KEVIN FREKING

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a press availability on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Washington. President Joe Biden implored the top four leaders of Congress to act quickly to avoid a looming government shutdown early next month and to pass emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel, as a legislative logjam in the GOP-led House showed no signs of abating. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Biden and party leaders implore Speaker Johnson to help Ukraine in ‘intense’ Oval Office meeting
Congressional leaders emerged from an “intense” Oval Office meeting with President Joe Biden speaking optimistically about the prospects for avoiding a partial government shutdown beginning this weekend.
 
FILE - A page from the Temu website is seen, June 23, 2023, in New York. Temu, the China-founded online retailer surging in popularity in the United States, is opening its platform to U.S. and European sellers, a Temu spokesperson confirmed Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Senators urge Biden to end duty-free treatment for packages valued at less than $800
Two U.S. senators looking to crack down on the number of packages from China that enter the country duty-free are calling on President Joe Biden to take executive action. Sens.
 
In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, right, meets with Rep. Mike Gallagher, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, center, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D.-Ill., in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. A group of United States Congress members met with Taiwan's president Thursday in a show of support that's certain to draw scrutiny from China, which opposes such visits and sees them as a challenge to its claim of sovereignty over the island. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)
US Congress members praise Taiwan’s democracy in a visit that’s certain to draw China’s scrutiny
A group of United States Congress members are praising Taiwan’s democracy during a visit to the island.
 
FILE - Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., listens during a hearing of a special House committee dedicated to countering China, on Capitol Hill, Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington. Members of Congress are raising alarms about what they see as America's failure to compete with China in biotechnology, with risks to U.S. national security and commercial interests. But as the countries' rivalry expands into the biotech industry, some say that shutting out Chinese companies would only hurt the U.S. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Congress’ top China critics arrive in Taiwan for a visit that’s sure to draw scrutiny from Beijing
Some of the U.S. Congress’ staunchest critics of China are visiting Taiwan in a show of support that’s certain to draw scrutiny from Beijing, which views such interactions as a challenge to its claim of sovereignty over the island.
 
This combination photo of the Republican chairs of three House committees who announced they will not seek reelection shows Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., on Feb. 6, 2024, from left, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., on Feb. 14, and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., on March 28, 2023. The announcements are raising questions about whether the chaos that has reigned this Congress is driving out some of the GOP's top talent. (AP Photo)
A chaotic US House is losing three Republican committee chairs to retirement in the span of a week
In a single week, the Republican chairs of three U.S. House committees announced they would not be seeking reelection, raising questions about whether the chaos that has reigned this Congress is driving out some of the GOP’s top talent.
 
The U.S. Capitol is seen on cloudy day, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
House blocks effort from New York Republicans to boost ‘SALT’ tax deduction
A longshot bid to temporarily double a $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions for most married couples went down to defeat in the House.
 
FILE - Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 20, 2019. Turner says he has information about a serious national security threat and urges the administration to declassify the information so the U.S. and its allies can openly discuss how to respond. Turner, a Republican from Ohio, gave no details about the threat in his statement. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Russian efforts to create anti-satellite weapons are cause for US concern
The U.S. has gathered highly sensitive intelligence about Russian anti-satellite weapons that has been shared in recent weeks with the upper echelons of government.
 
FILE - The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunrise, Feb. 7, 2024, in Washington. The Senate has passed an emergency spending package that would provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel, replenish U.S. weapons systems and provide food, water and other humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, FIle)
What’s inside the Senate’s $95 billion bill to aid Ukraine and Israel and counter China
The Senate has passed an emergency spending package that would provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel, replenish U.S. weapons systems and provide food, water and other humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.
 
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a Get Out The Vote rally at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Trump’s threat to NATO allies draws little condemnation from GOP, reflecting his grip on the party
Donald Trump’s claim that he once told a NATO ally that he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to “delinquent” members of the group sent shockwaves through Europe over the weekend.
 
