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Articles by Stephen Dinan

Congress spent less time in session, handled less business on the chamber floors and generally sputtered for much of President Obama's tenure. (Associated Press)

Obama scores poorly in working with Congress on legislation

President Obama oversaw the deepest legislative malaise in modern political history, according to the Washington Times Legislative Index, which captures his struggles to find ways to work with a Congress that ranged from lukewarm to openly hostile toward him.

January 17, 2017
FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2016, file photo, Interior Secretary-designate Rep. Ryan Zinke, right, R-Mont., arrives in Trump Tower, in New York, Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. Zinke says he would never sell, give away or transfer public lands, a crucial stance in his home state of Montana and the West, where access to hunting and fishing is considered sacrosanct. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Ryan Zinke defends expansive federal reach in land policies

Rep. Ryan Zinke, the nominee to head the Interior Department, will cast himself Tuesday as a champion of the federal government expanding its reach over federal lands, in a move that could signal friction with his own GOP colleagues.

January 17, 2017
The Pentagon needs more fighter aircraft, an increase in the number of Navy ships, a higher number of Marines and Air Force personnel and a major modernization of the Army, military leaders say. (Associated Press/File)

John McCain plans massive boost in spending to build military

Sen. John McCain called Monday for a massive boost in defense spending totaling more than $85 billion per year over the next half-decade, saying that is just the beginning of what it will take to restore the U.S. military to a dominant role.

January 16, 2017
Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson talks to reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, after a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Lockheed Martin changes tune, says it can cut costs on F-35

Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson returned to Trump Tower Friday to promise President-elect Donald Trump she'll drive down the costs of the F-35, as she tries to save her company's lucrative but troubled contract for the fighter jet.

January 13, 2017
"There won't be a deportation force," House Speaker Paul D. Ryan told CNN in a town hall. (Associated Press)

Paul Ryan rules out Donald Trump’s ‘deportation force’

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday that illegal immigrant Dreamers don't have to worry about being deported under a Trump administration, telling a mother that there won't be a deportation force "knocking on your door this year."

January 12, 2017
FILE - In this July 7, 2015, file photo, immigrants from El Salvador who entered the country illegally walk through a bus after they were released from a family detention center in San Antonio. Central Americans attempting to enter the United States illegally on the country's border with Mexico helped drive a 15 percent increase in immigration arrests during the 2016 fiscal year, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security figures released Friday, Dec. 30. 2016. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

New push for temporary amnesty emerges on Capitol Hill

A bipartisan coalition on Capitol Hill introduced legislation Thursday to grant young adult illegal immigrants here under President Obama's 2012 amnesty a more permanent legal status, saying the bill will protect them from deportations while Congress works out a more permanent solution.

January 12, 2017
Attorney General-designate, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Democrats say Russia-Trump debate could affect Sessions nomination

Attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions should be forced to reveal how he would grapple with reports that Russia believes it has compromising information on President-elect Donald Trump, a top Senate Democrat said Wednesday, opening a new line of attack on the future Cabinet.

January 11, 2017
Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, said U.S. Border Patrol agents need to be allowed to go after migrants, and he criticized the Obama administration for giving "a pass" to the illegal immigrants caught inside the U.S. and to the cities and counties that shield them. (Associated Press)

John Kelly promises to speed up deportations

Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly promised Tuesday to enforce laws against sanctuary cities and said the solution to rising illegal immigration is to deport more people faster, as he laid out a starkly different direction for the Homeland Security Department under a Trump administration.

January 10, 2017
Sen. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican (Associated Press) **FILE**

Senate votes to keep ban on earmark spending

Senate Republicans voted Tuesday to reimpose a ban on earmarks in the new Congress that just began, meaning lawmakers will once again be prevented from slipping their favored pork projects into bills.

January 10, 2017