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U.S. Senate hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to start Monday
After more than two weeks of private meetings with nearly half the U.S. Senate, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, will field questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee in highly anticipated public hearings that begin Monday. Members of the panel will question Jackson for two full days, following […]
U.S. House speaker hints at bigger COVID aid push after $15 billion yanked from spending bill
The need for federal funding to address COVID-19 may be greater after lawmakers removed a $15 billion relief package from an omnibus spending bill last week, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. Amid reports of rising case levels overseas, Pelosi said the United States may need more than the amount negotiated with Republicans that congressional […]
Zelenskyy reminds Congress of Pearl Harbor and 9/11 in pleading for U.S. help for Ukraine
WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday invoked the Pearl Harbor attacks ahead of World War II and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, while urging the United States to do more to stop the Russian war against his country. During the speech, delivered virtually to members of Congress in an auditorium on Capitol Hill, Zelenskyy […]
Republicans in Congress file suit to end mask mandate for air travel
Seventeen Republican members of Congress have sued the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seeking an end to the federal rule requiring passengers on commercial flights and in airports to wear masks. The mandate illegally restricts the lawmakers’ freedom and is not backed by legal authority, they said in the suit filed Monday. They asked the […]
National parks leader pledges more inclusion of Native Americans in land management
The federal government will make greater efforts to include Native American tribes in decisions involving federal lands, National Park Service Director Charles F. Sams III told a House panel last week. In his first appearance before the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee since he was confirmed as parks director in November, Sams said President Joe […]
Biden to tap Navajo health head to lead Native American health agency
President Joe Biden intends to nominate Roselyn Tso to lead the Indian Health Service, the White House said in a news release Wednesday. Tso, a member of the Navajo Nation, is the Navajo area director for the IHS, overseeing federal health care for nearly 250,000 Native American people in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Tso […]
Return of earmarks a boon for members of Congress facing midterm battles
WASHINGTON — Vulnerable lawmakers from throughout the country are set to rake in federal cash for home-state projects after a major spending bill included the first round of earmarks in more than a decade. Members from both political parties began requesting thousands of projects last year when U.S. House and Senate leaders resurrected what’s called […]
Biden declares U.S. ban on Russian oil, warns of gasoline price spikes
WASHINGTON — The United States will no longer import Russian energy in an attempt to further cripple that nation’s economy as it wages war against Ukraine. President Joe Biden announced the newest sanctions Tuesday from the White House, saying that a ban on Russian oil and gas would target “the main artery of Russia’s economy.” […]
A year after Jan. 6, attack on the U.S. Capitol lives on in hundreds of court cases
Updated and corrected, 2:48 p.m., 3/7/22 On the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, four men affiliated with the Kansas City chapter of the right-wing Proud Boys gathered on the west side of the U.S. Capitol, along with thousands of others urged on by then-President Donald Trump. The crowd pushed ahead and overwhelmed the few Capitol […]
Biden OKs release of 30 million barrels of oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
President Joe Biden authorized on Tuesday the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, part of an international boost to the global oil supply that has been disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The reserve is a complex of four sites with deep underground storage caverns in salt domes along […]
White House builds on Russia sanctions, OKs more military aid for Ukraine
Tensions between the Biden administration and Russian leaders ratcheted up yet again Monday as Russia continued its unrelenting assault on Ukraine. President Joe Biden authorized an additional $350 million of security assistance to Ukraine over the weekend, bringing the total aid over the past year to $1 billion, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said […]
New U.S. sanctions on Russia target banks, high-tech imports
WASHINGTON — The United States and Western allies stepped up economic sanctions on Russia following its escalated attack on Ukraine, President Joe Biden said at the White House on Thursday. Biden had for weeks pledged to impose significant sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin followed through on plans to invade Ukraine. As the invasion ramped […]