Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
House probes government snooping on Donald Trump campaign
President Trump said Wednesday that he didn't mean to suggest that President Obama actually tapped his phones, but he insisted that "some very interesting items" will be coming to back up his claim that the previous administration snooped on him and his campaign. Published March 15, 2017
Republican health care bill leaves loopholes for illegal immigrants
Republicans' health care bill bans illegal immigrants from getting tax credits, but it doesn't do much to improve the checks already in place under Obamacare — a system that led to more than $700 million in benefits to unauthorized people. Published March 14, 2017
Rachel Maddow, MSNBC host, claims to have Donald Trump’s tax returns
President Trump earned more than $150 million and paid $38 million in federal income taxes in 2005, according to figures released by the White House Tuesday night showing he paid a higher rate than the average wealthy person that year. Published March 14, 2017
Nancy Pelosi demands Steve King be ousted from chairmanship
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi demanded Tuesday that Republicans kick Rep. Steve King out of his post as chairman of a subcommittee with jurisdiction over the U.S. Constitution, saying the congressman needs to be punished for his controversial comments about culture this week. Published March 14, 2017
Number of sanctuary cities nears 500: Report
Nearly 500 jurisdictions are now sanctuary cities, according to a group that's tracked the issue for more than a decade, and who said there's been a massive surge in the number of places trying to thwart federal immigration agents since President Trump's election. Published March 14, 2017
Democrats announce bill to revoke Trump’s ‘extreme vetting’ order
Senate Democrats announced a bill Monday to revoke President Trump's latest extreme vetting executive order, saying it's discriminatory and counterproductive to the country's efforts to influence allies. Published March 13, 2017
Dems vow govt. shutdown over Donald Trump border wall
Senate Democrats said Monday that they will block any spending bill that includes money for President Trump's border wall, even if it leads to a government shutdown, saying it's up to Republicans to resist touchy issues in the looming spending debate. Published March 13, 2017
Border Patrol won’t waive lie-detector test to hire new agents
The Border Patrol won't cut corners on its standards requiring a polygraph test for new agents even as it prepares to try to hire 5,000 more people, acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan said Friday. Published March 10, 2017
Daniela Vargas, illegal immigrant ‘Dreamer,’ released by agents after community outcry
An illegal immigrant "Dreamer" was released Friday after a fierce outcry from advocacy groups who'd said agents were breaking President Trump's promise to focus on serious criminals, not rank-and-file illegal immigrants. Published March 10, 2017
Dreamers debate has success stories, tales of failure
One is a popular student at a local university, the poster boy -- literally -- for the Golden Door Scholars program. The other stands accused of beheading his mother this week, in a grisly crime that has captured attention around the globe. Published March 9, 2017
Somaliland pleads to be removed from Trump’s extreme vetting list
Somaliland pleaded with the administration on Thursday to carve the territory out of President Trump's new extreme vetting policy, but stopped short of agreeing to the kinds of changes that helped get Iraq off the target list. Published March 9, 2017
Paul Ryan works to save GOP’s Obamacare repeal
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan put reporters through a seminar Thursday, hoping to earn better coverage of the GOP's efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare by explaining the problems with the existing law and describing how Congress is trying to wipe it clean. Published March 9, 2017
House committee says Trump’s Twitter could break federal record-keeping laws
President Trump's prolific tweeting may now cause another headache for the White House -- Congress's top investigators said Thursday he may be breaking federal record-keeping laws if he's not preserving all of his Twitter messages. Published March 9, 2017
Mitch McConnell says Mexico won’t pay for wall
The top Republican in the Senate said Thursday that Mexico won't end up paying for President Trump's border wall. Published March 9, 2017
Illegal immigration plummets since Donald Trump’s inauguration
Illegal immigration across the southwest border plummeted in the weeks after President Trump took office, Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly said Wednesday, declaring an early victory from Mr. Trump's get-tough policies. Published March 8, 2017
Illegal immigrant detainees served spoiled food: IG report
Illegal immigrants being detained by Homeland Security at one California facility were being served spoiled lunch meats, were stuck using dirty showers and were faced with broken telephones, according to a new emergency alert Wednesday from the department's inspector general. Published March 8, 2017
GOP leaders urge troops to heed Trump, back Obamacare replacement
Democrats mounted ferocious resistance Wednesday to the Republican health care plan, erecting roadblocks in committees and attempting to shut down the House floor, saying the party's lawmakers are plowing ahead without knowing what the Obamacare replacement will cost or how many people will lose insurance coverage. Published March 8, 2017
Iraq removed from travel ban list after agreeing to take back illegal immigrant criminals
Iraq earned its way out of President Trump's "extreme vetting" doghouse in large part because it agreed to play ball on another of the president's big goals: getting countries to take back their illegal immigrant criminals. Published March 7, 2017
FBI, NSA called to testify on Trump-Russia investigation
The directors of the FBI and National Security Agency, as well as top intelligence officials from the Obama administration, have been invited to testify to Congress in public later this month as all sides seek to get to the bottom of questions over Russia's role in attempting to influence the U.S. election. Published March 7, 2017
Federal government to exhaust debt limit this fall
The federal government will run out of borrowing space and bump up against its debt limit some time this fall, the Congressional Budget Office said in a new report Tuesday, starting the clock on what's likely to be a tough fight for Republicans to raise the cap. Published March 7, 2017
