Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Paul Ryan wins speakership as Nancy Pelosi sees more defections
Rep. Paul D. Ryan easily won re-election as House speaker as the new Congress convened Tuesday -- though not before Democrats warned he was off to a bad start. Published January 3, 2017
Charles Schumer: ‘America cannot afford a Twitter presidency’
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer fired a warning shot at President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying he can't "tweet away" the nation's problems. Published January 3, 2017
Trump warns Obama against more Guantanamo releases
President-elect Donald Trump urged President Obama to hold off on any final transfers from Guantanamo Bay, saying Tuesday that the detainees still being held are "extremely dangerous people." Published January 3, 2017
Trump blasts House GOP for ‘weakening’ ethics office
President-elect Donald Trump blasted House Republicans Tuesday for attempting to weaken their own independent ethics watchdog, saying they have a lot of bigger things to focus on. Published January 3, 2017
Constitutional convention advocates look to capitalize on Republican gains
They doubt they can reach the finish line this year, but advocates pushing for a new constitutional convention convened by the states say 2017 could still be an important year in building momentum, after major GOP gains in the elections left them with even more ripe target among state legislatures. Published January 2, 2017
Donald Trump on North Korea nuclear threat: ‘It won’t happen!’
President-elect Donald Trump vowed Monday that North Korea won't develop a system capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to the U.S., a day after the rogue country's leader said it is close to testing an intercontinental ballistic missile. Published January 2, 2017
Nancy Pelosi: GOP’s rush to repeal Obamacare is ‘act of cowardice’
Democrats mounted a preemptive attack as the new Congress gets ready to meet Tuesday, accusing Republicans of "cowardice" for what is expected to be an early-session effort to repeal Obamacare. Published January 2, 2017
Sanctuary cities free more than 2,000 illegal immigrants rather than cooperate with feds
The Obama administration has made significant headway in cutting down the number of sanctuary cities, but 279 municipalities are still holding out, refusing to cooperate with federal authorities on at least some cases involving illegal immigrants, Homeland Security officials said as they detailed year-end enforcement numbers last week. Published January 1, 2017
Obama could still force Merrick Garland onto Supreme Court during ‘intersession recess’
President Obama will have one last chance to force Judge Merrick Garland onto the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday -- but it's a legal gamble and one that has so many pitfalls that even those who say he could get away with it believe it isn't worth the fight. Published January 1, 2017
President-elect Trump ditches press pool to play golf
President-elect Donald Trump went to play golf Saturday without taking the designated press "pool" of reporters assigned to follow him, sparking renewed fears over how he will treat the media once he's in the White House. Published December 31, 2016
DHS catches fewer illegals from inside U.S.
Agents are catching more illegal immigrants on the border -- a sign that illegal immigration is picking up yet again -- but nabbed fewer from within the interior of the U.S. over the last year, as President Obama made good on his vow to stop deporting all but the most serious of illegal immigrants, new statistics revealed Friday. Published December 30, 2016
Mayors push Obama for faster immigrant amnesty approvals
Illegal immigrants should get faster approvals of their temporary amnesty applications and the Obama administration in its final days should use its powers to grant even more stays of deportation for illegal immigrants from struggling countries, the mayors of the nation's biggest cities said in a letter Thursday to President Obama. Published December 29, 2016
Donald Trump announces Sprint to move 5,000 jobs back to U.S.
President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that his looming presidency is already boosting U.S. jobs, announcing that telecommunications company Sprint will bring 5,000 jobs back here from other countries. Published December 28, 2016
Saudi 9/11 bill overcomes Obama’s veto, criticism as push for rethink fades
The November election result was painful, but President Obama's worst moment of the year may have come weeks earlier when Congress voted to override his veto of a bill opening the courtroom doors to victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks who wanted to prove that the government of Saudi Arabia was implicated. Published December 27, 2016
Obama circumvents Constitution with ‘signing statements’ after blasting George W. Bush
President Obama said Friday that the annual defense policy bill Congress sent him violated the Constitution — but he signed it anyway. Published December 26, 2016
Vladimir Putin asks Donald Trump to help restore Russian-U.S. relations
Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked to "restore the framework of bilateral cooperation" with the U.S. in a letter to President-elect Donald Trump — a note the transition team released Friday, the same day the Kremlin leader called American Democrats sore losers. Published December 25, 2016
Putin offers cooperation with Trump in Christmas letter
Russian President Vladimir Putin asked to "restore the framework of bilateral cooperation" with the U.S. in a letter to President-elect Donald Trump earlier this month -- which the transition team released Friday. Published December 23, 2016
Donald Trump pits Boeing against Lockheed Martin for defense contracts
President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday that he has asked Boeing to consider building a fighter jet to replace the F-35 at a lower cost, moving to pit two of the country's biggest aerospace government contractors against each other. Published December 22, 2016
Donald Trump calls for expansion of U.S. nuclear arsenal
President-elect Donald Trump called for the U.S. to expand its nuclear capabilities, in a surprising Twitter post Thursday that raised questions about what he intends to do. Published December 22, 2016
DHS moves to cancel Muslim registry, denting Donald Trump plans for ‘extreme vetting’
The Obama administration rushed Thursday to cancel a program set up in the wake of Sept. 11 to track and deport illegal immigrant Muslim and Arab men, hoping to hinder President-elect Donald Trump's plans to impose "extreme vetting" on Muslim visitors. Published December 22, 2016