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Articles by Stephen Dinan

** FILE ** Eduardo Robles, of Harrisonburg, Va., marches with others opposed to Arizona's S.B. 1070, in front of the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, April 25, 2012, as the nation's highest court hears arguments over Arizona’s immigration-crackdown law. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

Supreme Court casts doubt on Obama’s immigration law claim

Supreme Court justices took a dim view of the Obama administration's claim that it can stop Arizona from enforcing immigration laws, telling government lawyers during oral argument Wednesday that the state appears to want to push federal officials, not conflict with them.

April 25, 2012
**FILE** Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican (Associated Press)

Vegas scandal drives Senate to police agency conferences

Reacting swiftly to the scandal over a Las Vegas spending spree by employees at the General Services Administration, the Senate moved Tuesday to require federal agencies to do more to justify conferences and imposed a $500,000 limit on spending for each meeting.

April 24, 2012
Former Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce, the architect of Arizona's controversial immigration law S.B. 1070, left, accompanied by former Arizona Sen. Dennis DeConcini, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 24, 2012, before the Senate Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee hearing titled "Examining the Constitutionality and Prudence of State and Local Governments Enforcing Immigration Law." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Democrats to intercept Supreme Court ruling on immigration

The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday over Arizona's immigration-crackdown law, but Democrats are already preparing for a potential loss by saying they'll try to pass legislation stripping states of the power to enact their own immigration rules.

April 24, 2012
**FILE** Miroslava Acosta, 4, holds a sign during a rally at the Arizona state capital building in Phoenix on May 9, 2011, to protest Arizona's decision to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a decision by a lower court that put the most controversial parts of the state's immigration enforcement law on hold. (Associated Press)

Power is top prize in Arizona immigration battle

The Supreme Court's health care showdown last month was all about Constitution theory and prerogatives. Wednesday's arguments between Arizona and the Obama administration over the state's tough immigration law looks to be all about power.

April 22, 2012
Kristine Svinicki's term at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expires in June.

Obama goes to battle with Reid over NRC appointment

A day after a very public prodding by Senate Republicans, the White House said Thursday that President Obama will renominate Kristine Svinicki to serve on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission — a move that puts him at odds with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, who vehemently opposes her appointment.

April 19, 2012
**FILE** Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat (Associated Press)

Obama backs GOP over Reid in bitter personnel fight

The White House will renominate Kristine Svinicki to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a move that puts him on the side of Senate Republicans and against Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, who vehemently opposes her.

April 19, 2012
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign stop in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, April 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Battlegrounds established for Hispanic votes

Dream Act students rallied outside Mitt Romney's campaign speech in North Carolina on Wednesday, accusing him of forsaking Hispanic immigrants and vowing to make him pay in the November election — even as President Obama's campaign announced its own outreach efforts to try to shore up his support among Hispanic voters.

April 18, 2012
Kristine Svinicki's term at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expires in June.

McConnell, Reid spar on status of nuclear appointee

A simmering proxy fight between the top Republican and Democrat in the Senate spilled onto the chamber floor Wednesday when Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accused opponents of stonewalling a female appointee to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission because she blew the whistle on bullying by the commission's male chairman, a longtime Democratic staffer.

April 18, 2012
Rep. Don Young, Alaska Republican, stood up for wounded veterans who killed polar bears in Canada but have been unable to bring carcasses into the U.S. (Associated Press)

Hunters win in vote about dead polar bears

House Republicans on Tuesday rode to the rescue of 41 hunters who shot polar bears in Canada at least four years ago but have been unable to bring their trophies back into the U.S. because the bears were subsequently declared an endangered species.

April 17, 2012
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican (Associated Press)

Obama’s recess actions spur Republicans to join lawsuit

Escalating a simmering constitutional feud, Senate Republicans on Tuesday said they're joining a lawsuit against President Obama's January recess appointments, which were made even as Senate Republicans said they were still in session.

April 17, 2012
"I know this is sort of geeky stuff, but the hard reality is that the amount of time it takes to put together these plans is really daunting. This takes weeks and weeks and months and months of effort, and that's why I think it's important to begin." - Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, North Dakota Democrat

Democrats punt on Senate budget bill for third year

In a stunning backtrack that virtually guarantees Congress for the third year will be unable to produce a budget, Senate Democrats' top budget writer Tuesday canceled this week's expected votes on a 2013 fiscal blueprint.

April 17, 2012
"To me, economic history proves that lower capital gains taxes grow our economy and higher capital gains taxes don't increase revenues." - Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who usually sides with Democrats, missed the vote but said he would have opposed the tax.

Obama loses vote on ‘Buffett,’ gains tool

Republicans on Monday banded together in the Senate to block President Obama's "Buffett rule" tax, halting one of his chief legislative goals but leaving him with what the White House believes is a potent political weapon heading into November's elections.

April 16, 2012
President Obama speaks about the so-called "Buffett Rule" on April 11, 2012, at the White House. (Associated Press)

Obama’s push for Buffett millionaires’ tax falls short

Republicans on Monday banded together in the Senate to block President Obama's "Buffett Rule" tax, halting one of his chief legislative goals but leaving him with what the White House believes is a potent political weapon heading into November's elections.

April 16, 2012
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at the National Rifle Association convention in St. Louis, Friday, April 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Romney team ducks women’s pay discrimination bill

Mitt Romney's campaign stumbled last week when it couldn't immediately say whether he supports a 2009 law that grants women more chances to sue over pay discrimination — and his staff still cannot say whether he would sign the follow-up legislation, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which is currently pending in Congress.

April 15, 2012
**FILE** Demonstrators outside the White House march in November with a replica of a pipeline during a protest of the planned Keystone XL pipeline that would bring tar sands oil from Canada to Texas. (Associated Press)

House GOP to tie oil pipeline to highway bill

Seeking to a stronger negotiating position, House Republicans said Friday they will demand any eventual long-term federal highway funding bill also include approval of the massive Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline project.

April 13, 2012
**FILE** Cheri White Owl, founder of Horse Feathers Equine Rescue, is pictured with one of the 33 horses for which she cares in Guthrie, Okla., on Nov. 29, 2011. Ms. White Owl said she's seen more horse neglect during the recession, which coincided with the end of horse slaughtering in the U.S. (Associated Press)

New Mexico firm applies for first horse meat slaughterhouse

A New Mexico slaughterhouse has petitioned the federal government to become the first business to offer horses for slaughter since an effective ban on the practice ended last year, according to state officials and animal welfare groups.

April 13, 2012
White House press secretary Jay Carney speaks during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington on Thursday, April 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Romney tags Obama for N. Korean defiance

The White House late Thursday criticized North Korea's failed missile launch, saying it jeopardizes the region's security — but President Obama's likely Republican opponent in the election said the current administration is to blame for the situation getting this far.

April 12, 2012

Court buries tax-shelter deal on ‘sham’ cemeteries

A federal court on Thursday officially barred a Northern Virginia man from promoting tax shelters - the final chapter in a case federal investigators said involved selling fraudulent shares in "sham" cemeteries to help customers claim tax deductions from investment losses or charitable donations.

April 12, 2012
Mitt Romney argues in Hartford, Conn., on Wednesday that he is the better candidate for women. "The real war on women is being waged by the president's failed economic policies," he said. President Obama won 56 percent of the female vote in 2008. (Associated Press)

Romney’s wooing of female vote hits early snag

With the general election campaign unofficially under way, Mitt Romney's effort to win back female voters got off to a rocky start Wednesday when his campaign was stumped temporarily over whether he supports the 3-year-old Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

April 11, 2012