Seth McLaughlin

Trust erodes in everything from church to schools to the presidency during Biden’s first year

As President Biden enters his second year in office, former President Donald Trump enters his second year of forced retirement, and the coronavirus enters its third year plaguing the nation, Americans are questioning their institutions in new ways, sending academics scurrying to understand what it all means.

January 18, 2022

GOP primary candidates wrestle for Trump mantle in first volley of TV ad wars

Former President Donald Trump has emerged as the mainstay of campaign ads in the 2022 Republican primaries, with candidates battling over who is most allied with Mr. Trump and his America First agenda.

January 17, 2022

Local businesses brace for D.C. vaccine mandate

Washington businesses are bracing for Mayor Muriel Bowser's vaccine mandate that goes into effect Saturday.

January 14, 2022

Romney fumes over RNC threat to pull out of presidential debates

Sen. Mitt Romney isn't thrilled with the Republican National Committee's threat of pulling the GOP nominee for president out of future debates.

January 14, 2022

RNC threatens to pull out of presidential debates over biased moderators, diminished credibility

The Republican National Committee on Wednesday threatened to bar its presidential nominees from participating in presidential debates if the organization that sponsors the general election showdowns refused to change its partisan ways.

January 13, 2022

Graham reluctant to back McConnell as GOP Senate leader without Trump connection

Sen. Lindsey Graham says he would not support Sen. Mitch McConnell as GOP leader in the next Congress if he does not have a "working relationship with President [Donald] Trump."

January 13, 2022

Senate Republicans raised $105 million in 2021

The campaign arm of Senate Republicans announced Wednesday it raised more than $28 million in the fourth quarter of the year -- bringing its total 2021 fundraising haul to nearly $105 million.

January 12, 2022

Trump hangs up on NPR when challenged on election claims, calls Mitch McConnell a ‘loser’

Former President Donald Trump said most Republicans in the Senate are not leaning into his stolen election claims because "Mitch McConnell is a loser."

January 12, 2022

Sen. Mike Rounds: ‘More and more’ people will vouch for 2020 election results

Sen. Mike Rounds said Tuesday he expects "more and more" people to acknowledge the results of the 2020 election were fair, signaling former President Donald Trump's stolen election allegations are losing steam.

January 11, 2022

Romney defends Mike Rounds from Trump criticism

Sen. Mitt Romney rushed to defend fellow Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota on Monday after former President Trump slammed "this jerk" for acknowledging the results of the 2020 election.

January 10, 2022

Cyber Ninjas hangs up the digital nunchucks after fruitless audit of Biden’s Ariz. win

The group hired to perform a controversial 'audit' of the 2020 presidential election results that favored Democrat Joe Biden in Maricopa County, Arizona, is closing down, according to published reports.

January 7, 2022

Trump again defies expectations, invites 2024 speculation

Former President Donald Trump showed a flash of discipline this week when he canceled a potentially explosive Jan. 6 press conference, surprising friends and foes alike who had grown accustomed to his renegade style that shook up Washington.

January 5, 2022

Liz Cheney: Ivanka urged former President Trump twice to ‘please stop’ Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol violence

Rep. Liz Cheney says presidential daughter Ivanka Trump twice urged former President Trump to do something to stop the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

January 3, 2022

Cheney allies pin her reelection hopes on purported silent majority in Wyoming

Republican Rep. Liz Cheney's reelection hopes in Wyoming hinge on a silent majority throwing her a lifeline, according to her political allies in the state, who say she could be rewarded for risking her political future in the name of principle.

December 31, 2021

DCCC chief says 2022 vote is a stark choice: Build up America or tear it down

The head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is framing the battle for control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections as a contest between a Democratic Party intent on building things up and a Republican Party intent on blowing things up.

December 30, 2021

Chris Van Hollen says January is the last chance to end Senate filibuster, pass election law bill

Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Tuesday that January will be 'make or break' for the Democratic Party's plan to overhaul America's voting laws.

December 28, 2021

President Biden mourns passing of Desmond Tutu

President Biden on Sunday mourned the death of Desmond Tutu, the champion of human rights and iconic South African archbishop who helped bring down apartheid.

December 26, 2021

Fauci ‘stunned’ that Trump supporters booed former president over booster shot

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday he was "stunned" to see some members of a crowd of Trump supporters boo the former president for getting a coronavirus booster shot.

December 26, 2021

Kamala Harris vows Biden ‘is not giving up’ on Build Back Better Act’s big spending

Vice President Kamala Harris said the "stakes are too high" to give up on passing President Biden's $1.75 trillion social welfare and climate bill after it was derailed in the Senate.

December 26, 2021

Sen. Manchin handed vulnerable Democrats a lifeline, says North Dakota’s GOP Sen. Cramer

Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer said Sunday that the Democratic Party should be thanking Sen. Joe Manchin III for opposing President Biden's Build Back Better plan -- not attacking the West Virginia Democrat.

December 26, 2021