SENATE

The Department of Defense's Office of Net Assessment will brief the full U.S. Senate some time next week on the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down on Saturday.

Texas senator says he ‘never said I’m going to unilaterally comply’ with his own proposed restriction

Republican lawmakers are accusing China of deliberately surveilling sensitive U.S. military sites with a suspected spy balloon.

The Biden administration plans to brief the Gang of Eight next week on a Chinese spy balloon that is over the continental United States.

A Louisiana $45 millon funding bill that seeks to draw insurers to the hurricane-battered state is due to be debated on Friday. The state's Senate will meet in a special session.

Virginia Senate Democrats voted to kill the GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin-backed bill on school awards. The bill would have required student and parent notification about certain awards.

California Democrats haven’t seen a Senate primary as energetic as the one now developing since 1992.

Montana has dramatically trended Republican since Democratic Sen. Jon Tester last won re-election in 2018 by a narrow margin.

It suddenly spiraled as the senator allegedly harassed the aide because she had vaccinated her young child, plunging the Senate into a political drama that has divided South Dakota's Republican Party. The Senate, where lawmakers pride themselves on a genteel code of conduct as they work from wooden desks that have been there for generations, has seemed largely insulated from the forces roiling the wider GOP.

President Joe Biden is a man who writes down his thoughts.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is asking lawmakers to provide necessary resources to address a $201 million education aid gap, which was caused by a calculation error.

The Senate installed closed-caption technology for freshman Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., to aid him in his recovery from a life-threatening stroke, according to a report.

The former president of the University of Delaware called President Biden's donated Senate papers an "asset" for students but the school won't release the documents.

Lawmakers are looking at ways to keep teachers in the profession, make schools safer, give parents money for private schooling and censor conversations about sex and gender.

New Jersey lawmakers are set to discuss a potential ban on smoking in Atlantic City casinos, with Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy promising to sign the bill if it passes the Legislature.

Brazilian lawmakers have voted to reelect the heads of both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, bolstering President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s prospects for passing legislation and governing in the polarized nation

A Georgia banker has defeated late House Speaker David Ralston's widow in a House race on Tuesday. The two Republicans will advance to the runoff election scheduled for Feb. 28.

Senate Republicans introduced “Parents’ Bill of Rights” which would limit sexuality and gender identity lessons taught in North Carolina schools.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell touted $21.4 million in funding he secured for the city of Louisville by voting for President Biden's trillion-dollar infrastructure bill.

Lynda Schlegel Culver, a Republican from Pennsylvania, was leading in the latest returns from Tuesday's election. Culver will be sworn into the state Senate once results are certified.

While incumbent Independents and Democrat senators topped the list for the most cash on hand, GOP incumbents Sens. Rick Scott and Ted Cruz raised the most cash during the year-end quarter.

Kari Lake and Blake Masters ran unsuccessful campaigns for state office in Arizona last year, aligning themselves closely to former President Trump.

Rep. Ruben Gallego has entered the Arizona Senate race, raising the possibility of a three-way contest among him, the GOP nominee and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

One of North Carolina's most important Senate leaders has supported the literacy test repeal. Senate leader Phil Berger said he believes such language should not be in the constitution.

The Michigan House voted along party lines Tuesday to move the state's primary to the fourth week of February to match an early presidential primary plan approved by a Democratic National Committee panel last month.

Republicans now control the House, and they’ve shown little interest so far in the type of police revisions discussed in 2021.

Senators John Thune and James Lankford to codify protections for babies who survive botched abortions mirroring the bill that passed in the House earlier this month.

With Democrats' hold on the Senate tenuous, some argue that at least one of the liberal justices should retire. If they did, it would be extraordinarily unusual.

Gov. Tim Walz has enshrined the right to abortion and other reproductive health care into Minnesota statutes.

Sens. Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal reintroduced legislation that would strengthen airline passengers' rights.

President Biden plans to aggressively press House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a White House meeting Wednesday to commit to avoiding a default on the nation’s debt and to spell out what spending cuts he advocates.