FILE - Stockton, Calif. Mayor Kevin Lincoln speaks during a news conference in Stockton, Oct. 4, 2022. House Republicans may be critical of diversity and inclusion programs but they see recruiting women and minority candidates, along with veterans, as key to expanding their slim majority in November. Lincoln, an African-American and Hispanic mayor, is running for a House seat in California in November 2024. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
Republicans work to recruit female and minority candidates even as they criticize diversity programs
House Republicans may be critical of diversity and inclusion programs within the federal government and elsewhere. But they see recruiting women and minority candidates, along with veterans, as key to expanding their slim majority in November.
 
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., left, and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., arrive as the Senate holds a procedural vote on a package of wartime funding for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Senate is pushing past far-right objections to aiding Ukraine. But next steps are uncertain
The U.S. Senate is slogging past far-right Republican opposition to helping Ukraine fight Russia. Senators are working through the weekend on a $95 billion military aid package for Kyiv, Israel and other allies.
 
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to the chamber to work on a package of wartime funding for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
What’s inside the Senate’s $95 billion bill to aid Ukraine and Israel and counter China
The Senate is moving toward a final vote on an emergency spending package that would provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel, replenish U.S. weapons systems and provide food, water and other humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.
 
Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Amir Ohana, left, meets with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Aid package for Israel fails in the House, dealing another setback to GOP leaders
A bill to provide Israel with more military aid has gone down in defeat in the House. The vote spoils Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to separate Israel from other national security priorities, including helping Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s military invasion and deterring crossings at the U.S.
 
President Joe Biden, with from left, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listen during the National Prayer Breakfast, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Republicans announce bill that provides more military aid to Israel but leaves out Ukraine
House Republicans will move forward with a $17.6 billion package to provide military aid to Israel and replenish U.S. weapons.
 
House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., walks on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Yuri Gripas)
House passes bill to enhance child tax credit, revive key tax breaks for businesses
The House has passed a roughly $79 billion tax cut package expanding the child tax credit for millions of families and restoring three key tax breaks for businesses.
 
FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building is seen in Washington, on March 22, 2013. Congress is racing to wind down a tax break meant to encourage businesses to keep workers on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. What was expected to cost the government $55 billion has instead cost it nearly five times that amount as of July. Meanwhile, new claims pour into the IRS each week. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
A COVID-era program is awash in fraud. Congress aims to wind it down and expand the child tax credit
Congress is racing to wind down a tax break meant to encourage businesses to keep workers on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Rep. Jodey Arrington , R-Texas, speaks at a news conference following the markup of H.R. 5779, the Fiscal Commission Act of 2023, on Capitol Hill Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Yuri Gripas)
The federal debt tops $34 trillion and some in Congress want a commission to find ways to tackle it
A bill to create a bipartisan commission that would tackle the nation’s soaring debt and make policy recommendations to Congress has won approval from a House committee. House Republicans are making the bill a priority.
 
The U.S Capitol is seen on a sunny day in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Congress votes to avert a shutdown and keep the government funded into early March
Congress has sent President Joe Biden a short-term spending bill that would avert a looming partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies into March.
 
FILE - The U.S Capitol is seen on Jan. 8, 2024, in Washington. The chairmen of the top tax policy committees in Congress announced a bipartisan agreement Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, to enhance the child tax credit and revive a variety of tax breaks for businesses, a combination designed to attract support from lawmakers of both political parties. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
Lawmakers announce bipartisan effort to enhance child tax credit, revive tax breaks for businesses
According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, there are “many things” for both Republicans and Democrats to celebrate in a new bipartisan tax package.
 
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., center, is seen after a vote, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Speaker Johnson insists he’s sticking to budget deal but announces no plan to stop partial shutdown
House Speaker Mike Johnson insists he is sticking with the bipartisan budget deal he struck with the other congressional leaders.
 
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., pauses during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. House Republicans are off to a raucous start in their first week back in Washington after an extended holiday break. Some are openly criticizing new House Speaker Mike Johnson. Others helped sink a routine procedural vote to express their displeasure with topline spending levels that Johnson negotiated with Democrats for the current fiscal year.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Speaker Johnson is facing conservative pushback over the spending deal he struck with Democrats
House Republicans are off to a raucous start in their first week back in Washington after an extended holiday break. Some are openly criticizing new House Speaker Mike Johnson.
 
