Skip to content

Listen Now

Threat Status podcast: The Pentagon-Silicon Valley divide and who blinks first on AI?

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.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and other Senate Democrats, from left, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., discuss consumer protections in the wake of a massive data breach at Equifax and a scandal at Wells Fargo, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017. Executives for both Wells Fargo and Equifax will testify in Senate committees next week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Democrats blast GOP plans to repeal consumer rule

Democrats warned Republicans on Wednesday against a move to promote forced arbitration between customers and companies, saying Americans deserve the right to sue corporations, such as Equifax, who lose their data. Published September 27, 2017

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., center, speaks, accompanied by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Senate GOP shelves Obamacare repeal bill

Senate Republicans said Tuesday they're shelving their 11th-hour push to repeal Obamacare, admitting defeat in the face of three crippling defections from their majority. Published September 26, 2017

Sen. Susan M. Collins, Maine Republican, said she was dismayed by congressional scorekeepers' analysis that millions fewer people would hold insurance under the Republican plan. (Associated Press/File)

Susan Collins to vote no on Graham-Cassidy health bill

Sen. Susan M. Collins said Monday that she will vote against the latest Obamacare repeal effort, dealing what appears to be a fatal blow to Republican leaders' last-ditch attempt to rewrite the bill and sway holdouts. Published September 25, 2017

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, greet protesters outside a hearing room where the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing to consider the Graham-Cassidy healthcare proposal, on Capitol Hill, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Protesters disrupt, delay Obamacare repeal hearing

Protesters upended the GOP's sole hearing on a last-gasp Obamacare repeal right as the gavel fell Monday, forcing its Republican chairman to recess the session until he could get order. Published September 25, 2017

In this July 27, 2017, file photo, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, walks onstage as Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., center, points to him while Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., watches as they speak to reporters at the Capitol as the Republican-controlled Senate was unable to fulfill its political promise to repeal and replace "Obamacare" because of opposition and wavering within the GOP ranks. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Obamacare repeal try by GOP pushes for more state control of health

The Senate's last-gasp Obamacare repeal spans 140 pages -- a beach read compared to the mammoth law it would replace -- as Republicans rush to hand policy choices to the states, letting governors decide whether to mandate coverage, redefine "essential benefits" or tap fixed grants to combat the opioids epidemic. Published September 24, 2017

Sen. Susan M. Collins of Maine said Sunday that she finds it difficult to envision backing the last-chance Republican bill repealing the Obama health care law. (Associated Press)

Graham-Cassidy to get Senate vote despite Republican defections

The White House and Senate Republicans vowed Sunday to press forward with Republicans' latest Obamacare repeal effort with a vote this week, hoping to head off another disastrous floor failure even as opposition mounts. Published September 24, 2017

FILE - In this July 27, 2017, file photo, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. McCain says he won't vote for the Republican bill repealing the Obama health care law. His statement likely deals a fatal blow to the last-gasp GOP measure in a Senate showdown expected next week. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, file)

John McCain opposes last-ditch Obamacare repeal

Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Thursday he cannot support the GOP's last-ditch plan to replace Obamacare, likely dooming the effort and President Trump's pursuit of a major legislative victory. Published September 22, 2017

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will tell any Republican holdouts that they will have to explain to the party's conservative base why they are standing in the way of fulfilling a campaign promise. (Associated Press/File)

Mitch McConnell: Senate will take up Obamacare repeal bill

Senate Republicans will hold a vote on an Obamacare repeal bill next week, leaders announced Wednesday, attempting one final Hail Mary play to kill off the 2010 law before the chamber runs out of time. Published September 20, 2017

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says she is thinking about sensors, drones and access roads for border security, but President Trump is sticking with his demand for a wall. (Associated Press)

Nancy Pelosi says House can defeat Obamacare repeal

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday the House has a "really good chance" to defeat a last-ditch Obamacare repeal bill if it makes it out of the Senate. Published September 20, 2017

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., joined by, from left, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to reporters as he pushes a last-ditch effort to uproot former President Barack Obama's health care law, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

New Obamacare repeal cuts $215B to states overall: Study

The Senate GOP's last-ditch Obamacare repeal plan would slash federal funding to the states by $215 billion through 2026, analysts said Wednesday in a study that finds less than a third of states would see an increase in funding compared to the current program. Published September 20, 2017

Vice President Mike Pence delivered a pep talk to Senate Republicans and plotted strategy with Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of the chief architects of the proposal to repeal Obamacare and send money to states in the form of block grants. (Associated Press)

Senate Republicans near Obamacare repeal

Senate Republicans scrambled for votes Tuesday on their last-ditch Obamacare repeal, with backers saying they are nearing the magic number to pass their bill before an end-of-month deadline. Published September 19, 2017

Vice President Mike Pence delivered a pep talk to Senate Republicans and plotted strategy with Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of the chief architects of the proposal to repeal Obamacare and send money to states in the form of block grants. (Associated Press)

White House, Senate GOP shift focus back onto Obamacare repeal

The White House and Senate GOP leaders on Tuesday praised a last-gasp bill to repeal Obamacare, signaling a shift from bipartisan efforts to stabilize the markets to a bill that would replace the 2010 law with block grants to the states. Published September 19, 2017

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, protested the Republicans' Graham-Cassidy bill on Monday. Senate Republicans are revving up a final push to scuttle President Obama's health care law before the end of the month. (Associated Press)Though the effort faces low odds of success and just a two-week window to prevail, Democrats backed by doctors

Graham-Cassidy health care bill sets off clashes in Senate

Senators in both parties reignited the Obamacare repeal wars Monday, as Republicans claimed momentum for a last-chance repeal bill and Democrats told budget analysts to vet the legislation carefully, hoping to prolong a thorny debate before an end-of-month deadline. Published September 18, 2017

Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican, chairs a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing on Steve King, a prominent GOP insider from Wisconsin, nominated to be ambassador to the Czech Republic, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Aug. 1, 2017. (Associated Press)

Ron Johnson schedules hearing on health care block grants

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has scheduled a Sept. 26 hearing on how states can reduce their health care costs through block grants, a move viewed as a table-setter for a potential vote on the last-gasp Obamacare repeal bill he is pushing with three fellow Republicans. Published September 18, 2017

From left, Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, to unveil legislation to reform health care. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Bill Cassidy: Obamacare repeal is within sight, needs one or two votes

Senate Republicans pushing to replace Obamacare with state block grants are making real noise before their window to act closes, insisting they are just one or two votes shy and that President Trump can nudge their last-gasp bill to victory. Published September 15, 2017