US Congress

After weeks of delay, the House on Thursday voted to fund much of the US Department of Homeland Security, excluding immigration enforcement. The bipartisan package would end the agency's longest shutdown and avoid another round of airport disruptions. The bill now heads to President Donald Trump to sign, although much of his immigration agenda - which has been central to the dispute over funding - is paid for separately. Meanwhile in the Senate, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff faced another day of intense questioning as the Trump administration seeks a historic USD 1.5 trillion military budget for 2027. It's the first chance for senators to confront or praise how the leaders are handling the Iran war. One Democrat raised "serious constitutional concerns" about Hegseth's claim that the 60-day legal limit for the war is on pause during a ceasefire. Senators also questioned the defense secretary's efforts to remake military culture, the ...

During his first public appearance on Capitol Hill since the war began, the defence secretary lashed out at lawmakers in both parties who have questioned the conflict

Making his first appearance before Congress since the Trump administration went to war against Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced withering questioning Wednesday from sceptical Democrats over a costly conflict being waged without congressional approval. The war has cost USD 25 billion so far, according to Pentagon numbers presented to the House Armed Services Committee during a contentious hearing ostensibly focused on the administration's 2027 military budget proposal. It would boost defence spending to a historic USD 1.5 trillion. While Republicans focused on the details of military budgeting and voiced support for the Iran operation, Democrats grilled Hegseth and Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the ballooning costs of the war, the huge drawdown of critical US munitions and the bombing of a school that killed children. Some lawmakers also questioned President Donald Trump's dealings with allies and his shifting justification for the ...

Charles used his remarks to a joint session of Congress - the first such address by a British monarch in more than three decades - to argue for preserving the alliance between the UK and US

A group of Republican lawmakers has introduced a bill in the US Congress for a three-year pause to the H1-B visa programme, contending that it has been hijacked to replace American workers with cheap foreign labour. Congressman Eli Crane from Arizona introduced the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026, which was co-sponsored by seven other Republican lawmakers. The bill proposes reforms to the H-1B programme that include reducing the annual cap from 65,000 to 25,000 with a minimum wage of USD 2,00,000 per year and disallowing H-1B visa holders from bringing dependents to the US. Congressmen Brian Babin, Brandon Gill, Wesley Hunt, Keith Self (all from Texas), Andy Ogles (Tennessee), Paul Gosar (Arizona) and Tom McClintock (California) have signed on as original cosponsors of the bill. The H-1B visa programme is used extensively by American technology companies to employ foreign workers. Indian professionals, including technology workers and physicians, form one of the largest groups of

In a week in which Trump has veered from threatening to wipe out Iranian civilisation to declaring ceasefire, US Congress is out of session and lawmakers with power to declare war are in the dark

The Senate confirmed Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary late Monday, approving US President Donald Trump's nominee to take over the embattled department after the firing of Kristi Noem during a public backlash over the administration's immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations. Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma known for his close friendship with Trump, has tried to present himself as a steady hand, saying his goal as secretary would be to get the department off the front page of the news. He takes over at a difficult time as Trump has ordered ICE agents to bolster airport security during a budget standoff in Congress. And he tangled with the Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, who questioned Mullin's character and temperament during last week's combative confirmation hearing. Senators confirmed him on a largely party-line vote, 54-45. Routine funding for the Department of Homeland Security has lapsed since February 14, leading

In his letter Trump said that the strikes were conducted at his direction on February 28 to protect US interests

US President Trump calls the Iran strike a 'major combat operation' since only Congress can declare war, raising questions on what would change if it were approved

The meeting, held on January 27 featured wide-ranging discussions on deepening defence industry collaboration and advancing bilateral military ties

Greene was among the Republicans who led the legislative effort to compel the Justice Department to release the files of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein

Shutdown is costing the US economy about $15 billion a week and the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it will cut annualised quarterly growth rate of real GDP by 1.5 per cent by mid-November

According to a press release, the resolution honours Diwali's cultural, spiritual, and historical significance to over three million Indian-Americans

