Budget Battles
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Has Trump Already Lost His Iron Grip on the GOP?
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House Votes to Dodge Shutdown, Ditching Trump Demand
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Trump-Approved Spending Plan Goes Down in Flames
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Trump Blows Up Johnson’s Bipartisan Spending Deal
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Republicans Fume Over ‘Dumpster Fire’ Funding Bill
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Congress Struggles to Reach Deal to Avert Government Shutdown
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GOP Hardliners Say Border Bill Should Come Before Tax Cuts
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One More Try? Why Obamacare Repeal Is on the Horizon Again
By Rob GarverThe effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which many assumed was dead or at least in a state of suspended animation for the foreseeable future, may be showing some stirring of life...
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Trump Takes on a Powerful Leader, but This Time It’s on Capitol Hill
By Rob GarverPresident Trump was obviously angry. The target of his ire was a man who has been aggravating him for a long time by ignoring his demands, refusing to work through the president’s chosen...
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Heads Up: Health Care Is Still in Trouble
By Rob GarverThe issue of the US health insurance system was taken off the front burner with the evident failure of the Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But while it may not be in...
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Here’s How Trump Could Get Democrats’ Help on Tax Reform
By Rob GarverThe Trump administration has been reaching out to ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats to talk about possible areas of agreement on tax reform.
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Congress Is Constructing a Wall, All Right. But It’s Built Around Trump
By Rob GarverLike a body’s immune system trying to wall off an abscess, the institutions of the federal government seem to be coming together to block, or at least limit, the influence of the president on the...
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The US Spends Billions on Cybersecurity — but No One Is Sure Exactly How Much
By Eric PianinThere is no universally accepted definition of what cybersecurity actually means. Moreover, the public and even lawmakers don’t have a clue as to how much the government is actually spending overall...
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How Could the VA Make $5.5 Billion in Improper Payments Last Year?
By Eric PianinSen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri has been on a tear recently in going after government fraud and waste. The ranking Democrat on the Senate’s chief oversight committee and a former state auditor in...
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Congress Just Handed Trump Bragging Rights on Expanded GI Education Benefits
By Eric PianinFor a chief executive preparing to leave town on a 17-day summer vacation after suffering a humiliating setback on health care reform, President Trump will be able to claim some bragging rights when...
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Top GOP Conservative: We Won’t Play Around With the Debt Ceiling
By Rob GarverWhen it comes to the perennial fight to raise the federal debt ceiling, it’s usually best to assume that the struggle to give the Treasury Department clearance to actually pay the debts that the...
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Why Republicans Are Going It Alone on Tax Cuts
By Eric PianinRepublicans made it clear on Tuesday that despite their debacle in pressing for health care reform without any Democratic assistance, they would again go their own way in drafting and passing major...
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McCain Votes to Discuss GOP Health Plans, Then Trashes Them
By Rob Garver and Eric PianinArizona Sen. John McCain, recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, arrived in the Senate chamber to a hero’s welcome on Tuesday, in time to cast a key vote that helped the...
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Democrats Slam the Door on One Way Trump Could Replace Sessions
By Rob GarverBefore most people had finished their coffee on Tuesday morning, the White House had made it abundantly clear to Attorney General Jeff Sessions that President Trump wants his chief law enforcement...
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Members of Congress Get a Pretty Sweet Deal on Their Health Insurance
By Ester Bloom, CNBCAs members of Congress debate whether to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, it seems fair to ask: How much do they pay for health care ? The answer is that, while they don't pay nothing for...
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Raise the Debt Ceiling Now, or Face Another Post-Summer Crisis: Meadows
By Eric PianinRep. Mark Meadows, R-NC, one of the most influential conservatives in the House, said Monday he favors quick action this summer to raise the debt ceiling, taking a stand on an issue that is...
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Here’s What It Would Take to Slash Government Waste: Better IT Departments
By Eric PianinA House Republican proposal to reduce improper payments for Medicare, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and other programs and save taxpayers $700 billion in the next five years has sparked...