Stephen Dinan

Paul Ryan: White House had ‘breakdown’ on Porter hiring

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said White House leaders "clearly have work to do" in fixing their vetting system after allowing Rob Porter, the former staff secretary, who was ousted amid reports of spousal abuse. Published February 14, 2018

Mitch McConnell says Democrats ‘stalling’ on immigration

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Democrats on Wednesday of "stalling" on immigration as the Senate entered its third day of debate on the issue without having held a single policy vote. Published February 14, 2018

Court orders full restoration of DACA program

A federal judge in New York ruled Tuesday that the government must restart the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals deportation amnesty, adding more weight to the legal case against President Trump's phaseout of the program just as Congress is debating the fate of "Dreamers" on Capitol Hill. Published February 13, 2018

Mitch McConnell says immigration debate must be done by Friday

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate will only be debating immigration this week, and said if Democrats were serious about trying to find a solution for illegal immigrant "Dreamers" they better begin to offer plans. Published February 13, 2018

Democrats block vote on sanctuary cities

Democrats blocked an attempt Tuesday to crack down on sanctuary cities as they tried to steer the Senate's immigration debate toward their goal of legalizing "Dreamers" and away from major new security or policy changes that might upend the current immigration system. Published February 13, 2018

National debt is ‘dire threat’ to national security: Dan Coats

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats warned Tuesday that the national debt has become a danger to national security, joining other problems such as cyber attacks, space combat and continuing terrorist threats. Published February 13, 2018

Jeff Flake seeks to outbid Trump in amnesty deal

Seeking an immigration middle ground, Sen. Jeff Flake is working on a bill that would outbid President Trump's amnesty, but would include funding for his border wall and at least some action toward limiting the chain of family migration. Published February 13, 2018

Democrats lack plan to protect Dreamers as immigration debate begins

Democrats enter this week's immigration debate with the goal of protecting illegal immigrant Dreamers but with little strategy for how to get there, saying they will take their chances when the fight plays out on the floor of the Senate. Published February 12, 2018

Donald Trump falls short on budget-cutting promises

President Trump came into office last year promising to bring a businessman's approach to the federal budget, proposing $54 billion in cuts. In the end, he won less than $5 billion, said Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director. Published February 12, 2018

Dick Durbin: ‘Not going to solve’ GOP’s border security this week

Sen. Richard Durbin said Monday that senators can't even agree on the definition of border security, making it tougher to reach an agreement on an immigration bill as the Senate begins its debate. Published February 12, 2018

Chuck Schumer: Democrats ‘cannot just run against Donald Trump’

Democrats need to have a message in this year's elections beyond antipathy to President Trump, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Monday, promising his party will run on an economic agenda of government support for average workers. Published February 12, 2018

Donald Trump’s veto threats to shape immigration debate

All eyes will be on President Trump this week as the Senate begins its immigration debate, with Republicans hoping the White House will play an active role in ruling out proposals he won't accept, making it likelier he will get a bill he can sign. Published February 11, 2018

Donald Trump to propose new budget to undo some of spending increase

Days after he signed a plan to boost spending by nearly $300 billion, President Trump will propose a new 2019 budget his aides said will try to undo some of that increase, in what they called an attempt to "bend the trajectory down." Published February 11, 2018

Grassley and Cornyn unveil enforcement-heavy immigration bill

GOP senators unveiled President Trump's enforcement-heavy immigration bill Sunday, ponying up their ante as Congress begins a three-week sprint to try to find a solution to border security and illegal immigrant "Dreamers." Published February 11, 2018

House, Senate pass massive budget increase; vote to end government shutdown

The House approved a stopgap bill early Friday to keep the government open and to boost spending by about $300 billion over the next two years, acting swiftly after the Senate voted hours earlier to ensure that the government shutdown that began at midnight would be short-lived. Published February 9, 2018

Senate Republicans miss spending deadline as shutdown looms

The government careened Friday morning into its second partial shutdown in less than three weeks -- though this one appeared likely to be short-lived. Published February 9, 2018

Budget deal shows high cost of bipartisanship

This week's deal to add $320 billion to the deficit over the next 20 months and set the stage for $1.8 trillion more in deficits over the next decade has won strong reviews from those who want to see Democrats and Republicans get along better. Published February 8, 2018

Senate plan offers Trump 10 percent of border wall, amnesty for 1.8 million ‘Dreamers’

Bipartisan negotiators are looking at a plan that would pay for as little as 10 percent of President Trump's border wall in exchange for legalizing 1.8 million illegal immigrant "Dreamers," one of the senators involved in the talks said Thursday night. Published February 8, 2018

White House holds firm on March 5 deadline for immigration

The White House said Thursday that there is no breathing room in President Trump's March 5 deadline for action on illegal immigrant "Dreamers," saying they expect Congress to pass a bill by then. Published February 8, 2018

Paul Ryan defends budget deal, says debt solution is cuts to entitlements

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday that the budget deal he's asking members to vote for will rebuild a military hollowed from years of spending restraints, and said shortchanging troops isn't the answer to an exploding debt. Published February 8, 2018