Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Supreme Court shoots down Biden’s student loan forgiveness
The Supreme Court struck down President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, ruling Friday that those kinds of big policy questions must be left to Congress, not to executive action. Published June 30, 2023
Black student groups push back after high court ends affirmative action
Black students predicted minority enrollment at major universities will plummet in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision Thursday striking down affirmative action admissions policies. Published June 29, 2023
Black justices battle over meaning of equality in affirmative action case
Justice Clarence Thomas on Thursday offered a majestic view of America waiting to be unshackled from the evils of racial discrimination that began with slavery, persisted through segregation and most recently manifested in affirmative action. Published June 29, 2023
House GOP demands interviews with DOJ, IRS officials in Hunter Biden probe
House Republican chairmen said Thursday that they want to interview the high-ranking Justice Department, FBI and IRS officials who have been accused of derailing a proper probe into Hunter Biden's illegal activities. Published June 29, 2023
‘Kick them when they’re down’: MLK’s family blasts affirmative action ruling
The family of Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a searing rebuke to the Supreme Court after Thursday's ruling striking down race-based affirmative action policies, saying it was an attack on "Black and Brown Americans." Published June 29, 2023
Supreme Court rules for ex-mail carrier refusing to work on Sabbath
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of an ex-postal worker who challenged the U.S. Postal Service for refusing to back his religious accommodation not to work on the Sabbath. Published June 29, 2023
Gas giants: Biden team spewed greenhouse gases by flying 400 people to climate talks
Sometimes it takes a little gas to try to stop more gas. At least that was the logic of the Biden administration, which flew more than 400 government officials to two U.N. climate change conferences in Scotland and Egypt, spewing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Published June 29, 2023
Supreme Court rules race-based affirmative action unconstitutional
Race-infused affirmative action programs violate the Constitution's guarantees of equal treatment, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a pair of monumental decisions striking down the policies used by major colleges and universities to try to add more Black and Hispanic students to their ranks. Published June 29, 2023
Pork product: Congress bellies up to the trough with earmark spending
Roy Blunt departed the Senate in style last year, helping direct $61 million in taxpayers' money to a University of Missouri building that the school had named for him. For good measure, he earmarked another $30 million for a Missouri State University building that also bore the Republican lawmaker's name. Published June 29, 2023
Three House committees to investigate DOJ’s handling of Hunter Biden investigation
The chairs of three House committees said Wednesday they are now investigating the government's handling of its investigation into Hunter Biden, saying the president's son was given kid-glove treatment. Published June 28, 2023
Debt squeeze: Interest payments will swamp the federal budget
Uncle Sam's massive pile of debt is really starting to bite, according to a new Congressional Budget Office analysis Wednesday that shows rising interest costs are starting to eat up more of the government's spending money. Published June 28, 2023
U.S. charges four Mexicans in death of 53 migrants trapped in sweltering truck
Federal prosecutors announced charges Tuesday against four Mexicans they say helped orchestrate last year's smuggling tragedy that saw 53 illegal immigrants die after being trapped in a tractor-trailer on a 100-degree Texas afternoon. Published June 27, 2023
The Great Grift: More than $200 billion in COVID-19 aid may have been stolen, federal watchdog says
The Small Business Administration paid out $1.2 trillion in pandemic loans and more than $200 billion of that may have gone to fraudsters, according to a new estimate Tuesday by the agency's inspector general. Published June 27, 2023
Justices limit reach of threat-speech laws, rule prosecutors must show intent to harm
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reaffirmed that truly threatening speech is not protected by the First Amendment, but said states have to prove that the person who said it had at least some understanding that the words crossed a line. Published June 27, 2023
Courts hold power over legislatures in election decisions; SCOTUS tames pandemic chaos
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that state legislators are not the ultimate authority on how elections are conducted, reasoning that state courts can review election rules enacted by lawmakers. Published June 27, 2023
Agents back up claims on Hunter Biden; sensational tales documented over years of tax investigations
For a Washington that's often been burned by too-good-to-be-true stories, the revelations about Hunter Biden by two IRS criminal investigators may seem, well, too good to be true. They testified for hours, under oath, that they had the goods to back up what they were saying. Published June 26, 2023
Justices OK law banning encouragement of illegal immigration
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that makes it illegal to encourage illegal immigration, ruling that it does not stifle First Amendment speech. Published June 23, 2023
Mayorkas’ non-deportation policy survives Supreme Court challenge
The Supreme Court breathed new life into President Biden's lenient immigration policies Friday, giving the Department of Homeland Security tacit approval to refuse to arrest and deport illegal immigrants even where the law says it must try. Published June 23, 2023
IRS investigator says Justice Dept. protected Hunter Biden in tax probe
IRS whistleblowers delivered to Congress a devastating indictment of the Justice Department's handling of the Hunter Biden tax investigation, saying prosecutors blocked search warrants and shut down pursuits of leads, including some that could implicate President Biden. Published June 22, 2023
Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in dispute over water rights
The Supreme Court ruled against the Navajo Nation on Thursday, finding that the peace treaty signed in 1868 does not obligate the federal government to secure water for the tribe. Published June 22, 2023
