Politico

The Wall Street Journal was first to report the news of the Justice Department’s decision to drop the investigations into Loeffler and Feinstein, as well as Inhofe. Inhofe’s office did not immediately provide comment. A spokesperson for Burr declined to comment. Amid the controversy, Burr has stepped down temporarily as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The Justice Department’s decision to drop its probe into Loeffler […]

The SBA and the Treasury Department did not immediately comment on the letter, which was also signed by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and most other members of the Senate Democratic Caucus. In a letter last week signed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Republicans led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) asked Attorney General William Barr to investigate the matter, […]

In the meantime, top Democrats including Hoyer have begun orchestrating how to allow proxy voting on the floor of the House for the first time in the chamber’s history — a change that has already been panned by Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The House starting Wednesday will allow lawmakers to cast their votes from outside of the U.S. Capitol, through a proxy, […]

For now, NASA’s fortunes are tied to Musk’s, who has made headlines recently for antics like vowing to sell all his houses, denouncing coronavirus lockdowns as “fascist” and reopening Tesla’s electric-car factory in defiance of California health authorities. But NASA has big ambitions beyond Wednesday, viewing this launch as a first step to working with commercial providers on ventures like private space stations or human travels […]

But McCarthy did not formally withdraw his backing until Monday, after POLITICO asked him for comment on a video it obtained of Howze telling supporters last week that McCarthy pledged to support his campaign if the race looks winnable in the fall. GOP congressional candidate Ted Howze. | Howze for Congress via AP Images “We’ve talked with Leader McCarthy,” Howze told supporters in a video call […]

FILE – In this Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, file photo a logo of the car manufacturer Volkswagen is pictured on top of a company building in Wolfsburg, Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, file) Consumers affected by the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal are eligible for damages that could total the entire cost of the vehicle, Germany’s Federal Court of Justice ruled Monday. That means thousands of motorists affected […]

President Donald Trump’s last big demand in a funding bill, the border wall, led to the longest-ever government shutdown, and that was nearly two years before his reelection. And this year’s defense policy bill is already attracting attention from House progressives, who say they want to cut Pentagon funding to shore up domestic programs amid the pandemic. Then there’s the less frequent but equally challenging bills […]

His comments citing the First Amendment came on the first Sunday after Trump labeled the country’s places of worship “essential” and demanded that they be allowed to reopen nationwide despite still-rising coronavirus cases and several reports of the illness spreading among congregants. Asked whether he would feel comfortable attending church on Sunday, the former Florida governor responded: “It doesn’t matter what a governor says or president […]

To Republicans, the confirmation of a new director of national intelligence, several lifetime judicial appointments and a smattering of coronavirus hearings has been worthwhile. They did not approve new coronavirus-related legislation, though they say that day is coming. At a minimum, they expect to loosen restrictions on small business aid when they come back in June. There’s also been something fulfilling for the GOP about resuming […]

The Lofgren measure is expected to closely mirror one that narrowly failed in the Senate offered by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.). Their proposal would require government officials to obtain a court-approved warrant before accessing Americans’ web browsing histories — or, in an urgent situation, to obtain these histories and retroactively get them approved by a judge. “This isn’t even a partisan proposition,” […]

Asked specifically about whether defense leaders purposefully cut the deployments one day short of what would be required for benefits under the Post-9/11 GI bill, Esper declined to comment. “I’m fully committed to supporting our National Guard members,” he said. “I’m not worried about the number of days. What I’m worried about is making sure we win the fight against coronavirus and we fully support the […]

A National Guard spokesperson confirmed the planning guidance went out, telling POLITICO it’s a routine procedural step that does not preclude a future announcement of an extension. “One has nothing to with the other,” the spokesperson said. “Whenever an order is issued, a set of implementing orders are issued as well.” The spokesperson added that the National Guard is “currently working with DoD and FEMA to […]

Getting a permanent secretary on the job took on new urgency as the Navy’s handling of the coronavirus’ spread aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt resulted in acting Secretary Thomas Modly’s resignation last month. James McPherson, a retired rear admiral and the undersecretary of the Army, has filled the job since Modly stepped down. Braithwaite cruised through a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing this […]

“There will be enormous constitutional questions around anything the House does if they fail to demonstrate a real quorum but plow ahead anyhow,” McConnell said during a floor speech. As majority leader, McConnell has the sole power to set the Senate’s floor schedule, with few exceptions. McConnell has already largely ignored much of the Democrat-led House’s legislation for the past year and a half. But his […]

A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday reached agreement on a bill that would ease restrictions on emergency small business loans that are designed to curb massive layoffs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The government-backed loans can be forgiven if employers agree to maintain their payrolls. But businesses say the loan terms are too onerous, with much of the economy shut down for longer than lawmakers expected […]

“The Administration’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Open Skies Treaty is a slap in the face to our allies in Europe, leaves our deployed forces in the region at risk, and is in blatant violation of the law,” said Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. “This decision weakens our national security interests, isolates the United States since […]

“The Trump administration has provided virtually zero transparency on anything relating to bailouts of industry, and is deliberately resisting all efforts to bring sunlight to what is happening within Interior, Treasury and other agencies,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which filed a lawsuit this week week on separate issues to force Treasury to disclose the names of companies that […]

Democratic lawmakers contend they haven’t forgotten renewable energy but say they are wrestling with an overwhelming number of sectors in dire financial need, and they expect it to be a pillar of forthcoming infrastructure legislation. Republicans have resisted further relief legislation to date. Rank-and-file Democrats in the House point out that Pelosi had said weeks ago that the HEROES Act which the chamber passed last week, […]

The lawmakers are asking Pompeo to provide by June 4 details about his contacts with the White House regarding Linicks’ removal, as well as the rationale behind the choice of his temporary replacement, Stephen Akard, whom Democrats worry will be a conduit to provide information about Linick’s confidential work to agency leaders. The Democrats are also asking Pompeo for guest lists connected to his series of […]

Engel’s letter comes a day after the Senate Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), voted on party lines to authorize a subpoena to Blue Star Strategies, a Democratic public-relations firm. Johnson’s panel is probing allegations that the firm sought to leverage Hunter Biden’s position on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, to influence the Obama State Department. Echoing other Democrats, Engel […]

Rep. John Ratcliffe. | Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images By POLITICO STAFF 05/21/2020 12:46 PM EDT The Senate on Thursday confirmed Rep. John Ratcliffe as President Donald Trump’s top intelligence official, in a move aimed at ending nine months of reshuffling at the top of the nation’s spying establishment. The vote comes amid escalating feuding between Democrats and the White House about intelligence agencies’ role in the investigations […]

Neither is optimal, so Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is talking to Gardner about how to move forward to avoid such a battle on the floor. “Hopefully it won’t be necessary. I’m hoping the leader and Sen. Gardner are able to figure something out that would enable him to get things he wants discussed and considered,” said Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.). He said […]

Naval security forces responded to the shooter around 6:15 a.m. at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Security forces “neutralized” an active shooter this morning at a Texas naval installation, the Navy announced. One naval security force member was injured. It was not immediately clear if there were any other casualties. Advertisement Naval security forces responded to the shooter around 6:15 a.m. at Naval Air Station Corpus […]

But during meetings last spring of the National Security Council at several levels, high-level career and political officials from the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence community agreed that there had been no change in Tehran’s behavior to justify invoking emergency authorities, and advised against doing so, according to a former administration official who attended the meetings. “There is nothing going on right now that we could […]