Jan 29 WATCH: Lee Zeldin confirmed as Trump’s EPA administrator in Senate vote By Matthew Daly, Associated Press The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a key role to help President Donald Trump fulfill his pledge to roll back major environmental regulations. Continue reading
Jan 24 WATCH: Senate narrowly confirms Pete Hegseth as Trump’s defense secretary By Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick, Farnoush Amiri, Associated Press The Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth as the nation's defense secretary late Friday in a dramatic tie-breaking vote, swatting back questions about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon amid allegations of heavy drinking and aggressive behavior toward women. Continue reading
Jan 23 Senate advances Hegseth as Trump’s defense secretary despite misconduct allegations By Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press The Senate advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump's defense secretary Thursday on a largely party-line vote, despite grave objections from Democrats and stirring unease among Republicans over his behavior and qualifications to lead the U.S. military. Continue reading
Jan 23 Senate confirms John Ratcliffe as CIA director, giving Trump his 2nd Cabinet member By David Klepper, Associated Press Ratcliffe said that if confirmed, he would push the CIA to do more to harness technologies such as AI and quantum computing while expanding use of human intelligence collection. Democrats raised questions about Ratcliffe’s objectivity and whether his loyalty to… Continue reading
Jan 20 WATCH: Senate passes Laken Riley Act and confirms Rubio as secretary of state By Associated Press Convening shortly after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. president, the Senate on Monday passed a bill that would require federal authorities to detain migrants accused of theft and violent crimes. Continue reading
Dec 21 Senate passes Social Security benefits boost for many retired public service workers By Stephen Groves, Associated Press The Senate passed legislation early Saturday to boost Social Security payments for millions of people, pushing a longtime priority for former public employees through Congress in one of its last acts for the year. Continue reading
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 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 15 McConnell says Trump’s nominees should ‘steer clear’ of undermining polio vaccine By Moriah Balingit, Associated Press The statement by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who had polio as a child, appeared to be directed at Trump’s pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., after a report that one of his advisers filed a petition to revoke approval for the… Continue reading