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President Donald Trump will gather with House Republicans on Tuesday to ensure they're aligned on their agenda at the start of a critical midterm election year that could alter the course of Trump's final two years in office. GOP lawmakers are hosting a daylong policy forum at the Kennedy Center, the performing arts venue on the other side of Washington from the Capitol. Its board, which is stacked with Trump loyalists, recently voted to rename it the Trump-Kennedy Center, though that move is being challenged in court. The House GOP is convening as they launch their new year agenda, with health care issues in particular dogging the GOP heading into the midterm elections. Votes on extending expired health insurance subsidies are expected as soon as this week, and it's unclear whether the president and the party will try to block its passage. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are trying to corral Republican lawmakers at a time when GOP leaders have a thin majority in the ..
President Donald Trump's military intervention in Venezuela will pose a fresh test of his ability to hold together a restive Republican coalition during a challenging election year. While most Republicans lined up behind the president in the immediate aftermath of the stunning US mission to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and bring him to the United States to face criminal charges, there were signs of unease across the spectrum within the party. In particular, Trump's comments about the US positioning itself to run Venezuela have raised concerns that he is abandoning the America First philosophy that has long distinguished him from more traditional Republicans and helped fuel his political rise. This is the same Washington playbook that we are so sick and tired of that doesn't serve the American people, but actually serves the big corporations, the banks and the oil executives, outgoing GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a former Trump ally, told NBC's Meet the Pre
House Republicans rejected a pair of Democratic-backed resolutions Wednesday that would have put a check on President Donald Trump's power to use military force against drug cartels and the nation of Venezuela. Democrats forced the votes using war powers resolutions as Trump has stepped up his threats against the South American nation and Congress has questioned how the US military is conducting a campaign that has destroyed 26 vessels allegedly carrying drugs and killed at least 99 people, including an attack Wednesday. The legislation would have forced the Trump administration to seek authorization from Congress before continuing attacks against cartels that it deems to be terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere or launching an attack on Venezuela itself. Rep Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, argued that Trump's aggressions in the region were really because the president is coveting Venezuelan oil. They were the first votes in the ..
President Donald Trump successfully harnessed voter anxiety over the economy, immigration and crime last year to retake the White House and lift plenty of other Republicans into office with him. But as the party tries to keep its grip on complete control in Washington, that strategy may be harder to replicate. Republicans have lost a series of elections over the past month, some resoundingly. The latest setbacks came this week when a Democrat won the Miami mayor's race for the first time in three decades. Democrats also won a special election in a historically Republican district in Georgia. There are also signs that Trump's influence over his party has its limits, and he failed Thursday to persuade Indiana state senators to approve a new congressional map that could have helped Republicans pick up two more seats. Perhaps most concerning for Republicans, Trump is losing ground on the very issues that powered his comeback victory last year, potentially undermining his utility as a .
The Senate on Thursday rejected legislation to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits, essentially guaranteeing that millions of Americans will see a steep rise in costs at the beginning of the year. Senators rejected a Democratic bill to extend the subsidies for three years and a Republican alternative that would have created new health savings accounts an unceremonious end to a monthslong effort by Democrats to prevent the COVID-19-era subsidies from expiring on January 1. Ahead of the votes, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York warned Republicans that if they did not vote to extend the tax credits, "there won't be another chance to act, before premiums rise for many people who buy insurance off the ACA marketplaces. Let's avert a disaster, Schumer said. The American people are watching. Republicans have argued that Affordable Care Act plans are too expensive and need to be overhauled. The health savings accounts in the GOP bill would give money directly to consume
Almost two weeks after Republicans lost badly in elections in Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, many GOP leaders insist there is no problem with the party's policies, its message or President Donald Trump's leadership. Trump says Democrats and the media are misleading voters who are concerned about high costs and the economy. Republican officials aiming to avoid another defeat in next fall's midterms are encouraging candidates to embrace the president fully and talk more about his accomplishments. Those are the major takeaways from a series of private conversations, briefings and official talking points involving major Republican decision-makers across Washington, including inside the White House, after their party's losses November 4. Their assessment highlights the extent to which the fate of the Republican Party is tied to Trump, a term-limited president who insists the economy under his watch has never been stronger. That's even as an increasing number of voters ..
Republican US Rep Elise Stefanik is running for governor of New York, her campaign announced Friday. In a video shared on social media, Stefanik called Democratic Gov Kathy Hochul the worst governor in America and called New York the most unaffordable state in the nation. Stefanik, who represents a solid red congressional district in upstate New York, has for months teased a run for governor, levelling heavy criticism at Hochul and more recently toward Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City. I am running for governor to bring a new generation of leadership to Albany to make New York affordable and safe for families all across our great state," Stefanik said in a statement issued Friday. Last year, President Donald Trump picked Stefanik, a staunch ally, to be the administration's ambassador to the United Nations, but months later rescinded the nomination over concerns about Republicans' tight margins in the House. Though any Republican faces long odds of winning the ...