Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
White House offers to let judge overseeing East Wing case tour construction site
The Trump administration on Friday offered to give a personal tour to Judge Richard J. Leon, the man overseeing the court case challenging President Trump's plans to build a ballroom in place of the now-demolished White House East Wing. Published March 13, 2026
Virginia’s new congressional map would be country’s most extreme gerrymander
Virginia's current congressional map, among the fairest in the country, would quickly become one of the most extreme if Democrats carry out their redistricting plans. Published March 12, 2026
U.N. commission scolds Trump over ‘racist’ immigration enforcement surge
A U.N. human rights commission has issued an "urgent action" alert to the Trump administration warning that it has deported too many people, and citing it for "racial profiling and racist hate speech" against refugees and immigrants. Published March 12, 2026
Federal judge halts ICE plans for detention center in Maryland
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday evening blocking ICE from moving ahead with plans to create a migrant detention facility in Williamsport. Published March 11, 2026
Trump asks Supreme Court for OK to cancel deportation amnesty for 350,000 Haitians
The administration sought permission Wednesday from the Supreme Court to cancel deportation amnesty for 350,000 Haitian migrants, saying lower judges have wrongly stymied President Trump's plans. Published March 11, 2026
Democrat-led states sue to stop Trump team from gathering college race admissions data
Democrat-led states sued Wednesday to try to shut down an Education Department effort to gather data on college admissions and race, saying the Trump administration is rushing the process and making life too difficult for the schools. Published March 11, 2026
Court rules first graders have First Amendment rights in Black Lives Matter dispute
A federal appeals court has ruled that First Amendment free speech rights apply all the way down to first graders, as the judges weighed in on a tricky case involving a student who wrote a note to a Black classmate trying to say "all lives matter." Published March 11, 2026
‘Dramatic departure’: Republicans challenge birthright citizenship for babies of illegal immigrants
Senate Republicans sought to add heft Tuesday to President Trump's argument that the Constitution doesn't -- and shouldn't -- require birthright citizenship, saying the great grant of American status shouldn't be reduced to a legal "loophole" of birth. Published March 10, 2026
Loudoun sheriff says cooperating with ICE makes county safer
Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman said his willingness to cooperate with federal immigration authorities is one of the factors that has made his Virginia jurisdiction safer. Published March 10, 2026
Assistant AG Harmeet Dhillon scours social media for tips to act for justice
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon is among the most active Trump officials on social media -- and it's not just her own posts. Published March 10, 2026
‘Your time is up’: Witness tries to silence Sen. John Kennedy
Sen. John Kennedy has made a career out of embarrassing witnesses in congressional hearings, but he met his match Tuesday with Cato Institute scholar David Bier, who came ready for combat. Published March 10, 2026
David Keene, maestro of the conservative movement, dead at 80
David Keene, a towering figure in the growth of the modern conservative movement who was equally comfortable in the weeds of grassroots politics and in the corridors of power in Washington, died Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 80. Published March 9, 2026
Judge voids Trump’s attempt to gut Voice of America
President Trump lacked the power to install Kari Lake as head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, a federal judge ruled Saturday. Published March 8, 2026
Noncitizen charged with voting in Alabama: ‘Simply showed them his … driver’s license’
A Mexican citizen managed to vote in federal elections in Alabama in 2022 and 2024 just by showing his driver's license and without ever being asked to prove he was an American citizen, federal authorities charged in a new criminal case. Published March 7, 2026
ICE down to just 47 extra deportation officers in Minnesota
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has cut its deployment in Minnesota down to just 47 deportation officers and they are focused on picking up deportation targets from prisons and jails, the agency told a federal judge Friday. Published March 7, 2026
Rights groups push Congress to rebuff COVID overreach
Six years after the COVID-19 pandemic began to rip through the U.S., spreading death and sparking draconian shutdowns, the country still has not had a full accounting of the dystopian restrictions the government imposed to try to control the virus -- and the public. Published March 6, 2026
New York AG Letitia James says Border Patrol account of migrant death in Buffalo ‘unreliable’
New York Attorney General Letitia James questioned the Border Patrol's version of events that led up to the death of a migrant in the state late last month, calling it "unreliable" and saying there are too many unanswered questions. Published March 6, 2026
Lawmaker seeks emergency court order to stop Trump from demolishing Kennedy Center
A Democratic congresswoman has rushed to court to try to prevent President Trump from closing and demolishing the Trump Kennedy Center. Published March 6, 2026
Legionella found at federal building that holds ICE detainees in Baltimore
Legionella, the waterborne bacteria that can lead to the deadly Legionnaires' disease, has been found at a federal building in Baltimore where illegal immigrants are kept in short-term detention, according to members of Congress who demanded answers Friday. Published March 6, 2026
Illegal immigrant in Pennsylvania charged with voting in 2024 election
A longtime illegal immigrant who'd been ordered deported but never went home cast ballots in every presidential election from 2008 to 2024, federal authorities said in court documents unsealed Thursday. Published March 5, 2026
