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Senate Democrats and the White House reached a deal to fund the government, but lawmakers aren’t out of the woods yet in averting a partial shutdown.  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and President Donald Trump labored over a deal from late night Wednesday until Thursday evening after the top Senate Democrat unleashed several funding demands and the White House accused Schumer of blocking a meeting with rank-and-file Democrats.  ‘The separation of the five bipartisan...

With the future of Congress and President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda on the line in this midterm election, the Honest Elections Project is warning of critical loopholes in the voting system, including the expansion of noncitizen voting and foreign influence. With many state legislatures convening their final sessions before the 2026 midterms, HEP believes they have ‘one last opportunity’ to pass the ‘critical reforms’ needed to close loopholes breaking down legitimacy and trust in the...

U.S. appeals courts have overturned or stayed lower court rulings blocking President Donald Trump’s policy priorities at a rate far higher than during the Biden administration, a disparity Trump allies point to as evidence of the president’s strong track record in higher courts. The contrast was highlighted by Chad Mizelle, a former senior Justice Department official, who noted that district court rulings against the Trump administration are being reversed or paused on appeal far more...

A cohort of Senate Republicans broke ranks with their leadership on Thursday to help Senate Democrats tank a massive funding package, and most aren’t planning on changing their minds.  Seven GOP lawmakers joined Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and all Senate Democrats to torpedo the six-bill funding package geared toward averting a partial government shutdown.  The gang of seven have varying issues with the package, including billions in earmarks, lack of legislation to prevent...

A likely emerging deal in the Senate aimed at averting a prolonged government shutdown could face significant headwinds in the House of Representatives. Senate Democrats are demanding that funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) be removed from a larger package of six spending bills needed to finish funding the government for fiscal year (FY) 2026. A growing number of senators on both sides appear to be warming to do so, while passing a...

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to not open fire on Kyiv, Ukraine, for one week due to the freezing weather rocking the region.  ‘I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this,’ Trump said. ‘It’s extraordinary cold, record-setting cold. Over there too, they’re having the same conditions. It’s a big it’s a big pile of bad weather. The...

President Donald Trump announced that the commercial airspace over Venezuela would reopen after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released an emergency notice earlier in January to block civil flight operations of U.S. aircraft in Venezuela airspace.  The notice came as the U.S. conducted strikes in Venezuela and captured dictator Nicolás Maduro.  The Trump administration has said that the U.S. would run Venezuela until a peaceful transition could occur and is currently working to restore diplomatic...

Supreme Court justices are set to hold a private conference on Feb. 20 to consider a slate of petitions for review, including one from President Donald Trump. The president is requesting a review of the 2023 verdict against him in a civil lawsuit brought by E. Jean Carroll. The justices could act on Trump’s petition as soon as Feb. 23, but they generally consider petitions at two or more conferences before granting them, meaning they...

A gold-standard guide used by judges nationwide to address subjects they are not particularly versed in is drawing criticism over the latest edition’s inclusion of purported ideological bias focused on its climate section. Critics have said the fourth edition of the Federal Judicial Center’s Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence – which includes a foreword by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan – appears to blur the line between neutrally educating judges and indoctrinating them with left-wing...

Senate Democrats stayed true to their threat by blocking a behemoth funding package, but in a surprising turn of events, they were joined by several Senate Republicans to derail the legislation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus made it no secret that they would obstruct the government funding process over the last several days, demanding that Republicans strip the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill from the six-bill package.  But the...