Stephen Dinan

Lew’s message to Congress on debt ceiling: It’s your responsibility

The government will only be able to borrow money up through mid-October before the Treasury Department runs out of room and bumps up against the legal limit on U.S. debt, Secretary Jack Lew informed Congress on Monday.

Tea party: Obamacare is now ‘BoehnerCare’

Tea party activists are planning to rally outside of House Speaker John A. Boehner's Ohio office on Tuesday, telling the Republican speaker that if he doesn't use this year's spending fight to defund the health care law, it will hence be known to them as "BoehnerCare."

Obama asserts it’s OK for government to start spending again

In the budget showdown looming next month between Republicans and the White House, the fiscal hawks have their position — Barack Obama is bankrupting the country — and the president has his: There is no crisis, and, actually, it's time to ramp up spending.

Republicans implore Obama: Get off the sidelines on Syria issue; U.N. to visit attack site

Congressional Republicans on Sunday ratcheted up pressure on the White House to intervene in Syria, saying the United States "has sat on the sidelines for too long" amid increasing evidence that the Assad regime used chemical weapons on civilians.

Obama meets with security team to mull Syria options

President Obama held a meeting with his national security team Saturday to review the deteriorating situation in Syria, which saw rebels accuse the regime of President Bashar al-Assad this week of using chemical weapons in an artillery attack on suburban Damascus.

Obama adds to list of illegal immigrants not to deport: Parents

The Obama administration issued a policy late last week telling immigration agents to try not to arrest and deport illegal immigrant parents of minor children — a move that adds to the categories of people the administration is trying not to deport.

Obama says deficit is dropping at near-record pace

Obama: Law schools should offer two-year degree

President Obama, a former law student himself, said Friday that he thinks law schools should look at offering a degree after just two years of study, rather than the standard three years.

Notre Dame to begin accepting illegal immigrants

The University of Notre Dame announced Thursday it will begin admitting illegal immigrants to the school and will provide them with financial aid, saying the move will "strengthen" the student body.

Illegal immigrants arrested in Phoenix deportation protest

Illegal immigrants chained themselves to a gate and blocked a bus in Phoenix on Wednesday in an effort to stop the Obama administration from deporting other illegal immigrants, according to activists who said the move marks an escalation in civil disobedience.

Holder sues Texas to stop voter ID law, congressional maps

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. sued Texas on Thursday, escalating the battle over voting rights and saying the Legislature was intentionally trying to discriminate against Hispanics when it redrew its congressional district maps and passed a voter-ID law.

Obama pitches federal plan to name and shame colleges over costs

Saying the rising costs of college are punishing students who have played by the rules, President Obama on Thursday announced that the federal government will take a broader role in pushing schools to lower costs by rating schools based on their educational value, and in trying to tie taxpayer money to school performance.

Suit says IRS behind the times

A top Democratic congressman and several campaign finance groups sued Wednesday to try to force the Internal Revenue Service to crack down on political groups, saying the reason the agency has encountered so many problems with tea party groups is that it is using 20th century rules to govern 21st century politics.

Puerto Rico fraud ring sets off call for Social Security disability reform

Federal authorities said Wednesday that they arrested 75 people in Puerto Rico on charges of bilking the Social Security disability system of millions of dollars in a scam that is fueling calls for a rethink of how the government pays benefits.

Syria again challenges Obama’s ‘red line’ on chemical weapons

President Obama's "red line" for Syria is once again being tested after rebel forces said Wednesday that the regime of President Bashar Assad used poison gas to attack civilians near Damascus, killing potentially hundreds in what could turn out to be the deadliest deployment of chemical weapons yet.

Obama school tour focus: Doing something about high cost of college

President Obama will call for a major rethinking of how Americans and the government pay for the costs of a college education as he takes a bus tour of the Northeast later this week, the White House said Tuesday, as he tries to revive his second-term agenda.

IRS may be breaking software copyright laws, audit finds

The IRS is using some computer software that it hasn't paid for, and is paying for other programs its employees aren't even using, according to a new audit released Tuesday that said the tax agency could be violating copyright laws.

Illegals snared as immigration debate continues

A massive weekend raid netted several hundred illegal immigrants who were either car wash workers or customers in Phoenix, according to immigrant-rights groups who say the move highlights the ongoing tensions within President Obama's deportation policy.

DHS spends $600,000 to buy $100,000 homes: Report

The Homeland Security Department spent $600,000 apiece to build houses in Arizona that would have gone for less than $100,000, according to a report in the Arizona Republic that's raising questions in Congress.

Senate to hold hearings on NSA privacy violations

The Senate's most senior lawmaker said Friday that the intelligence community is still not being truthful about its snooping activities and how they may be picking up communications from Americans, and vowed to hold hearings when Congress returns from its summer vacation.