Stephen Dinan

Mick Mulvaney, lawmakers take on ‘politically motivated’ appointee at CFPB

Mick Mulvaney made a name for himself in Congress fighting bloated government, an approach he now brings to two jobs at the same time for the Trump administration.

November 29, 2017

House passes rule requiring anti-harassment training for Congress

The House voted Wednesday to force its members and employees to take anti-harassment training, but all sides said there must be more bloodletting -- including full disclosure of the secret ways lawmakers have used taxpayer money to hush up complaints of bad behavior.

November 29, 2017

Trump’s judge picks spur internal battle within GOP

Conservative activists mounted a full-scale assault Wednesday on Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, after he expressed concerns over some of President Trump's judicial nominees and hinted he might not be able to vote for one of them.

November 29, 2017

Ron Johnson demands answers on how Leandra English got job at CFPB

A top Republican demanded answers Wednesday on how Leandra English, the woman Democrats are pushing to be acting director of the government's top consumer advocacy agency, managed to "burrow" into her job and outlast the Obama administration.

November 29, 2017

Chairman details ‘hush fund’ Congress uses to shield harassment complaints

The compliance fund Congress has used to shield complaints of sexual harassment has paid out about $17 million over the past 20 years, but it's unclear how much of that actually went to hush up harassment itself.

November 29, 2017

John Conyers hangs on amid harassment allegations, but Democrats line up to take his job

Rep. John Conyers Jr. hasn't resigned yet, but his colleagues are already lining up to permanently take over his post as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

November 29, 2017

Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi move closer to shutdown showdown

Democratic leaders ignited a new shutdown showdown in Washington on Tuesday after they refused to show for what was supposed to be a bipartisan meeting with President Trump, trying to cut him out of negotiations as Congress faces a long to-do list before year's end.

November 28, 2017

Trump slams ‘Chuck and Nancy’ for skipping meeting

Trump slams 'Chuck and Nancy' for skipping meeting

November 28, 2017

Voters increasingly skeptical of allegations against Roy Moore in Alabama Senate race

Alabama voters are increasingly skeptical of the accusations against GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore, according to new polling released this week that also shows Mr. Moore has recovered his lead in the race.

November 28, 2017

Schumer, Pelosi refuse to meet with Trump as shutdown showdown begins

The top two Democrats in Congress abruptly canceled a meeting with President Trump on Tuesday, saying he's no longer a viable negotiating partner but rather a "destructive force" in trying to strike an end-of-year spending deal.

November 28, 2017

CFPB acting director fight is third constitutional clash since 2010 formation

With billions of dollars in penalties, fines and new regulatory costs at stake, it's not surprising that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has become the nexus for the latest constitutional clash of the Trump era.

November 27, 2017

Nancy Pelosi now says she believes John Conyers Jr. accuser

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Monday she has spoken with and now believes one of the accusers who've lodged complaints of harassment against Rep. John Conyers Jr., as the country's top female official tried to clean up the mess she'd left a day earlier.

November 27, 2017

Mick Mulvaney Leandra English fight in court over CFPB director

With billions of dollars in penalties, fines and new regulatory costs at stake, it's not surprising that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has become the nexus for the latest constitutional clash of the Trump era.

November 27, 2017

Al Franken refuses to resign, hopes ‘to learn from my mistakes’

Sen. Al Franken said he's open to making the findings of his ethics committee investigation public on Monday, addressing reporters on Capitol Hill for the first time since facing a number of sexual harassment allegations.

November 27, 2017

Trump’s pick would violate consumer bureau independence: Lawsuit

President Trump's move to put one of his own top lieutenants as the government's top Wall Street cop would violate the independence of the agency, the man's competitor for the job said in legal papers filed early Monday morning.

November 27, 2017

Donald Trump, Richard Cordray set up Consumer Financial Protection Bureau clash

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will begin work Monday with two people claiming to be chief of the Wall Street policing agency, in what is shaping up as the latest battle between President Trump and the anti-Trump resistance.

November 26, 2017

DOJ ruling gives Trump upper hand in fight with Democrats over consumer bureau

President Trump acted quickly enough to install his own acting director as the head of the government's chief Wall Street policing agency, the Justice Department said.

November 26, 2017

Trump names Mulvaney as acting director of CFPB, setting up clash with anti-Trump bureaucrats

President Trump named the White House's top manager to be the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau late Friday, setting up a clash with the panel's anti-Trump bureaucrats who have named their own person to lead the agency.

November 25, 2017

Dreamers protest Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to draw attention to their plight

Illegal immigrant "Dreamers" tried to disrupt the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on Thursday, saying they wanted to draw attention to their plight as Congress debates whether to grant them full legal status.

November 23, 2017

Trump calls ICE union chief after complaints of betrayal

President Trump has reached out to the country's deportation officers and asked for a meeting after their union president, Chris Crane, wrote a letter expressing disappointment in the slow pace of change at Homeland Security.

November 22, 2017