The House and Senate this week advanced bills to broaden sanctions against Iran because of its suspected nuclear weapons program and continued abuse of human rights, as the theocratic regime in Tehran took steps to manipulate its June 14 presidential election.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he won't start to pick any big fights with Republicans because he's afraid of upsetting the momentum to pass an immigration bill — and that includes delaying President Obama's Labor Department nominee.
House Speaker John A. Boehner on Thursday flatly ruled out chances of the House passing the Senate's immigration bill, saying his chamber will debate its own bill instead.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday that he will push to confirm more judges to the federal appeals court in Washington after that court ruled this year that President Obama's broad use of recess appointment powers was unconstitutional.
Less than 24 hours after senators powered their immigration bill through committee, the legislation came under fire in the House, where the former head of immigration enforcement testified that it has too many loopholes that could delay enforcement, let dangerous people in, and hamstring agents from fighting illegal immigration in the future.
Members of a House panel angry over sexual abuse problems in the military are set to vote on a bill that would strip commanding officers of their authority to unilaterally change or dismiss court-martial convictions — a change that lawmakers believe will lead to a cultural shift that encourages more victims to step forward.
During his 2012 campaign for re-election, President Obama and his team accused Mitt Romney of "betting against America" for investing in offshore accounts. If Mr. Romney "bet against America," so did the family of Penny Pritzker, Mr. Obama's nominee for commerce secretary.
Sen. Mitch McConnell's "maybe" challengers for his Senate seat has moved from Ashley Judd — who decided against a run weeks ago — to Heather French Henry, Miss America for 2000.
Several Federal Reserve policymakers this month favored slowing the central bank's efforts to maintain record-low long-term interest rates as early as June — if the economy showed strong and sustained growth. But those officials appeared at odds over what evidence would demonstrate such gains.
