Articles by Focus Washington

Several Senate Republicans said Monday that they would not back a procedural motion on legislation repealing and replacing ObamaCare after a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report found the bill would leave 22 million more people […]

CBO Says Healthcare Bill Would Leave 22mn More without Insurance

The ObamaCare replacement bill would result in 22 million more uninsured people over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The organization also found that the bill would result in a $321 billion […]

Officials Won’t Release Redacted Intelligence Report on Russian Election Interference

The Trump administration is refusing to release a redacted version of a key report President Barack Obama received in January on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, court filings show, Politico reports. Then-Director […]

Google Says It Will No Longer Scan Users’ Emails to Target Ads

Google will no longer scan emails in Gmail accounts in order sell targeted advertising, the company said last week, NPR reports. The company will make the change later this year, bringing Gmail in line with […]

Zuckerberg Compares Facebook Groups to Churches

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg compared his social media platform to church groups in a recent speech, CNBC reports. “It’s so striking that for decades, membership in all kinds of groups has declined as much as […]

Jared Kushner Hires Prominent Trial Lawyer for Russia Probes

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law is turning to a prominent defense lawyer, Abbe Lowell, to represent him in Russia-related investigations. Jared Kushner’s lawyer, Jamie Gorelick, says that Lowell has been added to the team representing Kushner, […]

Supreme Court Allows Travel Ban to Partially Take Effect

The Supreme Court Monday allowed parts of President Donald Trump’s travel ban to go into effect and will hear arguments on the case this fall, CNN reports. The court is allowing the ban to go […]

Supreme Court Expected to Announce Trump Travel Ban Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court heads into Monday, its last day of the current term, with two important questions so far unanswered: What’s to become of President Donald Trump’s travel ban and will 80-year-old Justice Anthony […]

Top Democrat Criticizes Obama’s Handling of Russia Election Interference

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam Schiff criticized former President Barack Obama for his response to intelligence reports that the Russian president was working to elect Donald Trump, Politico reports. Schiff, […]

Trump Says Obama ‘Not Leading Resistance’ on GOP Healthcare Bill

President Donald Trump passed on an opportunity on Sunday to denounce former President Barack Obama as a leader of the “resistance”, despite a Facebook post Thursday which criticized the Senate GOP healthcare bill, Newsmax reports. […]

CBO to Release Senate Healthcare Bill Estimation Score

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Monday will release its score of the Senate healthcare reform bill constructed by the Republican party, Axios reports. The report will include cost estimates for the bill and how […]

White House Urged to Consider Regime Change in Tehran

There is a growing number of Iranian officials and key allies of President Donald Trump who are urging the new administration to take steps to topple the clerical Tehran regime, Politico reports. “The policy of […]

Federal Judge to Consider Temporary Halt On Deportation Of Iraqis

A federal judge on Monday will consider whether to impose a temporary suspension on deportations of Iraqi nationals, The Hill reports. Judge Mark Goldsmith, a federal judge in Detroit, is expected to hold a hearing […]

House Appropriations Committee Releases 2018 Defense Funding Bill

The House Appropriations Committee released a draft of the fiscal 2018 Defense Appropriations bill on Sunday. The legislation would provide $658.1 billion for the Department of Defense, $18.4 billion more than President Donald Trump laid […]

Russia Reportedly To Recall Ambassador Sergey Kislyak

Russia is reportedly recalling Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, the man who has emerged as a focal point in the FBI probe into Russia’s election interference, The Hill reports. BuzzFeed News is citing three sources saying Russia […]

Sanders Urges GOP Colleague to Vote Against ObamaCare Repeal

Senator Bernie Sanders urged his republican colleague Shelley Moore Capito to vote against what he called a “barbaric and immoral” ObamaCare repeal bill, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports. “It turns out that the legislation that is […]

Kushner Company Received $285mn Loan From Deutsche Bank Before Elections

Jared Kushner’s real estate company received a $285 million loan a month prior to Election Day from Deutsche Bank, a bank that has also lent millions to President Donald Trump in the past, The Washington […]

Material Useful to Russia Investigation Destroyed in U.S. Compounds, Officials Say

Officials discovered destroyed information inside Russian compounds located in Maryland and New York last year, that would have been useful in the ongoing probe regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election. Computers, antennas, electronics, file […]

Former Obama Intel Official: Russian Hack ‘Political Equivalent of 9/11’

Michael Vickers, a former top intelligence official at the Pentagon said Saturday that the Russian interference in the 2016 elections was “the political equivalent of 9/11.” Vickers, who served as President Barack Obama’s undersecretary of […]

Senate Republican Heller Won’t Back GOP Healthcare Bill

Dean Heller became the fifth Senate Republican to oppose the newly proposed GOP healthcare bill. “It’s simply not the answer,” the Nevada Republican said at a news conference alongside Governor Brian Sandoval in Las Vegas. […]

White House Responds to Comey Tape Inquiry by Citing Trump’s Tweets

The White House has decided to let President Donald Trump’s tweet – saying that he had not taped former FBI Director James Comey – stand as the President’s official statement. In a short, two-paragraph letter […]

Democrats Urge Leaders to Talk Less about Russia

Following the major blow in Georgia special election, Democrats are urging party leaders to stop talking so much about Russia. Democratic leaders have been beating the drum this year over the ongoing probes into the […]

Trump Ends Self-made Crisis, Says Tape Bluff Was to Keep Comey Honest

In an interview with Fox News President Donald Trump claimed he bluffed about having White House tapes of his conversations with James Comey to keep the fired FBI director honest, The Hill reports. Furthermore, Trump […]

Press Briefing Crackdown Raises Concerns among Trump Allies

Press conferences, regularly conducted four or five times a week in both the Obama administration and in the early weeks of the Trump administration, have been held far less frequently of late. And when the […]

North Korea Denies Torturing U.S. Detainee Otto Warmbier

North Korea called itself the “biggest victim” in the death of the American student Otto Warmbier who was detained for year and a half. Warmbier died days after being released in a coma. Pyongyang’s official Korean […]

Bipartisan Push to Prioritize Cybersecurity Advice for Small Businesses

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday to train staff at small business development centers in cybersecurity strategy, The Hill reads. House Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot and Senate Small Business Committee Chairman Jim […]

Trump’s Job-Creation Promise Faces Challenge in Automotive Sector

Promises made on the part of President Donald Trump to revive the struggling manufacturing industry, face new headwinds as the automotive sector announced thousands of new layoffs. The downsizing comes as the auto industry faces declining […]

Group of Democrats to Consider Pelosi’s Ouster

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is facing down a new threat to her job just days after Tuesday’s special election setback in Georgia. A group of younger House Democrats is leading the charge, saying that the party […]

House Intel Committee Plans to Interview Podesta Next Week, Sources Say

The House Intelligence Committee intends to interview John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chairman whose hacked email account became central to Russian interference in the U.S. election last year, according to multiple sources. Clinton’s campaign […]

Four Republican Senators ‘Not Ready to Vote’ for Healthcare Bill

Four Republican senators have announced that they opposed the latest version of the healthcare bill, dubbed Better Care Reconciliation Act. Senate Republican leaders unveiled what they called a “discussion draft” of their long-awaited health care […]