Top House Republicans attempted to ramp up pressure on Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday with a joint letter demanding the Department of Justice comply with a congressional subpoena for materials on the "Operation Fast and Furious" program.
The GOP-controlled House of Representatives on Friday passed a nearly $643 billion defense bill -- a measure at odds with prior military spending agreements and President Barack Obama's Pentagon plans.
Predictions of super PAC-fueled campaign ugliness seemed to come to reality on Thursday when reports broke of a potential conservative group's ad campaign aimed at tying President Barack Obama to a controversy many thought put to rest nearly four years ago.
Florida Republican Sandy Adams' personal story could help the GOP in its efforts to woo women voters.
The House of Representatives passed the Republican version of the Violence Against Women Act on Wednesday, despite strong opposition from Democrats.
It had all the appearances of a serious-minded debate: Republicans insisted the Senate spend all day Wednesday arguing which party had better budget proposals to fix the economy.
Nebraska state Sen. Deb Fischer won the Republican nomination for an open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday, official results showed, beating two better-funded candidacies for the opportunity to face off against a former U.S. Senator for the open seat in November.
Mitt Romney continued his blitz against President Barack Obama over the federal deficit on Tuesday, signaling a GOP shift away from social issues and back to what Republicans consider the president's Achilles' heel: the economy.
With their eyes on winning control of the U.S. Senate in November, Republicans will be looking Tuesday to the primary for Nebraska's open seat, where the yet-to-be-decided Republican candidate is already favored over the former senator expected to win the Democratic nod.
Last month, two political scientists published one of those rare op-eds that gets the political community talking.
Mitt Romney spoke this weekend to the students at Liberty University, a hotbed of conservative studies,and he has been forced to think about his ties to the right. He is facing a difficult challenge in determining what his relationship should be with the tea party Republicans who helped revitalize the GOP after the doldrums of 2008.
President Obama is indeed a profile in courage. He has made history yet again with his announcement that he supports full marriage equality for gay and lesbian Americans. Bravo, Mr. President.
In an election year that some pundits have predicted will be focused on jobs and the economy, social issues like same-sex marriage have stolen the spotlight a surprising number of times. But experts say don't expect those hot-button topics to be the ultimate markers of the 2012 cycle.
Just in case you thought you had time to catch your breath from the culture wars, the issue of marriage for gay couples is back at the ballot box this year. On Tuesday, North Carolinians voted 61% to 39% to ban all forms of relationship recognition for same-sex couples.
Jessica Yellin and Richard Socaride discuss President Obama's campaign strategy on the issue of same-sex marriage.
A gaffe is when a politician is caught telling the truth, the old saying goes.
Senate Republicans will block Democrats from taking up a White House-backed bill to cap rates on some student loans unless Democrats allow a vote on a GOP alternative, the second-ranking Senate Republican said Monday.
Newt Gingrich quit the presidential race on Wednesday. Long after he exhausted the patience of the voters, he finally concluded that the mathematical probability of winning the Republican nomination was next to nil. Why spend money and raise false hopes if you can't win? Best to get out now and join the veepstakes.
Presidential candidate Ron Paul talks to Piers Morgan about why he is still running for the GOP nomination.
In Washington, a lot of the meetings that take place between lawmakers amount to nothing. But recently, there was a get-together that was really something.
Ryan Bryski tells the story of his brother Christopher, whose student loans persisted after he tragically passed away.
The threat of increasing loan rates on future college students has become the newest political cudgel. It shouldn't be. Lowering interest rates on subsidized student loans does little to address the real problems of higher education: rising tuition costs and diminishing returns.
You would think that President Obama's surprise trip to Afghanistan yesterday and speech to the troops would have quieted -- at least for one night -- the latest installment of the GOP's "Faux Anger Chronicles." While most of the president's critics were silent or praised him for the trip, others didn't disappoint in following along with the fad.
CNN's Candy Crowley reports on who's in and who's not as possible running mates for Mitt Romney.
Republicans have a Latino problem. Only about 6% of Latino voters agree that the GOP is the party most concerned for their interests. Nearly half choose the Democrats as the party most concerned for them.
When Americans salute the nation's military at ball games, in airports and in churches nationwide, we do so with a sense of pride for those who are putting their lives on the line for the tremendous freedoms we enjoy.
As this election season unfolds, we are watching an age-old dream in politics go horribly smash. It isn't good for politics, and it sure isn't good for the country.
Vice President Joe Biden touts President Obama's foreign policy prowess at an event at New York University.
President Obama targets the youth vote in calling for lower college costs.
The White House said Friday that President Barack Obama would veto a Republican measure passed by the House to extend lower interest rates on federal student loans because it takes money from a health care fund that benefits women.
For Republicans and certain presidential nominee Mitt Romney, the best defense appears to be a good offense on issues and themes being pushed by President Barack Obama and Democrats.
Rep. Gwen Moore explains why she told her personal story of rape and abuse on the House floor.
