Skip to content
TRENDING:
Donald Trump
Advertisement

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.

In this April 4, 2018 photo, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks on a question during a town hall meeting with Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, examining economic justice 50 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) **FILE**

Bernie Sanders takes aim at opioid companies

Sen. Bernard Sanders took direct aim Tuesday at opioid makers he said are fueling the drug-overdose crisis, proposing legislation that would impose crippling fines and even jail time on company executives who downplay the addictive nature of their product. Published April 17, 2018

In this April 26, 2017 file photo supporters of single-payer health care march to the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. A poll released on April 13, 2018, finds that a slim majority of Americans now support the idea of a government-run single-payer health care system. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli file) **FILE**

Poll: Slim majority supports single-payer health care

Just over half of U.S. adults back single-payer health care, according to a poll released Friday that says the idea of government-run health care is still a partisan issue but finds favor with enough independents to produce a slim majority of public support. Published April 13, 2018

FILE - In a Monday, June 19, 2017 file photo, U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., speaks to reporters about the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, following a news conference in Canton, Miss. Harper said Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 that he won't seek re-election this year. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

House panel to grill opioid distributors in May

Republican leaders announced Thursday they will haul executives from top opioid distributors before Congress to testify about their alleged roles in "pill dumping" in West Virginia -- a state reeling from the addiction crisis. Published April 12, 2018

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam gestures as he delivers his State of the Commonwealth address before a joint session of the Virginia General Assembly as Lt. gov. Justin Fairfax, left, and House Speaker Kirk cox, R-Colonial Heights, right, listen at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) ** FILE **

Virginia Democrats near victory on Medicaid expansion

Powered by last year's electoral victories and emboldened by GOP defections, Virginia Democrats are on the cusp of winning an expansion of Medicaid — something they've been seeking since Obamacare first passed eight years ago. Published April 10, 2018

FILE - In this July 27, 2017, file photo Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Cindy Hyde-Smith speaks at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss. The state's governor will appoint Hyde-Smith as Mississippi's first female member of Congress to fill the Senate vacancy that will soon be created when Sen. Thad Cochran retires, three state Republicans told The Associated Press on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Cindy Hyde-Smith sworn in by Mike Pence

Cindy Hyde-Smith was sworn in Monday as the junior senator from Mississippi, making her the first female member of Congress from the Southern state. Published April 9, 2018

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, pauses for a reporter's question at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 18, 2018. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Lamar Alexander proposes bill to empower FDA in opioids fight

The Food and Drug Administration should use its share of anti-opioid money in the new omnibus spending bill to expand labs and train dogs to sniff out deadly fentanyl that's slipping through U.S. mail facilities, a top senator proposed Monday. Published March 26, 2018

Mainers for Health Care rally outside the State House prior to Gov. Paul LePage's State of the State address, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, in Augusta, Maine. The coalition that supported the successful Yes on 2 campaign to expand Medicaid in 2017 say LePage and his allies in the Legislature are trying to block Medicaid expansion, which is now state law. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Affordable health care tops ‘worry list’: Gallup poll

Fifty-five percent of Americans worry a "great deal" about finding affordable health care, according to a Gallup poll Monday that says the issue tops a list of more than a dozen problems facing the country. Published March 26, 2018

In this June 6, 2017, file photo, a reporter holds up an example of the amount of fentanyl that can be deadly, after a news conference about deaths from fentanyl exposure, at DEA Headquarters in Arlington, Va. The chief justice of the Massachusetts Trial Court told prosecutors she fears that allowing fentanyl and carfentanil into courtrooms as evidence puts people at risk even when the drugs are properly packaged. Some medical experts said a proposal to ban them from courtrooms appears to be driven by a misguided understanding of the real dangers of the substances. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

GOP lawmakers heed Trump’s call to crack down on opioid dealers

Heeding President Trump's call to "get tough," Capitol Hill Republicans filed legislation Thursday that sets lengthy prison terms for fentanyl dealers, saying criminals must think twice before they peddle synthetic powders that can fit into a salt shaker, yet kill tens of thousands. Published March 22, 2018

FILE - In this June 6, 2017 file photo, a reporter holds up an example of the amount of fentanyl that can be deadly after a news conference about deaths from fentanyl exposure, at DEA Headquarters in Arlington Va. Some large law enforcement agencies have recently abandoned the routine chemical field tests out of concern that officers could be exposed to opioids that can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled. Even a minute amount of the most potent drugs, such as fentanyl, can cause violent illness or death. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FDA pushes for authority to destroy unlabeled drugs in mail

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb urged Congress on Wednesday to let his agency destroy unlabeled drugs found in the mail, saying officials are seeing traffickers try to sneak illegal shipments through from overseas. Published March 21, 2018

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine center, joined by, from left, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., pushes for inclusion in the pending government spending bill of provisions aimed at lowering premiums for people purchasing health insurance in the Affordable Care Act's individual marketplace, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 21, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ]

GOP: Democrats playing politics with Obamacare funds

Moderate Republicans accused Democrats Wednesday of using an abortion fight to tank Congress' last chance to stabilize Obamacare, saying they'd rather use soaring premiums as a cudgel against the GOP in November than help struggling consumers. Published March 21, 2018

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb listens during an interview with The Associated Press in New York on Monday, March 5, 2018. Gottlieb said Monday that he needs more staffers to intercept opioids that are being disguised as other drugs and supplements. (AP Photo/Kathy Young)

FDA seeks authority to destroy illicit drug shipments

Food and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb urged Congress Wednesday to let his agency destroy unlabeled drugs that pour in through the mail, saying it is not uncommon to see traffickers resend parcels that were rejected once and may contain opioids or other deadly drugs. Published March 21, 2018