Stephen Dinan

Senate passes bill to pay all federal employees — after shutdown ends

Senators passed a bill Thursday to ensure all federal employees, whether they are still working or were furloughed, will be paid in full when the partial government shutdown ends.

January 10, 2019

Lindsey Graham: Trump should use military to build wall

Sen. Lindsey Graham urged President Trump on Thursday to tap his emergency powers to have the military build the border wall, saying he's fed up with Democrats' refusal to negotiate.

January 10, 2019

Mike Pence: ‘No wall, there’s no deal’

Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that the administration is willing to negotiate on parts of the shutdown showdown, but he said there will have to be some money for border barriers.

January 10, 2019

Donald Trump alters claim on Mexico paying for wall

President Trump said Thursday he never intended to ask Mexico to write out a check for the border wall.

January 10, 2019

‘Whatever it takes’: Brother of slain officer backs Trump on border

Reggie Singh, brother of the police officer killed in California by an illegal immigrant last month, told President Trump Thursday that their family is "fully" behind whatever the White House needs to do to stop illegal immigration.

January 10, 2019

Border agents: Steel fence not impenetrable but still needed

The steel bollard border fence President Trump is now talking about building is not impenetrable, but it is the best design available and will slow down immigrants who are trying to cross the border illegally, border agents say.

January 10, 2019

Nancy Pelosi calls Donald Trump’s walkout ‘a set-up’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused President Trump Thursday of a set-up in their meeting a day earlier, when the president walked out after she told him she'll never allow him funding for his border wall.

January 10, 2019

Trump to declare border emergency unless Congress acts

President Trump signaled Thursday that he will likely declare a national emergency to have the military build his border wall unless Congress negotiates a deal to give him the money.

January 10, 2019

Families set new record for illegal immigration

Illegal immigration across the Southwest border ticked down in December, though the number of migrant families shattered records with nearly 32,000 caught trying to jump the border, officials said Wednesday.

January 9, 2019

Former top Gitmo officer indicted for obstruction of justice

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced the indictment of the former commanding officer at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, accusing him of covering up the death of a civilian who thought the officer was having an affair with his wife.

January 9, 2019

House Dems announce bill to demand Donald Trump’s tax returns

Two senior House Democrats announced legislation Wednesday to force a sitting president to release his tax returns to the public, in a move aimed squarely at President Trump.

January 9, 2019

Roxana Orellana Santos, illegal immigrant activist, detained by ICE in Maryland

Deportation officers on Tuesday took a prominent Maryland illegal immigrant activist into custody in preparation for sending her home to El Salvador, sparking an outcry from other activists who said she was being unfairly targeted.

January 8, 2019

Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer accuse Donald Trump of ‘misinformation and malice’ in border fight

Democrats' top leaders said Tuesday that President Trump had abused the office of the presidency in his Oval Office address demanding a border wall, saying his speech was filled with "misinformation and even malice."

January 8, 2019

Donald Trump vow to have Mexico pay for border wall backfires

In another political time, without President Trump in office, a debate over border fencing would probably look very different.

January 8, 2019

Donald Trump eyes National Emergencies Act to end government shutdown, get border wall built

President George W. Bush flexed the National Emergencies Act in the days after the 2001 terrorist attacks, President Jimmy Carter used it during the Iranian hostage crisis, and President Barack Obama tapped it to handle the swine flu pandemic in 2009. Now it's President Trump who is eyeing the 1976 law.

January 8, 2019

Chamber of Commerce tells GOP to end shutdown with ‘Dreamer’ deal

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called on Congress Tuesday to end the partial government shutdown and strike a deal to trade more border security for legalizing potentially millions of illegal immigrants.

January 8, 2019

Mitch McConnell: Dems’ wall reversal is sign of ‘partisan tantrum’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Democrats Tuesday of a "partisan tantrum," saying they backed border barriers many times before, and have only changed now that President Trump is the one asking for the money.

January 8, 2019

Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer demand equal airtime for Democrats after Donald Trump address

Democratic leaders on Monday asked the broadcast networks for equal airtime to counter President Trump's planned immigration speech Tuesday, saying it's only fair they get a chance to counter his "malice and misinformation."

January 7, 2019

Los Angeles County agrees to purge voter rolls in Judicial Watch settlement

Los Angeles County has agreed to conduct a purge of its voting rolls, in a move that could strip perhaps 1.5 million inactive voters from the lists of those eligible to cast ballots.

January 7, 2019

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Democrats visit Border Patrol station where Felipe Gomez Alonzo died

Democrats on Monday visited the New Mexico spot where a second migrant died last month to demand the government invest more in emergency medical care and provide better treatment for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants surging across the border.

January 7, 2019