Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Obama, Democrats vow unified stance on debt
President Obama emerged from closed-door meetings with House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday with a new mantra for his focus the rest of this year: "Jobs. Middle class. Growth." Published July 31, 2013
Declassified documents show NSA snooping had ‘compliance’ problems
Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. on Wednesday declassified three documents that showed there have been "a number of technical compliance problems" with the government's phone-snooping program, as the Obama administration fights to preserve what it says is a critical tool in the war on terror. Published July 31, 2013
Immigration officers union says agency can’t handle legalization
The union that represents the people who would have to decide who gets legalized under any new immigration law said in a letter Tuesday that the Obama administration is not ready to handle the influx of applications. Published July 31, 2013
Homeland Security loses track of 1 million foreigners; report could hurt immigration deal
The Homeland Security Department has lost track of more than 1 million people who it knows arrived in the U.S. but who it cannot prove left the country, according to an audit Tuesday that also found the department probably won't meet its own goals for deploying an entry-exit system. Published July 30, 2013
House GOP accuses IRS of obstructing investigation into abuse of power
House Republicans on Tuesday accused the Internal Revenue Service and President Obama's hand-picked new leader of the agency of trying to "delay, frustrate, impede and obstruct" their investigation into abuses of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, and pointedly warned that it could be breaking the law. Published July 30, 2013
Top GOP donors tell party to legalize illegal immigrants
Nearly a hundred top Republican donors and Bush administration officials sent a letter to the House GOP on Tuesday urging lawmakers to pass a bill that legalizes illegal immigrants, arguing that the current system is already allowing them to stay and so it makes sense to register them and bring them into the system. Published July 30, 2013
Business bosses pressure House to pass immigration bill
The American business community weighed in Tuesday on immigration, firing off a letter to House leaders urging them to find the political will to pass an immigration bill this year. Published July 30, 2013
Dead farmers reap millions in subsidies, GAO audit shows
The federal government is still paying out millions of dollars a year in subsidies to dead farmers, according to a government audit released Monday that said the Agriculture Department doesn't do the routine checks required to make sure it is paying benefits to the right people. Published July 29, 2013
Harry Reid stops Senate immigration bill at House border; deal loses momentum
The immigration bill passed the Senate more than a month ago but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is refusing to send the bill to the House — just one of the hurdles that has sapped momentum and dimmed the chances for an immigration deal this year. Published July 29, 2013
Sen. Rand Paul is lone dissenter as James Comey confirmed for FBI post
The Senate on Monday approved James B. Comey to become the director of the FBI, giving an overwhelming bipartisan boost of approval to someone who has served presidents of both parties. Published July 29, 2013
Senate approves Comey as new FBI chief
The Senate on Monday approved James B. Comey Jr. to become the new director of the FBI, giving an overwhelming bipartisan boost of approval to someone who has served presidents of both parties. Published July 29, 2013
FBI says it doesn’t need warrant to use drones
The FBI has told Congress it does not need to get a warrant to conduct surveillance with drones, in a letter laying out some of the top federal law enforcement agency's policies for how it uses unmanned aerial vehicles. Published July 29, 2013
White House: Illegal immigrants key to rural economy
The White House warned Monday that U.S. farmers could experience a shortage of workers if the administration were to begin enforcing immigration laws, and President Obama made another push to rejuvenate the faltering prospects for passing an immigration bill this year. Published July 29, 2013
Govt. pays millions in benefits to dead farmers
The federal government is still paying out millions of dollars a year in subsidies to dead farmers, according to a new government audit released Monday that said the Agriculture Department doesn't do routine checks required to make sure it is paying benefits to the right people. Published July 29, 2013
Obama says Korean War has lessons for post-Afghanistan conflict
Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the armistice on Saturday that ended the Korean War, President Obama referred to the conflict as "the forgotten victory" and said it has lessons as he tries to end the war in Afghanistan. Published July 27, 2013
Support of voter ID law affirmed
Democrats and Republicans vowed this week to work together in rewriting the Voting Rights Act after last month's Supreme Court decision punctured the iconic civil rights law, but some lawmakers warned they will seek to protect voter ID laws as part of any eventual deal. Published July 18, 2013
Obama’s administration finds flexibility in sequesters; budget warnings overblown
Even as it warns that the across-the-board budget cuts are still biting, the Obama administration has found ways to soften the impact of the sequester — rethinking planned worker furloughs and restoring military operations that had been cut. Published July 18, 2013
Rep. Issa calls out Justice inaction on tax snooping, sees dangers in health care law
House oversight committee Chairman Darrell E. Issa said Thursday he's baffled that the Justice Department declined to prosecute a government employee who apparently knowingly pried into tax records of a political candidate or donor, and said there should be a way for victims to know their rights have been violated. Published July 18, 2013
Obama wins nominee battle with Senate GOP
The Senate confirmed President Obama’s nominees to head the Labor Department and the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, clearing the decks of the controversial nominees that had threatened to push the Senate into a parliamentary meltdown just two days ago. Published July 18, 2013
Obama loses 3rd ruling on recess moves
A third federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that President Obama violated the Constitution last year when he made recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, adding more weight to the case as it goes before the Supreme Court in the justices' next session. Published July 17, 2013
