Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Britain begins debate on banning Donald Trump
Members of the British parliament called Donald Trump everything from a buffoon to a race-baiting terrorist enabler Monday -- but stopped short of endorsing a ban on allowing him to enter the United Kingdom, saying they didn't want to turn him into a political martyr. Published January 18, 2016
Hillary Clinton defends Obamacare; Bernie Sanders says it must go further
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton vowed Sunday to defend Obamacare from Republicans' efforts to repeal it, and from fellow candidate Sen. Bernard Sanders' plans to replace it with a socialized medicine plan that would put the government in control of all health spending. Published January 17, 2016
U.S. immigration authorities screening Iraqi, Syrian refugees’ social media accounts
Homeland Security is now trying to screen the social media accounts of Iraqi and Syrian refugee applicants, an agency chief said, as evidence emerges that immigration officers missed potential clues that foreign fighters left in cyberspace about their intentions. Published January 17, 2016
Bernie Sanders keeps lawsuit against DNC alive
Sen. Bernard Sanders told a federal court Friday he does not intend to pursue his lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee over his access to voter data files -- but he kept the case open anyway, just in case the DNC backslides. Published January 15, 2016
Hispanics recruit liberal billionaire Tom Steyer as major backer
Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer has joined the Latino Victory Fund as an honorary co-chairman, the group announced Friday, marrying one of the liberal world's most generous donors with the effort to sway elections through Hispanic recruitment. Published January 15, 2016
Marco Rubio takes mulligan on immigration bill, says now focused on security
Sen. Marco Rubio claimed a do-over on his 2013 immigration legalization bill in Thursday's GOP presidential debate, saying that the issue has been overtaken by terrorist threats and he now believes the focus of the system should be keeping out bad actors. Published January 14, 2016
Donald Trump embraces ‘angry’ label; Ted Cruz dismisses birther talk in Republican debate
Billionaire businessman Donald Trump embraced the label of "angry" and Sen. Ted Cruz fended off repeated questions about his finances and his eligibility to be president as the two men led the rest of the presidential field in Thursday's debate, amid growing concerns about President Obama's foreign policy. Published January 14, 2016
Marco Rubio declares Hillary Clinton ‘disqualified’ from being commander in chief
Republicans blasted President Obama's "rosy" economic outlook in this week's State of the Union address and used the sixth debate of the primary season Thursday night to tie Hillary Clinton to his defense policies, saying she would continue his "disaster" for American leadership. Published January 14, 2016
Planned Parenthood suing Center for Medical Progress over fetal tissue videos
Planned Parenthood filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the group whose undercover videos dented the abortion provider's image and threatened its public funding, saying the Center for Medical Progress lied its way into secret meetings to record conversations with clinic officials. Published January 14, 2016
Democrats to make Senate vote on Trump agenda
President Obama's agenda has stalled on Capitol Hill, but GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump's plans are likely to get voted on, courtesy of Senate Democrats. Published January 14, 2016
IRS lets individual employees decide what’s ‘fair’ in audits
The IRS leaves it up to individual employees to decide what's "fair" in audits, meaning the tax agency sometimes uses arbitrary criteria in deciding whom to review, the government's chief watchdog said Wednesday in a report Republicans seized on as proof that unfair targeting could still be going on. Published January 13, 2016
Donald Trump stuck on zero endorsements as GOP lawmakers back Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio
Donald Trump still doesn't have a single governor or member of Congress endorsing his bid for the White House — a stunning shutout for the Republican Party's national front-runner that underscores just how anathema he remains even for the most die-hard anti-Washington lawmakers. Published January 13, 2016
House passes bill to dent Obama’s Iran nuclear deal — then revokes its own vote
The House voted Wednesday to undercut President Obama's Iran nuclear deal by preventing him from lifting sanctions on some banks and regime officials, as Republicans moved to try to punish the Islamic Republic for its belligerent international stance. Published January 13, 2016
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
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
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
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
Paul Ryan blames Democrats for ‘trickle-down’ economic stagnation
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Tuesday that it's Democrats, not Republicans, who are to blame for trickle-down economics that have given a boost to the wealthy while leaving the middle class stagnant. Published January 12, 2016
Hillary Clinton promises to fund attorneys for illegals, tells Obama to stop raids
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton urged President Obama to halt the new round of deportation raids and called Monday night for the government to pay for attorneys for all children who wind up in immigration courts. Published January 11, 2016
Supreme Court’s conservative justices cast doubt on labor union fees
The Supreme Court is poised to dent the political power of labor after conservative justices cast doubt Monday on public sector unions' ability to collect fees even from workers who disagree with the union's political or other demands. Published January 11, 2016