FILE - House Speaker-elect Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., addresses members of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Oct. 25, 2023. Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on topline spending levels for the current fiscal year 2024 that could help avoid a partial government shutdown later this month. Funding is set to lapse Jan. 19 for some agencies and Feb. 2 for others. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Congressional leaders announce an agreement on spending levels, a key step to averting shutdown
Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on overall spending levels for the current fiscal year that could help avoid a partial government shutdown later this month.
 
FILE - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testifies before a Senate Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 31, 2023. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
The Pentagon adds new details about Austin’s secretive hospital stay and the delay in telling Biden
The Pentagon is releasing new details about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s nearly weeklong hospitalization.
 
FILE - The Capitol Dome is seen as lawmakers prepare to depart for the holiday recess, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. A chaotic year for the House is coming to a close with more Democrats than Republicans deciding to leave the chamber, a disparity that could have major ramifications in next year's elections. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Retirements could tip control of the House majority. It’s Republicans who have the early edge
A chaotic year for the House is coming to a close with more Democrats than Republicans deciding to leave the chamber. It’s a disparity that could have major ramifications in next year’s elections.
 
FILE - In this photo illuminated by an off-camera flash, a tarp covers a portion of a homeless person's tent on a bridge overlooking the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. The United States experienced a dramatic 12% increase in homelessness as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans, federal officials said Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
US homelessness up 12% to highest reported level as rents soar and coronavirus pandemic aid lapses
The United States has experienced a 12% increase in homelessness, to its highest reported level. Federal officials Friday said soaring rents and a winding down of coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans.
 
FILE - Democrat Jennifer Wexton speaks at her election night party after defeating Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Dulles, Va. Members of the House saved for likely the last vote of the year a bill they hope may one day stomp out Parkinson's disease. The bill is named for Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., and the brother of Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., who passed away in May after a long battle with the disease. Wexton helped lead the charge for passing the bill. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Virginia lawmaker with Parkinson’s helps lead the charge in creating panel to fight the illness
Members of the House have introduced a bill, likely the last of the year, they hope may one day stomp out Parkinson’s disease. The bill is named for Virginia Rep. Jennifer Wexton, who has the disease, and Florida Rep.
 
FILE - A member of the National Guard patrols the area outside of the U.S. Capitol at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. The House passed a defense policy bill Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, that authorizes the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades, overcoming objections from some conservatives concerned the measure did not do enough to restrict the Pentagon's diversity initiatives, abortion travel policy and gender-affirming health care for transgender service members. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Big pay raise for troops in defense bill sent to Biden. Conservatives stymied on cultural issues
The House has passed a defense policy bill that authorizes the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades.
 
FILE - The Pentagon is seen on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, in Washington. The Senate passed a defense policy bill Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, that authorizes the biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades, but also leaves behind many of the policy priorities that social conservatives were clamoring for, making for an unusually divisive debate over what is traditionally a strongly bipartisan effort. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Senate passes defense policy bill with 5.2% pay raise for troops, the biggest boost in decades
The Senate has passed a defense policy bill that authorizes the biggest pay bump for troops in more than two decades.
 
FILE - Ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., speaks during a hearing of a special House committee dedicated to countering China, on Capitol Hill, Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington. A special House committee focused on China is calling for altering the way the U.S. treats Chinese-made goods, possibly subjecting them to higher tariffs even if its risks increased tensions between the two economic superpowers. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
House panel urges tougher trade rules for China, raising chance of more tariffs if Congress agrees
A special House committee focused on China is calling for altering the way the U.S. treats Chinese-made goods, possibly subjecting them to higher tariffs and risking increased economic tensions between the two economic superpowers.
 
House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., speaks during the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The GOP’s slim House majority is getting even tighter with Kevin McCarthy’s retirement
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s margin for error in getting Republican priorities through the House is getting slimmer. The expulsion of Rep. George Santos of New York and the end-of-year retirement of Rep.
 
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