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Inside Politics Archive: May 2013

• Jay Carney likens inquiry on Sebelius' 'Obamacare' fundraising to birth certificate questions

  White House press secretary Jay Carney on Tuesday responded to a reporter's question about Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' fundraising for "Obamacare" by comparing it to questions about President Obama's birth certificate. Published May 21 2013

• Obama administration threatens Keystone veto

  The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto a House bill designed to approve building the Keystone pipeline, saying President Obama should have final say over the controversial project to bring oil from Canada to the U.S. Published May 21 2013

• Obama weathering controversies; tea party favorability rises: poll

  New numbers from CNN show that President Obama is weathering a recent spate of controversies while the favorability of the Tea Party has ticked up in the wake of revelations that the IRS heavily scrutinized conservative groups applying for nonprofit status in recent years. Published May 21 2013

• Voters split down the middle — literally — on Obama as uniter versus divider

  Forty seven percent of registered voters say President Obama has done more to unite the country while in office and 47 percent say he's done more to divide it, according to a new Washington Post/ABC poll. Published May 21 2013

• Sen. Rand Paul on Apple's tax practices: Congress should use a giant mirror

  Sen. Rand Paul was not happy during Tuesday's Senate subcommittee hearing on Apple's offshore tax practices. Published May 21 2013

• Easy pickings: SNL takes on the IRS

  President Obama's rough week continued into the weekend, when "Saturday Night Live" did what it does best. Published May 20 2013

• Bill would suspend IRS audits for six months

  Rep. John Fleming, Louisiana Republican, has introduced a bill that would prohibit the IRS from initiating any new audits for 180 days in the wake of the recent disclosure that the agency employed heightened scrutiny on certain conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. Published May 20 2013

• Rand Paul jokes about a border fence for Massachusetts and New Hampshire

  CONCORD, N.H. — Kicking off his remarks at a New Hampshire GOP dinner, Sen. Rand Paul assured the crowd gathered in a ballroom here that he's on their side when it comes to securing their southern border. Published May 20 2013

• Senate panel makes bipartisan demand for internal IRS documents

  The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee are demanding that the IRS turn over a voluminous cache of information and documents by the end of the month. Published May 20 2013

• Bachmann in neck-and-neck race: Democratic poll

  A poll shows Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican and the sponsor of the latest bill to repeal President Obama’s health care overhaul, is effectively tied with Democrat Joe Graves in her re-election bid. Published May 20 2013

• Obama sets meeting with Chinese president

  President Obama will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California on June 7-8, the White House announced Monday. Published May 20 2013

• GOP: 'Excuses' dominate Obama's second term

  Sen. Roy Blunt said Monday that President Obama is running a "second term of excuses" and that congressional panels should continue to dig into revelations the IRS targeted conservative groups. Published May 20 2013

• HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' fundraising has made 'Obamacare' donors 'skittish'

  Potential donors to a nonprofit that promotes President Obama's health care law are reportedly reluctant to open their wallets in the wake of a scandal-laced week for the administration. Published May 20 2013

• Sally Ride, first American woman in space, to get posthumous honor

  The late astronaut Sally Ride will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously, the White House announced Monday. Published May 20 2013

• Tea party groups plan IRS protests, legal challenge

  Tea party groups plan to protest IRS offices across the country on Tuesday in the wake of recent revelations that the agency placed heightened scrutiny on investigating the non-profit status of certain conservative organizations. Published May 20 2013

• Obama adviser Dan Pfeiffer: 'Don't take my word for it' on IRS

  When it comes to the unfolding scandal at the Internal Revenue Service, the Obama administration and its critics agree on one thing: Don't take everything the White House says at face value. Published May 19 2013

• CNN poll: IRS, AP and Benghazi haven't dinged Obama's approval rating

  Barack Obama may have had one of the roughest weeks of his presidency, but a new CNN poll released Sunday indicates that the IRS, AP and Benghazi scandals haven't dragged down the president's approval rating. Published May 19 2013

• CBS' Bob Schieffer unleashes on White House official: 'Why are you here today?'

  Veteran CBS newsman Bob Schieffer on Sunday morning unloaded on a top White House official, comparing the Obama administration's handling of the ongoing Internal Revenue Service scandal to former President Richard Nixon's initial strategy for dealing with Watergate. Published May 19 2013

• IRS and Benghazi scandals need more investigation: poll

  The vast majority of Americans believe the ongoing Benghazi affair and the unfolding scandal swirling around the Internal Revenue Service need to be investigated, according to a new Gallup poll out Friday. Published May 17 2013

• Lawmaker to expand D.C. abortion ban bill to country

  An Arizona congressman said Friday he will amend a bill that would ban abortions in the nation's capital 20 weeks after fertilization so that it applies nationwide, a bid to fight late-term abortions in the wake of the Kermit Gosnell trial in Philadelphia. Published May 17 2013