Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Federal government spent $6.6 trillion during fiscal 2020
The federal government spent a stunning $6.6 trillion in fiscal year 2020, and had to borrow nearly half that, sending taxpayers far deeper into debt, administration officials said Friday. Published October 18, 2020
Prince William County escalates sanctuary battle with ICE
Prince William County's jail released an illegal immigrant late last month despite a federal criminal warrant for his arrest, marking what federal officials see as an escalation of sanctuary policies. Published October 18, 2020
Martha McSally pummels Mark Kelly over communist China ties
It was a stunning charge Sen. Martha McSally lobbed at Democratic opponent Mark Kelly: that the former Space Shuttle astronaut, on his 2006 flight, took a Chinese flag as his sole personal item. And that he carried a Chinese communist banner on his motorcycle. Published October 18, 2020
Smugglers abandon children on banks of Rio Grande
Border Patrol agents found four young illegal immigrant children abandoned on the banks of the Rio Grande near Brownsville, Texas, Saturday morning, after they were smuggled across then left there by their guide. Published October 17, 2020
Supreme Court to rule on Trump’s census illegal immigrant order
The Supreme Court said Friday it will speed a case to decide whether President Trump can exclude illegal immigrants from the census count he will submit to Congress to allocate seats in the U.S. House for the coming decade. Published October 16, 2020
Nuke Bizzle, rapper who sang about bilking unemployment, is arrested for bilking unemployment
Federal authorities arrested Nuke Bizzle, a rapper whose real name is Fontrell Antonio Baines, and charged him Friday with unemployment fraud, accusing him of taking other people's identities and signing up to collect unemployment in their names. Published October 16, 2020
Feds end fiscal year with record-shattering spending, deficit
The federal government spent a stunning $6.6 trillion in fiscal year 2020, and had to borrow nearly half that, sending taxpayers far deeper into debt, administration officials said Friday. Published October 16, 2020
ICE sweeps through D.C., other sanctuary cities; more than 170 arrests
ICE deportation officers fanned out across six sanctuary city regions in recent weeks, officials announced Friday, nabbed more than 170 illegal immigrants who'd been released by local police in defiance of deportation requests. Published October 16, 2020
Navajo voters lose bid for special protections
A group of Navajo voters lost their bid Thursday for special voting rules, after a federal appeals court said they lacked standing to bring their lawsuit, and besides, the extra time they were asking to get their ballots in just isn't feasible. Published October 15, 2020
Texas judge blocks governor’s limits on early voting ballot collection
A state judge in Texas issued a ruling Thursday blocking Gov. Greg Abbott's attempt to limit counties to one collection box each for early-voting ballots to be returned, saying it flies in the face of coronavirus safety precautions. Published October 15, 2020
Senate Judiciary Committee to hold vote on Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 22
Senate Republicans scheduled a vote in the Judiciary Committee next week on Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett, overcoming Democrats' attempts to scuttle the quick pace to confirmation. Published October 15, 2020
Amy Coney Barrett fends off Democrats in drama-free confirmation hearings
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett emerged unscathed Wednesday after three days of confirmation hearings, fending off Democrats' toughest questions and leaving her on a path to be sitting on the high court within weeks. Published October 14, 2020
Advocates push for census inclusion as Trump admin’s deadline looms
Cities, counties and civil rights and immigration groups launched a last-minute sprint Wednesday to get people to respond to the census, after the Trump administration announced it will cut off the 2020 count just before midnight Thursday. Published October 14, 2020
Illegal border crossings plummet in 2020
Illegal immigration across the southwestern border plummeted over the last year as President Trump's policies and the coronavirus pandemic took hold -- but officials warned they're already seeing signs of a new surge they said could shatter records. Published October 14, 2020
Lindsey Graham: Amy Coney Barrett will shatter glass ceiling for pro-life women
Judge Amy Coney Barrett will become the first avowedly pro-life woman to reach the Supreme Court, shattering a glass ceiling for women and challenging the liberal orthodoxy on what beliefs women must hold, Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday. Published October 14, 2020
Amy Coney Barrett responds to ‘White colonizers’ attack over adopted children
An emotional Judge Amy Coney Barrett said Tuesday that her family has been hurt by "cruel" comments from anti-Trump opponents who derided her adoption of two children from Haiti. Published October 13, 2020
Amy Coney Barrett rejects Donald Trump ‘pawn’ talk
Judge Amy Coney Barrett made no commitments to President Trump and passionately rejected insinuations she would be his "pawn" in upcoming rulings on Obamacare and possibly the 2020 election, the Supreme Court nominee told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday. Published October 13, 2020
Supreme Court stops 2020 census from continuing
The Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday that halts the 2020 census count in place, delivering a victory to the Trump administration, which is rushing to complete the enumeration and submit the final results to Congress this year. Published October 13, 2020
Judge Barrett decries ‘attacks’ on family, ‘caricatures’ of her Catholic faith
Judge Amy Coney Barrett said Tuesday that her family has been "attacked" and she's seen "caricatures floating around" concerning her Catholic faith, but said she's going through it because she feels a duty to defend the law. Published October 13, 2020
Amy Coney Barrett hearing turned in Obamacare referendum
Senate Democrats, who have few chances to derail Judge Amy Coney Barrett's elevation to the Supreme Court, sought to turn her confirmation hearings into a referendum on the fate of Obamacare, saying Monday that her vote in an upcoming case means "life or death" for millions of Americans who rely on the health care law. Published October 12, 2020
