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Articles by Stephen Dinan

President Obama deployed top officials to Capitol Hill, set up calls to brief the press and had aides try to win back support from dozens of governors who said they would do everything in their power to stymie the president's attempts to resettle Syrians in their states. (Associated Press)

Obama stands firm on Syrian refugee plan amid rising opposition

Administration officials and charities that aid refugees fought a feverish rearguard action Tuesday to defend President Obama's plans to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S. this year, but with opposition building, Republicans and even a key Democrat said it may be time for the White House to hit "pause."

November 17, 2015
Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, said the increasing worldwide threat posed by the Islamic State, as evidenced by last week's deadly Paris attacks, shows the U.S. needs to continue build data collection efforts to head off any future attacks. (Associated Press)

Republicans say phone snooping might undermine Islamic State

A Republican senator launched a last-ditch effort to save the NSA's phone-snooping program Tuesday, introducing legislation that would force the Obama administration to keep collecting and storing Americans' phone data until the government can prove its replacement program is as effective.

November 17, 2015
"In the end, I don't trust this administration to effectively vet the people that they're asking us to take in. We need to put the safety and security of the American people first," said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate. (Associated Press)

Governors reject Syrian refugees; Obama officials defend 10,000 target

President Obama called them un-American, but opponents rallied Monday to resist his plans to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. this year and enlisted the help of some two dozen governors -- Democrats and Republicans -- who signaled that they would try to resist having refugees sent to their states.

November 16, 2015
Known officially as Deferred Action for Parental Arrivals, or DAPA, President Obama's plan was intended to grant up to 5 million illegal immigrants a proactive three-year stay of deportation and to give them work permits, allowing them to come out of the shadows and join American society — though they were still considered to be in the country illegally. (Associated Press)

Obama administration vows to take deportation amnesty fight to Supreme Court — and win

The White House vowed Tuesday to appeal to the Supreme Court this week's court ruling blocking President Obama's deportation amnesty, and Hispanic voters said they'll make Republicans pay at the polls for supporting the lawsuit in which a three-judge panel ruled President Obama broke immigration law in granting tentative status to illegal immigrants.

November 10, 2015
Republican presidential candidates John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina and Rand Paul take the stage during Republican presidential debate at Milwaukee Theatre, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

GOP clashes over minimum wage hike

The Republican presidential hopefuls clashed over the idea of setting a national $15 minimum wage, kicking off Tuesday'sfourth presidential debate with most of them saying hiking the wage would backfire and actually chase lower-income people from the workforce.

November 10, 2015