David Sherfinski

Bipartisan call for more Russian sanctions as battles rage in Odessa, Ukraine

Republicans and Democrats on Sunday called for stronger sanctions and more aggressive action against Russia amid growing unrest in southern Ukraine ahead of the country's May 25 presidential election.

May 4, 2014

Sen. Ron Johnson: “Sad fact is that sanctions haven’t worked”

Sen. Ron Johnson, a member of the Foreign Relations committee, said Sunday that sanctions against Russia haven't worked while Eliot Engel, the ranking member on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said even an implicit threat of Iran-like sanctions has changed the calculus of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

May 4, 2014

US Ambassador to Ukraine: No evidence of direct Russian involvement in violence in Odessa

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt said Sunday that while Russia is exercising influence across eastern Ukraine, there's no evidence the country was directly involved in the most recent spate of violence over the weekend.

May 4, 2014

Sen. Kelly Ayotte: ‘Not too late’ on Benghazi: ‘We have to get to the bottom of this’

Sen. Kelly Ayotte said Sunday she's glad House Speaker John A. Boehner has called for a select committee to investigate the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya and that there has been important work done on the issue in relevant committees but that the investigation thus far has been "disjointed."

May 4, 2014

Sen. Lindsey Graham: Obama “delusional” about what’s happening in Ukraine

Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said Sunday that President Obama is "delusional" about what's going on in Ukraine, that the country has been "dismembered" and that elections in the country scheduled for later this month cannot go forward.

May 4, 2014

John McCain: I’d ‘probably’ change Redskins name if I owned team

Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, said Friday that he'd "probably" change the name of the Washington Redskins if he owned the team but that he personally isn't offended by the name.

May 2, 2014

Former NSC spokesman on Benghazi talking points: ‘Dude, this was like two years ago’

Former National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said this week that changing administration talking points on the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi wasn't anything out of the ordinary and that a newly unearthed email showing a top national security aide coaching others on how to respond to questions on the attack "tells us nothing new."

May 2, 2014

Ron Paul endorses Lonegan in N.J. congressional race: report

Former Texas Rep. Ron Paul has endorsed Republican Steve Lonegan in the race to replace retiring Rep. Jon Runyan in New Jersey's 3rd congressional district, PolitickerNJ reported.

May 2, 2014

Joe Biden to raise money for Mark Udall in Colorado, report says

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is scheduled to head to Colorado later this month to attend a fundraiser for Democratic Sen. Mark Udall,the Denver Post reports.

May 2, 2014

Rep. Tom Cole: ‘Let’s be real’; president using minimum wage as a ‘political weapon’

Rep. Tom Cole, Oklahoma Republican, said that while he's opposed to an increase in the minimum wage, he'd be willing to look at proposals to do so — and accused the White House of using the issue as a "political weapon."

May 2, 2014

George W. Bush to Jeb: ‘If you need some advice, give me a call’

Former President George W. Bush says he hopes his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, runs for president in 2016 — and that he's only a phone call away if his younger brother needs advice.

May 1, 2014

Nancy Pelosi on Benghazi: ‘Why aren’t we talking about something else?’

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday dismissed newly unveiled communications suggesting the White House helped shape the public message that blamed a video for the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

May 1, 2014

Ralph Nader: Hillary Clinton ‘a militarist and a corporatist’

Consumer advocate and erstwhile presidential candidate Ralph Nader said Thursday that former Secretary of State and possible 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is a "doubleheader" in that "she's a militarist and she's a corporatist."

May 1, 2014

Rand Paul to stump for Republican Brannon in N.C. Senate primary

Sen. Rand Paul says he's heading to North Carolina Monday to stump for Republican Greg Brannon, who is running well behind GOP establishment favorite Thom Tillis in the Republican U.S. Senate primary there.

May 1, 2014

Sen. Joe Manchin: Open to discussions on raising minimum wage to less than $10.10 an hour

Sen. Joe Manchin III said Thursday he's open to discussing a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to a level less than $10.10 an hour even though Democratic leadership in the Senate has declared the amount non-negotiable.

May 1, 2014

Sen. Tom Coburn: Why not raise minimum wage to $20, $25, or $100?

Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, said he doesn't believe in a national minimum wage, and if Democrats wanted to prove a point with their Wednesday vote on the issue, they might as well have put the threshold at $100 per hour.

May 1, 2014

Moran introduces bill to restrict use of ‘exotic circus animals’

Rep. James P. Moran Jr. has introduced legislation to curb the restrictions on exotic animals in traveling circuses by ending confinement for extended periods and stopping cruel training and control methods.

May 1, 2014

Harry Reid to NFL, Dan Snyder: Change Washington Redskins name

Reid said the NBA made the right decision by banning L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life in the wake of racist remarks he made on a recently unearthed recording and that the NFL should follow basketball's example.

April 30, 2014

Bill Clinton: ‘Craving’ among press to shoehorn facts into ‘storyline’

Clinton dinged the press for its coverage of President Obama's health care overhaul and said that all too often, the press will settle on a storyline and "shoehorn" facts and developments into that narrative regardless of what's actually happening.

April 30, 2014

McAuliffe: Sterling should go — but governors shouldn’t tell private businesses what to do

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday applauded the NBA's harsh punishment for Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling but was less resolute when asked to compare the offensive remarks to the ongoing controversy over the name of the Washington Redskins.

April 30, 2014