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/SD State SenatePIERRE, South Dakota—The state legislature has been consumed by a bizarre scandal after a lawmaker allegedly stepped way over the line and gave a staffer unsolicited advice on COVID vaccines and breast-feeding, including a suggestion that she suckle her husband.State Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller, a Republican from Rapid City, was suspended from her committee assignments last week and stripped of the ability to vote after the i

A North Dakota bill would require public schools to screen videos on fetal development as part of the state's K-12 life science curriculum.

The West Virginia Senate advanced a bill requring public schools to display the phrase "In God We Trust" on every building. GOP Sen. Mike Azinger wants school pupils to put their hope in God.

A top non-partisan political handicapper predicts Democrats face a serious challenge holding on to four crucial Senate seats as they attempt to protect their razor-thin majority in 2024

Public schools in West Virginia may soon be required to display the phrase “In God We Trust” in every building if a bill passed by the state Senate on Monday becomes law. The bill was introduced by Republican Sen. Mike Azinger, who said he wants to give kids in schools something to look up to and let them know it's OK to “say God” in school. “We know there’s a lot of kids that have problems at home, tough times at home that we don’t know anything about,” Azinger said, speaking on the Senate floor.

The Minnesota Senate passed the PRO Act early Saturday morning, legislation that supporters say protects the right to abortion and opponents say is an "extreme" measure permitting late-term abortion.

Republican lawmakers who've spread election conspiracy theories and falsely claimed that the 2020 presidential outcome was rigged are overseeing legislative committees charged with setting election policy in two major battleground states.

Rep. Adam Schiff's Senate campaign is selling a range of merchandise, including an enamel pin that shows a cartoon Schiff rolling up his sleeves and a retro Schiff T-shirt.

Republican South Dakota state Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller will be investigated for harassment over an exchange with a legislative aide, according to the state Senate's GOP leader

A package of proposed amendments to the Pennsylvania constitution will likely not appear on the May primary ballot after legislators missed a Friday deadline to pass it.

The Minnesota state Senate began debate on a bill that would establish broad legal protections for abortion

A group of House Republicans have revisited the Fair Tax Act, which would replace certain federal taxes with a national sales tax and decentralize the IRS.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust on Friday filed a complaint requesting the Office of Congressional Ethics investigate Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for alleged violations.

Patrick has made no qualms in the past about bending arms or using public pressure to get other state officials — including Gov. Greg Abbott — to go along with his plans.

It's the first time in history that the four leaders of the two congressional spending committees are women.

For the second time this month, House Republicans have advanced a measure to restrict presidential use of the nation’s emergency oil stockpile — a proposal that has already drawn a White House veto threat.

89-year-old Sen. Feinstein has not announced if she will retire, but Democratic hopefuls are already entering the race for her senate seat.

A Democratic-led Virginia Senate panel has defeated several bills that would have restricted abortion access in the state.

Democrats are seizing on a proposal to impose a national sales tax and abolish the IRS as a cudgel against the GOP, despite little chance of the bill passing.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is trying to delay new tax credits for electric vehicles, a key feature of President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law.

Senate Democrats returned to Washington to wield their newly expanded majority this week, but the specter of potential retirements in their ranks is already raising anxiety.

Patrick made the comments at a daylong conference in Austin hosted by The Texan, a political news site started by former GOP state Sen. Konni Burton.

The New York legislature passed a constitutional amendment enshrining anti-discrimination rules for abortion and gender identity into law.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that only House Speaker McCarthy and President Biden are in a position to negotiate a debt ceiling fix.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and then-Vice President Joe Biden negotiated on the debt ceiling in 2011.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat, introduced legislation that includes a bill that would end qualified immunity.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat, introduced a package of legislation that includes a bill that would end qualified immunity, which shields government officials from liability for constitutional violations.

President Joe Biden has hosted the Democratic congressional leaders at the White House.

For the Texas House and Senate, there is not much daylight between each chamber’s priorities in this year’s legislative session.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Monday announced Senate committee assignments, keeping his key lieutenants in leadership positions.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

The West Virginia Senate may pass a mandate on rape kit training on Monday. The bill headed to the House of Delegates, will require trained doctors to conduct forensic examinations.

Conservative activists have pushed for legislative leaders to ban Democrats from leading committees.

