Stephen Dinan

Bush holiday extension to cost $450 million

The outgoing Bush administration has one final gift for federal employees - a paid holiday on Dec. 26, at a cost of $450 million in holiday pay and salary for lost productivity from those who get the day off, according to one watchdog's estimate. Published December 15, 2008

Obama names choice for HUD secretary

President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday said he will nominate Shaun Donovan, New York City's housing development commissioner, to shepherd the nation through the distressed housing market as secretary of housing and urban development. Published December 13, 2008

Bush’s auto U-turn incites GOP

Republicans angrily demanded that President Bush respect the legislative process after the Senate blocked financial aid to the automakers and the White House said that using Wall Street bailout funds is an option. Published December 13, 2008

Automaker bill failure sparks GOP intra-party war

UPDATED: Republicans on Friday angrily demanded that President Bush respect the legislative process after the White House declared it could rescue automakers on its own, following the Senate's block of the bailout measure. Published December 12, 2008

Obama says staff is clear of scandal

President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday that nobody in his transition office tried to make a deal with Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich on filling Illinois' vacant Senate seat, adding that he has not been contacted by federal authorities during their investigation of the governor. Published December 12, 2008

Obama says he has not been contacted by FBI

President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday morning he has not been contacted by federal authorities in the investigation of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and said nobody in his transition was involved in deal-making with the governor. Published December 11, 2008

Bush defends policy of pre-emptive strike

President Bush Tuesday said Pakistan has been told that U.S. troops will take whatever steps they deem necessary to defend themselves, as he defended his doctrine of pre-emptive strikes as part of the war on terror. Published December 10, 2008

Bush defends pre-emptive strike doctrine

President Bush on Tuesday defended his doctrine of pre-emptive strikes as a critical part of his legacy he will leave the next president in fighting the war on terror. Published December 9, 2008

EXCLUSIVE: Obama’s Web presence loses its luster

Viewership for President-elect Barack Obama's weekly YouTube "fireside chats" has tanked, dropping more than 50 percent since his initial video three weeks ago. Published December 9, 2008

Obama to air interest-group talks

President-elect Barack Obama's transition team will publicize any official meetings that staffers have with outside interest groups and will post online any policy documents the groups present during those meetings, according to rules put in place Friday. Published December 6, 2008

Obama’s transition team to go public

President-elect Barack Obama's transition team will publicize any official meetings staffers have with outside interest groups and will post online any policy documents those groups present during those meetings, according to new rules the transition team put in place Friday. Published December 5, 2008

Chertoff to hand Obama immigration successes

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff declared success Wednesday on President Bush's vow to double the size of the U.S. Border Patrol. Published December 4, 2008

Chertoff: Twice as many agents on border

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday declared success on President Bush's goal of doubling U.S. Border Patrol agents to 18,000 during his time in office, but said they will fall 10 percent short of putting barriers along 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. Published December 3, 2008

Obama hijacks GOP language on key issues

Borrowing a line from the Republican-revolution playbook of the 1990s, President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday told the nation's governors that he wants them to reassert states as the laboratories for solutions to the nation's big problems. Published December 3, 2008

Obama promises to help governors

The nation's governors asked President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday for federal aid to help states out of a looming budget jam, and Mr. Obama promised to invest in infrastructure, to help ease states' burdens. Published December 2, 2008

Scholar: Visitor center edits Constitution

The exhibits at the new Capitol Visitor Center being dedicated Tuesday mangle the Constitution and seem designed to advance liberal dogma, says a constitutional scholar who has toured the $621 million facility and evaluated the exhibits. Published December 2, 2008

Executive order cuts collective bargaining

President Bush on Monday issued an executive order designating 8,600 federal employees as critical to national security and taking away their collective-bargaining rights. Published December 2, 2008

Scholar: Congressional exhibits too liberal

The exhibits at the new Capitol Visitor Center being dedicated Tuesday mangle the Constitution and seem designed to advance liberal dogma, says a constitutional scholar who has toured the $621 million facility and evaluated the exhibits. Published December 1, 2008

Obama names national security team

President-elect Barack Obama unveiled his national security team today, nominating Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state and choosing Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to stay on as Pentagon chief. Published December 1, 2008

ANALYSIS: Obama takes on role even before taking office

The financial crisis has forced President-elect Barack Obama to begin governing sooner than he'd otherwise hoped, giving him at least part ownership of the issue and putting him at odds with his pledge two weeks ago not to impinge on President Bush's final two months in office. Published November 26, 2008