David Sherfinski

GOP claims victory in fight over ICE detention powers

They struck a deal in principle. Now begins the arguing over what it actually means.

February 12, 2019

Government shutdown deal reached, Richard Shelby says

The Senate's top spending negotiator said Monday night that Republicans and Democrats have reached an agreement in principle on a new deal to avert a partial government shutdown.

February 11, 2019

Congressional leaders to meet Monday, hope to jump-start stalled spending talks

Four leading congressional negotiators are scheduled to meet Monday afternoon in hopes of jump-starting stalled talks over border security funding, as lawmakers race to avert another shutdown ahead of a Feb. 15 deadline.

February 11, 2019

3D-printed gun blueprint website owner sues New Jersey attorney general in free speech challenge

The man behind a website devoted to sharing online blueprints for 3D-printed gun is suing the attorney general of New Jersey, after being alerted that the activity was violating a new gun control law.

February 10, 2019

House Dems push restrictions of Trump asylum policies

Democrats are pushing for the package of spending bills Congress is writing to include language that would block the Trump administration from tightening the bar on those seeking asylum.

February 8, 2019

ICE, shut out of border talks, warns Democrats’ plans would free thousands of criminals

A briefer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stood outside the closed-door meeting Wednesday while negotiators working on a homeland security spending deal heard from border experts, who made their pitch for a border wall. The ICE briefer never made it in the room, an administration official said.

February 7, 2019

Democrats signal openness to border barriers as second government shutdown looms

Top Democrats are now signaling they're open to some kind of enhanced physical barrier along the southern border, raising chances for a spending deal to avert another government shutdown next week.

February 6, 2019

Nancy Pelosi: Trump line about partisan investigations was a ‘threat’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday said she viewed President Trump's line in his State of the Union Address slamming "ridiculous partisan investigations" as a "threat."

February 6, 2019

Border wall emergency declaration missing from Donald Trump pitch at State of the Union

Even as President Trump argued the case for his border wall Tuesday, one thing was missing -- the emergency declaration that would allow him to leapfrog over lawmakers and build the barrier even without Congress's approval.

February 5, 2019

Austin Jones’ Atlas Arms to offer armor-penetrating ‘cop-killer’ bullets

An engineer says he is on the cusp of developing legal armor-penetrating ammunition that skirts a 1986 law intended to ban "cop-killer" bullets -- and that he plans to eventually turn over the plans to the public along the lines of what others have done with blueprints for 3D-printed firearms.

February 5, 2019

Congressional negotiators to hear from border patrol professionals Wednesday

Negotiators working on a homeland security funding bill are scheduled to receive a closed-door briefing from border patrol agents Wednesday about the experts' experiences protecting the U.S.-Mexico border.

February 5, 2019

Republicans aim high with border security spending package

Republicans working on a new border security deal say they want to "go big" and aim for a universal deal that would solve not only the immediate shutdown threat but also a looming debt-limit fight and spending caps that are poised to bite in October.

January 31, 2019

Democrats’ border security plan takes fire from the left

An influential group of immigration activists lashed out at Democrats on Thursday, saying the party's new border security plan is still too cruel toward illegal immigrants and should instead focus on granting citizenship rights.

January 31, 2019

Nancy Pelosi rules out money for border wall in spending legislation

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday downgraded her ante on border wall money from $1 to zero dollars, putting chances for a homeland security spending deal even further out of reach.

January 31, 2019

Democrats’ border security counteroffer doesn’t include wall funding — yet

House Democrats revealed the outlines of their border security counteroffer Wednesday, saying they will pump money into stopping drugs and providing care for illegal immigrants -- including cutting the number of detention beds to hold them for deportation.

January 30, 2019

Lawmakers kick off negotiations on border security as deadline looms

Lawmakers tasked with finding a compromise on border security funding officially kicked off talks at a public meeting Wednesday at the Capitol, saying they're determined to strike a deal ahead of the next government funding deadline of Feb. 15.

January 30, 2019

White House won’t release Trump’s 2020 budget blueprint next week

The White House is going to miss the statutory deadline for the president to submit his annual budget proposal to Congress, as federal agencies grind back into gear following the longest-ever federal government shutdown.

January 29, 2019

Dem spending priorities could spike deficit to near $7 trillion: GOP

Democrats' expansive agenda of universal health care and tuition-free college could send the federal deficit soaring from $1 trillion to nearly $7 trillion a year by the end of the next decade, House Republicans said Tuesday, erecting a fiscal roadblock to liberals' priorities.

January 29, 2019

Donald Trump vows shutdown or national emergency if border funding fails

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that President Trump is prepared to orchestrate another shutdown or declare a national emergency to secure funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall if Congress can't strike a security deal by the new funding deadline of Feb. 15.

January 27, 2019

House Democrats pass waivers for new 72-hour reading legislation rule

Less than a month after officially retaking the majority, House Democrats already are passing waivers for their new requirement to give members at least 72 hours to read legislation.

January 27, 2019