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Articles by Stephen Dinan

Cynthia Diaz, 18, from Arizona, is senn outside the White House on Tuesday April 8,2014. She was there with a group of immigrant activists to protest deportations. Cynthia's mother was deported in 2011 and crossed back into the US from Mexico this March, and is now being detained in Arizona. Cynthia, a US citizen, says she'll go on hunger strike to pressure Obama to lay off the deportations.   (AP Photo/The Tampa Bay Times, Alex Leary)

Obama’s immigration decision delay angers both sides

President Obama's decision this week to put off any new unilateral action to halt deportations didn't win the Republican support he'd hoped, but it did enrage his own allies among immigrant-rights advocates, who said tens of thousands of people who deserve to stay in the country will instead be kicked out over the next two months.

May 28, 2014
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, said on Tuesday that he's considering subpoenas to force the White House to hand over more details about its new political office. He has set a new deadline for June 3. Mr. Issa said the American people have a right to know if their tax dollars are being spent to support congressional campaigns. (Associated Press)

Issa may subpoena White House for political office details

The House's chief investigator said Tuesday he's considering subpoenas to force the White House to turn over more details about its new political office, which Republicans say may be running afoul of laws banning the use of taxpayer money for political campaigns.

May 27, 2014
Medically retired Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter will be awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama on June 19. (Associated Press)

Awarding of Medal of Honor raises consistency questions

President Obama announced last week that he will award the Medal of Honor to retired Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter for diving on a grenade to save a comrade — but the decision raises thorny questions about consistency, after other troops who dived on grenades have not been given the top military honor.

May 25, 2014
President Obama has not made any overtures or even laid out details about how the 2001 use of force authorization should change, say members of Congress who are confounded about the reason. (Associated Press)

Lawmakers find little guidance from Obama on war resolutions

Republicans and Democrats alike were exasperated this week by the Obama administration's befuddled effort to address the lingering war resolutions in Iraq and Afghanistan, which remain in effect more than a year after President Obama called for them to be rewritten.

May 22, 2014
A tea party supporter holds a Don't Tread on Me flag during a rally on Saturday, April 16, 2011, at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

IRS to start over on rules governing tea party groups, other nonprofits

The IRS said Thursday it will go back and rewrite the proposed rules governing nonprofit groups and political activity, bowing to overwhelming opposition from tea party groups and free speech advocates on both ends of the ideological spectrum who feared the tax agency would hurt political debate.

May 22, 2014
**FILE** Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, speaks to reporters after a Democratic caucus lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 13, 2014. (Associated Press)

Reid floats immigration delay as way to break gridlock

Seeking to break a deadlock on immigration reform, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday said Congress could pass a legalization bill now but make it effective in 2017, after President Obama leaves office, as a way of earning Republican support.

May 22, 2014
** FILE ** In this Sunday, June 9, 2013, file photo provided by The Guardian newspaper in London, shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the U.S. National Security Agency, in Hong Kong. Two Norwegian lawmakers said Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014 that they have jointly nominated former NSA contractor Edward Snowden for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. (AP Photo/The Guardian, File)

House votes to shut down NSA phone-snooping

In an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago, the House on Thursday approved a bill to cancel the government's bulk-data collection programs, including the NSA's phone-records snooping.

May 22, 2014
The nomination of Harvard law professor David Barron cleared a Semate procedural hurdle Wednesday in his bid to become a federal judge. (Associated Press)

Democrats push ‘drone judge’ past filibuster

Senate Democrats cleared the path Wednesday to confirm the so-called "drone judge," the lawyer who wrote memos justifying the government's ability to target and kill an American citizen overseas without his first having been convicted by a criminal court.

May 21, 2014

House votes to prod VA to fire officials for delays

The House voted Wednesday to prod Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to begin firing or demoting senior-level executives within his department who were responsible for long wait lists and poor medical care.

May 21, 2014
The Pentagon. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Pentagon looks to enlist illegal immigrants seeking citizenship

The Defense Department said Monday it is looking at expanding its application pool by letting some young illegal immigrants join the military, in what could be another tool for an Obama administration seeking unilateral steps to take on immigration reform.

May 20, 2014
Jill Abramson, the former executive editor of The New York Times, was replaced by Dean Baquet, the managing editor of the newspaper. (Evan Agostini/Associated Press) ** FILE **

Harry Reid says NYT firing of Abramson shows need for pay equality legislation

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took former New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson's case to the Senate floor Thursday, saying her firing is a reason why Congress should pass Democrats' Paycheck Fairness Act, which would give people more avenues to sue over perceived pay discrimination.

May 15, 2014