Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Mitt Romney ticks off viable GOP candidates; excludes Trump, doesn’t mention Carson
Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney listed a half-dozen Republican candidates he said could qualify as mainstream conservatives his party could live with in a general election -- and said he didn't think Donald J. Trump was one of those. Published September 30, 2015
Opal Tometi: Black Lives Matter is message of ‘love’ for all
Opal Tometi, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, defended disruptive tactics Wednesday, saying there is a "duty" to do whatever it takes for supporters to get their message across. Published September 30, 2015
Boehner sets Oct. 8 leadership election
The House GOP will vote on its new leaders Oct. 8, Speaker John A. Boehner announced Wednesday, setting up a compressed window for Republicans to try to heal numerous scars that have developed in the wake of Mr. Boehner's surprise retirement. Published September 30, 2015
Paul Gosar, Arizona congressman, raises money off Pope Francis boycott
While most members of Congress were thrilled to be in Pope Francis' presence last week, one congressman is raising money off the fact that he boycotted the pontiff's address, saying he treated the head of the Roman Catholic Church the way he would any other "leftist politician." Published September 30, 2015
Recovery board folding with mixed track record of stimulus plan
The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board will shutter its doors Wednesday, six years after it was created to monitor hundreds of billions of dollars that President Obama doled out in spending and tax breaks under his 2009 stimulus -- and some watchdogs are sorry to see it go. Published September 29, 2015
Ben Carson uses empowerment message in bid to sway black voters
Ben Carson is hoping to awaken black voters to his campaign with a message of economic empowerment, saying the black community has been done a disservice by heeding political power overtures from Democrats. Published September 29, 2015
Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood president, says videos were entrapment
Planned Parenthood insisted it didn't break any laws and was the subject of an effort to "entrap" it, but the organization's president, Cecile Richards, struggled Tuesday to defend the need for hundreds of millions of dollars in new federal funding every year. Published September 29, 2015
Homeland Security ranks as worst federal agency for employees
Homeland Security ranked by far as the worst large federal agency to work for in 2015, according to the annual survey of federal employees released Monday that shows the department continuing a precipitous slide under President Obama. Published September 28, 2015
Kevin McCarthy announces bid for House Speaker
Rep. Kevin McCarthy announced his bid to be the next House speaker in a letter to colleagues Monday that insisted the GOP must work to heal its internal divisions in order to win on the big fights facing Congress. Published September 28, 2015
Kevin McCarthy calls for no-fly zone over Syria
The man poised to be the next House speaker said Monday that the U.S. needs to assume a more aggressive posture around the world, saying the key to foreign policy is making it "painful" for countries to misbehave. Published September 28, 2015
House conservatives want time to replace John Boehner
Conservatives are pushing to slow down the race to succeed retiring Speaker John A. Boehner, hoping to force a broader shake-up in House Republican leadership as the party tries to move forward. Published September 27, 2015
Immigration groups urge John Boehner to pass legalization before he goes
Immigrant-rights advocates scrambled Friday to plead with House Speaker John A. Boehner to bring an immigration legalization bill to the floor before he leaves office next month, fearing his replacement will show even more antipathy toward their agenda. Published September 25, 2015
John Boehner resigns; Speaker cites desire to avoid ‘prolonged leadership turmoil’
House Speaker John A. Boehner will resign from Congress at the end of October, stunning Capitol Hill with what he said was a snap decision reached Friday morning, and leaving tremendous uncertainty for Republicans just when they face a series of major showdowns with the White House. Published September 25, 2015
Pope Francis’ call for immigration leniency unlikely to change debate
Pope Francis is more than head of the Catholic Church -- he's also the head of state of the Vatican, which as a government has possibly the most restrictive immigration and citizenship policies of any nation in the world. Published September 24, 2015
Pope Francis proposes ‘golden rule’ of politics, demands end to death penalty
Pope Francis called on Americans to fully embrace the Golden Rule in politics as the head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics delivered a sermon on Capitol Hill on Thursday, challenging Congress and voters alike to serve the needy and to see the world in nuance rather than the "simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil." Published September 24, 2015
Carly Fiorina tops Hillary Clinton in head-to-head matchup: poll
Carly Fiorina tops Hillary Rodham Clinton in a head-to-head general election matchup, according to the latest Quinnipiac University Poll released Thursday morning that also found the former Hewlett-Packard CEO easily outperformed GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump in last week's debate. Published September 24, 2015
Junipero Serra, saint canonized by Pope Francis, leaves divided Western legacy
A year before Junipero Serra was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988, the California missions the Franciscan priest had founded in the 18th century exhumed his body and collected his left ulna. Published September 23, 2015
Pope Francis should win Nobel Peace Prize: Adam Schiff
One congressman is circulating a letter to colleagues trying to get them to help him nominate Pope Francis for the Nobel Peace Prize. Published September 23, 2015
Feds lost 5.6 million Americans’ fingerprint files in cyber hack
More than 5 million Americans' fingerprint files were stolen from the federal government, the chief human resources agency said Wednesday, acknowledging the massive data breach was five times larger than they'd previously admitted. Published September 23, 2015
Pope Francis brings brief political truce to Washington
Raucous cheers erupted Tuesday as Pope Francis set foot in the U.S. for the first time, kicking off a six-day, three-city American tour that promises to dominate the headlines and present politicians with the chance to bask in the "glow" of association with the popular pontiff. Published September 22, 2015
