Stephen Dinan

Alan Bersin flips on gun sales link to Homeland Security terrorist watch list

A senior Homeland Security official who last week undermined President Obama's push to ban gun sales to those on the government's terrorist watch list now says he was mistaken in his sworn testimony to Congress — but Republicans on the panel aren't buying it.

December 21, 2015

Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell win tax battles, Republican Party unity despite concessions

Republican leaders closed their first year in complete control of Congress with an impressive show of support among their members for spending and tax cuts, avoiding a government shutdown and demonstrating striking party unity despite being unable to rein in President Obama's expansive agenda.

December 20, 2015

Bernard Sanders spat with DNC over Hillary Clinton data breach stretches on

Sen. Bernard Sanders' bizarre spat with the Democratic National Committee stretched into a fourth day Sunday, with the grass-roots contender for the 2016 nomination tempering apologies for staff who breached his rival's campaign files with new swipes at the party's leaders, saying they've treated him unfairly.

December 20, 2015

Hillary Clinton under fire for war policies, Wall Street ties during Democratic debate

Her fellow Democratic presidential hopefuls accused fellow Hillary Clinton of being too eager to go to war without preparing for the chaos that could follow, as they squared off Saturday night in a debate in New Hampshire.

December 19, 2015

Congressional investigation pokes holes in California terrorist’s visa

The two San Bernardino terrorists were approved for a fiance visa even though there was no concrete proof they had ever even met in person, according to a House Judiciary Committee review of their immigration file.

December 19, 2015

DNC restores Sanders campaign’s access to voter files after lawsuit, grassroots pressure

Pressed by a lawsuit and facing a backlash from liberal activists, the Democratic National Committee said Saturday morning it was reinstating Sen. Bernard Sanders' access to the party's voter data files -- though the DNC insisted it is still investigating his campaign's activities.

December 19, 2015

Clinton campaign says Bernie Sanders ‘stole’ campaign secrets

Presidential candidate Bernard Sanders sued the Democratic National Committee Friday afternoon to demand access to the party's voter files after the DNC suspended him for illicitly accessing the campaign files of his competitor, Hillary Clinton.

December 18, 2015

Ken Cuccinelli endorses Ted Cruz for president

Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential bid Friday at an appearance in Mechanicsville, Virginia, praising the Texas GOP hopeful as someone who will respect rights and bring the deficit under control.

December 18, 2015

Obama overstates extent of Homeland Security’s social media screening

President Obama said Friday that social media is already part of the Homeland Security Department's screening process when deciding to issue visas, but his top immigration officials told Congress earlier this week that's not really true.

December 18, 2015

Bernie Sanders threatens to sue DNC over data fight

Sen. Bernard Sanders' campaign accused the Democratic National Committee of "actively attempting to undermine our campaign" Friday after the DNC suspended Mr. Sanders' access to the party's voter file, saying he snooped on what fellow candidate Hillary Clinton was doing.

December 18, 2015

Obama administration to re-examine fiance visas, ramp up social media screening

The Obama administration claimed a mulligan on terrorism Thursday, saying it will go back and retroactively re-examine visas it already issued under the fiancee program, trying to spot other would-be terrorists after this month's San Bernardino, California, attack.

December 17, 2015

DHS official: Don’t use terror watch list to stop gun sales

A top Homeland Security official shot a hole in Democrats' efforts to deny gun sales to those on the government's terrorist watch lists, saying Thursday that the list isn't designed for those sorts of uses.

December 17, 2015

Budget deal increases federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars

Having reached a deal on a nearly $2 trillion deal to keep the government open, President Obama and congressional leaders tried to build support Wednesday for the massive bill, which hikes spending across government, thrilling Democrats, and extends a host of special interest tax breaks, exciting Republicans.

December 16, 2015

Massive spending agreement reached; 2,009-page bill spends $572 million per page

The new spending deal reached early Wednesday morning spans more than 2,000 pages, spends $1.149 trillion -- and lawmakers will have only a few days to digest it all before they're asked to vote on the legislation, which lays out Congress's priorities for the rest of fiscal year 2016.

December 16, 2015

Tax deal doles out year-end goodies for NASCAR tracks, racehorses, college students

Congressional leaders agreed to a budget-busting set of tax cuts late Tuesday as part of a year-end, clear-the-decks deal that marks a major reversal from the last four years' focus on deficits and streamlining the tax code.

December 16, 2015

Donald Trump defends Muslim ban as security dominates Republican debate

Donald Trump defended his call for a halt on Muslim visitors to the U.S., taking credit for having ignited a needed conversation over the roots of terrorism, as he and the rest of the Republican presidential field faced off Tuesday in their final debate of the year with fear of another terrorist attack growing among the electorate.

December 15, 2015

Ted Cruz rules out legalizing illegal immigrants

Sen. Ted Cruz ruled out ever legalizing illegal immigrants in Tuesday's GOP presidential debate as he tried to draw distinctions between himself and Sen. Marco Rubio on the thorny issue that has cleaved the Republican Party.

December 15, 2015

Homeland Security social media screening ‘common sense’ for visas, lawmakers agree

Fearing the U.S. is losing the battle against the Islamic State terrorist network in cyberspace, those on all sides of the political spectrum demanded Tuesday that the administration immediate begin screening social media profiles of all visitors and enlist tech companies in the battle to shut down radical Islam's presence online.

December 15, 2015

Donald Trump’s Muslim ban rejected by Republicans in undercard debate

Donald Trump wasn't even on the stage yet and he was already the focus of Republicans in Tuesday's undercard presidential debate, with his fellow contenders rejecting his plans to halt Muslim visitors.

December 15, 2015

Obama demands compassion for Syrian refugees as he swears in new citizens

President Obama made a pitch Tuesday for Americans to remember their immigrant roots, describing the U.S. as the traditional home for refugees fleeing the world's worst troubles.

December 15, 2015