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Articles by Stephen Dinan

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, and Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, stand together Feb, 13, 2015, at a ceremony before the signing of the bill authorizing expansion of the Keystone XL pipeline, at the Capitol in Washington. (Associated Press) **FILE**

GOP leaders vow to resurrect Obama trade deal

Republican leaders will try to resurrect the trade deal Democrats sank less than a week ago, planning a revote Thursday and insisting they will corral enough votes to approve fast-track negotiating powers that President Obama needs to complete a legacy-building Pacific Rim agreement.

June 17, 2015
President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. leave meeting with House Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2015. The president made an 11th-hour appeal to dubious Democrats on Friday in a tense run-up to a House showdown on legislation to strengthen his hand in global trade talks (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

House gives Obama trade vote do-over

The House on Tuesday bought itself another month and a half to pass fast-track trade negotiating powers for President Obama -- though it remains unclear whether the White House will be able to sway enough votes for it to matter.

June 16, 2015
FILE - In this April 22, 2015 file photo, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. When hackers broke into a database filled with the private information of U.S. security clearance holders, they likely got access to the names of foreign relatives of some of those officials who are living abroad. "It may be the single biggest breach of data that our government has ever had," said Chaffetz on teh C-SPAN Newsmakers program, calling the stolen data "the most sensitive information we have." (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Jason Chaffetz: Federal cybersecurity ‘stinks’

The House's top investigator said federal cybersecurity at the government's human resources agency "stinks," and said Tuesday the Office of Personnel Management's efforts to clean up after a breach that saw hackers steal data on millions of Americans fall far short of what's needed.

June 16, 2015
A woman holds a sign that says in Spanish, "without fear I am America," during a rally in support of President Barack Obama's plan to protect more than 4 million people living illegally in the U.S. from deportation Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015, in San Diego. Immigrants expressed disappointment Tuesday after a federal judge put a hold on the president's plan, but many said they haven't lost hope. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Obama amnesty extends to businesses that hire illegals

President Obama took office vowing to go after unscrupulous employers who hire illegal immigrants, but worksite audits have plunged over the last year and a half, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Immigration Studies, tumbling along with the rest of immigration enforcement.

June 16, 2015
President Barack Obama laughs during the beginning of the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner, Friday, June 19, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Obama reneging on sequestration promises four years after deal

Four years after agreeing to "sequestration" budget cuts, the White House has emphatically told Congress that President Obama will no longer abide by them and will use his veto to insist that lawmakers boost spending on defense and domestic programs alike.

June 16, 2015
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Utah Republican. (Associated Press)

OPM audit: Federal background check system vulnerable to cyberattack

The federal agency that lost millions of Americans' most personal data to hackers has long been delinquent on its cybersecurity controls -- including in two particularly sensitive systems that govern most of the government's background checks, an inspector general will tell Congress on Tuesday.

June 16, 2015
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent escorts a handcuffed illegal immigrant convicted of a felony that was taken into custody during an early morning operation in Dallas on March 6, 2015. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

121 murders attributed to illegals released by Obama administration

More than 100 immigrants whom the Obama administration released back into the community went on to be charged with subsequent killings, according to government data released Monday that raises more questions about whether immigration authorities are doing enough to detail illegal immigrants awaiting deportation.

June 15, 2015
FILE - In this July 29, 2014 file photo, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. listens on Capitol Hill in Washington. Republican senators poised to lead major committees when the GOP takes charge are intent on pushing back many of President Barack Obama's policies, setting up potential showdowns over environmental rules, financial regulations and national security. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

GOP tells Obama to ditch a bad Iran nuclear deal

President Obama has caved on too many of his own goals for stopping Iran's nuclear program, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee charged Monday in a letter to the White House urging Mr. Obama to be ready to walk away from the negotiations.

June 15, 2015
Former President Bill Clinton speaks to attendees during a session of the annual gathering of the Clinton Global Initiative America, at the Sheraton Downtown, in Denver, Tuesday, June 9, 2015. CGI America's stated strategy is to bring together leaders from the business and philanthropic communities, along with the non-governmental and government sectors, seeking solutions for economic growth, long-term competitiveness, and social mobility in the United States. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Clinton administration bankrupted CIA ahead of 9/11, ex-director says

The Clinton administration had bankrupted the intelligence community and refused to let the CIA prioritize anti-terrorism over other major priorities in the late 1990s, leaving the agency stretched too thin in the days ahead of the 2001 terrorist attacks, former Director George J. Tenet said in a 2005 document declassified Friday.

June 12, 2015
President Barack Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. and House Minority Assistant Leader James Clyburn of S.C., leave meeting with House Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, June 12, 2015. The president made an 11th-hour appeal to dubious Democrats on Friday in a tense run-up to a House showdown on legislation to strengthen his hand in global trade talks (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Democrats kill Obama’s trade push

House Democrats defied President Obama Friday and doomed his ambitions of a legacy-defining trade deal, undoing a carefully orchestrated chain of events that was supposed to lead to triumphant approval of fast-track trade negotiating powers.

June 12, 2015
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 11, 2015. House Republican leaders are preparing a two-day debate and showdown vote Friday on President Barack Obama's trade agenda, despite heavy Democratic opposition.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

House clears first trade bill, setting stage for Friday showdown

The House cleared the first piece of the complex package of trade bills Thursday, easily approving preferences for Haiti and African countries in a move President Obama and GOP leaders hoped would pave the way for the bigger votes later this week.

June 11, 2015
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., listens during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Jan. 28, 2015, file photo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) ** FILE **

Jeff Flake takes aim at ‘Jurassic pork’ earmarks

Congress may have banned new earmarks, but one senator said Thursday that federal law is still littered with billions of dollars worth of old earmarks that were never spent -- but still could be if a spendthrift administration decided to do so.

June 11, 2015
(AP Photo)

Border Patrol sued over immigrant detention conditions

The ACLU and other immigrant rights groups are asking a federal court to clean up Border Patrol detention facilities in Arizona, arguing Wednesday that illegal immigrants are held for too long, kept in cold, smelly cells, starved and denied medical care, and left without toilet paper or beds.

June 10, 2015