Stephen Dinan

Santorum’s exit shifts GOP race

Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania put his presidential campaign on ice Tuesday, removing the final major hurdle for Mitt Romney to win the Republican nomination and turn his full attention to a general-election bid against President Obama.

April 10, 2012

Santorum suspends campaign for GOP presidential nomination

Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania suspended his presidential campaign Tuesday, removing the final major hurdle for Mitt Romney to win the Republican nomination and marking the unofficial beginning of the general election battle with President Obama.

April 10, 2012

Eagerness seen as a vice in presidential veepstakes

While Mitt Romney finally looks to have the Republican nomination within his grasp, the jockeying among the wannabes for the No. 2 spot on the GOP ticket is only now ramping up.

April 8, 2012

Government records 40th straight deficit month in March

The federal government ran a $777 billion deficit for the first six months of fiscal year 2012, the Congressional Budget Office estimated on Friday, including a $196 billion hole in March, marking the 40th straight month of deficits.

April 6, 2012

Romney tells press to uncover Obama’s secrets

Mitt Romney urged the country's news editors on Wednesday to delve more deeply into what he said were President Obama's secret second-term plans, telling them they have a duty to "do the seeking" to expose what the White House has in store.

April 4, 2012

House subpoenas Obama administration on Gulf oil drilling

A House committee issued subpoenas Tuesday demanding the Obama administration turn over documents Republicans say will show the backroom negotiations that led to President Obama's Gulf of Mexico drilling moratorium in 2010.

April 3, 2012

Talk of pork revival tempts lawmakers on Capitol Hill

When Rep. Mike Rogers publicly suggested last week that Congress reconsider its ban on pork-barrel spending, the Alabama Republican probably didn't know what he was stepping into.

April 2, 2012

Obama warns ‘unelected’ justices on health care

President Obama on Monday warned the Supreme Court against overturning his health care law and said he is "confident" the justices won't.

April 2, 2012

Congress puts Obama recess power to the test

Congress is taking its first real recess in nearly a year after the House and Senate agreed on Friday to a two-week adjournment for Easter - and a test of whether President Obama will abide by an agreement not to make any recess appointments while lawmakers are gone.

April 1, 2012

Massachusetts militia scores another victory over Virginia

Lawmakers from Massachusetts managed to outflank their Virginia counterparts on the House floor last week, powering through a bill that officially designates Salem as the birthplace of the U.S. National Guard — based on the town's claim to having the country's first militia starting in 1629.

April 1, 2012

Congressional recess tests White House deal

Congress is taking its first real recess in nearly a year after the House and Senate agreed on Friday to a two-week adjournment for Easter — and a test of whether President Obama will abide by an agreement not to make any recess appointments while lawmakers are gone.

March 30, 2012

Congress’ ability to pass a budget grows more doubtful each year

House Republicans powered their 2013 budget through their chamber Thursday, marking the high point for the $3.5 trillion spending plan, which would have created a deficit of nearly $800 billion next year.

March 29, 2012

House rejects Bowles-Simpson, Obama budgets

The Bowles-Simpson deficit-reduction plan went down to a crushing defeat in the House late Wednesday night in a vote that damages the one bipartisan proposal that just a few months ago had seemed like a possible solution to the country's debt woes.

March 28, 2012

Paul puts campaign before duty

Rep. Ron Paul has missed 93 percent of all floor votes in Congress this year as he's focused on his presidential bid, even as he's kept one of the lighter campaign schedules of any of the candidates.

March 28, 2012

Republicans vote to subpoena oil moratorium documents

House Republicans voted Wednesday to authorize congressional subpoenas demanding the Obama administration turn over documents it has refused to turn over in two investigations, including one looking at the post-Gulf of Mexico drilling moratorium.

March 28, 2012

Obama’s tax plea gets rude reception

While the fate of President Obama's health care law remains an open question, the Supreme Court was far more clear on one issue Tuesday: The law's backers won't be able to justify the individual mandate to purchase health insurance by pointing to Congress' taxing powers.

March 27, 2012