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U.S. House GOP backs rules plan without disclosing deals made with hard-right members
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House adopted rules for the 118th Congress on Monday, though several of the concessions Speaker Kevin McCarthy made with a right-wing faction of the Republican Party to secure the gavel weren’t included in the document, or publicly circulated ahead of the vote. The 55-page rules package the House voted nearly party-line […]
U.S. House GOP backs McCarthy as speaker after tense and chaotic late-night session
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House elected Kevin McCarthy speaker early Saturday after most of the chamber’s Republicans finally gathered behind him, ending a four-day stalemate that led to the most rounds of voting for a speaker since before the Civil War. The California Republican was able to clinch the gavel on the 15th ballot by […]
U.S. House stuck for a third day as Republicans struggle to unite around a speaker
Updated 1/5/2023, 9:05 p.m. WASHINGTON — The U.S. House adjourned Thursday again without a speaker, racking up five more ballots throughout the day before members left the floor shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern, with some decamping to closed-door negotiations and others leaving the Capitol. “I am not a part of any negotiations,” Colorado’s Lauren Boebert, […]
U.S. House paralyzed following second day of GOP failure to elect a speaker
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House adjourned without a speaker for the second day in a row Wednesday as Republicans’ stalemate over who should lead the chamber for the next two years dragged on, with Kevin McCarthy failing to get the votes needed to become speaker on three more ballots. The 216-214 vote to adjourn until noon on […]
Conservatives in U.S. House tank McCarthy bid to be speaker on multiple ballots
WASHINGTON — Republican control of the U.S. House got off to a rocky start Tuesday when the party was unable to decide who should become speaker amid a sharp disagreement within the party’s more conservative faction. California Rep. Kevin McCarthy didn’t clinch the backing of the 218 lawmakers he needed to become the head of the […]
U.S. House approves $1.7 trillion funding package and sends it to Biden
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted Friday to approve a sweeping $1.7 trillion government spending package that carries along with it dozens of new initiatives, including an update to how Congress certifies electoral votes for president and new protections for pregnant workers. The 225-201 bipartisan vote, with one member voting present, sends the 4,126-page measure […]
Huge $1.7 trillion spending package passes in U.S. Senate, backed by both parties
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion funding package Thursday that carries emergency aid for natural disaster recovery and the Ukrainian war effort, pushing past disputes over immigration policy and barely meeting a Friday deadline when current funding runs out. The bill, supported by both Democrats and Republicans, now goes to the […]
Congress rolls out $1.7 trillion spending deal in race to Friday deadline
WASHINGTON — Congress unveiled a $1.7 trillion spending package early Tuesday that would fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, completing the annual process that began this spring when President Joe Biden sent lawmakers his budget request. Biden’s chief budget official in a statement urged Congress to speedily pass the massive […]
Congress clears one-week bill to fund the government, but many hurdles remain
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate sent President Joe Biden a one-week government funding bill late Thursday, giving negotiators a few more days to wrap up talks on what is expected to be a $1.7 trillion package to keep the federal government up and running through September. The short-term bill is the second time Congress has […]
White House resumes handing out free COVID-19 rapid test kits
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is once again offering Americans the opportunity to order free at-home COVID-19 rapid tests from the federal government, a program that it had shuttered amid an ongoing stalemate with Congress over additional funding to address the virus. The program will allow each household to order four free COVID-19 tests as […]
White House keys in on mayors and mayors-elect for D.C. forum on federal funding
WASHINGTON — Mayors from throughout the United States will sit down with senior Biden administration officials Friday for a half-day forum on how their cities can access resources within the COVID-19 aid bill, bipartisan infrastructure law and Democrats’ signature health care and climate change package known as the Inflation Reduction Act. The meetings, which will […]
U.S. House and Senate GOP at odds over massive government spending deal
WASHINGTON — Congress is trying to wrap up its remaining must-pass bills before leaving for the holidays — but a split between Senate Republican and House GOP leaders could hamstring the all-important task of funding government operations and averting a partial shutdown. Senate Republicans are working with Democrats in both chambers to negotiate a major […]