Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Chuck Schumer asks George W. Bush for help as Democrats try to derail court nominee
The top Senate Democrat tried to rope former President George W. Bush into the fight over the new Supreme Court pick, saying Friday it's up to Mr. Bush to make sure Congress has the documents it needs to vet and approve the nominee. Published July 27, 2018
Chicago beats Trump in sanctuary-city challenge
The Trump administration suffered another legal defeat on its sanctuary city crackdown after a judge Friday permanently blocked the government from retaliating against Chicago's sanctuary policy by stripping police grant money. Published July 27, 2018
Family separations: Trump administration, critics debate progress as deadline passes
The Trump administration says it met a court-imposed Thursday deadline for reuniting illegal immigrant families it deemed eligible, though critics said the government fell far short of the goal. Published July 26, 2018
Noncitizen voting push in liberal jurisdictions draws GOP pushback
Forget the Russian government -- foreign nationals are increasingly gaining the ability to influence American elections more directly. They're being granted the right to vote. Published July 26, 2018
GOP: Trump is willing to wait on wall funding
President Trump is "willing to be patient" in waiting for more funding for his border wall, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday, suggesting there won't be any new money in the pipeline at the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. Published July 26, 2018
Paul Ryan dismisses impeachment push for Rod Rosenstein
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan threw cold water Thursday on the new effort to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, saying the move could even end up hurting the chances of confirming President Trump's Supreme Court nomination. Published July 26, 2018
Feds bust illegal immigrants on ID fraud
More than 20 illegal immigrants have been charged with document and benefit fraud, officials announced Thursday, after a Boston-based sweep designed to crack down on the means many illegal immigrants use to live and remain in the U.S. Published July 26, 2018
Citizenship question’s inclusion in 2020 Census imperiled by legal challenge
Asking about citizenship on the 2020 census is legal -- but the Trump administration may still have broken the law in how it went about adding the question to the list, a federal judge ruled Thursday. Published July 26, 2018
Amazon’s facial ‘rekognition’ software matches Congress to criminals
Amazon's facial recognition software wrongly matched dozens of members of Congress to mugshots of other Americans with criminal records, in a test run by the ACLU. Published July 26, 2018
Mike Pompeo defends Donald Trump’s Russia record after Putin summit
The White House postponed a Washington summit this fall with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the State Department delivered America's toughest denunciation to date of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, as the Trump administration took steps Wednesday to back up claims it has been harder on Moscow than recent presidents. Published July 25, 2018
Mike Pompeo: Donald Trump does believe Russians meddled in elections
The administration has taken serious steps to rein in Russia, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told lawmakers Wednesday, pushing back against a Congress increasingly convinced President Trump has emboldening enemies and poisoned foreign relations with America's allies. Published July 25, 2018
Judge says ‘emoluments’ lawsuit against Donald Trump can proceed
President Trump's proceeds from his business empire are "emoluments" under the Constitution, so a lawsuit challenging the president's refusal to distance himself from his hotels can move forward, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Published July 25, 2018
Kristjen Nielsen grilled by Hispanic Democrats over illegal immigrant family separations
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told Hispanic lawmakers Wednesday that she doesn't know of any illegal immigrant children separated from parents who died while in government custody. Published July 25, 2018
Hispanic Democrats grill DHS secretary over illegal immigrant family separations
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told Hispanic lawmakers Wednesday that she doesn't know of any illegal immigrant children separated from parents who died while in government custody. Published July 25, 2018
Government on track to reunite 1,600 families separated at border by deadline
The federal government is on track to reunite more than 1,600 parents with their children who were separated from them in the chaos surrounding President Trump's zero-tolerance border policy, prompting a judge to offer an attaboy to the administration. Published July 24, 2018
Americans have constitutional right to carry guns in public for self-defense, appeals court rules
Americans have a constitutional right to openly carry firearms, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, delivering a major victory to gun rights supporters. Published July 24, 2018
Mitch McConnell says Brett Kavanaugh will get vote before election
Judge Brett Kavanaugh will get a vote on the Senate floor before this year's congressional elections, the chamber's top Republican vowed Tuesday, insisting there's a limit to how long Democrats will be allowed to delay. Published July 24, 2018
ICE sweep nets 132 illegal immigrants in D.C. area
ICE officers nabbed 132 illegal immigrants in the Washington metropolitan region in an enforcement sweep this month, including a high-ranking MS-13 member, a convicted child rapist and other serious criminals, the agency announced Tuesday. Published July 24, 2018
Feds’ spending watchdog site riddled with errors
Federal agencies are finally submitting their spending data to a special public database so taxpayers can see where the money is going -- but a majority of the numbers are little more than junk, according to a new government report Tuesday. Published July 24, 2018
Paul Ryan: Donald Trump is ‘trolling’ people over security clearance threats
President Trump was just "trolling" his political opponents when the White House suggested it may try to strip some Obama administration officials of their security clearances, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Tuesday. Published July 24, 2018