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Ohio’s Jordan the latest U.S. House GOP nominee for speaker after days of turmoil
By: Ashley Murray, Jennifer Shutt and Samantha Dietel - October 14, 2023
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Friday put forward their second nominee this week for speaker, though lawmakers departed Capitol Hill for the weekend without unifying enough to hold a floor vote and with a highly uncertain outcome when they return. Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan won the conference nomination in a closed meeting, defeating […]
There’s still no speaker of the U.S. House. Could Patrick McHenry be the solution?
By: Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa and Ashley Murray - October 13, 2023
WASHINGTON — Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise stepped into a closed-door meeting at the U.S. Capitol Thursday to negotiate with more than a dozen holdout Republicans in his quest to become the next speaker of the House, though dissent only seemed to grow following the three-hour session. On Thursday night, Scalise announced he was dropping […]
Scalise nominated by U.S. House GOP as speaker in closed-door meeting
By: Jennifer Shutt, Ashley Murray and Ariana Figueroa - October 11, 2023
WASHINGTON — Uncertainty and party infighting over the next U.S. House speaker prevailed at the Capitol Wednesday evening, despite a majority of Republicans picking Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise as their nominee behind closed doors earlier in the day. The chamber adjourned and was scheduled to return at noon Thursday to again try to elect a […]
Race for U.S. House speaker moves toward a vote as Scalise, Jordan make their pitches
By: Jennifer Shutt and Ariana Figueroa - October 11, 2023
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans gathered behind closed doors for several hours Tuesday evening to debate who the party should elect as the next speaker amid divided views about the path forward. The two-hour forum featured House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan making their cases and answering questions from their […]
McCarthy may jump into U.S. House speaker race, as crises overseas mount
By: Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa, Ashley Murray and Jacob Fischler - October 10, 2023
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans will gather behind closed doors beginning Monday night in an attempt to decide who should become the chamber’s next speaker, a race with a renewed sense of urgency with ally Israel now at war and the House in paralysis. Louisiana’s Steve Scalise and Ohio’s Jim Jordan are the only candidates […]
U.S. House votes to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker
By: Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa and Ashley Murray - October 3, 2023
WASHINGTON — Dissident Republicans in the U.S. House voted with Democrats on Tuesday to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, a historic move that came just nine months after he secured the gavel following days of negotiating with the GOP’s right flank and 15 rounds of voting. It wasn’t immediately clear after the vote how the […]
Next battle in Congress over Ukraine aid, as Biden presses House speaker for vote
By: Jennifer Shutt - October 2, 2023
WASHINGTON — Republican and Democratic lawmakers are searching for a way to clear more aid for Ukraine, after Congress approved a short-term spending bill that didn’t include any additional money for the country. President Joe Biden on Sunday said that U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to find the votes needed to pass a supplemental […]
Ditching Ukraine aid, U.S. House in bipartisan vote passes bill to avert shutdown
By: Jennifer Shutt - September 30, 2023
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House approved a bill Saturday that would stave off a government shutdown until at least mid-November, though the measure doesn’t include Ukraine aid backed by both Republicans and Democrats. The bipartisan 335-91 vote to send the bill to the Senate took place with less than 10 hours until funding expired. Senators […]
With two days until shutdown, border security package eyed by U.S. Senate GOP
By: Jennifer Shutt - September 28, 2023
WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. senators huddled behind closed doors Thursday, attempting to draft an amendment to the short-term government funding bill that would increase spending on border security and make policy changes. The provision could help nudge U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to put the broadly bipartisan measure up for a vote in that chamber, […]
Menendez steps down temporarily as U.S. Senate committee chairman amid federal charges
By: Jennifer Shutt - September 22, 2023
WASHINGTON — New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez will temporarily step aside as chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee following a federal indictment for conspiracy to commit bribery and other charges. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made the announcement Friday afternoon, saying in a written statement that “Senator Menendez has rightly decided to […]
With two weeks until the money runs out, Congress grinds to halt on spending bills
By: Jennifer Shutt - September 16, 2023
WASHINGTON — Amid rising tensions and an approaching hard deadline, the U.S. House and Senate ended their work week on Thursday without a deal to fund the federal government past the end of the month. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has been struggling to build consensus among the members of his Republican Conference, pledged that […]
Updated COVID-19 vaccines expected to be available in September, federal officials say
By: Jennifer Shutt - August 28, 2023
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is gearing up for a fall vaccination campaign that not only includes updated COVID-19 boosters, but the annual flu shot and the newly approved RSV vaccine. “We’re going to be encouraging Americans to get their COVID-19 vaccine in addition to their annual flu shot, as well as the immunizations for […]