Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Gingrich takes fire from rivals in debate
Facing off against the rest of the Republican field in the final debate before Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses, Newt Gingrich defended his work for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and didn't back off from a number of his more contentious stances, including abolishing federal courts he finds too activist. Published December 15, 2011
Gingrich promises a positive approach
With his poll numbers showing some softness after days of mudslinging with rival Republican candidates, Newt Gingrich vowed to Iowa voters Thursday to run a positive campaign in the three-week stretch run to the state's Jan. 3 first-in-the-nation contest — the same strategy that helped former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee win the state in 2008. Published December 15, 2011
House GOP tries flanking move to avoid looming shutdown
Seeking to outflank Democrats, House Republicans announced early Thursday morning they had introduced a new 1,219-page spending bill to keep the government open past Friday, when current funding is scheduled to run out. Published December 15, 2011
Congressional stalemate sets up Christmastime government shutdown
Congress flirted Wednesday with yet another partial government shutdown - the third this year - as Democrats said they won't allow a year-end funding bill to go through until lawmakers also pass an extension of this year's payroll tax cut. Published December 14, 2011
GOP ties payroll tax to oil pipeline
House Republicans voted Tuesday to give President Obama the payroll-tax-cut extension he desperately wants, but only if he accepts major changes to unemployment benefits and speeds up a decision on building the Keystone XL pipeline, which the administration has sought to delay until after the 2012 election. Published December 13, 2011
Obama veto vow sets up year-end clash over taxes, oil pipeline
President Obama on Tuesday said he will veto House Republicans' payroll tax extension unless the GOP ditches spending cuts and instead pairs the tax cut with a tax increase on the wealthy. Published December 13, 2011
Republicans calling for reform cite $16B in unemployment overpayments
The Unemployment Insurance program's error rate has jumped as the program has grown during the economic downturn, paying out billions of dollars in improper payments in 2011, making it the second-worst program on a special government watch list. Published December 12, 2011
House, Senate strike deal on defense bill
House and Senate negotiators struck a deal Monday that gives the military first crack at holding suspected al Qaeda terrorists caught in the U.S., setting up a final showdown with President Obama who had said he might veto the bill if he thought it constrained his authority. Published December 12, 2011
High court to consider Ariz. migrant law
The Supreme Court announced Monday it will take the case of Arizona's tough immigration crackdown law, adding yet another contentious clash between the Obama administration and the states to its docket. Published December 12, 2011
Obama to slash National Guard force on U.S.-Mexico border
Blaming budget cuts, the Obama administration early next year will cut the number of National Guard troops patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border by at least half, according to a congressman who was briefed on the plan. Published December 12, 2011
House GOP playing hardball at recess
House Republicans have a not-so-secret weapon that could bring the National Labor Relations Board to a halt and block Democrats' Wall Street watchdog agency from getting started — and all it requires is just sitting around. Published December 11, 2011
GOP’s second-tier candidates target Romney, Gingrich
Michele Bachmann channeled Herman Cain, Rick Santorum rattled off the geography of Iowa, and Rick Perry stressed his Christianity on Saturday night as the stragglers in the GOP presidential field sought to use the little time left to close the gap with front-runners in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. Published December 11, 2011
Senate defeats Democrats’ latest payroll tax cut plan
Republicans on Thursday blocked Democrats' new effort to extend the payroll tax cut into next year in a vote that showed neither side is ready to give ground just yet in a stalemate that threatens to derail the tax cut entirely. Published December 8, 2011
Justice presses jailed agent for $7,000 in fines
Ignoring calls for leniency, the Justice Department has told a jailed former Border Patrol agent it will start docking his commissary account as a way to begin assessing nearly $7,000 in fines, even though a judge told him he wouldn't have to start paying immediately. Published December 7, 2011
Gingrich: John Bolton will be my secretary of state
Newt Gingrich promised conservatives on Tuesday he would ask former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton to be his secretary of state if he's elected president next year, according to several of those who met with him Published December 7, 2011
Feds run deficit for 38th straight month
The federal government ran a $139 billion deficit in November, marking the 38th straight month in the red, according to a preliminary estimate the Congressional Budget Office released Wednesday. Published December 7, 2011
GOP ends truce on judicial hopefuls
Senate Republicans on Tuesday filibustered one of President Obama's appellate court nominees, ending a six-year truce and reigniting one of the bitterest recurring battles on Capitol Hill. Published December 6, 2011
Obama seizes advantage on payroll-tax cut
Republicans are increasingly divided over whether to extend this year's payroll-tax cut into next year, leaving a political opening that President Obama moved to seize Monday by accusing the GOP of ignoring middle-class families' needs and unveiling a White House countdown clock ticking off the seconds until taxes get higher. Published December 5, 2011
U.S. lawmakers push for better treatment of illegal immigrants in Mexico
Already unhappy with the Obama administration's handling of illegal immigrants in the U.S., liberal lawmakers on Friday asked the government to go even further and make American aid to Mexico based on that country treating immigrants better. Published December 3, 2011
Parties’ competing plans to extend payroll-tax cut fail
The Senate late Thursday defeated both Republicans' and Democrats' attempts to extend this year's payroll tax cut into next year in dueling votes that signaled the nearly $1,000-per-family break may be in more peril than previously thought. Published December 1, 2011
