David Sherfinski
Articles by David Sherfinski
Supreme Court to hear case on NYC handgun transport restrictions
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear a case on whether New York City's handgun transport restrictions violate the Second Amendment and the U.S. Constitution -- the first time in nearly a decade that the high court will take up a major case involving gun rights. Published January 22, 2019
John Yarmuth, House Budget Committee chairman, sees ‘no way’ to balance U.S. budget
The country's fiscal picture is so bad that Rep. John Yarmuth, the new Democratic chairman of the House Budget Committee, says he doesn't see a realistic way to write a budget that will get to balance within a decade. Published January 21, 2019
House Democrats plan to pass spending bill package
House Democrats are planning to vote this week on a package of bills designed to prove that President Trump's demand for a border wall is the only holdup to getting most of the rest of government funded. Published January 20, 2019
Nancy Pelosi’s comment about immoral border wall reveals tension in Democratic Party
Senate Democrats are refusing to embrace House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's rhetoric denouncing border walls as an "immorality," but they are being careful to avoid undercutting her new role as the party's leader in the shutdown standoff. Published January 17, 2019
House to revote on stopgap funding bill next week
The House will try again next week to pass a stopgap funding bill members had initially approved by voice vote Thursday, after Republicans said Democrats didn't give them a chance to ask for a recorded vote. Published January 17, 2019
Larry Hogan, Maryland governor, sworn in for second term
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Wednesday was sworn in for his second term in office, calling for a repudiation of the kind of "debilitating" politics plaguing Washington, D.C., and holding up politicians like former President George H.W. Bush and Sen. John McCain as models to emulate. Published January 16, 2019
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan to call for repudiation of ‘debilitating’ politics in second inaugural
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Wednesday was sworn in for his second term in office, calling for a repudiation of the kinds of "debilitating" politics plaguing Washington and holding up Republican politicians such as the late former President George H.W. Bush and the late Sen. John McCain as models to emulate. Published January 16, 2019
Maryland Republicans brace for tough 2019 legislative session
After failing last year to break up the Democratic supermajorities in the Maryland House and Senate, Republicans are bracing for a potentially tough 2019 legislative session — while also making clear that they're not content to sit on their hands. Published January 15, 2019
Larry Hogan to fight Maryland gerrymandering despite Democrat legislature
Having spent his first four years dialing back the tax and spending increases of his Democratic predecessor, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will kick off his second term this week looking to make big changes to the way politics are done in the state. Published January 14, 2019
Shutdown won’t end with border wall resolution
Even if the wall debate is resolved, it's not necessarily the end of the shutdown that has gone well into its fourth week. Published January 13, 2019
House passes legislation to fund Interior Department, EPA, provide back pay for federal workers
The House on Friday passed another spending bill that would reopen parts of the federal government, including the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency and national parks. Published January 11, 2019
House passes legislation to fund agriculture, transportation, housing programs
The House on Thursday passed two more bills to re-open shuttered federal agencies that would provide full-year funding for programs dealing with agriculture, transportation, and housing as the partial government shutdown closes in on entering its fourth week. Published January 10, 2019
GOP talks on broader border deal collapse
Republican mavericks declared defeat Thursday on their attempt to cobble together an immigration grand bargain to end the government shutdown after neither the White House nor Democratic leaders leaped at the idea of trading wall money for citizenship rights for "Dreamers," immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children. Published January 10, 2019
House passes spending bill to fund IRS, other agencies through Sept. 30
The House on Wednesday passed a $24 billion spending bill that funds the IRS and other agencies affected by the partial government shutdown through Sept. 30, as Democrats look to flex their new majority to put pressure on congressional Republicans amid the ongoing standoff. Published January 9, 2019
Donald Trump walks out of shutdown meeting with Democrats
President Trump walked out of shutdown negotiations with Democratic leaders Wednesday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to agree to any money for his border fence, ending the most contentious meeting yet in the 19-day-old government shutdown with no solution in sight. Published January 9, 2019
Chuck Schumer: Donald Trump didn’t persuade ‘a soul’ with Oval Office address
Congressional Democrats on Wednesday said President Trump's Oval Office address Tuesday evening did little to move the ball forward on ending a partial shutdown of the federal government and that Mr. Trump needs to back off his demands for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Published January 9, 2019
House Democrats put off rite of reading Constitution to convene new Congress
Democrats haven't expelled the Constitution from the floor of the House, but they have put off what had become a semiannual rite of having members convene a new Congress by reading the founding document on the chamber floor. Published January 8, 2019
Donald Trump eyes National Emergencies Act to end government shutdown, get border wall built
President George W. Bush flexed the National Emergencies Act in the days after the 2001 terrorist attacks, President Jimmy Carter used it during the Iranian hostage crisis, and President Barack Obama tapped it to handle the swine flu pandemic in 2009. Now it's President Trump who is eyeing the 1976 law. Published January 8, 2019
Congressional Democrats roll out new gun-purchase background check legislation
Congressional Democrats on Tuesday announced new legislation to expand gun-purchase background checks to cover online and private sales, looking to push the gun issue early in the new Congress after taking control of the House. Published January 8, 2019
Steny Hoyer: Trump lacks authority to use emergency powers to build wall
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Tuesday he does not believe President Trump has the authority to invoke emergency powers to secure funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall -- something Mr. Trump says he's considering amid the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government. Published January 8, 2019
