Congress

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in the U.S. Capitol Thursday alongside House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York.

As Ukraine's war drags on and a D.C. shutdown looms, Zelenskyy makes his case for aid

5:58pm September 21, 2023

by Becky Sullivan

In a visit to Washington, the Ukrainian leader faces a small but growing chorus of skepticism at new funding for the war, as $24 billion of aid hangs in limbo ahead of a possible government shutdown.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., arrives at the Russell Senate Office Building last Wednesday. The Senate's unwritten dress code will no longer be enforced as of this week.

The Senate's dress code just got more relaxed. Some insist on staying buttoned-up

12:20pm September 21, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's decision not to enforce an unofficial dress code has elicited strong reactions and dominated talk on Capitol Hill, even as a potential government shutdown looms.

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Rep. Dean Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota, speaks on Capitol Hill in 2020. He would like to see 18-year term limits and more young people in Congress.

Politics & Government

As Congress gets older, one lawmaker makes the case for more 'generational diversity'

1:51pm September 14, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

From Rep. Nancy Pelosi to Sens. Mitt Romney and Mitch McConnell, lawmakers' ages are a big subject of discussion and debate. One member of Congress shares ideas for increasing generational diversity.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., center, is helped by, from left, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, after the 81-year-old GOP leader froze at the microphones as he arrived for a news conference, at the Capitol in Washington on July 26.

Age ain't nothing but a number but for aging lawmakers, it's raising questions

5:00am September 01, 2023

by Kelsey Snell

Elected officials are (almost) the oldest they have ever been in Washington which is causing discussions over what it means to be fit for office.

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Texas authorities released body camera and dashboard video in which Rep. Ronny Jackson, in red shirt, yells profanities at deputies and troopers at a rodeo.

In video, Rep. Ronny Jackson yells profanities at Texas trooper, is put on ground

4:04pm August 15, 2023

by Bill Chappell

"I'm gonna call the governor tomorrow," Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, said as he shouted obscenities at a trooper during an altercation at a rodeo.

Derrick Van Orden speaks in Waukesha, Wis., on Aug. 5, 2022. The Republican congressman has refused to apologize for his outburst in Washington this week — insisting that he was protecting the integrity of the Capitol Rotunda.

Rep. Van Orden gets bipartisan scolding after he cursed at teen Senate pages

12:31pm July 29, 2023

by Juliana Kim

GOP and Democratic lawmakers alike condemned the Wisconsin Republican after he spewed profanities at a group of Senate pages taking photos at the Capitol.

The Smithfield feed processing mill producing food for nearby hog-raising farms in Milford, Utah.

Politics & Government

China owns 300,000 acres of land in the U.S. Here's where

4:38pm June 26, 2023

Chinese companies and individuals own farmland across America. But lawmakers in Washington are pushing to block any purchases that could be connected to the Chinese Communist Party.

The U.S. Capitol is seen during an event celebrating 100 days of House Republican rule last week in Washington, D.C.

House Republicans hope their debt limit bill will get Biden to the negotiating table

11:37am April 25, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

The House plans to vote on its debt ceiling bill this week. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R.-S.C., calls it an "opening negotiation position" as the risk of a default looms.

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Pat Schroeder speaks to a reporter during an interview at the Los Angeles Convention Center on April 30, 1999. Schroeder, a former Colorado representative and pioneer for women's and family rights in Congress, died March 13, 2023, at the age of 82.

Former Rep. Pat Schroeder, a pioneer for women's rights, dies at 82

1:10am March 14, 2023

by The Associated Press

Schroeder took on the powerful elite with her rapier wit and antics for 24 years, shaking up stodgy government institutions by forcing them to acknowledge that women had a role in government.

Newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy delivers a speech after he was elected on the 15th ballot on Jan. 7.

Politics & Government

McCarthy's struggles point to troubles ahead for his office, his party and Congress

5:01am January 08, 2023

by Ron Elving

The memory of the speakership fights leading up to the Civil War remind us that the consequences of dysfunction in the national government affect us all.