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David Sherfinski

dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com

David Sherfinski covered politics for The Washington Times.

Articles by David Sherfinski

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (right) easily ushered the spending bill through his chamber with enough Republican votes, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (left) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are now in a shutdown showdown. (Associated Press/File)

House passes temporary funding bill to avert shutdown

President Trump and Republican leaders in Congress tamped down a conservative rebellion and pushed a stopgap spending bill through the House on Thursday evening, setting up a shutdown showdown in the Senate just hours before the Friday deadline.

January 18, 2018
House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., center, walks to the Capitol Building from the Capitol Visitor's Center, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

House votes to start debate on short-term spending bill

The House on Thursday voted to officially start debate on a temporary spending bill that would avert a partial government shutdown, though significant hurdles to final passage remained at both ends of the Capitol.

January 18, 2018
"To block funding for our military with a Friday deadline over unrelated issues just makes no sense to me. It's wrong," said House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican. (Associated Press/File)

Republicans aim to avert rebellion, shutdown

Republicans were trying to tamp down a conservative rebellion Wednesday and keep a stopgap spending bill on track ahead of a major vote Thursday, hoping to prove their party could govern and in the process trap Democrats in a shutdown showdown.

January 17, 2018
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (left), Illinois Democrat, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, are pressuring President Trump to accept their proposed 12-year pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. (Associated Press/File)

Graham-Durbin DACA deal hits GOP roadblock in Congress

Congressional leaders have ruled out allowing a vote on the bipartisan Gang of Six immigration deal, backing President Trump but leaving Congress with no clear pathway to a deal on illegal immigrant Dreamers and putting the government closer to a partial shutdown.

January 16, 2018
New Yorkers and others from blue states lined up to pay their real estate taxes before the end of last year, hoping to take advantage of a major deduction before it was wiped out by a federal overhaul that puts a $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions. (Associated Press/File)

Tax law early blue-state boom

Some of the biggest critics of President Trump's tax cut package are turning out to be among its biggest beneficiaries, at least in the short term, as blue state taxpayers raced to make preemptive payments to beat the 2018 tax season.

January 15, 2018
Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he won't be bound by past defense spending agreements. (Associated Press)

Democrats, Republicans closer to spending cap deal

Republicans and Democrats are supposedly close to a deal that would lift universally derided spending caps, but the negotiations have been hamstrung by the fact that the two sides can't even agree on what constitutes "parity" between defense and non-defense funding.

January 14, 2018
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaks to reporters during a White House daily press briefing in the Brady press briefing room at the White House, in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Treasury issues new tax-withholding guide for cuts

The Treasury Department on Thursday released new guidelines on how much money companies should withhold from paychecks, saying the vast majority of workers will see more money rolling in as early as next month.

January 11, 2018
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Donohue delivers his annual 'State of American Business' address at the Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Donohue is calling on Congress to reform immigration laws in order to retain more than a million immigrants currently allowed to work in the country but are at risk of losing their status. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

U.S. Chamber pledges to be active in 2018 primary contests

Looking to avoid a repeat of the Alabama Senate race, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday it will get involved in Republican primaries, using its considerable influence and war chest to try to stop the surge of right-wing, anti-Washington candidates.

January 10, 2018
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, speaks during a House and Senate conference after GOP leaders announced they have forged an agreement on a sweeping overhaul of the nation's tax laws, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 13, 2017. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Top Democrats accuse Trump of politicizing tax cuts

Top congressional Democrats on Monday accused the Trump administration of politicizing the new tax cuts, saying they fear the IRS will skew the tax tables so Americans see more cash in their wallets this year — only to face a bigger bill when they file their returns next year.

January 8, 2018
Gun dealers had been steeling for a potential dip after the election of Donald Trump, who proudly championed gun rights during his 2016 campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton and touted the earliest-ever presidential endorsement from the National Rifle Association. (Associated Press/File)

Gun purchase background checks drop in 2017

Background checks for gun purchases fell last year after a record-breaking 2016, in what analysts are calling the official end of the Obama-era gun boom.

January 7, 2018
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., chair of the Republican Conference, center, joined by, from left, Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, and Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, March 17, 2017, as House Republicans push for unity in advancing the GOP's "Obamacare" replacement bill. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Congressional Leadership Fund prepares to battle Democrats in midterm election

House Republicans' main super political action committee said Thursday it's expanding its efforts to include several districts that the GOP easily carried in 2016, signaling the party is increasingly concerned about the prospect of an anti-Trump wave gathering for November's midterm election.

January 4, 2018

Gregg Harper, House Administration Committee chairman, to retire

Rep. Gregg Harper, chairman of the House Administration Committee, on Thursday announced he will not seek re-election to his Mississippi congressional seat, joining a handful of other GOP chairmen who will not be back in Congress next year.

January 4, 2018
FILE - In this Jan. 19, 2016 file photo, handguns are displayed at the Smith & Wesson booth at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show in Las Vegas. Backers of an expanded gun background check ballot measure approved by Nevada voters in 2016 are arguing that the Nevada governor and attorney general are wrong to say they can't enforce the law. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Most illegal attempts to buy guns online fail

Most attempts to illegally buy guns online fail, according to a study by federal investigators who found the internet serves as a small loophole for firearms purchases.

January 3, 2018
Rep. Mark Meadows is a North Carolina Republican and leader of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus. (Associated Press/File)

GOP still has work to do on tax reform bill

Republicans' work on taxes isn't done yet, with lawmakers saying last month's once-in-a-generation tax overhaul still needs more tweaks -- and left open the door for another round of tax cuts.

January 2, 2018