House Republicans call for Democrats to make concessions to get a vote on Obamacare bills
A top House Republican said Democrats need to make concessions that make them ‘wince’ in order to get a vote on two Obamacare stabilization bills.
Washington
State Department issues warning to US embassies to increase security amid Trump’s Jerusalem decision
American embassies around the world have been warned by the State Department to increase security in the event that President Trump delivers an announcement saying the U.S. acknowledges Jerusalem is Israel’s capital later this week.
Supreme Court Lets Trump’s Latest Travel Ban Go Into Full Effect
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to President Donald Trump by allowing his latest travel ban targeting people from six Muslim-majority countries to go into full effect even as legal challenges continue in lower courts.
Is Trump eyeing a plan to expand a Palestinian state into Sinai?
US President Donald Trump could be eyeing an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that would include transferring sections of the Sinai Desert from Egypt to a newly created Palestinian state, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reported on Saturday.
Trump reignites feud with FBI after Flynn’s guilty plea in Russia probe
President Trump is renewing his feud with former FBI Director James B. Comey as House Republicans consider holding his successor, Christopher Wray, in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over records related to the Russia probe that secured its first high-profile conviction Friday.
Flynn pleads guilty to lying to FBI, vows to cooperate in Mueller’s Russia probe
Former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements to FBI agents, admitting that he lied to investigators when he said he didn’t ask Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. to limit Moscow’s reaction to U.S. sanctions during the presidential transition.
Republicans push for final version of tax cut bill to meet year-end goal
Congressional Republicans say they are pressing forward after the Senate passed its $1.4 trillion tax cut bill late last week and that its differences with the House version shouldn’t create major roadblocks in the process as they look to send a bill to President Trump’s desk before year’s end.
Mueller Removed Top FBI Agent in Russia Probe Over Possible Anti-Trump Texts
Special counsel Robert Mueller this summer removed a top FBI agent from the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election after the Justice Department’s inspector general began investigating whether the agent sent text messages critical of President Donald Trump, according to a new report.
Netanyahu at Saban Forum: Iran, Like Nazi Germany, Has ‘Ruthless Commitment to Murdering Jews’
Prime Minister Benjaminm Netanyahu raised concerns over the threat posed against Israel by Iran while addressing the Saban Forum taking place in Washington, D.C. via satellite from his office in Jerusalem.
UN Security Council to hold ministerial meeting on NKorea
Japan announced Friday it will host a ministerial meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Dec. 15 focused on finding peaceful ways to pressure North Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile tests and denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
U.S. talks with Russia about military partnership in Afghanistan War
Top U.S. military commanders and diplomats are weighing a proposed strategy shift in the Afghanistan War centered on expanded military collaboration with Russia.
GOP scrambles for plan B tax increase after floor drama over Senate tax bill
Senate Republicans are considering a tax increase as a plan B to raise revenue to get their party’s deficit hawks to support their tax bill, Republican Whip John Cornyn said Thursday evening, as the ‘debt trigger’ idea the party had been working on ran afoul of Senate rules.
Tax cut plan slips out of Senate Republicans’ hands when ‘trigger’ compromise is nixed
Senate Republicans were struggling to keep their $1.4 trillion tax cut on track Thursday night after a key compromise crumbled, sending leaders scurrying for another last-minute rewrite to try to keep deficit hawks on board.
Senate votes to advance $1.4 trillion tax cut bill
The Senate voted Wednesday to open debate on a $1.4 trillion tax bill after Republican leaders worked out preliminary deals to the smooth over the concerns of several Republican lawmakers.
National Gun-Carry Reciprocity Bill Moves to Mark Up in the House
The national gun-carry reciprocity bill will enter the next phase of the lawmaking process on Wednesday when it enters markup in the House.
Senate Republicans aiming to advance tax bill Wednesday
Senate Republicans on Wednesday plan to advance a $1.4 trillion tax cut bill by voting to begin debate on the measure that looks likely to pass in the coming days.
Democrats skip Trump meeting, raising risk of government shutdown
Democratic leaders in Congress skipped a meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday that was to have focused on the budget, raising the risk of a government shutdown next month with both sides far apart on the terms of an agreement.
Kerry: Israel, Egypt, Saudis pushed US to bomb Iran before nuke deal
Former Secretary of State John Kerry said both Israel and Egypt pushed the United States to ‘bomb Iran’ before the 2015 nuclear deal was struck.
More North Korean tests likely to come after launch of most sophisticated missile so far
North Korea fired what may be its most sophisticated ballistic missile ever Tuesday, flouting President Trump’s threats and international efforts to halt the rogue nation’s nuclear weapons program and kicking off what national security analysts say is likely the first in a surge of new tests from the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the coming months.
NKorea launches ICBM in possibly its longest-range test yet
After 2 ½ months of relative peace, North Korea launched its most powerful weapon yet early Wednesday, a presumed intercontinental ballistic missile that could put Washington and the entire eastern U.S. seaboard within range.