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Ken Paxton’s entry into the U.S. Senate race in Texas is becoming a major headache for Republicans. Top GOP senators were maneuvering to undercut the Texas attorney general even before he announced his primary campaign this week against four-term Sen. John Cornyn. Others urged President Donald Trump after Paxton got into the race to endorse […]

Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here’s an offering of the best […]

Democrats are targeting Donald Trump’s weakened standing on the economy — even after the president paused his far-reaching reciprocal tariff policy that reverberated across global markets. In interviews with more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers, congressional staffers and media strategists, many in the party see a prime opportunity to attack Trump on a key campaign […]

Donald Trump and Mike Johnson failed to convince enough deficit hawks to back the latest budget plan for the president’s agenda — forcing the speaker to punt his planned Wednesday vote on the resolution and sending House leadership scrambling for a compromise that could satisfy hard-liners’ demands for more spending cuts. Now, the speaker is […]

Democrats are plotting a fresh round of town halls in GOP-held districts to hammer Republicans for scaling back open forums amid backlash to the Trump administration’s cuts. Top of their town-hall target list over the upcoming recess, according to information shared first with POLITICO: the North Carolina district of NRCC Chair Richard Hudson, who told […]

House Republican who derailed a critical budget vote will meet Thursday morning to plot their next moves, as they try to extract deeper spending cuts in the framework for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” The clock is ticking as Speaker Mike Johnson plans to bring the House back to the floor within the hour […]

Despite a partial U-turn, Senate Democrats are vowing to move forward and put their GOP colleagues on the record on President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a lead author of a resolution that would overturn the basis for Trump’s global levies announced last week, said in an interview Thursday that Democrats still […]

Senators are wading into the thorny issue of whether to “lock the clock” — that is, end the practice of changing the time twice a year to account for the shifting seasons. At a hearing Thursday, Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz said there was general consensus among his colleagues that Americans should stop changing the […]

Speaker Mike Johnson told Republican holdouts on the party’s crucial budget plan in a private meeting Wednesday night that they could oust him from the speakership if he doesn’t follow through with his fiscal promises, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss it. Johnson pledged to […]

House Oversight Chair James Comer wants Democratic Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Kathy Hochul of New York to testify before his committee about their states’ immigration policies. The Kentucky Republican invited the three governors to appear at a May 15 hearing on so-called sanctuary states, which limit law enforcement cooperation […]

Two Texas House Republicans have endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s 2026 Senate bid — breaking with longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn for what’s anticipated to be a heated primary contest. Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas), a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, announced his backing of Paxton in a statement first shared to Fox News […]

President Donald Trump praised Gretchen Whitmer in a White House meeting on Wednesday, echoing a bipartisan message the Michigan governor delivered during an earlier speech in Washington, D.C. The meeting was Whitmer’s second sit-down with the president since he took office. She raised the ongoing ice storm in northern Michigan, investments in the Selfridge Air […]

Vice President JD Vance castigated Sen. Mitch McConnell on Tuesday over the former GOP leader’s opposition to a key Pentagon nominee — an unusual swipe at a prominent member of Vance’s own party and his former colleague. Vance lashed out shortly after McConnell cast the only Republican vote against President Donald Trump’s pick of Elbridge […]

Democrats moved Tuesday to force a House vote on President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs — putting Speaker Mike Johnson in a tough spot as the economic ramifications of the move continue to mount. “Republicans can’t keep ducking the vote on these taxes,” said Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York, Richard Neal of Massachusetts […]

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Elbridge Colby, President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for Pentagon policy chief, a win for the increasingly vocal wing of the GOP that wants the U.S. to focus on China rather than Europe and the Middle East. Colby’s contentious nomination highlighted a foreign policy rift inside the Republican party. The hard-nosed […]

House Speaker Mike Johnson said fluoride levels in water deserve “real evaluation” on Tuesday, a day after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he would direct the CDC to stop recommending fluoridating drinking water. “I think it deserves, from what I’ve read and from what I understand, it deserves real evaluation,” he said during […]

Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said he will not run for U.S. Senate, despite scoring President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Sununu — who served four terms as the state’s governor before declining to seek a fifth — made the announcement Monday on The Pulse of NH’s “Good Morning NH” radio show. Sununu had been viewed […]

Senate Republicans urged President Donald Trump’s trade chief to negotiate deals with world leaders in a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning, signaling, albeit gently, that they are eager for an end game in the president’s market-roiling trade war. Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) opened the hearing by pressing U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer […]

For months, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear warned that the Trump administration’s imposition of tariffs stands to harm his state’s economy, including its bourbon, auto and aerospace industries. Now that Trump is ratcheting them up, the Democratic governor said the impacts will be “devastating” not just for the Bluegrass state, but for the entire country. In […]