Year: 2017

White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci said Wednesday night that he plans to contact the FBI and Justice Department regarding a leak of his financial disclosure, The Hill reports. “In light of the leak of […]

Sanders Says Democrats Won’t Vote on ‘Sham’ Single Payer Amendment

Senate Democrats are not going to play into Senator Steve Daines’s effort to divide the party on the issue of single-payer healthcare, a spokesman for Senator Bernie Sanders, told Vox Wednesday. “The Democratic caucus will […]

CBO Survives Two House Amendments Targeting Funding

The House rejected two amendments to a spending bill late Wednesday night that would have cut funds to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the non-partisan office in charge of estimating the budgetary effects of legislation, […]

Lawmakers to Use Taxpayer Funds for Home Security

The House adopted a measure on Wednesday that would allow lawmakers to use taxpayer money to pay for home security systems in the wake of last month’s shooting at a GOP baseball practice, The Hill […]

Trump Mulls Recess Appointment If Sessions Quits

President Donald Trump has talked about the possibility of installing a new Attorney General through a recess appointment if Jeff Sessions leaves the job, the Washington Post reports. But Trump also has been warned not […]

Tillerson Says that He Is ‘Not Going Anywhere’

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday he is not resigning from his post, despite news reports that suggest otherwise. “I’m not going anywhere”, Tillerson said after meeting with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin […]

CIA Chief Pompeo Gives Operatives More Power to Gather Intel

CIA Director Mike Pompeo told The Washington Free Beacon his agency is peeling away some of the bureaucratic layers that stand between its operatives and analysts and CIA leadership, Newsmax reports. “In nearly every one […]

California Growing too Much Marijuana, Can’t Get Rid of Surplus

California’s marijuana growers are producing far more pot than is consumed in-state, and will be forced to reduce crops under new regulations that ban exports, the Los Angeles Times reports. But some pot farmers will […]

Pence Reportedly Pushing to Stop Military-Funded Gender Surgery

Vice President Mike Pence is working to reverse the Pentagon’s transgender policy covering sexual reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for service members who are transitioning, Foreign Policy reports. In 2016, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter ended […]

North Korea Warns U.S. of ‘Nuclear Hammer’ Strike

A North Korean official on Tuesday warned the country might just strike the United States with a “nuclear hammer” after CIA Director Mike Pompeo hinted the U.S. might support “regime change” in the isolated nation, […]

State Department Denies that Tillerson Wants to Resign

A report that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was considering resigning because of upheaval in the White House is false, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauerft told The Hill on Monday. “We have spoken with the […]

Sessions to Reportedly Unveil Several Probes of Leaks

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is set to unveil within days a number of criminal leak investigations, The Washington Post reports. The probes will be centered around news reports that have contained sensitive material about intelligence, […]

Trump Warns GOP Senators against Blocking ObamaCare Repeal

President Donald Trump sent a veiled warning to Republican senators on Tuesday evening, predicting that those who don’t back efforts to repeal and replace ObamaCare will face “problems”, The Hill reports. “For seven years, every […]

House Passes Russia Sanctions Legislation

The GOP-controlled House easily passed bipartisan legislation on Tuesday to limit the Trump administration’s ability to lift sanctions on Russia, The Hill reports. Three Republicans – Representatives Justin Amash, John Duncan Jr., and Thomas Massie […]

Trump Won’t Say If He Plans to Fire Attorney General Sessions

President Donald Trump on Tuesday refused to say if he would fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but again offered sharp criticism of the nation’s top law enforcement official, The Hill reports. During a press conference […]

Newly Declassified Memos Show Extent of Improper Obama-era NSA Spying

The National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation violated specific civil liberty protections during the Obama years by improperly searching and disseminating raw intelligence on Americans or failing to promptly delete unauthorized intercepts, according […]

McCain Votes to Advance ObamaCare Repeal, Replace After Vowing to Oppose

Senator John McCain voted in favor of a procedural hurdle Tuesday evening that would have advanced the GOP’s ObamaCare repeal and replace bill to a vote. The vote to advance the proposal to a vote […]

Senate Rejects Proposal to Repeal and Replace ObamaCare

The Senate rejected a key proposal repealing and replacing ObamaCare on Tuesday night, as senators start a days-long debate on healthcare, The Hill reports. Senators voted 43-57 on a procedural hurdle for the measure that […]

Chinese Fighter Jets Perform ‘Unsafe’ U.S. Plane Intercept

Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a U.S. Navy plane Sunday, with one of the jets flying in a manner the U.S. deemed “unsafe”. The U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane was flying in international airspace in a […]

FBI Confiscates Smashed Hard Drives from Wasserman Schultz Aide

The FBI has seized smashed hard drives from the home of a Democratic House staffer, The Daily Caller reports. Imran Awan, a longtime IT aide of Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, is under investigation for allegedly […]

Michigan Judge Halts Deportation of over 1,400 Iraqi Nationals

A federal judge in Michigan halted on Monday the deportation of more than 1,400 Iraqi nationals from the United States, the latest legal victory for the Iraqi nationals facing deportation in a closely watched case, […]

Mattis Slams Pentagon’s Decision to Waste $28mn on Afghan Uniforms

Defense Secretary James Mattis has criticized Pentagon officials for wasting as much as $28 million by making a questionable choice of forest camouflage-patterned uniforms for Afghan National Army soldiers, Newsmax reports. The uniform pattern was […]

Brooks Causes Controversy with Scalise Shooting Ad

Republican Representative Mo Brooks released a new ad for his Senate campaign Monday that uses audio from the June shooting that injured House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a controversial move that underscores the contentious race […]

Trump Nominates Two Former Lawmakers to Administration Positions

President Donald Trump on Monday announced that he will nominate two former Republican lawmakers to posts in his administration, The Hill reports. Former Representative Ann Marie Buerkle will be nominated to serve as the chairwoman […]

Cruz Reportedly Considered to Replace Sessions

President Donald Trump and his advisers are floating possible replacements for Attorney General Jeff Sessions — and the list includes Senator Ted Cruz,The Washington Post reports. Cruz and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani […]

Kushner Downplays Russia Collusion in Senate Testimony

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, said Monday he did not collude with Moscow in the 2016 presidential election, delivering a pair of statements that underlined the mounting pressure on the White […]

Unhappy GOP Senators Complain About Healthcare Debate Process

Key senators on Monday expressed unhappiness with the way the healthcare debate has been handled in the Senate on the eve of a critical procedural vote that could bury the Republican measure, The Hill reports. […]

McCain Returning to Senate for Healthcare Bill Vote

Senator John McCain will return to the Senate on Tuesday after being diagnosed with brain cancer, giving the Republicans push to repeal and replace ObamaCare a boost of momentum, The Hill adds. “Senator McCain looks […]

July 24, 2017 Focus Washington

Former Spy Chiefs Criticize Trump

Two former top U.S. intelligence officials tore into President Donald Trump on Friday, saying in some personal terms that Trump has shown disrespect for intelligence officials and a distasteful affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin, […]

July 24, 2017 Focus Washington

Republicans Reportedly Preparing Russian Scandal to Target Green Activists

GOP House members and at least one Trump Cabinet member are pushing years-old allegations from conservative activists that Russia has funneled money to U.S. environmental groups to oppose fracking. The story has reappeared in conservative […]