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Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan

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

Articles by Stephen Dinan

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker broke from the GOP by saying that there should be limits on how many legal immigrants should be allowed to enter the U.S. (Associated Press)

Scott Walker breaks from GOP on border limits

The latest Census Bureau projections show immigrants will account for 14.8 percent of the U.S. population early in the next decade, setting an all-time record and raising questions about whether the country has the ability to assimilate newcomers at such a torrid pace. Published April 22, 2015

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen denied that his agency had singled out taxpayers' customer service for special reductions. (Associated Press)

IRS ‘deliberately’ cut customer service, made tax season extra painful

The IRS "deliberately" cut its customer service this year, making the tax season more painful than it had to be for millions of taxpayers, House Republicans concluded in a new report Wednesday that accused the agency of wasting money on pet projects while hanging up on millions of callers. Published April 22, 2015

President Obama is pushing Congress to grant him fast-track trade authority, which would allow him to independently negotiate trade deals and then bring them to Congress for an up-or-down vote without amendments or filibuster. (Associated Press)

Obama says Elizabeth Warren, other liberals ‘wrong’ on free trade

President Obama said Tuesday that liberal critics, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, are wrong about the negative impact of his massive proposed free trade deal with Pacific Rim nations, and he called on Congress to give him the power to negotiate the agreement swiftly. Published April 21, 2015

A legal immigrant reads a guide of the conditions needed to apply for the so-called 'DREAMers' Obama program, formally known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights offices in Los Angeles on Aug. 15, 2012. Hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants scrambled to get papers in order as the U.S. started accepting applications to allow them to avoid deportation and get a work permit, but not a path to citizenship. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Obama gives amnesty to known gang member, ‘Top Model’ murder suspect

The illegal immigrant accused of killing a former "America's Next Top Model" contestant and three others in a drug-fueled spree was a known gang member with drug arrests on his record at the time he was approved for President Obama's amnesty for Dreamers, a top lawmaker revealed Tuesday. Published April 21, 2015

Hillary Rodham Clinton has recalibrated her stances on issues such as same-sex marriage in her latest bid for the presidency. (Associated Press)

Hillary Clinton changes campaign positions on gay marriage, free trade, immigration

One week into her presidential campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun recalibrating her 2008 campaign stances and seeking to put some nuanced distance between herself and President Obama, hoping to find a balance that will keep her positioned for both a Democratic primary and a general election. Published April 19, 2015

A major trade deal could be a capstone legacy for President Obama's second term in office — if he can deliver the votes. (Associated Press)

Obama undermined by Democrats on fast-track trade authority, Asia deal

Democrats are "overwhelmingly" opposed to both fast-track trade authority and to the Asian trade deal the administration is negotiating, exposing doubts about President Obama from within his own ranks — and an ever-shrinking number of lawmakers even willing to be persuaded by him. Published April 19, 2015

The Asia free trade agreement could be a major part of President Obama's legacy, but first he'll need to deliver dozens of Democratic votes in the face of vociferous objections by labor unions and liberal pressure groups, who already have declared it a make-or-break vote. (Associated Press)

Trade deal breakthrough sets up new test for Obama

Top lawmakers struck a bipartisan deal Thursday to grant President Obama fast-track trade negotiating authority, potentially paving the way for a massive free trade agreement with Asia and igniting what is likely to be the top fight of the 114th Congress. Published April 16, 2015

The Internal Revenue Service Headquarters (IRS) building is seen in Washington on April 13, 2014. (Associated Press) **FILE**

IRS customer service twice as bad in first year of Obamacare tax

IRS customer service representatives managed to answer only about a tenth of taxpayers' phone calls this season, and even the lucky ones waited an average of nearly 25 minutes before getting through, the agency's auditor reported Thursday. Published April 16, 2015

The Medicare bill that patched a 1997 law that was about to foist a 21 percent pay cut on doctors was the product of negotiations between the unlikely duo of House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat. (Associated Press)

Republicans, Democrats find common ground on Iran, Medicare, education

A rash of bipartisanship has broken out in recent weeks on Capitol Hill, where Republicans and Democrats have teamed up to make progress on issues such as entitlement spending and education reforms, leaving lawmakers and Congress watchers alike wondering whether it's the dawn of a promising era. Published April 15, 2015

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, Virginia Republican, on Tuesday confronted ICE Director Sarah Saldana over her agency's record. (Associated Press)

Sarah Saldana, ICE chief, takes heat over agency’s record

The administration released dozens of convicted illegal immigrant murderers and rapists back onto the streets last year, even as it began to hold more women and children, according to the latest statistics that have President Obama and his immigration team taking fire from all sides in the debate. Published April 14, 2015

In this March 3, 2015 photo, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers make an arrest in New York, during a series of early-morning raids. Immigrant and Customs Enforcement say an increasing number of cities and counties across the United States are limiting cooperation with the agency. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Feds releasing hundreds of illegal immigrant rapists, murderers: report

The administration is deporting fewer criminal aliens than it did last year, according to new statistics released Tuesday that undercut President Obama's justification for his new amnesty, which he said was intended to free agents to focus on the most dangerous of criminals by focusing on "felons not families." Published April 14, 2015

President Obama raises his glass to toast during a luncheon hosted by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sept. 24, 2014, at the United Nations headquarters. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Feds sitting on billions of dollars of unused assets

The federal government is sitting on billions of dollars in money and valuable resources it no longer needs and could capitalize on to help reduce the deficit or pay for other priorities, Congress's chief investigative arm reported Tuesday. Published April 14, 2015

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during his news conference at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, Saturday, April 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

OPT program may cause Americans lose jobs to foreign workers

Businesses are increasingly making use of a little-known program that lets them hire high-skilled foreign workers for internships, without having to pay their payroll taxes — creating what critics say is yet another perverse incentive to pick would-be immigrants over American workers. Published April 13, 2015