bill, 51-50. Vance breaks tie. Collins, Murkowski and McConnell again vote no

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump secured approval of his first judicial nominee of his second term, as the U.S. Senate confirmed a former law clerk to three members of the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority to a seat on a federal appeals court. The Republican-led Senate voted 46-42 along party lines in favor of Whitney Hermandorfer, a lawyer serving under Tennessee's attorney general, to be appointed as a life-tenured judge on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Nothing will ever be easy with congressional Republicans. The reconciliation package aged all of us 35 years, as Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had to whip votes, hold the line, and make some phone calls. President Trump was also working the phones heavily when final passage was at stake in the House. Republican leadership held the line, but with Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) retiring after the reconciliation vote, delivering what’s left of the Trump agenda before the 2026 midterms is about to get even tougher. The House did its job and passed the rescission package, but...

Colin Allred, a former U.S. Representative and ex-NFL linebacker, has announced he will run for U.S. Senate in 2026. Allred's run comes after he narrowly lost to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in the November 2024 election. Allred, a Democrat, previously served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. What they're saying: "Washington is broken and the system is rigged — and Texas families are paying the price. Today I'm announcing I'm running for the U.S. Senate because Texans deserve someone who will fight for them," Allred said in a post to X. Who will Allred run against? Allred is...

The Senate has done it—barely. After a marathon vote-a-rama session that stretched into the early morning hours, Republicans squeaked through their version of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill by the thinnest possible margin: 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the deciding vote. Three Republicans—Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Rand Paul of Kentucky—broke ranks and voted against their own party's signature legislation. That's not unity. That's a warning shot about what comes next. But here's what Washington doesn't want you to understand: this razor-thin victory is where the real fight begins. The Constitutional Reality Check...

After a marathon vote-a-rama that lasted more than 24 hours, where both Republicans and Democrats submitted amendments to the One Big Beautiful Bill, the Senate voted 51-50 to pass the megabill after Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had announced a deal had been reached earlier on Tuesday. Vice President JD Vance was there to break the tie on the bill's final passage and on amendments being voted on up until the last minute. All Democrats voted against the bill, as did Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Susan Collins (R-ME). Tillis made headlines over the weekend not...

The fight over the future of the Democratic Party remains center stage in Pennsylvania, where Sen. John Fetterman continues to frustrate progressives while his Democratic colleagues and even potential rivals rally around efforts to blunt the Trump administration’s moves. Political operatives in both major parties told the Post-Gazette it’s too early to know how a 2028 Senate primary or general election might play out. But a poll from Susquehanna Polling and Research this past week suggests some Democrats are increasingly disappointed in the senator from Braddock, who remains one of Capitol Hill’s staunchest supporters of Israel, continues to needle his...

A man was arrested by Capitol Police on Sunday after interrupting the Senate debate on President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," shouting from the Senate Galleries that the lawmakers are "horrible." Allen D. Rogers, of Florida, was arrested for unlawful conduct after he refused to obey officers' orders to stop the disruption, according to police. "At approximately 7:00 p.m., our officers arrested a man who started being disruptive in the Senate Galleries," police said in a statement. The interruption happened between speeches by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on the Republican-backed spending bill. Rogers...

There might soon be another elected Trump in Washington. President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is “seriously considering” a Senate run in her native North Carolina, a source told NOTUS. Another source close to the Trump family told NBC News that there is a “high” chance she will run. Word of the younger Trump’s ambitions came hours after Thom Tillis, one of the state’s two Republican senators, announced he would not

President Donald Trump on Saturday attacked Sen. Thom Tillis for opposing the party's sweeping domestic policy bill, threatening to meet with potential primary challengers to the North Carolina Republican. Tillis, who faces re-election next year in a battleground state, was one of two Republicans, along with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, to vote against advancing the "big, beautiful bill" in the Senate Saturday evening. "Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against 'Senator Thom' Tillis," Trump wrote Saturday night. "I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent...

The Senate has advanced President Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill to a full debate despite two GOP defections after hours of drama. The final tally was 51-49. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina were the two Republican nays. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin initially voted no but switched to yes. Vice President JD Vance arrived at the Capitol earlier to potentially cast a tie-breaking vote. WATCH Vice President Vance enters the Capitol as he prepares to break a potential tie on the first procedural hurdle on the GOP reconciliation bill pic.twitter.com/d2ATm6dP6m — Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) June 29, 2025...

Crews are putting up large anti-scale barricades around the White House and the Treasury tonight.. Big news coming this weekend? ... Any guesses? ... Lisa Murkowski, who had a high chance of voting NO, just voted YES to advance the Big Beautiful Bill after she spoke with Vance 3 to go! ... JD Vance is on the Senate floor lobbying Republican holdouts to vote YES on the Big Beautiful Deal

The Senate blocked an effort Friday to prevent President Trump from taking future military action against Iran without authorization from Congress, less than a week after he directed strikes aimed at the country’s nuclear capabilities. Senators voted 47-53 largely along party lines against the war powers resolution. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the lone GOP lawmaker to vote with Democrats. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), an ardent backer of Israel, voted with Republicans.