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Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Stephen Dinan

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, Illinois Democrat, said he and most of the other 145 lawmakers who signed the letter denouncing the deportation raids were among President Obama's staunchest backers, having defended Obamacare over the past five years and upheld his Iran nuclear deal in a major test vote last year. (Associated Press)

Obama’s immigration, trade policies not fully embraced by Democrats

President Obama faced an increasingly wary Democratic Party on Tuesday as he delivered his final State of the Union address, with his own troops distancing themselves from his legacy-building push for a free trade deal, his softer approach to Iran's weapons programs and, perhaps most pointedly, his administration's series of raids targeting illegal immigrants. Published January 12, 2016

The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington is seen here on March 22, 2013. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Federal judge certifies tea party in class action lawsuit against IRS

A federal judge on Tuesday certified a class-action lawsuit against the IRS for its political targeting, advancing the cause of more than 200 tea party groups who said they were denied their First Amendment rights by the tax agency's actions. Published January 12, 2016

In this Jan. 7, 2016, file photo, Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. speaks during a campaign stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Paul and former technology executive Carly Fiorina will not appear on the primetime debate stage when the Republican Party's 2016 presidential class faces off later this week in South Carolina. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Democrats scuttle Rand Paul’s ‘Audit the Fed’ bill

Democrats successfully defended the Federal Reserve Tuesday, voting to filibuster Sen. Rand Paul's bill to impose an audit on the secretive central bank and dealing a blow to a yearslong effort. Published January 12, 2016

Young women in many cases have survived harrowing journeys north, some of them pregnant from being raped along the way. (Associated Press/File)

Illegal immigration by families surges 38 percent

Illegal immigration from Central America is setting a record pace, with nearly 40,000 families and children traveling alone being caught on the southwest border in just the first three months of the fiscal year, according to new Border Patrol numbers. Published January 12, 2016

President Obama will use his final State of the Union address to map out his legacy, but those who want to succeed him will draw lines. (Associated Press)

Obama’s last State of the Union will lay out path for his legacy

With little chance of getting what he wants from Congress this year, President Obama plans to use his final State of the Union address Tuesday to try to set the agenda for his successor, insisting that if he can't win now, he will demand that voters keep it in mind as they select the next president. Published January 10, 2016

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat. (Associated Press)

Senate sluggish despite bipartisan deals, Washington Times Legislative Futility Index finds

Congress began to pull out of the legislative doldrums last year but still has a long way to go before it returns to full health and the kind of freewheeling legislative action of previous decades, according to The Washington Times Legislative Futility Index, which found that despite some big bipartisan deals, the Senate remains a major stumbling block to passing bills. Published January 10, 2016

Law enforcement searches for a suspect in a mass shooting at a social services center Wednesday in San Bernardino, Calif. (Associated Press)

2015 sets new record for terror plots in U.S.

Last year saw the most terrorist attacks and plots in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Heritage Foundation's tally, which was released Friday just as the Obama administration announced a series of new terror-related arrests and indictments. Published January 8, 2016

Ingrid Vaca, originally of Bolivia who now lives in Arlington, Va., rallies for immigration reform after marching from Arlington, Va. to the White House in Washington, Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, on the one-year anniversary of President Obama's announcement concerning Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DAPA). (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democrats to demand new amnesty from Obama for Central Americans

Congressional Democrats are circulating a petition pressing President Obama to extend a new temporary amnesty to potentially millions of illegal immigrants from Central America, saying the violence in their home countries makes it too dangerous to continue deporting anyone to the region. Published January 8, 2016

Rep. Ed Royce said a new bill holds the White House to committing to pressure Iran on supporting terrorism. (Associated Press)

House set to vote for North Korea, Iran sanctions

House Republicans said they'll vote next week to slap new sanctions on North Korea and Iran to punish the rogue nations for continuing to develop their weapons programs, as they try to force President Obama to drop his more accommodating stance toward the two enemy nations. Published January 7, 2016

"While he represented a potential safety threat, there is no indication that he planned any acts of terrorism in this country," U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, in the eastern district of California, said in a statement announcing the arrest of Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab. (Associated Press)

Iraqi refugees arrested on terrorism charges

Authorities arrested two Iraqi refugees on terrorism-related charges Thursday, in a move that undercuts President Obama's plans to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S. this year. Published January 7, 2016

Just months after Republicans helped grant President Obama fast-track negotiation powers to finish the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, GOP leaders said they were disappointed with the final deal the president won in the 12-nation talks. Democrats, meanwhile, have been overwhelmingly opposed from the start. (Associated Press)

Keystone pipeline lawsuit threatens Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership

This week's Keystone pipeline lawsuit may deliver the death blow to a seemingly unrelated Asian trade deal, with environmentalists and labor unions saying a Canadian company shouldn't be allowed to use international trade agreements to force changes in U.S. energy and environmental policy. Published January 7, 2016

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign event, at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. (Mikayla Whitmore/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Bernie Sanders demands halt to deportations to Central America

Seeking to put distance between himself and President Obama, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernard Sanders fired off a letter Thursday demanding the administration halt its new round of raids designed to find and deport illegal immigrants who are ignoring judges' orders that they leave the country. Published January 7, 2016