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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nev., joined by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 27, 2016, to call on congressional Republicans to approve President Barack Obama's emergency supplemental request to fight the Zika virus. (Associated Press) **FILE**

House conservatives: Zika fight must be paid for

If President Obama needs more money to fight the Zika virus, he will have to find it by cutting elsewhere in the federal budget, House conservatives said Wednesday, laying down a marker as Congress increasingly clashes with the administration over spending requests.

April 27, 2016
Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis in Cheyenne, Wyo. (Associated Press/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle) **FILE**

Cynthia Lummis to Trump: Use VP pick to balance out personality

GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump should choose a running mate who is serious-minded and understands Congress, a Wyoming congresswoman said Wednesday, arguing the vice president slot would be the ideal place to temper his outsized personality.

April 27, 2016

Harry Reid: Senate must act this week on Zika virus funding

Congressional GOP leaders said they are still searching for the "right number" in a standoff over funding to combat Zika, brushing aside withering criticism Tuesday from the White House and Senate Democrats who accused Republicans of dithering in the face of a major health crisis.

April 26, 2016
Workers from the Puerto Rico Health Department and CDC review Zika-related data collected by the island's health dept and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Feb. 24, 2016. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

HHS chief to address Zika in Puerto Rico

President Obama's top health official will visit Puerto Rico this week to get a firsthand look at how the island is combating the Zika virus, a trip that coincides with Senate efforts to partially fund President Obama $1.9 billion request for emergency funding to stave off the mosquito-borne illness.

April 25, 2016
Looking back at the 2012 election, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus concluded, "Our message was weak, our ground game was insufficient, we weren't inclusive, we were behind in both data and digital, our primary and debate process needed improvement." (CBS News via Associated Press)

Reince Priebus, RNC chairman: Campaign to enlist new GOP nominee is ‘dumb’

Republicans who think they can draft an eleventh-hour alternative to front-runner Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz are pushing a dumb idea that is "never going to work," the party's top official said Sunday, throwing cold water on voices that say it is not to late to pick a candidate with broader appeal.

April 24, 2016
In this Jan. 27, 2016, file photo, samples of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, responsible for transmitting dengue and Zika, sit in a petri dish at the Fiocruz Institute in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. Mosquito-eradication efforts have taken on new urgency in Brazil with the Olympic Games slated to start in August. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

Heritage Action: Make sure Zika virus deal is paid for

An influential conservative group told Congress on Friday to pay for an emerging deal to combat the Zika virus by swiping dollars from other programs or using the annual budget process to prioritize the fight over other spending.

April 22, 2016
Dallas County Mosquito Lab microbiologist Spencer Lockwood sorts mosquitos collected in a trap, left, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, in Hutchins, Texas, that had been set up in Dallas County near the location of a confirmed Zika virus infection. (AP Photo/LM Otero) ** FILE **

Senate works to partially fund Obama’s Zika request

The Senate is nearing a roughly $1 billion deal that would fund part of President Obama's request to fight the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne illness that causes serious birth defects and is threatening the U.S. mainland.

April 21, 2016
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, leaves the House Chamber at the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 27, 2015. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Steny Hoyer to conservatives: Stop blocking Ex-Im Bank nominee

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer pleaded with a key Senate Republican Tuesday to reconsider his "frustrating" decision to block a nominee to the Export-Import Bank, arguing his blockade is holding back an agency that enjoys majority support from Congress.

April 19, 2016
Lara, who is less than 3 months old and was born with microcephaly, is examined by a neurologist at the Pedro I hospital in Campina Grande, Paraiba state, Brazil, on Feb. 12, 2016. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Senate Dems to Mitch McConnell: Take up $2B Zika request now

Senate Democrats pleaded with Republican leaders Monday to take up President Obama's $1.9 billion request to combat the Zika virus "as soon as possible," saying the mosquito-borne illness poses a real threat to pregnant women.

April 18, 2016