Congress tries to avoid a partial government shutdown
WASHINGTON — As House members finished voting for the week and left Washington, the lead Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, voiced frustration…
Valadao ranked as poorest member of Congress
Reporting from Washington — Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) said his colleagues tease him about being the poorest member of Congress.“They offer to buy me lunch,” the second-term…
Congress begins to search for funds to help Trump build border wall
Reporting from Washington — Republicans in Congress are beginning to grapple with how to help President-elect Donald Trump fulfill one of his biggest campaign promises: to build…
Supreme Court pauses judge’s order to spend $2 billion in foreign funds
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Wednesday evening issued an order pausing a judge’s deadline requiring the Trump administration to send out…
Opinion: Trump policies must swerve if he aims to bring down prices
If President Trump was elected with a specific mandate, it was to lower prices. Poll after poll reveals that inflation is a top worry for…
California House Democrat introduces bill to reinstate veterans fired from federal government under Trump
WASHINGTON — A freshman Democratic congressman is introducing a bill to protect the jobs of veterans working for the U.S. government amid mass firings by the Trump…
Opinion: We may all regret dismantling USAID
American foreign assistance is experiencing an existential moment. The foreign assistance budget appears to be on the chopping block, and the primary agency responsible for…
Newsom asks Congress for nearly $40 billion for L.A. wildfire relief
Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking Congress to approve an additional $39.7 billion in aid to help Los Angeles recover from the catastrophic damage wreaked by…
Trump says he may take control of Postal Service. Here’s what to know
PHILADELPHIA — President Trump said Friday that he may put the U.S. Postal Service under the control of the Commerce Department in what would be an executive…
Supreme Court turns away — for now — Trump’s appeal seeking to fire agency official
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday turned down President Trump’s appeal seeking to fire an agency official. Instead, the justices said they would weigh in…
Trump’s claim that he can fire any official is unfounded
Less than a month into Donald Trump’s second term, a case involving his extreme claims of presidential power has already made it to the Supreme…
Trump’s lawyers ask Supreme Court to fast-track approval of firings
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s lawyers alerted the Supreme Court over the weekend to what they called “an unprecedented assault on the separation of powers that warrants immediate…
Anti-Musk protest movement expected to ramp up with Congress on recess
NEW YORK — Donald Trump is the president, but billionaire Elon Musk is the focus for thousands of Democratic activists launching a protest campaign this week to…
Column: Democrats belatedly wake up to start fighting Trump, Musk
WASHINGTON — A president’s first few weeks in office were once expected to be a “honeymoon,” a pleasant if brief period of bipartisanship and good feeling.President Trump’s…
Opinion: Extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts to promote growth, but cut spending too
America approaches a critical juncture. Many provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are set to expire this year. Congress could let…
Trump moves with speed and brute force on to-do list in first month
WASHINGTON — As President Trump approaches the first-month mark in his second term, he has moved with dizzying speed and blunt force to reorder American social and…
How Linda McMahon’s Education Department plans could affect California
* Longtime wrestling executive Linda McMahon on track to become U.S. secretary of Education.* In nomination hearing, she tells senators of her vision for department,…
Trump pick for education chief sketches road map to dismantle department
WASHINGTON — Linda McMahon on Thursday sketched out how key functions of the Education Department could be carved up to achieve President Trump’s goal of dismantling the…
Column: Trump and judges clash, and the U.S. needs a civics lesson
America, unfortunately, has long been suffering from a crisis of civics. Put simply, many Americans are woefully ignorant about the structure and features of their…
As DOGE hammers away at government, Republicans begin to stir
WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Katie Britt has been working to make sure the Trump administration efforts to cut government spending doesn’t hit what she called “life-saving, groundbreaking…