Dec 21 Rejecting Trump's demands, Congress averts government shutdown just after midnight By Lisa Mascaro, Farnoush Amiri, Matt Brown, Associated Press President Joe Biden signed a bill into law Saturday that averts a government shutdown, bringing a final close to days of upheaval after Congress approved a temporary funding plan just past the deadline and refused President-elect Donald Trump’s core debt… Continue reading
Dec 20 Senate confirms 235th federal judge under Biden's presidency, beating Trump's first-term tally By Kevin Freking, Associated Press Biden and Senate Democrats placed particular focus on adding women, minorities and public defenders to the judicial rank. About two-thirds of Biden's appointees are women and a solid majority of appointees are people of color. Continue reading
Dec 20 Missouri judge rules state's abortion ban is unenforceable after constitutional amendment By Associated Press Missouri is one of five states where voters approved ballot measures in the 2024 general election to add the right to an abortion to their state constitutions. Continue reading
Dec 20 Watch 7:06 House votes to avoid government shutdown and approves bipartisan funding bill By Lisa Desjardins Days of chaos and uncertainty on Capitol Hill appear to be winding down. A bill backed by President-elect Trump to keep the government open was rejected by the House Thursday night. But on Friday, an apparent breakthrough was announced by… Continue watching
Dec 20 Watch 6:10 GOP Rep. Schweikert says Musk's political influence in Washington is 'wonderful' By Geoff Bennett, Shrai Popat, Kyle Midura, Elizabeth Summers The back-and-forth on the stopgap spending bill has created fault lines among House Republicans. Many were unsatisfied with the original text, but some also rejected the revised bill, which included President-elect Trump’s demands to suspend the debt limit. One of… Continue watching
Dec 20 Watch 10:27 Brooks and Capehart on Trump's role in the chaotic funding battle in Congress By Geoff Bennett New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics, including yet another chaotic, down-to-the-wire funding battle in Congress, how President-elect Trump will govern during his second term… Continue watching
Dec 20 WATCH: Bidens make holiday visit to patients and families at Children's National Hospital By Associated Press The visit continued an 81-year annual tradition, dating to first lady Bess Truman, of presidents’ wives bringing holiday cheer to children who are too ill to be at home on Christmas. Continue reading
Dec 20 WATCH: Mitch McConnell delivers final floor speech as Senate Republican leader By Associated Press McConnell warned that Republicans could “pay a political price” if they don’t pass legislation keeping the government open by midnight Friday, saying he's has reminded his colleagues “how harmful it is to shut the government down and how foolish it… Continue reading
Dec 20 Trump adds European Union to list of U.S. trade partners he's threatening with tariffs By Josh Boak, Raf Casert, Associated Press President-elect Donald Trump on Friday added the 27 countries that make up the European Union to the list of trade partners he's threatening with tariffs — unless the group takes steps to import more U.S. goods. Continue reading
Dec 20 WATCH: White House holds news briefing as Trump threatens government shutdown over debt ceiling By Lisa Mascaro, Farnoush Amiri, Matt Brown, Associated Press Hours before the start of a federal government shutdown, President-elect Donald Trump doubled-down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal. Continue reading