Lindsey McPherson

Johnson aims for ‘return to fiscal sanity’ as he tries to sway conservatives ahead of speaker vote

House Speaker Mike Johnson, in a last-minute attempt to return to the job, released a list of commitments he has made to help spur "a return to fiscal sanity," including creating a working group of independent experts.

January 3, 2025

Johnson wins speaker’s gavel again on first vote in new Congress

House Speaker Mike Johnson held on and won the speakership again Friday, overcoming opposition from irate Republicans who threatened to derail his bid for the gavel.

January 3, 2025

Republican rebels block Johnson’s first bid for speaker’s gavel in new Congress

A small group of House Republicans on Friday blocked House Speaker nominee Mike Johnson's first attempt at winning his job back on the first day of the 119th Congress.

January 3, 2025

Johnson says Republicans ‘cannot afford any palace drama’ ahead of speaker vote

House Speaker Mike Johnson predicts he'll survive a Friday vote to hold onto the top leadership role, despite GOP critics who have not committed to supporting him.

January 2, 2025

Mitch McConnell steps out of leadership, leaving a distinctive imprint on the Senate

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell often says politicians come to Washington to do one of two things: "either to make a point or to make a difference." In his record-breaking 18-year run as the top Senate GOP leader, Mr. McConnell has certainly done both, but his colleagues say the Kentucky Republican will be remembered for the latter.

January 2, 2025

Four bipartisan bills that did not make it to the finish line last Congress

The 118th Congress, with politically opposed House and Senate majorities, was not known for passing bipartisan bills. But there were still deals, with some bipartisan bills getting close to passage or even through one chamber.

January 1, 2025

Speaker Johnson’s next job is tamping down a bubbling GOP revolt against him

House Speaker Mike Johnson will have to work the phones over the holidays in a bid to avoid losing the gavel in January after some hard-right lawmakers denounced his handling of recent spending negotiations.

December 23, 2024

Limit of Trump’s influence on House Republicans revealed in funding fight

President-elect Donald Trump was supposed to be the leader who could unify the fractious House Republican Conference, but an early test of that last week showed the limits of his power.

December 22, 2024

Senate’s political will to tackle troublesome Social Security finances is put to the test

A series of Senate votes last week on changes to Social Security shows how difficult it will be for Congress to address the program's financial problems.

December 22, 2024

Senate gives final approval to restore Social Security benefits to government workers

The Senate cleared a bill to restore full Social Security benefits for an estimated 2.1 million government workers and retirees, several of whom told The Washington Times the fix will provide them a critical financial lifeline.

December 21, 2024

Senate clears government funding extension, averting shutdown with no time to spare

The Senate early Saturday passed legislation to extend government funding through March 14, barely averting a shutdown with a vote coming just after the midnight deadline.

December 20, 2024

House passes revamped government funding extension hours before shutdown deadline

Republicans and Democrats coalesced around the GOP's revamped legislation to avert a partial government shutdown on Friday, hours ahead of the government funding deadline.

December 20, 2024

House Republicans to take up government funding extension, defer debt limit vote until next year

House Republicans, with input from President-elect Donald Trump and his team, have agreed to move a temporary government funding extension and wait until early next year to tackle the debt limit.

December 20, 2024

Republicans hatch new plan to split votes on government funding, debt limit, disaster aid

House Republicans on Friday began coalescing around a new plan to fund the government before the midnight deadline, preparing to vote on a temporary funding extension separate from other year-end priorities loaded into prior versions of the bill.

December 20, 2024

Trump commandeers federal spending mess as Biden fades into White House exit

President-elect Donald Trump hasn't set foot in the White House yet but already appears to be running Washington after torpedoing a bipartisan spending deal and forcing Congress to take up a tailored measure more to his liking. It hasn't been a smooth transition.

December 19, 2024

Senate gives final approval to restore Social Security benefits to government workers

The Senate has given final passage to a bill to restore full Social Security benefits for an estimated 2.1 million government workers and retirees, several of whom told The Washington Times the fix will provide them a critical financial lifeline.

December 19, 2024

Republicans pitch new spending plan amid backlash and Trump opposition

House Republican leaders plan to bring up a new, short-term federal funding bill that strips out provisions, pay raises and spending that drew opposition from conservatives and President-elect Donald Trump.

December 19, 2024

Jeffries wants Johnson to stick to funding deal, but won’t bail him out in speaker vote

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wants Speaker Mike Johnson to come through on the bipartisan government funding agreement that President-elect Donald Trump and many House Republicans have panned, but he won't help the Louisiana Republican hold onto the speaker's gavel if he does.

December 19, 2024

Schumer urges bipartisanship but otherwise mum on renegotiating government funding deal

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer reminded House Republicans on Thursday that the only way to pass a government funding deal is if the two parties work it out, but he didn't tip his hand on efforts to renegotiate the deal struck this week.

December 19, 2024

Trump blows up ‘ridiculous’ federal spending deal as deadline looms

House Republican leaders were already struggling to cobble together Republican support for a bipartisan stopgap federal spending bill when President-elect Donald Trump weighed in hard against it on Wednesday, imploding the deal.

December 18, 2024