Stephen Dinan

Donald Trump picks debt-warrior Mick Mulvaney to head White House budget office

President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he'll tap Rep. Mick Mulvaney to be his budget director, putting an ardent conservative in the job that has the most control over the size of the federal government.

December 17, 2016

DNI says Russia hack proof will have to wait

The director of national intelligence rejected calls to speed up release of evidence that would show Russia tried to tamper with the U.S. election, saying Friday that they'll finish out their review before making the proof public.

December 16, 2016

Illegal migration hits new high in November as families surge across border

The Border Patrol nabbed more than 15,000 illegal immigrants traveling as families on the southwest border in November -- a massive increase that marks the worst November on record and the second worst overall, according to statistics released Thursday.

December 15, 2016

ICE spends $100 million ferrying illegal immigrant children around U.S., watchdog reports

The federal agency that handles deportations spent more than $100 million of its money over the last few years to ferry illegal immigrant children around the U.S., according to calculations by a watchdog group that says the cash could have been better spent on enforcement.

December 11, 2016

Harry Reid calls for limits to his own methods as divisive tenure draws to close

Sen. Harry Reid warned his colleagues not to abuse the filibuster, asked for a return to pork-barrel spending and begged them to find a way to limit the power of interest groups to spend money in elections, saying Thursday that the fate of American democracy depends on it.

December 8, 2016

Hillary Clinton calls for crackdown on fake news ‘epidemic’

Fresh off her election loss, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a plea for Congress to find a way to crack down on "fake news," which she said Thursday is a threat to democracy.

December 8, 2016

House votes to avert government shutdown; Senate fights loom

Democrats' anger petered out Thursday as the House passed a stopgap spending bill to keep the government open for nearly five more months, paving the way for Congress to wrap up and head home to prepare for a change of power in the White House next year.

December 8, 2016

John Kelly, Trump’s Homeland Security pick, wins Border Patrol agents’ backing

Border Patrol agents gave retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly their backing Wednesday to be the next Homeland Security secretary, and thanked President-elect Donald Trump for consulting them before making a pick that the agents said should go a long way to right the problems in the troubled department.

December 7, 2016

Patent examiners cheated on time cards yet still received high ratings, inspector general says

Hundreds of patent examiners appear to have cheated on their time cards yet were still rated as above average employees -- and some were even given bonuses by their bosses at the U.S. Patent and Trade Office, the agency's inspector general told Congress in devastating testimony Wednesday.

December 7, 2016

Donald Trump softens on Dreamers, prompting cheers and concerns

Donald Trump's apparent softening of his stance on illegal immigrant Dreamers produced wildly divergent reactions Wednesday, with some activists cheering a shift while others said they don't believe the president-elect has changed one bit, and still intends to deport migrants as soon as he takes office.

December 7, 2016

John F. Kelly to be Donald Trump’s DHS chief

President-elect Donald Trump has picked retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly to be the new secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, sources said Wednesday, selecting a career military man who, as head of American forces in Latin America, repeatedly warned of the dangers of drug legalization and the porous southwestern border.

December 7, 2016

Democrats demand ‘full, categorical pardon’ for illegal immigrants, say Obama ignoring own powers

House Democrats renewed their call for President Obama to issue a "full, categorical pardon" for illegal immigrants, saying Wednesday that he is misunderstanding the extent of his powers and he can, in fact, help out hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant Dreamers.

December 7, 2016

Donald Trump demands waiver for Gen. James Mattis to serve as Defense secretary

President-elect Donald Trump warned Democrats not to try to use a law prohibiting recently retired military officers from serving as Defense secretary. Republicans in Congress are planning to pass a waiver allowing Gen. James N. "Mad Dog" Mattis to serve notwithstanding the law.

December 6, 2016

Spending bill: Republicans unveil stopgap legislation to keep government open through April

Republicans announced a stopgap spending bill Tuesday to keep the government open through April 28, which would buy them enough time to give President-Elect Donald Trump a chance to get his administration up and running next year.

December 6, 2016

John Koskinen, IRS commissioner, spared impeachment by House Republicans

Republican leaders managed to derail impeachment of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on Tuesday, forcing the debate back to a committee for more study, where it will die when Congress adjourns at the end of this year.

December 6, 2016

Chairmen tell Obama to release secret refugee agreement with Australia

The Obama administration has written a secret deal that could let Australia ship more than 2,400 refugees waiting to enter its borders over to the U.S. instead, including refugees from terrorist-connected countries such as Somalia and Syria, two top congressmen said Tuesday.

December 6, 2016

Congress plans stopgap spending bill through April 28

Congress will vote this week on a stopgap bill to keep the government funded through April 28, Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Tuesday, pushing the deadline nearly a month longer than initially planned as GOP leaders predict a crowded schedule at the beginning of next year.

December 6, 2016

Donald Trump choices for Cabinet lack executive experience to run massive federal agencies

Forget "Team of Rivals." President-elect Donald Trump is instead assembling what critics are calling a team of novices -- government outsiders or politicians who have little executive experience at the helm of the kinds of massive federal agencies they'll be running.

December 5, 2016

Federal court halts Obamacare appeal, deals setback to president

A federal appeals court halted a key Obamacare case on Monday, agreeing to put off proceedings until after President-elect Trump takes office and figures out how he wants to proceed -- and dealing a blow to President Obama in the meantime.

December 5, 2016

Illegal immigrants seek asylum, claim fear of home country as ‘magic words’

Nearly one out of every 10 illegal immigrants crossing the southwest border is now demanding asylum, using "magic words" to claim they fear their home country, and turning a program intended to be a humanitarian lifeline into a new path for unauthorized migrants to gain a foothold in the U.S.

December 4, 2016