S.A. Miller
Articles by S.A. Miller
GOP nixes vote on border and abortion bills
Facing a rebellion in their own ranks, House Republican leaders scrapped their plans to vote this week on their first border security bill of the new Congress, blaming the weather for the delay but buying themselves time to try to stiffen the bill and make it more palatable to conservatives. Published January 26, 2015
John Boehner-Mitch McConnell retreat in Obama amnesty funding fight alarms conservatives
Conservatives saw it as raising a white flag when Republican congressional leaders pledged not to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security in the fight over President Obama's deportation amnesty. Published January 25, 2015
GOP senators confront Eric Holder on U.S. fugitives in Cuba
A group of Senate Republicans pressed Attorney General Eric H. Holder on Friday to explain the administration's policy for U.S. fugitives in Cuba, including a convicted cop killer, following President Obama's announced normalization of relations with the communist island nation. Published January 23, 2015
Harry Reid returns to Capitol after freak accident
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid returned Thursday to the Capitol with his face bruised and bandaged after a freak exercise accident that crushed his eye socket, vowing to soon return to a full work schedule and run for re-election in two years. Published January 22, 2015
Larry Hogan takes office with promise of bipartisanship, conservative agenda
At his inauguration as Maryland's 62nd governor, Republican Larry Hogan proclaimed his intention to usher in a new era of bipartisanship and cooperation in a state capital dominated by the Democratic Party, even as he outlined an unabashedly conservative pro-business agenda. Published January 21, 2015
Mitch McConnell urges Obama to use State of the Union to unify, not divide
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he hoped President Obama would use the State of the Union to highlight areas of agreement with the GOP-controlled Congress — but that's not the tone he expects the president to strike. Published January 20, 2015
Republicans doubt Obama willing to negotiate, brace for bitter confrontations
House and Senate Republicans came away from their joint retreat in Hershey, Pennsylvania, this weekend bracing for bitter confrontations with President Obama and skeptical that the president is willing to make deals even on the handful of policies where the executive and legislative branches could find agreement. Published January 18, 2015
Republican senators vow more Iran sanctions despite Obama warnings
Republican senators vowed Sunday to pursue additional sanctions against Iran, brushing off unusually blunt and dire warnings from President Obama that any more penalties for Tehran would threaten to scuttle nuclear talks and possibly lead to war. Published January 18, 2015
Jason Chaffetz calls Obama’s tax plan a ‘non-starter’
A top House Republican on Sunday declared President Obama's tax plan dead on arrival in Congress. Published January 18, 2015
Mike Huckabee says presidential run won’t be affected by others’ decisions
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who once said he'd consider backing off a 2016 presidential run if his friend Jeb Bush was in the race, said Sunday that he won't bow out for the former Florida governor or anybody else. Published January 18, 2015
John Boehner: Patriot Act snooping helped stop Capitol bomb plot
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Thursday that the National Security Agency's snooping powers helped stop a plot to attack the Capitol and that his colleagues need to keep that in mind as they debate whether to renew the law that allows the government to collect bulk information from its citizens. Published January 15, 2015
Paul Ryan kills gas tax idea
Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, ruled out Thursday the possibility of the House taking up a bill to raise the gasoline tax to pay for highway projects, and idea that has been floated by Senate Republicans. Published January 15, 2015
Joni Ernst to deliver GOP response to State of the Union
Republican congressional leaders announced Thursday that they had picked one of their newly elected members, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, to deliver the party's response to President Obama's State of the Union address next week. Published January 15, 2015
Republicans squeamish about using power of purse to fight Obama’s deportation amnesty
Senate Republican leaders signaled Thursday that they are not willing to hold homeland security funding hostage in order to force President Obama to reverse his deportation amnesty, undercutting conservatives' strategy and diminishing the impact of this week's House votes. Published January 15, 2015
Dan Coats, Marco Rubio challenge Obama’s power to ‘unilaterally’ lift Cuba sanctions
A pair of Republican senators demanded Wednesday that the Treasury explain how it will carry out President Obama's order to normalize relations with Cuba and lift sanctions imposed under existing law. Published January 14, 2015
House votes to cancel Obama amnesties; bill faces veto threat
Brushing aside Democrats' warnings of permanent political doom, House Republicans voted Thursday to cancel President Obama's deportation amnesties, casting it as an effort to undo a runaway White House untethered either to the Constitution or its own words and promises. Published January 14, 2015
GOP lawmakers champion Army officer convicted of murder in war zone
Three Republican congressmen have taken up the cause of Clint Lorance, a jailed former Army lieutenant fighting to overturn his murder conviction by a U.S. military court for killing two Afghan men in a war zone. Published January 13, 2015
John Boehner aims to cancel Obama amnesty a year after immigration reform push
The House GOP heads for its annual policy retreat Thursday in a very different place on immigration than just a year ago, when House Speaker John A. Boehner had hoped to use the gathering as a springboard to push his troops to approve a broad bill legalizing illegal immigrants. Published January 13, 2015
John Boehner plot: Ohio bartender Michael Hoyt intended to poison, shoot House speaker
An Ohio bartender at House Speaker John A. Boehner's country club plotted to poison him by putting something in his drink, blaming the top Republican for the spread of Ebola and various other problems, federal authorities charged in a recent indictment. Published January 13, 2015
Mitt Romney weighs another presidential run on phone with John McCain
As he mulls a third run for the White House, Mitt Romney put in a call Tuesday to another failed two-time presidential contender, Sen. John McCain, to talk about it, the senator said. Published January 13, 2015