Jacqueline Klimas

Sequester doesn’t cut agencies’ year-end spending sprees

Despite the deep budget sequester cuts that have tightened belts across the government, the Coast Guard is in a rush to empty its budget coffers — the annual fourth-quarter push for federal agencies to spend all of their money or risk smaller budgets the next year.

September 23, 2013

Sen. Ted Cruz fights for his own victory with threat of government shutdown

Sen. Ted Cruz has become a marked man in Washington, where his insistence that Republicans hold fast to defunding Obamacare — even if it means flirting with a government shutdown — has been derided from across the GOP political spectrum.

September 23, 2013

Dem Party chair slams GOP ‘heartless’ votes

Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, called for the House Republicans to let go of ideological fights to focus on keeping the economy healthy.

September 20, 2013

Senate hopeful Alison Lundergan Grimes bashed in Kentucky over links to Sen. Harry Reid

Kentuckians for Strong Leadership, a super political action committee, released a radio ad on Friday linking Senate hopeful Alison Lundergan Grimes to Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, in his support of both Obamacare and the "War on Coal."

September 20, 2013

Newt Gingrich: Obama, not Republicans, to blame for debt ceiling debacle

Responding to criticism that a government shutdown would be the fault of Republicans for bundling Obamacare with a debt ceiling deal, Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, blamed the president for his unwillingness to negotiate.

September 20, 2013

Gun control laws less responsible for mass shootings than mental health care failure: poll

The American public now believes that easy access to guns plays less of a role in mass shootings than it did in the wake of the deadly Tucson shooting in 2011, a Gallup poll found.

September 20, 2013

Rep. Steve Israel blames gridlock in Washington on a Republican ‘civil war’

A "civil war" in the Republican caucus has lead to chaos, confusion and little getting done in Washington, Rep. Steve Israel, New York Democrat, said Thursday on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports."

September 19, 2013

Boehner bashes Obama in mocking video; says Obama will deal with Putin, not GOP

Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner tweeted out a video Thursday morning wondering why President Obama is not willing to negotiate with Republicans in Congress on a debt-ceiling deal but was eager to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a political resolution to conflict in Syria.

September 19, 2013

Democratic reps call for hearing on Navy Yard shooting

Three members of Congress are calling for a public hearing to look into both how security clearances are awarded and base security following Monday's mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard that left 12 victims and the shooter dead.

September 19, 2013

Sen. Jon Tester wants quick solution to security clearance transparency

Sen. Jon Tester, Montana Democrat, said that the system to investigate and award security clearances is broken — and he's on a short timeline to fix it.

September 18, 2013

Rep. Steve Cohen wants gun background checks, but says mental health is important, too

Rep. Steve Cohen, Tennessee Democrat, responded to critics of an editorial cartoon he tweeted that many said blamed the National Rifle Association for the gun culture of the United States.

September 18, 2013

Atheists invited to Education Department ‘interfaith’ meeting

The Education Department invited five atheist representatives from the Secular Student Alliance to attend an interfaith meeting the department is putting on Sept. 24.

September 18, 2013

Sen. Susan Collins calls for more frequent review of security clearances

Security clearance eligibility should be reviewed more often to catch mental issues that may develop after a clearance is issued, said one senator on the intelligence committee.

September 18, 2013

Starbucks CEO asks patrons to leave guns at home

Just two days after a shooting at the Washington Navy Yard that killed 12, Starbucks has asked its customers not to bring guns into its stores.

September 18, 2013

Sen. Blumenthal: Navy Yard shooting a ‘call to action’ on gun control

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, said that he hopes Monday's shooting at the Washington Navy Yard will reinvigorate the debate about gun control on Capitol Hill.

September 17, 2013

Retired commander: ‘No doubt’ Alexis shot his way in at Navy Yard

A former Navy commander said he has "no doubt" that assailant Aaron Alexis shot his way into Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard, where he killed 12 people on Monday before being killed himself.

September 17, 2013

Former FBI official: Important to find out if Aaron Alexis worked alone

In the coming days and weeks, the FBI will interview friends and family of Navy Yard assailant Aaron Alexis to determine a motive behind Monday's shooting at the Washington Navy Yard and to make sure the killer had no plans for more attacks in the future.

September 17, 2013

Del. Norton seeks special panel on military base security

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said Tuesday she is asking President Obama to appoint a special panel to look at security on military bases, a day after the deadly rampage that killed more than a dozen at Washington's Navy Yard.

September 17, 2013

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray: Sequester cuts ‘put people at risk’

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said he wondered if budget cuts had something to do with a gunman getting onto the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, killing 12 before being killed himself.

September 17, 2013

DeKalb, Ga., police chief: Focus on mental health

In the wake of a shooting at the Navy Yard on Monday that left 12 employees dead, Police Chief Cedric Alexander, from the DeKalb, Ga., County police department, said it's important to shift the conversation back to the role mental health plays in many of these mass shootings.

September 17, 2013