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Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan

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

Articles by Stephen Dinan

President Obama, center, and and Gov. Chris Christie meet with local residents as they tour neighborhood effected by superstorm Sandy, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012 in Brigantine, N.J. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Bad weather changes congressional environment voting: Study

Lawmakers are more likely to vote for climate change legislation after freak storms hit their home states or districts, according to a new Harvard University study announced Tuesday that looks at how specific weather events affect the public debate. Published July 2, 2013

The 68-32 vote in favor of the immigration reform bill was a milestone for the Senate and for the immigration debate, but it was even more important for Sen. Mario Rubio, a first-term Florida Republican who won some but not all of the changes he promised he would try to accomplish. (Associated Press)

Sen. Marco Rubio’s political future is tied to success of immigration bill

Sen. Marco Rubio was the glue that held together the immigration deal in the Senate, helping set the stage for adding tens of thousands of Border Patrol agents to the final deal — but failing to win many of the changes the Florida Republican himself said he needed to see. Published June 30, 2013

People shout out against the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act in the hall outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 18, 2013. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (Associated Press)

Congressman: Senate immigration bill unconstitutional

Rep. Steve Stockman, a Texas Republican, said Friday that the Senate immigration bill is a revenue measure, which makes it unconstitutional because all revenue bills must start in the House. Published June 28, 2013

** FILE ** In this Feb. 28, 2013, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada (right) and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, meet with reporters on Capitol Hill. (Associated Press)

Senators’ votes on immigration were linked to personal experiences

With the fates of their political parties — and in many cases their own re-elections — hanging on their votes, senators stood, one after the other, to say "Aye" or "No" on the most significant piece of legislation since health care. Most of them had their personal immigration experiences on their minds. Published June 27, 2013

** FILE ** Sens. John McCain (left), Arizona Republican, and Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, two of the authors of the immigration reform bill crafted by the Senate's bipartisan "Gang of Eight," shake hands on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, June 27, 2013, before the final vote. (Associated Press)

Immigration bill clears Senate, faces uncertain future in House; historic day for immigrants

Vowing that they have learned the lessons from the 1986 amnesty, the Senate on Thursday approved the biggest changes to the immigration system in a generation, promising this version will prevent another wave of illegal immigrants while granting a pathway to citizenship to most of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country. Published June 27, 2013

**FILE** Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, updates reporters on the pace of the immigration reform bill following a Democratic strategy session at the Capitol in Washington on June 25, 2013. (Associated Press)

Immigration bill clears final filibuster

Senators beat back a final filibuster of the immigration bill Thursday afternoon, clearing the way for the measure to pass in a final vote at 4 p.m. — intact and almost exactly as the Gang of Eight wrote it. Published June 27, 2013

People wait under a tree after they were detained by Border Patrol agents Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at a field in Edinburg, Texas. Agents took into custody 69 people suspected of entering the country illegally. (AP Photo/The Monitor, Gabe Hernandez)

Senate speeds toward immigration bill passage

The Senate is headed for its final immigration votes, with the last filibuster test slated for noon Thursday — a vote all sides expect will signal easy passage by the end of the week — and lawmakers are facing furious last-minute lobbying from both sides. Published June 27, 2013

** FILE ** J. Russell George is the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration. (Associated Press)

IRS auditor reaffirms that conservatives, not liberals, were targeted

The IRS inspector general said this week that while some liberal groups were given extra scrutiny by the tax agency, they were not subjected to the same invasive queries as tea party groups — a finding that seems to confirm a political bias was at play. Published June 27, 2013

**FILE** People wait under a tree after they were detained by Border Patrol agents on June 25, 2013, at a field in Edinburg, Texas. Agents took into custody 69 people suspected of entering the country illegally. (Associated Press/The Monitor)

Immigration bill survives filibuster, speeds toward passage

The immigration bill survived a major filibuster test Wednesday in a 67-31 vote that signals the measure is on a speedy path out of the Senate this week while underscoring just how far the bill has come since the last debate in 2007. Published June 26, 2013

Supporters of gay marriage embrace outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 26, 2013, after the court cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California by holding that defenders of California's gay marriage ban did not have the right to appeal lower court rulings striking down the ban. (Associated Press)

Gay couples can immigrate under DOMA ruling

The Supreme Court's ruling that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional should immediately open up immigration benefits to same-sex partners in states where their unions are recognized as marriages. Published June 26, 2013

"We're working on this, we can still do it. We have to make sure everyone's going to give a little," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Tuesday afternoon of progress on the immigration bill.

Slow-going on immigration in Senate

With the immigration bill's passage in the Senate now a forgone conclusion, the only question is whether the lawmakers will get the chance to vote on any other amendments before signing off and sending the measure to an uncertain future in the House. Published June 25, 2013

"We have made some technical fixes and clarifying edits to the legislative language, but that's it. This is a routine step."

As Democrats call on Congress to fix Voting Rights Act, GOP goes quiet

The Supreme Court didn't overturn the entire Voting Rights Act in its Tuesday ruling, but it did say that if lawmakers want to keep using it, Congress will have to update it for the 21st century. But that throws the problem over to a legislature that has had trouble passing the most basic spending bills to keep the government open. Published June 25, 2013

**FILE** The Supreme Court in Washington is seen June 27, 2012. (Associated Press)

Supreme Court says Voting Rights Act of 1965 is no longer relevant

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that states no longer can be judged by voting discrimination that went on decades ago, a decision that argues the country has fundamentally changed since the racially motivated laws of the civil rights era. Published June 25, 2013

**FILE** Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Republican, speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 4, 2013, following a Democratic strategy session. (Associated Press)

Reid moves to end immigration debate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid moved Monday to end the debate on the immigration bill, filing a motion to set up final filibuster votes for Wednesday. Published June 24, 2013

**FILE** This photo shows the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court in a group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington on Oct. 8, 2010. Seated from left to right are: Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Standing, from left are: Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr., and Associate Justice Elena Kagan. (Associated Press)

Court sends affirmative action case back to lower courts

The Supreme Court on Monday sent a major affirmative action case back to the lower courts to be reheard, ducking the chance to rewrite discrimination laws and instead affirming the current state of law for racial preferences, saying they can be used for admissions but only if there is a compelling need and no other remedy works. Published June 24, 2013

** FILE ** Visitors walk past the Supreme Court in Washington on Saturday, March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Supreme Court to rule on Obama recess appointments

The Supreme Court said Monday that it will referee a simmering constitutional crisis between Congress and President Obama, with the justices taking a case on whether the chief executive can use his recess appointment powers to do an end run around a recalcitrant Senate. Published June 24, 2013