Rep. Ruben Gallego will run for Senate in Arizona, setting up a potential three-way race in the battleground state that poses a threat to independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s hold on the seat.

Wisconsin Democrats are calling for the Republican leader of the state Senate to remove his appointee to the state's bipartisan election commission over comments he made about minority turnout in Milwaukee.

By temperament and manner, Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell are decidedly mismatched.

The Dutch Senate has approved a change to the country’s constitution to expand its first article to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or disability.

A top U.S. intelligence official is urging Congress to renew sweeping powers granted to American spy agencies to surveil and examine communications.

House Republicans are taking early action on abortion now that they are in the majority.

The Texas Tribune is streaming the 2023 legislative session live from the Texas House and Senate chambers. The session runs from Jan. 10 to May 29.

The pay raise plan that gives Illinois lawmakers an 18% annual salary hike started in the governor's office.

Former North Carolina U_S_ Sen_ Richard Burr says the investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into investment sales early in the coronavirus pandemic has concluded with “no action.”.

Two years to the day since U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s now-famous raised-fist salute to rioters at the U.S. Capitol, a Marine veteran who ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2022 has announced that he’ll try to unseat Hawley in 2024.

Russell Pearce, a Republican lawmaker who was the driving force behind Arizona’s landmark 2010 immigration legislation known as the “show me your papers” law, has died.

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania says he'll undergo surgery for prostate cancer, but is expected to make a full recovery.

Louisiana's Republican U.S. Sen. John Kennedy told supporters on Wednesday that he will not run for governor in October.

President Joe Biden is holding out the promised makeover of a dilapidated bridge over the Ohio River as a symbol of what can happen when Republicans and Democrats work together.

Washington Democrat Patty Murray has become the first female president pro tempore of the Senate.

Democrats took full control of state government as the Minnesota Legislature convened for its 2023 session Tuesday.

Democrats will again claim the Senate majority on Tuesday, but much of the chamber’s focus is on the top Republican as Mitch McConnell becomes the longest serving Senate leader in history.

The drawn-out saga of Title 42 has been chaotic at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Democratic-led House has passed a $1.7 trillion government spending bill.

On the heels of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s emotional appeal for continued U.S. support, Congress is set to ensure the money keeps flowing for years, even after Republicans take control of the House.

The Senate has passed a $1.7 trillion bill to finance federal agencies through September, aid Ukraine and provide assistance to communities recovering from hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters.

Momentum toward passing a $1.7 trillion government funding bill with more aid for Ukraine has slowed considerably as lawmakers struggle to reach an agreement on amendments to the bill.

The Senate has voted overwhelmingly to confirm the new U.S. ambassador to Russia.

The House and the Senate are set to pass an overhaul of the Electoral Count Act, the arcane election law that then-President Donald Trump tried to subvert after his 2020 election defeat.

Congressional leaders have unveiled a $1.7 trillion bill to fund the government.

President Joe Biden has signed legislation to fund the government for an additional week as lawmakers race to finish work on a full-year spending package before they head home for the holidays and a new Congress is sworn in.

Republican Adam Hinojosa conceded Friday after a recount that included three counties in Senate District 27, the most competitive senate district in the state.

The Senate has passed legislation to fund the government for an additional week as lawmakers race to finish work on a full-year spending package before they head home for the holidays and a new Congress is sworn in.

A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense has passed the Senate and now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

The U.S. House has passed a bill that would allow Puerto Rico to hold the first-ever binding referendum on whether to become a state or gain some sort of independence.

The Democratic-led House has passed a short-term spending bill to keep government agencies funded at current levels through Dec. 23.

Congress will likely have to fund the government for one week to avoid a partial government shutdown.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has set a special election for Feb. 21 to fill the 4th Congressional District seat of the late Democratic Rep. A.

Young voters who have been critical to Democratic successes in recent elections showed signs in November's midterms that their enthusiasm may be waning.

Georgia’s 2022 election season ended dramatically this past week.

The challenges facing the Democratic Party heading into the next campaign have come into sharp relief just a few days after the party celebrated victory in the final Senate contest of the 2022 midterms.

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is becoming an Independent and leaving the Democratic Party.