Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Census wants to ask Americans about ‘gender identity’
The Census Bureau said Tuesday it wants to explicitly ask Americans about their sexual orientation and "gender identity" in the 2020 census, marking the first time it would probe for that information. Published March 28, 2017
Drug scouts for cartels would be sent to prison under proposed bill
Mexican cartels for years have stationed scouts on hilltops inside the U.S., acting as spotters for smugglers trying to sneak by the Border Patrol to get drugs or illegal immigrants into the country — and the government has been hard-pressed to find ways to stop them. Published March 27, 2017
John McCain, Martha McSally call for crackdown on the cartels’ U.S. scouts
Mexican cartels for years have stationed scouts on hilltops inside the U.S., acting as spotters for smugglers trying to sneak by the Border Patrol to get drugs or illegal immigrants into the country. Two Arizona lawmakers say it's time to fight back. Published March 27, 2017
Jeff Sessions says he’ll punish sanctuaries, cities could lose billions of dollars
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday he'll begin punishing sanctuary cities, withholding potentially billions of dollars in federal money -- and even clawing back funds that had been doled out in the past. Published March 27, 2017
Paul Ryan in conservatives’ sights after failure to repeal Obamacare
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan is taking most of the heat for the failure of the GOP's Obamacare repeal bill last week, with several conservative voices calling for him to resign for the good of President Trump's agenda. Published March 26, 2017
Conservative group calls for ouster of Ryan, GOP leaders after Obamacare repeal failure
A conservative group called for the ouster of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and the rest of the GOP leadership team Friday afternoon, just hours after they saw their Obamacare repeal effort crash and burn. Published March 24, 2017
Barack Obama emerges to defend 7-year-old health care law
Former President Barack Obama says there's nothing wrong with Obamacare that couldn't be fixed by President Trump doing a better job of managing the health care law. Published March 23, 2017
Republicans reschedule Obamacare showdown vote for Friday
President Trump's team delivered a final ultimatum to House Republicans Thursday night, saying they'll make one more round of changes to the health bill, then hold a final vote -- and if it fails, they're done. Published March 23, 2017
Rand Paul cheers conservatives’ blockade of Obamacare repeal
Sen. Rand Paul praised House conservatives for blocking the Obamacare repeal bill Thursday, but said the White House could easily break the impasse if it would agree to send Vice President Mike Pence up to preside over the eventual Senate debate. Published March 23, 2017
Duncan Hunter faces probe over campaign finances
The Justice Department is investigating Rep. Duncan Hunter, the House ethics committee revealed Thursday as it put its own probe into potential campaign finance violations on hold to allow the criminal investigation to proceed. Published March 23, 2017
Half of all federal arrests related to immigration
Immigration arrests and border-related cases have swamped the federal government, the Justice Department said Thursday, pointing to new statistics that show half of all arrests made by federal authorities in 2014 were for immigration offenses. Published March 23, 2017
Charles Schumer says Democrats will filibuster SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Thursday that Democrats will attempt to filibuster Judge Neil Gorsuch's nomination, saying he would tilt the Supreme Court too far away from what Democrats want to see. Published March 23, 2017
Obama takes victory lap on Obamacare; says it’s ‘stable,’ challenges Trump to keep it going
Former President Obama stepped into the Obamacare repeal fight Thursday, rejecting claims that his health law is in a "death spiral" and saying it can thrive -- as long as President Trump properly administers it. Published March 23, 2017
Sanctury city debate stoked after rape at Maryland high school
Henry Sanchez-Milian was nabbed sneaking across the U.S. border in August, just 13 days shy of his 18th birthday. Published March 22, 2017
Donald Trump ‘somewhat’ vindicated by intel brief
President Trump said he felt 'somewhat' vindicated after being briefed Wednesday by House intelligence committee Chairman Devin Nunes, who says Obama officials were in fact monitoring communications of Mr. Trump's top aides. Published March 22, 2017
Trump transition officials ‘unmasked’ by intel community
Trump presidential transition officials had their communications monitored and "unmasked" by the intelligence community, offering the first major piece of evidence of suspected illegal activity by Obama officials against Donald Trump as president-elect. Published March 22, 2017
Neil Gorsuch’s pro-illegal immigrant ruling roils confirmation debate
Judge Neil Gorsuch repeatedly defended an "undocumented immigrant" against the massive crush of the administrative state during his confirmation hearing Tuesday, picking a fascinating fight with his potential future colleagues on the Supreme Court. Published March 21, 2017
Human Rights group says it will try to stop Donald Trump’s immigration plans
The Western Hemisphere's human rights watchdog said Tuesday it will try to stop President Trump's immigration plans, accusing him of fostering an "enormous human rights crisis" by trying to detain and quickly deport more illegal immigrants. Published March 21, 2017
Obama tried to legalize migrant Armando Garcia-Ramirez, accused of killing stepdaughter
The Obama administration last year began to grant legal status to a 36-year-old illegal immigrant with a long criminal rap sheet whom agents had twice tried to deport -- but who now stands accused of killing his 15-year-old girlfriend, mother of one child with him, and pregnant with another. Published March 21, 2017
Sanctuary city slip-ups as LA released arsonist, Philadelphia released murder suspect
Homeland Security officials on Monday released their first edition of President Trump's name-and-shame list of sanctuary cities, singling out 118 jurisdictions that thwart federal immigration agents and put one murder suspect and a convicted arsonist back on the streets this year. Published March 20, 2017