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U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona leaves Democratic Party, registers as independent
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced Friday she is leaving the Democratic Party and has registered as an independent. The first-term senator wrote in an opinion piece for the Arizona Republic that she does not intend to change the way she legislates or casts votes, but plans to be “an independent voice […]
Marriage equality bill heads to Biden’s desk following bipartisan U.S. House vote
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill Thursday that would ensure same-sex and interracial couples continue holding many of the rights they have now, should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the cases that established those constitutional protections. The measure now heads to the desk of President Joe Biden, who plans to […]
Congress on track to scrap Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in defense bill
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. military would no longer be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine under a proposal Congress could pass as soon as this week. The provision eliminating the vaccine mandate is tucked into the massive National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense policy bill that Congress has passed each year for […]
Democrats move to strip New Hampshire of first in the nation primary after day-long discussion
WASHINGTON — Voters in South Carolina would go first in picking Democratic presidential nominees, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia and Michigan if their states go along with a proposal a key Democratic National Committee panel approved Friday. The Rules and Bylaws Committee’s nearly unanimous voice vote proposes moving the Democratic primary’s earliest election date […]
A record-setting number of women will serve in state legislatures in 2023
WASHINGTON — A record number of women will soon serve in state legislatures, breaking the previous cap of female lawmakers by at least 69 seats and bringing total representation to more than 32%, according to the Center for American Women and Politics. New Hampshire is contributing to those numbers, with half of the state’s 24 […]
Thousands of veterans deluge VA with claims for toxic exposure benefits, health care
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is processing claims at the fastest rate in its history, hoping to avoid a significant backlog as hundreds of thousands of veterans apply for health care and benefits under the landmark toxic exposure law Congress passed earlier this year. The day after President Joe Biden signed the […]
Nancy Pelosi, first woman to serve as speaker of the U.S. House, steps down from leadership
An earlier version of this report misstated how long Nancy Pelosi has been Democratic leader, due to an editing error. WASHINGTON – U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who became the first woman in history to hold the gavel, shepherding landmark bills across four presidencies, announced Thursday she’ll step aside from leadership though she’ll remain in […]
Bill protecting same-sex marriage gains bipartisan support in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate cleared a key hurdle to passing a marriage equality bill Wednesday, garnering even more than the 60 senators from both political parties needed to move past a legislative filibuster. The bill, which could win final passage in the Senate as soon as this week, would ensure same-sex and interracial couples […]
White House asks Congress for billions in Ukraine, COVID-19 funding during lame duck
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration on Tuesday asked Congress for billions more in funding this year to address COVID-19 and the ongoing war in Ukraine, suggesting lawmakers attach it to a spending bill that must pass before Dec. 16. The $9 billion request for COVID-19 operations and nearly $38 billion in additional relief for Ukraine […]
Congress heads back to D.C. for a hectic lame-duck session
WASHINGTON – Congress returns to Capitol Hill and a lengthy to-do list next week, following a six-week midterm elections break that saw Democrats outperform expectations and Republicans barely inch toward the U.S. House majority. On the agenda are same-sex marriage legislation, a huge defense bill, changes in how presidential electoral votes are counted and more. […]
Record-setting number of women elected as governors in midterms
An earlier version of this report misstated the history of female governors in Alabama. WASHINGTON – The United States’ ceiling for female governors was shattered this week, with voters in 12 states electing women to the role, breaking the prior record of nine set for the first time back in 2004. While the Arizona gubernatorial […]
Which party controls Congress? It could be days or weeks before we know
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden and Democrats exulted Wednesday in outperforming expectations in the midterm elections, even as vote-counting was still in progress and control of both chambers of Congress remained unknown. The U.S. Senate will go to the winner of two of the last three races where party control is still in doubt in […]