Susan Crabtree

Timing good for Japanese prime minister’s visit

In many ways, the timing of Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Friday visit to Washington and talks with President Obama couldn't be better for both leaders.

February 21, 2013

Another pitch for spending on roads, bridges

One day after warning about the dire consequences of failing to break through Washington's latest budget impasse, President Obama renewed his call for directing tens of billions of federal dollars to rebuilding the nation's roads, bridges and ports.

February 20, 2013

Stimulus spending in the face of sequestration: Obama lays out ambitious $50 billion roads plan

The White House is detailing plans the President Obama first announced in his State of the Union address to direct tens of billions of federal dollars to rebuilding roads and bridges across the country.

February 20, 2013

Obama, GOP battle over cuts: ‘Common sense’ or ‘meat-cleaver’?

Republican leaders pushed back against new pressure from President Obama that they must compromise to avert looming budget cuts, countering that Democrats must accept serious reforms to entitlement programs to get a deal through Congress.

February 19, 2013

NATO nominee Allen will retire

Marine Gen. John Allen, the former top commander in Afghanistan, is retiring from the military instead of enduring what likely would have been a messy Senate confirmation process to be NATO supreme commander.

February 19, 2013

White House reporters get flak

The tables turned on the White House press corps on Day 3 of the dust-up with President Obama over the White House's decision to shut out reporters during Mr. Obama's all-guy golf weekend vacation with Tiger Woods in Florida.

February 19, 2013

Gen. John Allen to retire, won’t seek NATO post

Gen. John Allen is retiring from the military instead of enduring what likely would have been a messy Senate confirmation process to be NATO supreme commander.

February 19, 2013

Just stop it, already! Obama pressures Congress to halt looming spending cuts

President Obama stepped before the television cameras Tuesday morning to urge congressional Republicans to avoid the automatic, across-the-board budget cuts scheduled to hit the government at the beginning of March.

February 19, 2013

Obama seizes slow news cycle during recess to pressure GOP to avoid sequester cuts

President Obama delivers an address Tuesday morning urging Republicans to avoid the automatic, across-the-board budget cuts scheduled to hit the government at the beginning of March, according to a White House official.

February 19, 2013

Obama golfs, reporters teed off

Undeterred by complaints from the White House press corps about a lack of access, President Obama spent Presidents Day playing his third straight day of golf to wrap up a secluded guys' weekend at an exclusive golf course in Florida.

February 18, 2013

Dodd-Frank offshoot cited as too secretive

After the 2008 economic crisis, President Obama pledged to hold banks and financial institutions more accountable and shine a light on the government agencies that regulate them, but watchdogs say a new panel created to head off another market meltdown is shrouding itself in secrecy.

February 17, 2013

Obama speech veers from economy to cover a laundry list of issues

President Obama focused much of his State of the Union address on the economy, but he spent roughly a third of his speaking time Tuesday night on a laundry list of issues, including climate change, gun control, immigration and ease of voting.

February 12, 2013

Obama set to take 34,000 troops out of Afghanistan

The U.S. drawdown in Afghanistan has shifted into a higher gear, with nearly half the troops set to leave over the next year. President Obama plans to announce in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night that 34,000 troops will leave Afghanistan in the next 12 months.

February 12, 2013

Obama poised to refocus on economy

With a number of weighty issues — from budget deadlines to guns and immigration — competing for his attention, the president will use Tuesday night's State of the Union address to again try to persuade the country that his top priority is the economy.

February 11, 2013

White House previously denied handing Benghazi response off to Panetta

Before Defense Secretary Leon Panetta revealed that President Obama never talked to him the rest of the night about the response to the attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi after first learning about it the afternoon of Sept. 11, the White House had tried to dodge questions on whether Mr. Obama handed the issue off to Mr. Panetta to handle.

February 8, 2013

Obama’s prayer for ‘comity’ is short-lived

President Obama appealed for "comity" Thursday morning at the National Prayer Breakfast, exhorting the country's leaders to rise above partisan politics and come together to solve problems. By afternoon, he was rallying fellow Democrats, challenging Republicans to a public duel over raising taxes to solve the nation's budget woes, and promising to lead the charge to restore Nancy Pelosi to her former post as speaker of the House.

February 7, 2013

President Obama vows to make Nancy Pelosi speaker of the House again

President Obama, speaking to House Democrats at a party retreat in Lansdowne, Va., on Thursday, told lawmakers that if they stick to their principles, "I expect Nancy Pelosi will be speaker again."

February 7, 2013

Prayer-punch combo: Obama calls for unity in morning, challenges opponents in afternoon

President Obama spent Thursday morning at the National Prayer Breakfast exhorting the country's leaders to rise above partisan politics and come together to solve problems. By afternoon, he was challenging Republicans to a public duel over raising taxes to solve the nation's budget woes.

February 7, 2013

Obama slow in restocking Cabinet for 2nd term

Even though the White House Cabinet turnstile seems to be spinning out of control in recent weeks with first-term secretaries bolting for the private sector and fresh faces coming in rapidly, President Obama is still weeks behind in putting together his second-term team compared with the pace set by the previous two presidents.

February 6, 2013

Congress gets Obama data on use of drones

With the fate of his pick to head the CIA in danger, President Obama reversed course Wednesday night and released to Congress the classified legal advice that the Justice Department has given the White House on using drones to execute American citizens in the war on terrorism.

February 6, 2013