Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Economy adds 224,000 jobs in June rebound
The economy added 224,000 jobs in June, the Labor Department announced Friday, describing a market that remains resilient nearly a decade into the recovery from the Great Recession. Published July 5, 2019
Donald Trump’s team works overtime to add citizenship question to census
President Trump said Thursday he told the Justice and Commerce departments to work through the federal Independence Day holiday to try to find a way to shoehorn the citizenship question back into the census. Published July 4, 2019
Donald Trump’s extravagant plans for July 4th bashed by Capitol Hill Democrats
Democrats and pundits went ballistic Wednesday over President Trump's planned Fourth of July extravaganza on the National Mall, but some tourists visiting Washington cheered the president's call for a bigger show of patriotism featuring the military on Independence Day. Published July 3, 2019
9th Circuit Court blocks military funds for Trump border wall
In a 2-1 decision the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halted $1 billion in border wall construction, saying Congress, not the president, controls taxpayers' money. Published July 3, 2019
2020 census citizenship question back in play after Trump tweet
President Trump's Twitter account upended the 2020 census on Wednesday, with government lawyers scrambling to figure out how to reverse themselves and add a citizenship question into next year's count -- just a day after they'd told courts it wasn't going to happen. Published July 3, 2019
Donald Trump dismisses Dems’ border complaints as politics
President Trump defended the Border Patrol Wednesday, saying they are doing a "great job" and blaming Democrats for overcrowding and other horrid conditions faced by illegal immigrants at the border. Published July 3, 2019
Judge Trevor McFadden, Trump appointee, to hear lawsuit over president’s tax returns
The House Democrats' lawsuit demanding the government turn over President Trump's tax returns has been assigned to a judge Mr. Trump appointed to the district court in Washington, D.C. Published July 3, 2019
Chuck Schumer demands firing of Donald Trump’s border team
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer demanded a total decapitation of leadership at the government's border agency Wednesday, saying only a full housecleaning can fix a "toxic" culture among Border Patrol agents and improve conditions for illegal immigrants. Published July 3, 2019
Congress to investigate costs of Trump’s July 4 extravaganza
The top House Democrat with oversight over the National Mall said Wednesday she'll probe the administration's decision to shift money to pay for President Trump's July Fourth celebration. Published July 3, 2019
White House blasts courts after latest immigration setback
The White House lashed out Wednesday against a federal judge who ruled that asylum-seekers must be given a chance to make bond and be released while their cases are heard, calling it a decision "at war with the rule of law." Published July 3, 2019
Border detention facilities a ‘ticking time bomb,’ says inspector general’s report
Overcrowding at border detention facilities is "a ticking time bomb," according to an inspector general's report released Tuesday that described near-riots with migrants frustrated at their conditions. Published July 2, 2019
Donald Trump drops push for citizenship question on 2020 census
President Trump's quest to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census ended Tuesday, with the administration caving on the plans, bowing to a Supreme Court ruling and an intractable time crunch. Published July 2, 2019
Nancy Pelosi collects on Trump border emergency spending deal
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has asked President Trump to take unilateral action to improve conditions for migrants at the border and to limit the time migrant children can spend in unlicensed shelters. Published July 2, 2019
House Dems announce hearing to probe border detention conditions
House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings on Tuesday called top border officials to testify to Congress next week, saying he's going to get to the bottom of reports of migrants drinking from toilets and offensive internet posts shared by Border Patrol agents. Published July 2, 2019
Mexican man dies after fall from border fence
A Mexican man who climbed then fell off the border fence in Arizona has died, Homeland Security said Tuesday. Published July 2, 2019
House Democrats sue to get Donald Trump tax returns
House Democrats went to court Tuesday to ask a judge to order the Trump administration to turn over President Trump's tax returns, starting a legal fight that could go a long way toward settling how much power Congress has to probe the president. Published July 2, 2019
Don Beyer challenges Donald Trump to pay for July 4th damages in D.C. area
Rep. Don Beyer, a Democrat who represents the Virginia suburbs just across the Potomac River from Washington, demanded Tuesday that President Trump personally pay for any damage from the tanks and other military equipment that the president is deploying for the Fourth of July celebration. Published July 2, 2019
Illegal immigrant dies after three weeks in ICE custody
A repeat-illegal immigrant who was defying a judge's orders and President Trump's remain-in-Mexico policy, died over the weekend after more than three weeks in ICE custody. Published July 2, 2019
Donald Trump touts border progress as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrats cry foul
Congressional Democrats emerged from a tour of border detention facilities Monday describing "unconscionable" conditions with sick children segregated, people going without medicine and one woman reporting that she was told to get her drinking water from the toilet. Published July 1, 2019
Donald Trump signs border bill
President Trump on Monday signed a bill giving him $4.6 billion in emergency money to provide better conditions for illegal immigrants at the border, and for migrant children being held at shelters in the country's interior. Published July 1, 2019