The U.S. Senate voted to renew a law designed to combat domestic abuse Thursday after Republicans stepped back from what was becoming a politically risky fight over some of the expansions they oppose .
Politicians played hot potato with the No. 2 spot on the Republican presidential ticket on Sunday, with the latest round of prominent Republicans closing the door at varying degrees to serving as presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney's vice president.
The GOP-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday passed a $46 billion small business tax cut bill -- an election year measure that has virtually no chance of clearing the Democratic-controlled Senate or surviving a presidential veto.
Not too long ago, it seemed this week's meeting of the Republican National Committee in Arizona might be consumed with squabbles about delegate math and anxious hand-wringing over the long and acrimonious presidential primary fight.
A new poll Tuesday showed voters are willing to give Mitt Romney a fresh look now that he is the certain Republican presidential nominee, and the former Massachusetts governor picked up public backing from the top GOP leaders in the House and Senate.
DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz weighs in on the economy, gas prices and the 2012 race.
No one will know until June how the Supreme Court will rule on President Obama's Affordable Care Act. What we do know is there are three possible outcomes -- the law is upheld, struck down or struck down in part -- and Republicans must be prepared for each.
You may have heard that a group of Republicans in Congress -- including GOP rock star and possible vice presidential pick Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida -- are getting ready to introduce their version of the DREAM Act.You also may have heard that Democratic lawmakers and liberal advocacy groups despise the Republican alternative and derisively label it "DREAM Act Lite."
There are plenty of ways to game the upcoming Supreme Court decision on health care reform, and they've all been said: President Obama loses in court, he wins with his base. Or it's a severe blow, potentially fatal. Or Republicans benefit if they win, because they were "right" all along. Or the GOP loses, because it has to figure out what to offer for health care instead.
President Obama attacks the GOP campaign platform and the GOP's budget proposal at a luncheon in Washington.
Even Mitt Romney admits that he's got his work cut out for him to reach out to female voters as he transitions from the Republican presidential nomination battle to what will most likely be his general election matchup against President Barack Obama.
The House of Representatives passes the GOP leadership's 2013 budget plan 228-191.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday passed the GOP leadership's 2013 budget plan -- a measure that has no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate but creates a clear contrast between the two parties on a number of critical tax and spending issues ahead of the general election.
Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic measure championed by President Barack Obama to end tax breaks for the major oil companies.
After six terms in the Senate, Indiana's Richard Lugar finds himself the latest target of the tea party movement's desire both to have more influence over the policy agenda in Congress and to make the Republican Party more conservative.
Your pain at the pump is the U.S. Senate's top issue this week.
With just four days left before the federal money runs out for highway construction projects across the country, House Republicans abruptly postponed a vote on a two-month extension Tuesday, throwing into question how a standoff between Senate Democrats and House Republicans over the transportation bill will get resolved.
The second anniversary of President Barack Obama's signing into law the landmark and controversial health care reform measure brought, as expected, fierce attacks from Republicans.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell calls for the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.
Ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court review of the health care reform law that many Republicans call "Obamacare," and a day after the law's two-year anniversary, Sen. Mitch McConnell used the GOP weekly address Saturday to hammer President Barack Obama over the measure.
This week, Republicans announced their new budget with a highly produced video full of great rhetoric and patriotic music, but one major piece of Americana is missing -- a single mention of the middle class.
There was a time when the Republican Party was strictly for White Anglo Saxon Protestants. It was an alliance between Country Club Episcopalians and twice born followers of the Old Time Gospel, all firmly opposed to mass Catholic immigration from Europe. The nativism of the GOP drove Catholics into the welcoming arms of Al Smith, Jack Kennedy, Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Party.
The budget proposal introduced by House Republicans on Tuesday is much more than a series of numbers on a spreadsheet -- it's a vision for reforming the key pillars of the American social contract in the 21st century. In that regard, it's very different from the vision put forward by President Obama in his budget plan from a month ago, which emphasized preserving the status quo with another round of tax hikes.
Rep. Paul Ryan and the GOP unveil their 2013 budget, citing $5.3 trillion in spending cuts.
House GOP leaders unveiled a 2013 budget blueprint Tuesday that has little chance of becoming law but draws a clear contrast with Democrats on taxes, spending, and a host of hot-button political issues -- all of which could play a pivotal role in the 2012 campaign.
Two years after President Barack Obama signed health care reform legislation -- and with the U.S. Supreme Court about to consider a challenge from several states trying to overturn it -- supporters and opponents of the controversial law are gearing up for a message war like it's 2009.
In a series of floor speeches Thursday, a group of mostly Democratic women senators made a high-profile and at times emotional appeal to Republicans to support an expanded Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). In doing so, they suggested Republicans were blocking the bill because it would extend its protections to illegal immigrants as well as gays and lesbians.
iReporter W.J. O'Reilly wonders what Romney's game plan is.
Mitt Romney just can't seem to get conservatives to come to the altar and say "I do."
