Seth McLaughlin

Paul Ryan must win back conservatives after spending bill makes bad first impression

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan has only been in the top job five months, and he's already managed to lose the good will of conservative activists who say the year-end spending deal that closed out the last session of Congress was a betrayal of principle.

March 6, 2016

Ted Cruz wins TWT/CPAC straw poll; Donald Trump places distant third

Sen. Ted Cruz won The Washington Times/CPAC presidential preference straw poll Saturday, giving him an extra boost as he tries to urge conservatives to rally behind him as GOP leaders search for a candidate who can stop Donald Trump's march to the nomination.

March 5, 2016

Ben Carson officially suspends presidential bid

Ben Carson on Friday officially suspended his campaign for president at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

March 4, 2016

Donald Trump snubs CPAC, will skip Saturday speech to conservative group

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump will not attend the Conservative Political Action Conference, further deepening a rift among conservative activists over the billionaire businessman's commitment to their movement.

March 4, 2016

Jim Webb: I won’t support Hillary Clinton

Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb said Friday he won't back Hillary Clinton in the presidential race, but he is open to supporting businessman Donald Trump.

March 4, 2016

Donald Trump suggests Bill O’Reilly talk to psychiatrist about his negativity

For some answers, Bill O'Reilly might need to talk to his psychiatrist, Donald Trump told him during a post-debate interview.

March 3, 2016

Ted Cruz nabs support of border security proponents at CPAC

They've been told for years that they need to embrace a more lenient approach on immigration, but grass-roots leaders at the Conservative Political Action Conference are having none of it, saying they want to see the laws on the books enforced instead.

March 3, 2016

Donald Trump assures Republican debate audience he is well-endowed

Businessman Donald Trump assured the audience at the GOP debate that he is well-endowed.

March 3, 2016

CPAC 2016: ‘Apocalyptic’ Hillary Clinton presidency used to unite warring Republicans

Hoping to restrain the ideological civil war in their own midst, Republican leaders begged grass-roots conservatives Thursday to rally to the party and warned of apocalyptic consequences if Hillary Clinton wins the White House.

March 3, 2016

Donald Trump is hard to stomach for CPAC activists

Businessman Donald Trump could be walking into hostile territory this week when he appears at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, where grassroots activists say they don't see the New York billionaire as part of their flock and say the idea of supporting him stinks.

March 3, 2016

Marco Rubio debate jabs at Donald Trump offer hope for anti-Trump forces

It took six months before the first opponent was able to land a memorable blow against Donald Trump on the debate stage, but Republican strategists -- and the other candidates in the race -- are hoping they have finally solved their problem with the party's front-runner.

March 2, 2016

Ted Cruz says he is GOP’s Trump killer

Sen. Ted Cruz emerged from the Super Tuesday contests with victories in his home state of Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska, giving him more ammunition for his argument that he is the only candidate that has -- and can -- defeat Donald Trump for the GOP nomination.

March 1, 2016

GOP-led super PAC dings Donald Trump in Web ad

A Republican-led group that is spearheading a late-in-the-game effort to block Donald Trump from capturing the GOP presidential nomination dinged the New York billionaire in a new web ad released during Super Tuesday and vowed to ratchet up the attacks against him over the coming weeks.

March 1, 2016

After Super Tuesday, rapid-fire votes to test remaining Republican candidates

With Super Tuesday behind them, the GOP presidential field moves into a rapid-fire sequence of 16 contests over the span of 15 days that are expected to test whether any of the remaining candidates can hang with front-runner Donald Trump.

March 1, 2016

Paul Ryan tells Donald Trump to reject KKK’s David Duke

Republican leaders, already wary of having Donald Trump on the ballot in the November presidential election, demanded Tuesday that he put more distance between himself and racist groups, saying the party cannot show anything but contempt for the Ku Klux Klan.

March 1, 2016

Scott Rigell says he can’t support Donald Trump if he is the GOP nominee

Rep. Scott Rigell of Virginia warned fellow Republicans Tuesday against supporting Donald Trump's presidential bid, calling the GOP front-runner a "con man" and warning the "harm done to our party would be nothing short of catastrophic."

March 1, 2016

Chris Christie endorses Donald Trump for president

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie endorsed GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Friday, giving the billionaire businessman a high-profile boost just days before Super Tuesday.

February 26, 2016

Marco Rubio challenges Donald Trump’s negotiating skills

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida dismissed Donald Trump's argument in the GOP debate Thursday that the negotiating skills he has honed over the years as real estate developer would also work on the world stage.

February 25, 2016

Mitt Romney says Donald Trump should turn over tax returns

The GOP's last multimillionaire presidential nominee is now taking on the multibillionaire front-runner in this year's race, and it's getting nasty already.

February 25, 2016

Donald Trump defends hiring foreign workers, says he couldn’t find Americans for jobs

Donald Trump fended off tough questions Thursday night about his business empire's hiring practices, including a million-dollar fine for hiring illegal immigrants and admitting he's facing a federal tax audit, as the Republican presidential campaign turned exceptionally nasty at the final debate before Super Tuesday.

February 25, 2016