Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Donald Trump to nominate White House aide Kirstjen Nielsen as DHS secretary
President Trump said Wednesday he'll nominate Kirstjen Nielsen, a longtime Bush administration official and now top aide to White House chief of staff John F. Kelly, to be the new head of Homeland Security. Published October 11, 2017
Donald Trump could personally pick border wall winner
President Trump could have a direct role in picking the winner of the eight border wall prototypes currently being built and tested by Homeland Security, a department spokesman confirmed Wednesday. Published October 11, 2017
Paul Ryan says ATF could quickly stop sale of bump stocks used in Las Vegas shooting
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Wednesday that the fastest way to curtail the sale of the kind of bump stock add-on that made last week's Las Vegas shooting so lethal would be for the administration to act. Published October 11, 2017
D.C. gun laws block concealed-carry legal zones
It's about to become easier for D.C. residents to obtain concealed-carry firearms permits -- but researchers said Washingtonians will still have to face a set of city laws so complex and muddled that it may mean there is hardly any place they can safely carry their weapons. Published October 10, 2017
Supreme Court scraps one challenge to Donald Trump’s travel ban
The Supreme Court on Tuesday scrapped one of the legal challenges to President Trump's travel ban, saying the new policy the White House announced late last month supersedes the older policy. Published October 10, 2017
CREW, liberal watchdog, says Donald Trump should face obstruction of justice charges
One of the public watchdog groups pursuing President Trump laid out a case Tuesday that he "likely" obstructed justice by trying to woo, then subsequently firing, former FBI Director James B. Comey. Published October 10, 2017
Donald Trump’s 70-point immigration plan a hard sell in Congress
The White House is struggling to get Republicans to sign up to President Trump's 70-point immigration crackdown plan, with key lawmakers saying that while they appreciate his input, they will take over from here. Published October 9, 2017
Democrats promise to derail Congress until Dream Act passes
Leading Hispanic Democrats said Monday they're so disappointed in President Trump's new 70-point immigration enforcement plan that they'll withhold support for must-pass legislation in Congress until lawmakers work out a better deal to protect illegal immigrants. Published October 9, 2017
Donald Trump sends 70-point immigration enforcement list to Congress
EXCLUSIVE: Determined to finally solve illegal immigration, the White House submitted a 70-point enforcement plan to Congress Sunday proposing the stiffest reforms ever offered by an administration -- including a massive rewrite of the law in order to eliminate loopholes illegal immigrants have exploited to gain a foothold in the U.S. Published October 8, 2017
ICE will target California neighborhoods in wake of state’s new sanctuary law
The head of the federal deportation agency said Friday his agents will now have to go out into communities in California even more frequently to round up illegal immigrants, now that the state has embraced a full sanctuary policy. Published October 6, 2017
75% of Dreamers re-applied for DACA program
More than 75 percent of illegal immigrant "Dreamers" who are eligible to renew their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program status under Trump administration's phaseout of the Obama-era deportation amnesty re-applied in time for Thursday's deadline, the government said. Published October 5, 2017
Trump admin. asks Supreme Court to toss travel ban challenges
The legal challenges to President Trump's old travel ban should be tossed out, the administration told the Supreme Court on Thursday, saying the updated policy the White House issued last month is "substantially" different, and sets the ban on firm legal footing. Published October 5, 2017
IRS targeted pro-border security groups for illegal scrutiny: Audit
The IRS singled out pro-border-security groups for intrusive scrutiny along with tea party, conservative, Occupy movement and progressive organizations, the tax agency's inspector general said in an audit Thursday that confirmed the depths of tea party targeting. Published October 5, 2017
Trump requests $29 billion for Irma, Maria, Harvey disasters
The White House on Wednesday asked Congress to approve an additional quick infusion of nearly $30 billion for natural disaster relief, and lawmakers said they'll speed the money through. Published October 4, 2017
House committee approves $10 billion infusion for Trump border wall
The House Homeland Security Committee gave first approval to the broad scope of President Trump's border wall Wednesday, clearing a bill that would authorize $10 billion in new infrastructure spending, new waivers to speed up construction and 10,000 more border agents and officers to patrol the U.S.-Mexico line. Published October 4, 2017
Federal judge accepts Joe Arpaio pardon; former Arizona sheriff free from threat of jail
A federal judge officially accepted President Trump's pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Wednesday, rejecting the demand of Democrats and anti-Trump lawyers who wanted the pardon ignored, but put off a decision about whether to expunge his conviction from the record altogether. Published October 4, 2017
Trump administration reopens door to citizenship for Dreamers
Top administration officials told Congress on Tuesday that illegal immigrant Dreamers should be granted a full pathway to citizenship, seemingly contradicting President Trump, who said last month that citizenship wasn't on the table. Published October 3, 2017
Supreme Court struggles with judges’ role in drawing political maps
Redistricting -- the process of drawing new legislative maps every decade -- has long been the blood sport of American politics. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday debated just how deeply they want the federal courts to wade into that. Published October 3, 2017
Nancy Pelosi, Gabrielle Giffords pressure Congress to take legislative action on gun violence
Reaching for a political solution after Sunday night's horrific shooting in Las Vegas, congressional Democrats on Monday said lawmakers' words of comfort will ring hollow unless Congress "does something" about gun violence. Published October 2, 2017
Nancy Pelosi demands commission to study gun violence
Reaching for a political solution after Sunday night's horrific shooting in Las Vegas, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called for a new special select congressional committee to combat gun violence. Published October 2, 2017