Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
John McCain plans massive boost in spending to build military
Sen. John McCain called Monday for a massive boost in defense spending totaling more than $85 billion per year over the next half-decade, saying that is just the beginning of what it will take to restore the U.S. military to a dominant role. Published January 16, 2017
Monica Crowley to forgo post in Trump White House
GOP foreign policy adviser Monica Crowley said Monday she will relinquish the senior job she'd been poised to take in the Trump White House. Published January 16, 2017
Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks face tougher votes than previous presidents’ selections
President-elect Donald Trump cleared a first hurdle on his Cabinet nominees last week when Congress approved an exemption letting retired Marine Gen. James Mattis serve as the next defense secretary -- but some cracks are showing. Published January 15, 2017
Jim Sensenbrenner, author of controversial 2005 immigration bill, to lead House panel
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, the man who wrote House Republicans' controversial 2005 immigration crackdown bill, was installed Friday as chairman of the immigration subcommittee, in a move likely to cheer conservatives and enrage immigrant-rights advocates. Published January 14, 2017
Lockheed Martin changes tune, says it can cut costs on F-35
Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson returned to Trump Tower Friday to promise President-elect Donald Trump she'll drive down the costs of the F-35, as she tries to save her company's lucrative but troubled contract for the fighter jet. Published January 13, 2017
Paul Ryan rules out Donald Trump’s ‘deportation force’
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday that illegal immigrant Dreamers don't have to worry about being deported under a Trump administration, telling a mother that there won't be a deportation force "knocking on your door this year." Published January 12, 2017
Obama ends special ‘wet foot, dry foot’ immigration policy for Cubans
The administration said Thursday that it was revoking the special "wet foot, dry foot" policy that gives legal status to Cubans who manage to reach the U.S., as President Obama sought to put the crowning touch on his rapprochement with the communist island. Published January 12, 2017
New push for temporary amnesty emerges on Capitol Hill
A bipartisan coalition on Capitol Hill introduced legislation Thursday to grant young adult illegal immigrants here under President Obama's 2012 amnesty a more permanent legal status, saying the bill will protect them from deportations while Congress works out a more permanent solution. Published January 12, 2017
James Clapper calls Donald Trump over Russia briefing leaks
President Obama's director of national intelligence reportedly called President-elect Donald Trump personally on Wednesday evening about the Russia leaks that have dominated the news cycle. Published January 11, 2017
Donald Trump promises Obamacare replacement, border wall and Supreme Court nominee
President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has a slate of orders ready to sign in the days after his inauguration, promised to nominate a Supreme Court justice by early February and vowed to make good on his campaign promise to build a wall -- not just a fence -- on the U.S.-Mexico border. Published January 11, 2017
Donald Trump to form trust for assets while in White House; sons will run company
While saying he could legally run both the White House and his company, President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would turn day-to-day operations of the Trump Organization over to his sons and would put his ownership stake in a trust for the duration of his presidency. Published January 11, 2017
Donald Trump says Russia report is ‘fake,’ warns intel community against leaks
President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team delivered a pointed rebuttal Wednesday to accusations that the campaign had contacts with Russian officials, and blasted two American media outlets for publishing the reports, saying they were unsubstantiated. Published January 11, 2017
Democrats say Russia-Trump debate could affect Sessions nomination
Attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions should be forced to reveal how he would grapple with reports that Russia believes it has compromising information on President-elect Donald Trump, a top Senate Democrat said Wednesday, opening a new line of attack on the future Cabinet. Published January 11, 2017
Rex Tillerson says Russia poses ‘problem’ for world order, vows consistent U.S. leadership
Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson will promise a new era of American leadership in the international stage Wednesday, saying in his confirmation hearing that the U.S. is the only superpower capable of shaping the world for good -- but cautioning the country needs to better understand how and when to flex its muscle. Published January 10, 2017
National Science Foundation swimming in waste with fish studies
There's something about fish on a treadmill that seems to get the National Science Foundation excited, according to the latest edition of Wastebook, a compendium of questionable spending decisions. Published January 10, 2017
John Kelly promises to speed up deportations
Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly promised Tuesday to enforce laws against sanctuary cities and said the solution to rising illegal immigration is to deport more people faster, as he laid out a starkly different direction for the Homeland Security Department under a Trump administration. Published January 10, 2017
Senate votes to keep ban on earmark spending
Senate Republicans voted Tuesday to reimpose a ban on earmarks in the new Congress that just began, meaning lawmakers will once again be prevented from slipping their favored pork projects into bills. Published January 10, 2017
Carl Ferrer, Backpage CEO, mum on screening policies
Carl Ferrer, CEO of online sex-ads giant Backpage.com, refused to answer questions about his company's screening policies Tuesday, drawing fire from members of Congress and a sharp rebuke from parents whose underage daughters were sold for sex on his website. Published January 10, 2017
Luis Gutierrez to skip inauguration to protest Trump
Congress's top immigrant-rights advocate said Tuesday that he'll skip next week's inauguration, saying he can't stomach seeing President-elect Donald Trump take the oath of office. Published January 10, 2017
Sex site trafficked in minors but removed underage terms, Senate says
Backpage.com, the largest sex-services classified ads page on the web, used to sanitize ads to take out "incriminating" references to underage girls, then approved the ads anyway, helping facilitate sex-trafficking of minors, senators charged Monday in a stunning report. Published January 9, 2017