Now that Rick Santorum has scored victories in this week's Republican primary contests in Mississippi and Alabama --this after his earlier win in Tennessee and Newt Gingrich's victory in South Carolina -- it's time to confront three questions:
The primary process is good for the Republican Party?and our country.
Comedian Jeff Foxworthy endorses Mitt Romney at campaign stops in Alabama and Mississippi. CNN's Jim Acosta reports.
As Republicans struggle to make a decision in this primary season and President Obama appears to gain ground, the party has been flailing around, trying to find the right issues on which to base its campaign.
The campaigns of President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney don't agree on much. But on one subject, officials from both sides are in sync.
CNN contributor Mary Matalin says an upcoming Hollywood-style Obama campaign film will turn off Independent voters.
Mitt Romney scored a major victory by taking Ohio, but Rick Santorum continued to defy the odds by winning several contests on Super Tuesday as the race for the Republican presidential nomination now moves to Kansas, Alabama, Mississippi and beyond.
It's probably better to be the default candidate than the noncandidate, but it's a position that usually has too many gaps to fill. That seems to be the position of Mitt Romney, and it says a lot about the current state of the Republican Party.
Marco Rubio. Chris Christie. Mitch Daniels. Paul Ryan. Say those names, and Republican hearts beat faster.
Anytime James Carville, Paul Begala and David Axelrod hold hands and jump for joy, it's worth pondering how to turn their joy into tears.
By the end of last week, congressional Democrats and a few moderate Republicans succeeded in requiring most employers to include contraception as part of health insurance coverage, in spite of deep opposition from the GOP majority. Across the Potomac in Virginia, Democrats and, again, a few Republican moderates were able to soften or kill GOP bills that would have put into place humiliating obstacles to abortion. These are good things.
Know your caucuses from your primaries? Your superdelegates from your Super PACs? As Republican presidential hopefuls battle to win the right to take on Barack Obama in November, we've defined the array of words and acronyms that will define this year's election.
Both political parties exploit Super PACs, but what exactly are they? CNN's Kate Bolduan explains.
So far, turnout in the Republican primaries and caucuses has been down in a number of states from 2008.
Political analyst David Leland talks Super Tuesday and what it means for the GOP.
Chris Christie called it "the dumbest idea anybody ever had."
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus says that tough primaries are a good thing and that there's still time to woo independents.
CNN's Shannon Travis and Paul Vercammen give us an inside look into the world of GOP caucuses.
CNN contributor John Avlon talks about Santorum's surprise three-state sweep and Romney's attempt to gain ground.
Beneath Rick Santorum's stunning three-state sweep on Tuesday stands another stubborn sign of dissatisfaction with the status quo: Republican turnout is down.
The Vital Center is under siege on Capital Hill. "Congress is now more polarized than at any time since the late 19th century," attests the data-driven blog Vote View.
A day after Republicans signaled possible compromise with the White House on energy issues, President Barack Obama called Thursday for Congress to vote in the coming weeks on ending billions of dollars in subsidies for the oil industry.
Republican leaders and the White House sent signals Wednesday of possible detente on jobs and energy legislation, but they offered few specifics and congressional Democrats questioned whether any progress would ensue.
The president says that the auto bailouts worked, in an address to the United Auto Workers union in Washington.
The delegate calendar shows it may take months to settle the GOP race...and raises the chances of a brokered convention.
Two months into the Republican presidential nominating process, many thought that one candidate might have it sewn up by now.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is running as the "authentic conservative" in the Republican primaries. As his campaign has gained steam moving into the Michigan and Arizona contests, the entire tenor of the Republican debate has changed dramatically.
Lenny McAllister, Jamie Harrison and Paul Steinhauser on polls showing Rick Santorum's lead slowing in presidential race.
Rick Santorum gives advice to the driver of his sponsored Daytona 500 car, "just hang back for a while."
For months now, the GOP has been complaining about Barack Obama's class warfare: He's pitting the wealthy against the middle class. He's unfairly asking the rich to pay more taxes. He's dividing the country along economic lines for his own political agenda.
While high gas prices are draining the wallets of American motorists, they're also driving heated debate over opening the spigot on the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
About that knight in shining armor -- the Republican candidate with the quick-witted, pugnacious style of Newt Gingrich; the blue-collar conservative values of Rick Santorum; the cool business acumen of Mitt Romney; and the passionate supporters of Ron Paul.
Democrats hold a contraception hearing in stark contrast to a GOP effort that included no women. CNN's Dana Bash reports.
President Obama takes a few shots at his GOP rivals while discussing his plan for energy independence.
In a popular fable, a scorpion asks a frog to carry him across a river. The frog resists at first, afraid that the scorpion will sting him. The scorpion points out that -- as a practical matter -- if he stings the frog, they both die. The frog gives in. Halfway across, the scorpion does in fact sting the frog and they both drown. Why would the scorpion do that, the frog asks. The scorpion responds that he can't help it, that this is his nature.
CNN's John King weighs in on the importance of tonight's GOP debate in Arizona, which he will be moderating.
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|