Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
White House threatens to cut education, food safety
Seeking to build political pressure on Republicans, the White House on Friday laid out some of the costs of looming spending "sequesters," saying the administration would cut 70,000 youngsters from Head Start, would reduce federal loans to small businesses and slash the number of food safety inspectors on the job. Published February 8, 2013
Senate intelligence hearing on Brennan’s CIA nomination halted by protesters
John O. Brennan couldn't even finish introducing his family before he was interrupted four times by protesters at his confirmation hearing Thursday to become the new director of the CIA. Published February 7, 2013
Panic rises as sequesters grow near
Deadline legislating is once again the talk of Washington, with all sides now demanding an end to the automatic spending sequesters — even though just a few weeks ago many of them seemed to be bracing, or in some cases even welcoming, the $85 billion in cuts divided between defense and domestic needs. Published February 6, 2013
GOP pushes secure borders
Momentum may be building for legalizing illegal immigrants, but House Republicans signaled Tuesday they are in no hurry, kicking off congressional hearings on immigration by focusing on how to attract more high-tech workers and how to boost enforcement. Published February 5, 2013
CBO projects 1st federal deficit under $1T of Obama’s tenure
Congress' official scorekeeper said Tuesday that the federal government's financial picture has improved slightly and the federal deficit this year will drop below $1 trillion for the first time in President Obama's tenure — though a sea of red ink still looms on the horizon. Published February 5, 2013
ICE ex-chief: Nondeport rules would’ve spared 9/11 hijackers
The former chief of deportations in the Bush administration will testify to Congress on Tuesday that President Obama's new nondeportation policies would have let the Sept. 11 hijackers remain in the country even if they had been picked up in the months before their deadly attacks. Published February 4, 2013
Congressional staff jobs provide ‘dreamers’ a leg up to citizenship
Two immigrants have gone from illegal to congressional in a matter of months. Published February 4, 2013
Treasury nominee Jack Lew accused of breaking Medicare law by Republicans
Senate Republicans are sending a letter Monday to the White House budget office arguing that President Obama's nominee to be treasury secretary, Jacob "Jack" Lew, was complicit in breaking a Medicare budget law. Published February 4, 2013
Change of strategy for immigration: Reform bill faces full gantlet in the Senate
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's vow last week to put the immigration bill through the regular Senate process of committee hearings and floor amendments may sound inconsequential, but it marks a major shift for the Nevada Democrat. Published February 3, 2013
Congress gets 3½ months to run up debt
Chastened by its last brush with the debt limit, Congress on Thursday approved a waiver allowing the government to run up as much debt as it needs over the next 3½ months — but senators also prodded themselves to finally write a budget for the first time in four years. Published January 31, 2013
Defense secretary nominee Hagel roughed up by friendly fire
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel appears to face an even steeper climb to become the next defense secretary after a rocky confirmation hearing Thursday in which his fellow Republicans blasted him for positions on issues and for what they called his willingness to alter positions "for the sake of political expediency." Published January 31, 2013
Border numbers rise ahead of talks on immigration
Seeking to boost the bipartisan momentum in Congress for tackling immigration reform, President Obama said Tuesday that he now sees "a genuine desire to get this done soon" — but warned that the debate will get more heated in the weeks ahead. Published January 29, 2013
Arrest numbers signal 9 percent jump in illegal immigration in 2012
Even as President Obama travels to Las Vegas Tuesday to call for legalizing illegal immigrants, the latest numbers from the U.S. Border Patrol suggest that the flow across the nation's southwest border jumped by 9 percent last year. Published January 29, 2013
Congress OKs $50B in Sandy aid
Congress on Monday cleared $50 billion in additional Superstorm Sandy relief and reconstruction aid for the Northeast, sending it to President Obama for his signature and bringing the total tab for taxpayers from the storm to $60 billion. Published January 28, 2013
Immigration plan mirrors 2007’s
Powered by the results of the November elections, a bipartisan group of top senators on Monday floated the latest proposal to overhaul the nation's shattered immigration system — but acknowledged they are at the earliest stages of what is a fragile balancing act. Published January 28, 2013
Ruling puts presidential power at risk
The federal appeals court ruling last week finding President Obama abused his recess appointment powers harkened back to a vision of the Constitution that many thought long dead, and could upend decades of practice by Republicans and Democrats. Published January 28, 2013
Sandy relief bill eats up taxes on the rich
Congress is poised to clear the final $50 billion chunk of emergency aid for Superstorm Sandy relief Monday — and in one vote, it will have used up all the new tax money President Obama won by raising rates on the wealthy in the "fiscal cliff" deal. Published January 28, 2013
Obama recess appointments unconstitutional
In a case freighted with major constitutional implications, a federal appeals court on Friday overturned President Obama's controversial recess appointments from last year, ruling he abused his powers and acted when the Senate was not actually in a recess. Published January 25, 2013
‘Nuclear option’ averted as Senate leaders reach agreement on filibuster rules
Senate leaders struck a bipartisan agreement Thursday to preserve the chamber's filibuster but which limits how and when the minority party can use it. Published January 24, 2013
Republican strategy switch clears the way for debt hike
Acting well before the deadline and with rare bipartisan unity, the House voted Wednesday to waive the federal debt ceiling for the next four months as Republicans retreated from their insistence that any raising of the ceiling be matched dollar-for-dollar with spending cuts. Published January 23, 2013
