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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.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., listens during questioning of Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz during a joint House Committee on the Judiciary and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing examining Horowitz's report of the FBI's Clinton email probe, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 19, 2018 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) ** FILE **

GOP investigators question need for fetal-tissue research

President Trump's biggest GOP allies pushed Thursday to discontinue the use of fetal tissue in taxpayer-funded research, saying its benefits are overblown, it offends their constituents and good alternatives seem to exist. Published December 13, 2018

This Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, file photo shows HealthCare.gov website on a computer screen in New York. The sign-up period for next year’s individual health insurance coverage runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15. Picking a plan can initially involve several trips to websites like healthcare.gov just to understand the options. Shoppers who want to stick with the same plan must scrutinize it for changes. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison)

HealthCare.gov signups 500K behind last year’s pace

Roughly 500,000 fewer people have selected coverage on the main Obamacare website than at this point last year, the administration reported Wednesday, meaning sign-ups continue to lag heading into the final days of 2019 enrollment. Published December 12, 2018

In this Jan. 18, 2018 photo, used needles sit in a container inside the Baltimore City Health Department's Needle Exchange Team van in Baltimore.   The overdose-reversal drug is a critical tool to easing America’s coast-to-coast opioid epidemic. But not everyone on the front lines has all they need. Baltimore’s health department is rationing its supplies of naloxone because it says it can’t afford an adequate stockpile. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Naloxone maker rolls out cheaper generic, after pricing outcry

A Virginia drugmaker said Wednesday that it will roll out a far cheaper, generic version of its overdose-reversing naloxone, one month after Senate investigators accused the company of capitalizing on the U.S. opioid epidemic by dramatically hiking its price. Published December 12, 2018

Rep. Kevin Brady, the outgoing House Ways and Means Committee chairman, said restoring the old law would mean a "huge tax cut for the wealthy." (Associated Press/File)

Kevin Brady calls for delaying some Obamacare-related taxes

A top House Republican on Monday proposed new delays on some of Obamacare's remaining taxes, hoping to harness bipartisan antipathy to the levies to sweeten a broader package of tax tweaks he has been trying to get passed. Published December 10, 2018

FILE - This April 23, 2008, file photo, shows the Altria Group Inc. corporate headquarters in Richmond, Va. The potential entry of one of the world’s largest tobacco companies into the marijuana business is sending the shares of Cronos group rocketing this morning. Cronos is a Canadian cannabis company, which confirmed late Monday, Dec. 3, 2018, that it is in talks with Altria group about a possible investment. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Marlboro maker invests $1.8 billion in pot, pivots away from vaping

Marlboro cigarette maker Altria on Friday said it's investing nearly $2 billion in a Canadian cannabis company and pivoting away from its e-cigarette business, which faces new regulatory hurdles and has struggled for market share against major players like JUUL. Published December 7, 2018

In this photo taken Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018 and made available Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018, health workers move a patient to a hospital after he was cleared of having Ebola inside of a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) supported Ebola treatment centre in Butembo, Congo. Congo's deadly Ebola outbreak is now the second largest in history, behind the devastating West Africa outbreak that killed thousands a few years ago, according to the World Health Organization. (John Wessels/Medecins Sans Frontieres via AP)

Women facing brunt of Ebola outbreak in DRC

Global responders say the unfolding Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is having an outsized impact on women and children, due in part to their societal roles and the transmission of the disease among families. Published December 7, 2018

In this May 22, 2013, file photo, Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Mr. Lynch is pressing U.S. tech companies like Apple and Google to be more upfront with users about their privacy policies. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Stephen Lynch reverses, backs Nancy Pelosi for speaker

Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts on Friday became the latest Democrat to rally behind Rep. Nancy Pelosi after vowing to oppose her, saying she convinced him the caucus will work to bring working-class voters who flocked to President Trump in 2016 back into their tent. Published December 7, 2018

In this Feb. 7, 2018, file photo, a nurse prepares a flu shot at the Salvation Army in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman) ** FILE **

4 in 10 don’t plan to get flu shot: Survey

Roughly four in 10 Americans say they haven't gotten a flu shot and don't plan to, despite the federal government's push to avoid another brutal influenza season this winter, the University of Chicago reported Wednesday in a survey. Published December 5, 2018

Wisconsin Gov.-elect Tony Evers speaks at the Ward 4 building in Milwaukee on Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018. Democrats in Wisconsin girded for a fight and encouraged voters to speak out as Republicans prepared to move ahead quickly this week with a highly unusual and sweeping lame-duck session to pass a series of proposals that would weaken both Democratic Gov.-elect Evers and Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul. (Meg Jones/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)

Wisconsin Republican bill blocks Tony Evers pledge

The Republican-led Wisconsin Legislature is rushing to pass legislation that would bar the incoming governor and attorney general, both Democrats, from fulfilling a campaign promise to leave a lawsuit seeking to overturn most of Obamacare. Published December 4, 2018

In this Aug. 9, 2016, file photo, a bag of 4-fluoro isobutyryl fentanyl that was seized in a drug raid is displayed at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Testing and Research Laboratory in Sterling, Va. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

China declares fentanyl illegal amid Trump pressure

One week before the midterm elections, seven members of Congress jetted to China with specific marching orders from the Trump administration and Ambassador Terry Branstad: Urge Beijing to crack down on fentanyl, the No. 1 killer in the U.S. overdose crisis. Published December 3, 2018

The flag-draped casket of former President George H.W. Bush lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP)

George H.W. Bush lies in state at U.S. Capitol

Americans began to get a chance to pay their respects in person Monday to former President George H.W. Bush, whose body was brought to the U.S. Capitol to lie in state, joining just 31 other heroes so honored. Published December 3, 2018

President Donald Trump talks during a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

House Democrats unveil sweeping political reform bill as ‘HR1’

House Democrats set to retake the majority unveiled a political-reform bill Friday that would bolster ethics rules in Congress, push for automatic voter registration and require presidential nominees to release their tax returns -- a direct rebuke of President Trump. Published November 30, 2018

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., joined by from left, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio., Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., and Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., gestures as she speaks to media at Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018, to announce her nomination by House Democrats to lead them in the new Congress.  (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Nancy Pelosi short on votes to be House speaker

The House Democratic Caucus voted 203-32 to name Nancy Pelosi speaker-designee, showing she is well within striking distance of the 218 total she will need Jan. 3. Published November 28, 2018