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Vice President JD Vance speaks Sunday at Turning Point USA’s America Fest conference. But the vice president landed a major endorsement when the annual conference, held by the increasingly influential conservative group, kicked off on Thursday. Ericka Kirk, widow of the assassinated Turning Point co-founder Charlie Kirk, endorsed Vance in the 2028 presidential election during her speech in front of thousands of activists gathered in Phoenix, Arizona. ‘We are going to get my husband’s friend...

Senate Republicans tried to advance a funding package as their last act of the year, but a last-minute block by Senate Democrats sent lawmakers home frustrated as the deadline to fund the government creeps closer. Lawmakers have spent the last month since the government shutdown building consensus on a five-bill spending package that would go a long way toward preventing another one come Jan. 30. The package would have funded the departments of Defense, Labor,...

More than 100 House Republicans are demanding increased oversight of Syria as the U.S. prepares to repeal longstanding sanctions against the country. Reps. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., and Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., are leading 134 fellow GOP lawmakers in calling for guarantees that the Syrian government will adhere to terms in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that set the stage for repealing those sanctions, while warning the U.S. needs to be prepared to reverse that if...

A deadly insider attack that killed two U.S. service members in Syria is prompting fresh scrutiny of the Trump administration’s counter-ISIS approach and its rapid embrace of Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa.  While Republican lawmakers largely urge a stronger campaign to contain ISIS, the shooting has exposed vulnerabilities inside Syria’s fledgling security institutions and raised new questions about whether the U.S. can rely on Syrian forces as the administration seeks to stabilize the country. The...

Those worried about shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were wrong, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who touted the agency’s record in delivering support in the wake of Hurricane Melissa that ravaged the Caribbean in October.  Although USAID historically functioned as an independent agency to deliver aid to impoverished countries and development assistance, the State Department announced in March that it would absorb remaining operations and functions in an effort to...