David Sherfinski

Susan Collins, Maine senator: Pence told me ‘boy, are you tough’ on Senate floor before vote

Sen. Susan Collins said Vice President Mike Pence called her "tough" on the Senate floor right before Friday's vote on repealing parts of Obamacare.

July 30, 2017

Tom Price, health secretary: Waiving Obamacare’s individual mandate is on the table

Tom Price said Sunday that waiving Obamacare's individual mandate is on the table as President Trump and congressional Republicans look for a path forward on health care.

July 30, 2017

Mick Mulvaney, White House budget director: ‘They need to pass something’ on health care

Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that the Senate should not move on before voting again on some sort of health care bill.

July 30, 2017

House Republicans slam Senate after health care vote

Some House Republicans gathered on Capitol Hill Friday slammed the Senate for failing to pass its health care repeal bill earlier in the morning, saying they took care of business a few months ago and upper chamber colleagues didn't hold up their end of the bargain.

July 28, 2017

Koch network to host tax reform discussion with Steve Mnuchin, Marc Short

Top Trump administration officials will be part of a panel discussion on tax reform hosted by the Koch political network on Monday, as lawmakers and the conservative grassroots gear up to spend August talking up the big-ticket agenda item.

July 28, 2017

Tax negotiators drop border tax, pledge to deliver ‘historic’ reform

Congressional Republicans and administration officials on Thursday axed plans to include a controversial border tax as part of their effort to overhaul the code, looking to portray a unified front on the major agenda item as members get set to leave town for August recess.

July 27, 2017

House lawmakers fume over $1.2 million in military gear given to fake police

Defense officials on Thursday tried to convince lawmakers they're getting things under control after government auditors recently managed to set up a fake agency and acquire $1.2 million worth of military equipment through a transfer program that's attracted controversy in recent years.

July 27, 2017

J. Russell George, Treasury’s IG, says taxpayer authentication a ‘major concern’ for IRS

Properly authenticating taxpayer information is a "major concern" and presents the greatest risk currently facing the Internal Revenue Service, a top treasury department investigator said Wednesday.

July 26, 2017

Steve Mnuchin urges action on debt limit, says funding good through September

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday said the United States has enough wiggle room to pay its bills through September, but again urged Congress to act on raising the debt ceiling before breaking for August recess.

July 26, 2017

House votes to undo Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s arbitration rule

The U.S. House on Tuesday voted 231-190 to overturn a new rule that would make it easier for consumers to join class-action lawsuits, taking a step to put a check on the recent move from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

July 25, 2017

IRS doled out more than $24 billion in potentially bogus refunds: audit

The IRS doled out more than $24 billion in potentially bogus refunds claimed under several controversial tax credits in 2016, according to a new audit that said $118 million was even paid to people who weren't authorized to work in the U.S. in the first place.

July 24, 2017

Steve Scalise shooting shock fades; partisan rhetoric heats up

It's been a month since a lone gunman's attack on Republican lawmakers practicing baseball shocked the country and drew attention to Washington's poisonous political atmosphere, spurring promises to turn down the partisan rhetorical thermostat.

July 13, 2017

Freedom Partners ramps up campaign against border tax

Freedom Partners, a pro-free market advocacy group affiliated with the industrialist Koch brothers, is launching a series of digital ads on Thursday intended to pressure members of the House Ways and Means Committee to drop a controversial tax on imports from the GOP's broader tax reform efforts.

July 13, 2017

House committee votes to reopen door for horse slaughter facilities to operate in U.S.

The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday voted down an amendment to keep an effective ban on horse slaughtering facilities in the U.S. -- the latest salvo in what's been a years-long battle in Congress over the issue.

July 12, 2017

Janet Yellen to Congress: Expect more rate hikes in coming years

Janet Yellen, who chairs the Federal Reserve, on Wednesday told Congress that more hikes to a key benchmark interest rate are "likely appropriate" in the coming years to keep the economy moving.

July 12, 2017

Mitch McConnell: Senate will delay start of August recess

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell abruptly canceled nearly half of the Senate's summer vacation Tuesday, saying he will force lawmakers to stick around the humid confines of Washington in order to give Congress more time to make progress on President Trump's agenda.

July 11, 2017

Gun background check totals drop as market adjusts to Donald Trump

The number of federal gun background checks dropped in June after posting a modest uptick a month earlier, signaling the firearms market is still adjusting to the post-Obama world, which had brought record sales.

July 10, 2017

Gun owners more likely to be politically active, says Pew Research Center

The majority of Americans favor stricter gun controls, but gun owners are much more likely to be politically active and to contact public officials about their beliefs, according to a new survey that goes a long way toward explaining the political power of Second Amendment advocates.

July 2, 2017

‘Repeal, replace’ health care bill doesn’t have consensus among Senate GOP

Republican senators fled Washington on Thursday without a clear resolution on health care, leaving them to face voters back home after having failed to make their own self-imposed deadline for repealing Obamacare.

June 29, 2017

Senate GOP health bill would reduce Medicaid spending by 35 percent over next 20 years: CBO

Under Senate Republicans' health care bill, Medicaid spending would drop by 35 percent over the next 20 years, according to projections from the Congressional Budget Office released Thursday.

June 29, 2017