Stephen Dinan

Virginia election shows Obamacare can be used as political weapon

Democrats spent heavily to win the Virginia governorship Tuesday, but Republicans said by making the race far closer than polls had projected just a few weeks ago, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli's campaign showed how much of a weapon Obamacare can be in the hands of the GOP.

November 6, 2013

Feds feel shirked for shutdown work, sue for double pay

Some federal workers who were required to remain on the job during the government shutdown said Monday that they have filed a lawsuit demanding double pay, arguing that the government's failure to pay them on time is a violation of labor laws.

November 4, 2013

Lindsey Graham will lead charge in Senate for abortion ban after 20 weeks

After months of waiting and speculation about who would take the lead, Sen. Lindsey Graham — not Sen. Marco Rubio — will be the chief sponsor of a bill designed to ban abortions nationwide after 20 weeks, or the point at which some scientific evidence says fetuses may feel pain.

November 3, 2013

Senate intel committee approves NSA snooping, with restrictions

The Senate intelligence committee voted Thursday to officially affirm the NSA's ability to collect records of Americans' telephone calls, but imposes new restrictions on federal authorities who want to sift through the data.

October 31, 2013

Senate GOP blocks key Obama judge, signals renewed fight over court nominees

Senate Republicans on Thursday filibustered one of President Obama's nominees to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, arguing that although the woman is well-qualified, confirmation would allow Democrats to shift the political balance to the left on the country's second most important court.

October 31, 2013

Medicare paid millions to dead patients, illegal immigrants, probe finds

Medicare paid $23 million for dead patients in 2011 and $29 million for drug benefits for illegal immigrants from 2009 to 2011, according to a report Thursday from the Health and Human Services inspector general.

October 31, 2013

Top GOP leader rejects immigration conference with Senate

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Wednesday that the chamber's Republicans will not go to a conference committee to work out a broad immigration bill with the Senate.

October 30, 2013

Third Republican joins Democrats’ immigration bill

Three Republicans have signed up for House Democrats' immigration bill as of Wednesday afternoon, marking a steady increase in support and adding to pressure on GOP leaders to take some action before the end of the year.

October 30, 2013

Federal deficit dips below $1 trillion for first time in Obama’s tenure

Powered by tax increases and deep budget cuts that held spending in check, the federal deficit dropped to $680 billion in fiscal year 2013, according to a Treasury Department report Wednesday that marks the first subtrillion-dollar deficit since President Obama took office.

October 30, 2013

No more Obama nominees until White House relents on Benghazi: Graham

Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday he will "hold" every future Obama nominee, creating a hurdle for them to reach the Senate floor, until President Obama and the State Department allow Congress to hear from those who were on the ground during last year's Benghazi terrorist attack.

October 30, 2013

Deportations plummet in 2013, lowest since 2007: Report

U.S. authorities deported fewer immigrants in fiscal year 2013 than at any time since President Obama took office, according to secret numbers obtained by the Center for Immigration Studies which suggest Mr. Obama's non-deportation policies have hindered removals of illegal immigrants.

October 30, 2013

Clapper: Foreign agents spy on U.S. leaders, too

Top intelligence officials said Tuesday that foreign leaders are being disingenuous when they express outrage over American snooping of their communications, saying those countries try to spy on American leaders, too.

October 29, 2013

National Parks are costly to keep up, but lawmakers want more

The federal government spends more than $33 for every one of the 24 daily visitors to the national park created to commemorate President Clinton's birthplace, according to a scathing report released Tuesday that said Congress has created far more parks than the system can handle.

October 29, 2013

Patriot Act author introduces bill to halt NSA snooping

The Republican author of the Patriot Act in the House and the senior Democrat in the Senate teamed together Tuesday to write a bill that would stop the National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records and require a court order if the government wants to search through Americans' communications.

October 29, 2013

House issues subpoenas to main Obamacare website contractor

The House's chief investigator said Tuesday he has issued subpoenas to Quality Software Services Inc., demanding documents that will show whether the contractor hired to build the federal Obamacare website took precautions on data security.

October 29, 2013

After a wave of Sandy disaster, a trickle of aid to victims

Congress rushed to send $60.4 billion in emergency money to aid Superstorm Sandy victims, saying people's lives depended on getting the full amount out the door as fast as possible — but a year after the storm, the tally shows very little has been spent.

October 28, 2013

Immigration advocates want human rights monitors to oversee U.S. deportations

Immigrant advocates on Monday asked international human rights monitors to step in and oversee the Obama administration's deportation policies, saying the U.S. is violating international standards both in how it detains people and who it chooses to deport.

October 28, 2013

GOP House member hopes to persuade fellow Republicans on immigration

Rep. Jeff Denham has become the first House Republican to sponsor Democratic leaders' immigration bill in a move Hispanic activists said shows a fracturing of Republican opposition and momentum toward passing a bill this year that would legalize most illegal immigrants.

October 27, 2013

Immigration advocates grow impatient with Obama to take action

President Obama faces an increasingly tough tightrope on immigration, with advocacy groups demanding he take the lead on the issue but Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill saying the more involved he gets, the less likely a deal becomes.

October 24, 2013

Despite Benghazi, Libyans may train with U.S. military

The Obama administration has drawn up draft rules that would end a decadeslong ban on Libyans getting military training in the U.S., according to documents obtained by House Republicans who said Thursday that it's the wrong move after last year's Benghazi attack.

October 24, 2013