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Republicans struggled Thursday to find the votes to dismiss legislation that would compel President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying planned votes on the matter into June. The House had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, brought by Democrats, that would rein in Trump's military campaign. But as it became clear that Republicans would not have the numbers to defeat the bill, GOP leaders declined to hold a vote on it. Republicans are also working to ensure they have the votes to dismiss another war powers resolution in the Senate that advanced to a final vote earlier this week, when four GOP senators supported the resolution and three others were absent from the vote. The actions by congressional leaders showed the increasing difficultly of maintaining political backing for Trump's handling of the war. Rank-and-file Republicans are increasingly willing to defy the president over the conflict. Frustration with Iran war grows on Capitol ...
A proposal to fund USD 1 billion in security additions for the White House campus and the president's new ballroom fails to meet procedural rules, according to the Senate parliamentarian, dealing a blow to Republican plans to include it as part of a bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies for the next three years. The parliamentarian's ruling, described late Saturday by Senate Democrats, said that a project as large and complex as President Donald Trump's massive East Wing renovation is too broad to be included in the budget bill, which only needs a simple majority - and no Democratic votes - to pass. It's unclear if Republicans will be able to salvage any part of the billion-dollar Secret Service proposal, which would have funded security for Trump's ballroom along with other parts of the White House, including a new visitor screening centre, training for agents and extra reinforcements for large events. Republicans said Saturday night that they are revising the legislation ..
The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, bringing new leadership to the world's most powerful central bank at a fraught moment for the global economy. Warsh was confirmed Wednesday in a largely party-line vote. His nomination had been thrown into doubt in recent months after Republican Sen Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he would block the nomination while the Justice Department investigated Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The Powell probe was dropped in April, clearing the way for the Senate to confirm Warsh. Senate Majority Leader John Thune urged colleagues to support Warsh during a floor speech Wednesday morning, saying it's critical that a Fed chair "understand not only the macro" but also "appreciate the microeconomy: and that's the hardworking Americans, their jobs and their livelihoods". "Kevin Warsh is just such a person," Thune said. Warsh, 56, a former top Fed official, will become chair at an unusually difficult time fo
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 ...
Senate Republicans rejected legislation from Democrats on Tuesday that would have required President Donald Trump to end the US energy blockade on Cuba unless he receives approval from Congress. The vote on the war powers resolution showed how Republicans continue to stand behind Trump as he acts unilaterally to exert American force in a range of global conflicts, including Venezuela, Iran and Cuba - one of the US's closest neighbours yet a longtime adversary. Democrats have repeatedly forced votes on legislation to put a check on the president's ability to deploy military force in those conflicts, but none have succeeded. Tuesday's vote was the first pertaining to Cuba and would have forced the president to get approval from Congress before launching any attacks on the island nation. To dismiss the resolution, Republicans said that it was out of order because the US is not engaged in outright hostilities with Cuba. Their maneuver to dismiss the legislation succeeded on a 51-47 tall
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
The US Senate took the first steps in a new effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security early Thursday, voting to adopt a budget plan that would fund ICE and Border Patrol over Democratic objections and sending it to the House. The entire department has been shut down since mid-February as Democrats have demanded policy changes in the wake of fatal shootings of two protesters by federal agents. Republicans are now trying to fund the two agencies through the complicated, time-consuming process called budget reconciliation, a maneuver that they also used to pass President Donald Trump's package of tax and spending cuts last year with no Democratic votes. "We have a multistep process ahead of us, but at the end Republicans will have helped ensure that America's borders are secure and prevented Democrats from defunding these important agencies," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune. The budget process only requires a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing filibuster rules
President Donald Trump on Friday signed a promised executive action that will pay Transportation Security Administration employees, after a deal that sought to do the same stalled in Congress. Trump signed the action with an eye toward easing long security lines at many of nation's top airports. "America's air travel system has reached its breaking point," Trump said in the memo authorizing the payments. House Republicans are rejecting a Senate-passed bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, a revolt that risks delaying a resolution to the funding impasse now in its 42nd day that has created long lines at many of the nation's airports. "This gambit that was done last night is a joke," House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday. Johnson said that instead House Republicans would seek to pass a bill that would fund the entire department at current levels until May 22. He also said that he had spoken with President Donald Trump about the House Republican plan and the ...
The Senate early Friday morning approved Homeland Security funds to pay Transportation Security Administration agents and most other agencies, but not the immigration enforcement operations at the heart of the budget impasse that has jammed airports, disrupted travel and imposed financial hardship on workers. The deal, which the Senate approved unanimously without a roll call, next goes to the House, which is expected to consider it Friday. "We can get at least a lot of the government opened up again and then we'll go from there," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD "Obviously, we'll still have some work ahead of us." With pressure mounting to resolve the 42-day stalemate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the endgame emerged in the final hours before Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers miss another paycheck Friday. President Donald Trump said he would sign an order to immediately pay the TSA agents, saying he wanted to quickly stop the
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
A bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security failed to advance in the Senate amid growing concerns about long lines to get through screening at some of the country's biggest airports. Democrats declined to provide the support needed to move the funding measure toward final passage. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would offer an alternative measure Saturday to fund just the Transportation Security Administration, which screens passengers and luggage for hazardous items. That too is likely to fail as lawmakers hold a rare weekend session. Behind the scenes, work toward resolving the standoff intensified Friday as White House border czar Tom Homan was set to meet for the second consecutive day with a bipartisan group of senators. Democrats are demanding changes to immigration enforcement practices by federal agents following the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that he sees "deal
Don Tracy, the former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, has won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. The retirement of Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin triggered a competitive campaign, with 10 Democrats and 6 Republicans in the race. Furious fundraising and sharp elbows marked the contest, which has tested the influence of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. He backed Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton over U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly in that primary. Tracy was the state party chairman from 2021 to 2024. Illinois last had a Republican in the Senate a decade ago, when Mark Kirk was defeated by Democrat Tammy Duckworth. Illinois voters decided primaries Tuesday for six open U.S. House and Senate seats in contests that became a testing ground for issues shaping the Democratic Party's future. From questions about the cryptocurrency and AI industries to immigration enforcement to fracturing U.S. support for Israel, the state's voters confronted such issues as super PACS poured
The US Senate is likely to take up this week a bill that would require voters to submit a proof of citizenship to register to cast their votes in a federal election, a move described as the "number one priority" by President Donald Trump. The SAVE America Act also requires voters to furnish a photo identity card before exercising their franchise rights and seeks to limit mail-in ballots only for those who are disabled, ill, serving in the military, or are travelling. A fact-sheet on the White House website noted that India and Brazil have already linked voter identity cards to a biometric database, while the US relies on self-attestation for citizenship before being allowed to vote. "The Republicans MUST DO, with PASSION, and at the expense of everything else, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT - And not the watered down version. This is a Country Defining fight for the Soul of our Nation," Trump said in a post on social media last week. The Brennan Centre, a think-tank with offices here and in
Senate Republicans voted down an effort Wednesday to halt President Donald Trump's war against Iran, demonstrating early support for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear US exit strategy. The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, failed on a 47-53 vote tally. The vote fell mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen Rand Paul of Kentucky voted in favour and Democratic Sen John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against. The war powers resolution gave lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out. The vote forced them to take a stand on a war shaping the fate of US military members, countless other lives and the future of the region. Underscoring the gravity of the moment, Democratic senators filled the Senate chamber and sat at their desks as the voting got underway. Typically, senators step into the chamber to cast their vote, then leave. "Today every senator - every single one - wi