David Sherfinski

Pro-, anti-gun forces cheer as prosecutions rise for 3rd straight year

Federal weapons prosecutions jumped nearly 11 percent over the last year as the government gets more serious about the one part of the gun debate all sides can agree on: enforcing the laws already on the books.

December 31, 2017

Democratic voter rolls signal midterm election trouble

Democrats for years have said Arizona was about to tip in their direction, and those hopes grew with President Trump in office -- but the early evidence suggests they are struggling to grow.

December 27, 2017

Wild horse population control methods divide lawmakers, advocates

After a years-long battle over an effective ban on horse slaughter in the U.S., advocates on both sides are grappling with how the federal government should handle the tens of thousands of excess wild horses, largely on western lands.

December 26, 2017

Republicans struggle to keep ‘Pledge to America’

Desperate to get back to the majority in Congress in 2010, Republicans issued a bold "Pledge to America" promising a laundry list of policies and changes to Capitol Hill they said they'd make if voters gave them the reins.

December 25, 2017

NFL owners’ tax break remains intact

NFL owners dodged a bullet in the new tax bill, which preserves the league's ability to tap into taxpayer money to build stadiums.

December 20, 2017

House passes $1.5 trillion tax bill — again

After a slight procedural snag, the House on Wednesday voted again on Republicans' $1.5 trillion tax-cut plan, officially sending the measure to President Trump for his signature and following through on the GOP's push to enact the most sweeping tax reform in three decades.

December 20, 2017

Senate passes Republicans $1.5 trillion tax cut plan

The Senate early Wednesday passed the Republicans' $1.5 trillion tax-cut plan, putting it closer to President Trump's desk with an additional House vote expected Wednesday.

December 20, 2017

Paul Ryan’s tax cut vote gives Donald Trump a victory

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan provided inspiration, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrangled votes, and President Trump offered grandiloquent cajoling as the Republican Party's top leaders in Congress pushed their troops to deliver a massive tax code overhaul.

December 19, 2017

House expected to revote on tax bill Wednesday after rules violations

The House is expected to have to vote again Wednesday on congressional Republicans' $1.5 trillion tax-cut plan, after the Senate parliamentarian found that several items in the House-passed bill violate Senate rules.

December 19, 2017

House passes $1.5 trillion tax-cut plan

Republicans barreled toward a massive victory Tuesday with the House voting easily to approve a $1.5 trillion tax cut and the Senate poised to follow suit late in the night, notching the first major legislative win of the Trump presidency.

December 19, 2017

GOP leaders confident in passage of tax-cut plan as House kicks off debate

Republican leaders were confident they have the votes to pass their $1.5 trillion tax-cut plan as the House voted Tuesday to officially kick off debate on the bill, teeing up a series of votes they said will deliver the measure to President Trump by the end of the day.

December 19, 2017

Senate Republicans deny buying votes for tax bill

Top Republicans batted aside complaints that they were trying to buy support for their tax cut bill in the final hours before a vote Tuesday and were increasingly confident that they would deliver a victory to President Trump this week.

December 18, 2017

Sen. Susan Collins to vote yes on GOP tax-cut plan

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said Monday she'll vote yes on congressional Republicans' tax-cut package, as GOP holdouts steadily fall in line behind the plan before expected votes in the House and Senate this week.

December 18, 2017

Sen. Mike Lee to ‘proudly’ vote for GOP tax-cut plan

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah announced Monday he plans to vote for the GOP's $1.5 trillion tax-cut plan, handing Republican leaders another 'yes' vote as they look to pass the package through the House and Senate this week.

December 18, 2017

Sen. Orrin Hatch: Small business provision wasn’t ‘air-dropped’ into final tax plan

The Senate's top tax-writer says a small business provision that could benefit Sen. Bob Corker and other real estate investors was not "air-dropped" into the GOP's final tax plan, that it mirrors language in the House tax plan, and that it was not included at the behest of Mr. Corker.

December 18, 2017