Tours at the Capitol have come to a standstill. The House is keeping its doors closed, while the Senate is stuck in a loop of failed votes on a rejected plan to reopen the government. President Donald Trump is threatening to mass fire federal workers and refuse back pay for the rest. As the government shutdown enters a second week, there's no discernible endgame in sight. You have to negotiate, Sen Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, argued late into the evening on the Senate floor. That's the way it works. But no negotiations, at least publicly, are underway. Shutdown grinds on, but signs of quiet talks The Republicans who have majority control in Congress believe they have the upper hand politically, as they fend off Democratic demands to quickly fund health insurance subsidies as part of any plan to end the shutdown. But so have Democrats dug in, convinced that Americans are on their side in the fight to prevent the looming health care price spikes and blaming Trump

Matt Van Epps, a former commissioner in Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's administration, won a crowded Republican primary Tuesday in the special election to replace a GOP congressman who left office this summer. In the Democratic primary, state Rep Aftyn Behn won a four-way contest and will face Van Epps in the general election. Van Epps clinched the victory with an endorsement from President Donald Trump that came after in-person early voting ended. Eleven Republicans were on the ballot for the seat vacated by former US Rep Mark Green. Among them, two candidates, including state Rep Lee Reeves, suspended their campaigns after Trump weighed in, and they likewise endorsed Van Epps. Thank you to the people of Middle and West Tennessee! Our Donald J. Trump-endorsed campaign won in a landslide tonight, Van Epps said on social media. Now, on to December 2nd! We're going to win the general and keep this seat RED! The December 2 general election could gauge the popularity of Trump's aggressive .

Democratic and Republican congressional leaders are heading to the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday in a late effort to avoid a government shutdown, but both sides have shown hardly any willingness to budge from their entrenched positions. If government funding legislation is not passed by Congress and signed by Trump on Tuesday night, many government offices across the nation will be temporarily shuttered and non-exempt federal employees will be furloughed, adding to the strain on workers and the nation's economy. Republicans are daring Democrats to vote against legislation that would keep government funding mostly at current levels, but Democrats so far have held firm. They are using one of their few points of leverage to demand that Congress take up legislation to extend health care benefits. The meeting is a first step, but only a first step. We need a serious negotiation, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in an interview Sunday on NBC's

While Johnson sought to clarify Trump's stance, the president himself has dismissed calls for greater transparency in the Epstein case, describing the demand for more disclosures as a 'Democrat hoax'

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War a long-telegraphed move aimed at projecting American military toughness around the globe. It's a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now, Trump said. He said the previous name was woke". The order comes as some of Trump's closest supporters on Capitol Hill proposed legislation that would codify the new name into law, with Congress having the sole power to establish, shutter and rename federal departments. Absent a change in law, Trump will authorise the Pentagon to use secondary titles. From 1789 until the end of World War II, the United States military fought under the banner of the Department of War, Florida Republican Greg Steube, an Army veteran, said in a statement. It is only fitting that we pay tribute to their eternal example and renowned commitment to lethality by restoring the name of the Department of War to o

The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday publicly posted the files it has received from the Justice Department on the sex trafficking investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, responding to mounting pressure in Congress to force more disclosure in the case. Still, the files mostly contain information that was already publicly known or available. The folders contained hundreds of image files of years-old court filings related to Epstein and Maxwell. They also included video files appearing to be body cam footage from police searches as well as recordings and summaries of law enforcement interviews with victims detailing the abuse they said they suffered. The committee's release of the files showed how lawmakers are eager to act as they return to Washington after a monthlong break. They quickly revived a political clash that has flummoxed House Republican leadership and roiled President Donald Trump's administration. House Republican Speaker Mike

Coping with a sudden loss in federal funding, PBS affiliate KSPS in Spokane, Washington, faced a surprise extra hurdle. Many of its contributing members at one point almost half lived in Canada, and they were withdrawing support out of anger at President Donald Trump's desire to make the country the 51st member of the United States. When Congress decided this summer to eliminate USD1.1 billion allocated to public broadcasting, it left some 330 PBS and 246 NPR stations, each with unique issues related to their communities and history, to figure out what that means. Many launched emergency fund drives and are heartened by the response. The national NPR and PBS networks are reducing expected dues payments, and a philanthropic effort focused on the hardest-hit stations is taking shape. No stations have shut down, but job and programming cuts are already beginning. In Spokane, KSPS has always tried to keep its requests for member donations separate from appeals for public funding. Not