Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Paul Ryan defends spending deal as pro-GOP ‘game-changer’
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan delivered a fierce defense of Republicans' spending bill Tuesday, saying that it marks a major increase in defense spending, calling it "a game-changer," and saying that outweighs the other fights the GOP retreated on. Published May 2, 2017
Spending bill doubles foreign worker visas
Congress tucked a sweetheart deal for America's vacation resorts and other seasonal employers into the massive spending bill announced Monday, paving the way for the administration to more than double the number of temporary visas to foreign workers this year and "flooding the labor force" with cheap competition for jobs. Published May 1, 2017
Donald Trump defeated by Democrats on spending bill
Democrats won the latest shutdown showdown fight, triumphing over President Trump on nearly every major issue in the $1 trillion spending bill negotiators announced early Monday. Published May 1, 2017
Congress’s shutdown deal spends $700M per page
The new spending deal congressional negotiators hammered out early Monday morning runs 1,665 pages, and spends $700 million per page -- the cost of keeping the basic operations of the government running for a year. Published May 1, 2017
Donald Trump to stick with conservative list for next Supreme Court pick
President Trump will stick with the same list of potential nominees for the next Supreme Court vacancy, he told The Washington Times in an exclusive interview in which he also waved aside the lack of a honeymoon from Capitol Hill, saying Republicans are "going to get there" and Democrats are still smarting over losing an election they thought they couldn't lose. Published April 30, 2017
Donald Trump, Barack Obama have not spoken since Inauguration Day
Former President Barack Obama and President Trump have not spoken once since the inauguration in January, Mr. Trump confirmed to The Washington Times, adding it's "too bad" they haven't been in communication, but he is not surprised given their history. Published April 30, 2017
Trump says his new approach succeeding where Obama failed
President Trump said Friday that he's figured out ways to work with foreign leaders who confounded former President Obama, helping the new administration notch successes in a number of areas that his predecessor struggled with. Published April 28, 2017
Brandon Judd testifies in favor of proposed border wall with Mexico
Building more border walls would help funnel drug smugglers over to where agents can catch or stop them, the chief of the Border Patrol agents' labor union testified to Congress on Thursday, bolstering the case for President Trump's call for a barrier on the U.S.-Mexico divide. Published April 27, 2017
NYC to pay for lawyers for illegal immigrants
New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio has earmarked more than $16 million in city taxpayer funds to pay for lawyers to help illegal immigrants fight deportation as part of his 2018 budget. Published April 27, 2017
House seeks contempt charges against CEO who maintained Hillary Clinton’s secret email server
A House committee asked the Justice Department Thursday to pursue contempt of Congress charges against the head of the company that was responsible for handling Hillary Clinton's controversial secret email server. Published April 27, 2017
Mother of slain boy: I’d build Trump border wall myself
Agnes Gibboney, whose son was killed by an illegal immigrant, said Thursday she is thrilled with the changes President Trump has already made in immigration enforcement, and said she hopes he's able to build his border wall. Published April 27, 2017
One week stopgap bill pushed to fund, keep government open
Republicans controlling the House have unveiled a stopgap bill to keep the government open past a shutdown deadline of midnight Friday. Published April 26, 2017
Paris climate accord eyed as treaty
As President Trump's top advisers prepare to hash out a final policy on the Paris climate agreement dumped onto their laps by President Obama, another option has hit the table: Declare the deal a treaty and send it to the Senate to be killed. Published April 26, 2017
Sean Brune: No estimates on how bad Social Security fraud is
Social Security can't even give a ballpark estimate for how much fraud there is in the program, a top official admitted to Congress on Wednesday — though he insisted they care about the matter and are working to weed out bogus payments, particularly in disability payments. Published April 26, 2017
Donald Trump blasts federal court for blocking his executive order
President Trump and his top aides have lashed out at the federal court that blocked his anti-sanctuary city executive order, with the president calling the ruling "ridiculous" and his press secretary saying sanctuaries like San Francisco have "the blood of dead Americans on their hands." Published April 26, 2017
Donald Trump will continue Obamacare payments, clearing major hurdle on spending bill
The White House told congressional leaders Wednesday that the administration will continue making Obamacare cost-sharing payments, eliminating the biggest sticking point as lawmakers rush to pass a final 2017 spending bill and avert a government shutdown looming at the end of the week. Published April 26, 2017
GOP says Democrats’ ‘poison pills’ are holdup in spending battle
Now that the border wall is off the table, Republicans say Democrats are the ones standing in the way of a deal to avoid a government shutdown at the end of this week. Published April 26, 2017
Sean Spicer: San Francisco, sanctuary cities have ‘blood of dead Americans on their hands:’
The White House lashed out Tuesday night against the federal judge who blocked President Trump's anti-sanctuary city executive order, and said sanctuaries like San Francisco have "the blood of dead Americans on their hands." Published April 25, 2017
Donald Trump’s sanctuary city order ruled likely unconstitutional
A judge blocked President Trump's anti-sanctuary city executive order Tuesday, accusing the White House of wrongly trying to threaten the cities and saying Congress, not the president, gets to decide what strings to attach to federal funds. Published April 25, 2017
DHS to open office for victims of crimes by illegal immigrants
Homeland Security on Wednesday will officially open its office to assist victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, making good on a promise President Trump made during the campaign. Published April 25, 2017
