Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Congress votes to nix Barack Obama’s anti-coal regulation
Congress nixed an Obama-era anti-coal regulation Thursday, erasing the first of what's expected to be a long series of rules the former president rolled out in his final days in office. Published February 2, 2017
Jeff Sessions clears first floor vote, poised for confirmation next week
Sen. Jeff Sessions survived his first test floor vote Thursday, putting him on the path to win confirmation as the next attorney general. Published February 2, 2017
Donald Trump budget pick clears hurdles; defense spending snag looms
Two Senate committees voted Thursday to approve President Trump's pick for budget director, setting up a floor showdown later this month on the man who will be tasked with doing the government reorganization and budget-cutting Mr. Trump called for in the campaign. Published February 2, 2017
Homeland Security inspector general will probe Trump’s extreme vetting
Homeland Security's inspector general announced late Wednesday that he will open an investigation into President Trump's new extreme vetting executive order, beginning the first official watchdog review of the new administration. Published February 1, 2017
Judge Andre Birotte orders Donald Trump to end Muslim travel ban
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration this week to stop blocking travelers trying to reach the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries, delivering the latest and largest blow yet to the president's new extreme vetting policy. Published February 1, 2017
Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education pick, on thin ice after GOP defections
Two Republicans announced Wednesday that they will vote against confirming Betsy DeVos to be the next secretary at the Education Department, leaving her nomination on very thin ice. Published February 1, 2017
Trump urges GOP to ‘go nuclear’ if Dems filibuster Gorsuch
If Democrats do obstruct new Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch GOP senators should trigger the nuclear option to push him through, President Trump said Wednesday. Published February 1, 2017
Democrats grapple with filibuster option for Neil Gorsuch
Eleven years ago this week, Democrats made history by attempting the first -- and to date only -- partisan filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee. Published January 31, 2017
Neil Gorsuch filibuster announced by Senate Democrats
Democrats have already decided they will force a filibuster on Judge Neil Gorsuch, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Tuesday, just minutes after President Trump announced the pick. Published January 31, 2017
DHS acknowledges problems with extreme vetting rollout
Homeland Security publicly acknowledged Tuesday that the rollout of the extreme vetting executive order was troubled and Iraqi translators who aided the U.S. war effort were denied entry, contradicting the White House, which said things had gone exactly as planned. Published January 31, 2017
Paul Ryan defends Trump’s vetting policy, says confusion was ‘regrettable’
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Tuesday that the rollout of President Trump's extreme vetting executive order was "regrettable," but said the new policy is not only legal, but the right thing to do to try to head off a future terrorist attack. Published January 31, 2017
Sally Yates, acting Attorney General, fired by Trump
President Trump on Monday fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates, an Obama administration holdover, after she "betrayed the Department of Justice" by refusing to defend his executive order for extreme vetting, according to the White House. Published January 30, 2017
Elaine Duke picked as Homeland Security deputy secretary
President Trump picked a little-known bureaucrat Monday with a long history in government management to be his deputy secretary at Homeland Security, disappointing immigration crackdown advocates who'd been anticipating a more prominent figure. Published January 30, 2017
Congress asks for travel-ban waiver to let Iraqi translators into U.S.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pleaded with President Trump on Monday to carve out an exception to his new executive order for Iraqi citizens who contributed to the U.S. war effort, and are now in danger of being left in danger in that war-torn country. Published January 30, 2017
Lawsuits pile up against Trump’s vetting policy for seven Muslim nations
High-powered lawyers lobbed new legal grenades Monday at President Trump's executive order stopping travel from seven majority-Muslim countries, asking federal courts to go beyond this weekend's ruling and declare broad parts of the new policy unconstitutional. Published January 30, 2017
Charles Schumer to punish Donald Trump by opposing Cabinet picks
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Monday he'll vote against a slate of President Trump's Cabinet nominees, saying he feels compelled to send a signal of defiance to the new administration. Published January 30, 2017
Voters back idea of Trump’s travel halt for Iraq, Syria, five other Muslim countries
A majority of voters back the concept of halting admissions from seven terrorist-connected countries, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll Monday that found general broad support for the kind of executive order President Trump signed on Friday. Published January 30, 2017
Donald Trump says he’s already tamed F-35, Lockheed Martin
President Trump said Monday he's already set the troubled F-35 jet program on firmer footing, just weeks after he attacked Lockheed Martin's leadership of the program and invited Boeing to price out an alternative with its F-18. Published January 30, 2017
Donald Trump: ‘5 percent chance’ Charles Schumer’s tears were real
President Trump said Monday that there's only a "5 percent chance" that Sen. Charles E. Schumer's tears were real a day earlier, when the New York Democrat held a news conference to complain about the administration's new "extreme vetting" policy. Published January 30, 2017
John Kelly Homeland Security Secretary issues waiver to let green card holders avoid travel ban
Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly issued a blanket waiver Sunday allowing immigrants holding green cards, or entitled to permanent residence in the U.S., to enter the country, despite President Trump's new executive order. Published January 29, 2017
