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Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr. covers politics and the White House for The Washington Times. He can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

Iraqi Security forces close the heavily fortified Green Zone as they tightened security measures hours after the assassination attempt on the Prime Minister in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi survived an assassination attempt with armed drones that targeted his residence early Sunday and officials said he escaped unharmed. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Biden condemns drone attack targeting Iraqi PM

President Biden condemned a drone attack on the home of Iraq's prime minister Sunday as the Middle East nation tried to unpack the results of disputed parliamentary elections. Published November 7, 2021

Nevada's Don Jackson (6) celebrates after scoring against Washington State during the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 5, 2014, in Reno, Nev. (AP Photo/Kevin Clifford)

White House says ruling against vaccine mandate start of a long fight

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain on Sunday said he is confident President Biden's decision to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine or weekly testing at large businesses will hold up in court over, despite a federal appellate court temporarily blocking its implementation. Published November 7, 2021

Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., speaks at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, in New Orleans, where he announced he's leaving Congress to work as an adviser to President-elect Joe Biden. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP) ** FILE **

Richmond urges Biden go ‘big,’ despite Manchin call for ‘patience’

White House adviser Cedric Richmond said Sunday that President Biden's spending plans will improve the economy instead of worsening pandemic-related issues as Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin III urge the party to slow down and look at potential impacts on inflation. Published November 7, 2021

In this Aug. 5, 2021 file photo, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan urges people to "just get the damn vaccine," during a news conference in Annapolis, Md. Hogan announced on Wednesday, Sept. 8, that Maryland is authorizing COVID-19 booster shots for all residents 65 and older who live in congregate care settings. (AP Photo/Brian Witte, File) **FILE**

Maryland’s Hogan: Youngkin struck the right balance on Trump

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday that Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin showed he can keep former President Donald Trump at arm's length without losing the GOP base, all while appealing to a broader audience. Published November 7, 2021

Edward Durr speaks to near his home in Swedesboro, N.J. on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. New Jersey's longtime state Senate president, Democrat Steve Sweeney lost reelection, falling to Durr, a Republican newcomer who spent little money and underscoring Democratic woes in the Biden era. (Ellie Rushing/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Truck driver in South Jersey pulled off the biggest upset of Election Day

Republican Glenn Youngkin's win in the Virginia governor race rattled Democrats and political assumptions, but the biggest election night upset of all happened in southern New Jersey, where a furniture truck driver beat the second-most powerful politician in the Garden State. Published November 5, 2021

Registered nurse Andraya Zelle treats a patient in the COVID intensive care unit at UW Medical Center-Montlake in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

Pfizer to seek FDA authorization of COVID-19 pill by Thanksgiving

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said last week he will ask the Food and Drug Administration to authorize by Thanksgiving a groundbreaking pill for treating COVID-19 after the drugmaker announced "game-changer" results from its clinical trial. Published November 5, 2021

President Joe Biden speaks about COVID-19 vaccinations after touring a Clayco Corporation construction site for a Microsoft data center in Elk Grove Village, Ill., Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. President Joe Biden’s plan to require vaccinations at all private employers of 100 workers or more has already hit a wall of opposition from Republican governors, state lawmakers and attorneys general. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) **FILE**

Biden: I wished vaccine mandates had ‘not become necessary’

President Biden defended his decision to issue sweeping COVID-19 vaccine mandates Thursday by saying he did not want to resort to heavy-handed rules, but too many people remained on the sidelines, threatening both public health and the economy. Published November 4, 2021

In this Sept. 14, 2021, file photo, a syringe is prepared with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic at the Reading Area Community College in Reading, Pa. Companies with at least 100 workers will be required to give employees paid time off to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and paid sick leave if they have side effects from the shots. That's according to a Biden administration official who spoke Monday, Nov. 1, about pending vaccine-mandate rules from OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Biden vaccine mandate issued for private employers: Jan. 4 deadline for workers to get shots

The Biden administration published an unprecedented rule Thursday that requires workers at large companies and institutions to get fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or face weekly testing, reigniting the mandate wars and unnerving business groups who warned of a worsening labor crunch and excessive red tape dampening the holiday season. Published November 4, 2021

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy greets supporters at the end of an election night party in Asbury Park, N.J., early Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Phil Murphy edges out GOP challenger in nail-biter N.J. race

Phil Murphy held on to win a second term as governor of New Jersey Wednesday, shaking off President Biden's sinking approval numbers and late momentum from Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli in an election that was far closer than Democrats had expected and hurt their down-ballot candidates. Published November 3, 2021

President Joe Biden arrives to speak about the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 from the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. U.S. health officials on Tuesday gave the final sign-off to Pfizer's kid-size COVID-19 shot, a milestone that opens a major expansion of the nation's vaccination campaign to children as young as 5. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Biden touts child COVID-19 vaccines after dismal election night

President Biden said Wednesday that COVID-19 vaccines for school-aged kids will be widely available across the U.S. by next week, latching onto the "giant step forward" in the pandemic fight in the wake of a bruising Election Day for Democrats. Published November 3, 2021

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy greets supporters at the end of an election night party in Asbury Park, N.J., early Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

N.J. Democrat Murphy confident of victory, but result up in the air

Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli on Wednesday hailed a "historic" election night for the GOP in New Jersey and said he wants to see all "legal votes" counted as Gov. Phil Murphy and fellow Democrats held their breath in a contest that turned from a cakewalk for the incumbent to a dead heat. Published November 3, 2021

Then-Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe gestures as he speaks at an election night party in McLean, Va., Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) ** FILE **

Dems lament, cast blame after bruising election losses

Democrats awoke Wednesday to a round of soul-searching after devastating losses in Virginia and a New Jersey race that was supposed to be a cakewalk for Gov. Phil Murphy but remains a dead heat. Published November 3, 2021