Us Congress

Bill Gates to appear before congressional panel investigating Epstein files

Bill Gates will appear Wednesday before a congressional panel investigating the Jeffrey Epstein files, becoming the latest powerful figure linked to the disgraced financier to testify. Members of the House Oversight Committee are slated to interview the billionaire Microsoft co-founder behind closed doors, as they have done with other witnesses in the investigation. Transcripts are often released later. Republican US Rep James Comer, the committee chairman, formally requested that Gates testify after he appeared multiple times in a trove of documents released by the Justice Department as part of its Epstein probe. The files read like a who's who of powerful men across tech, finance, politics and other industries. All have denied involvement in Epstein's crimes, but some maintained or formed friendships with him even after his history of sexual abuse came to light. Included in the files are calendar entries for meetings between Gates and Epstein, email correspondence between the two

US Congress nears approval of $70 bn boost for Trump's deportation agenda

With virtually no strings attached, Congress is on the verge of providing a sizable infusion of cash to the Department of Homeland Security, powering President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda for the remainder of his term in the White House. The nearly $70 billion package, which cleared the Republican-held Senate in a middle of the night vote and now heads to the House, was declared a "rotten bill" by the Democratic leader and an "ATM for ICE" by pro-immigrant advocates. But for those aligned with Trump's campaign promise for the largest mass deportation operation in US history, it all but guarantees an uninterrupted flow of money to carry out the administration's immigration enforcement operations - and comes on top of some $170 billion Congress already approved for the department last summer, as part of Trump's big tax breaks bill. "We're going to continue to arrest people, we're going to continue to detain people and we're going to keep deporting people," Trump border czar

Trump to hand Kennedy Center control to Congress after court setback

Trump decried the judge's ruling and said he would be 'working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them so they can make a determination as to what to do with it'

Democrats feud over stock trading amid anti-corruption push against Trump

After three terms in the US House and two unsuccessful campaigns for the US Senate, Colin Allred said he's heard plenty about voters' suspicions that politicians are just trying to make a buck in Washington. "'What about the stock trading in Congress? What about people getting rich in Congress?'" Allred said they ask him regularly. "And I have to say to them, you're absolutely right about that, too. We need to be better." He's challenging Rep. Julie Johnson in the Democratic runoff for a Dallas-area House seat on Tuesday, and he's one of several candidates trying to harness populist anger over congressional stock trading. Allred has denounced Johnson for trades involving companies like Palantir, a data analytics firm with ties to President Donald Trump's administration. Johnson said her trades were handled by a financial manager, and she accused Allred of being "only out for himself". She pointed to financial disclosures that showed Allred's wealth nearly doubling during his own tim

Republicans pull vote on Iran war resolution that was on verge of passing

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 ...

US lost 42 aircraft, including fighter jets, Reaper drones in Iran: CRS rpt

The number of aircraft damaged or destroyed may remain subject to revision due to multiple factors, including classification, ongoing combat activity, and attribution, said report

US House votes to end DHS shutdown as Senate grills Hegseth on Iran

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 ...

Pentagon pegs Iran war cost at $25 bn as Hegseth slams US Congress critics

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

Hegseth faces tough questions on Iran war in first congressional appearance

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 ...

King Charles urges US to reject 'isolationism' in landmark speech

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

Republicans introduce bill for 3-year pause on H-1B visas in US Congress

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

US Congress absent, Republicans mum as Trump swings on conflict with Iran

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

Senate confirms Markwayne Mullin to lead DHS as TSA standoff deepens

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

Trump sends official notification to US Congress on Operation Epic Fury

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

US-Israel attack on Iran: Why Trump is not calling it a 'war', yet

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

US Congress delegation, envoy Sergio Gor holds meeting with defence secy

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

Marjorie Taylor Greene to resign from Congress after fallout with Trump

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

Hunger, flight chaos and health-care woes fail to end US govt shutdown

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

US Congressmen introduce resolution to recognise Diwali's significance

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

US govt shutdown grinds into second week, but quiet talks emerging

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