Romney, Once the Face of ‘Never Trump,’ Embraces the President

Former Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Conference Center at National Harbor, Md., on Friday, March 15, 2013. By all indications, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is now fully aboard the Trump train as he prepares for the GOP primary for an open Senate seat in Utah.

Romney predicts Trumpa s re-election

He once called Donald Trump "a con man," but Mitt Romney now predicts that Trump would "easily" win his party's presidential nomination in 2020 and "solidly" win a second term. Romney, the GOP's failed 2012 presidential nominee from Massachusetts, now a Republican Senate candidate in Utah, made the prediction Thursday as he welcomed dozens of high-profile business and political leaders to a mountainside retreat in Utah Thursday night.

Tentative GOP immigration deal for ‘Dreamers’ in the works

Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., arrives for a closed-door GOP meeting in the basement of the Capitol as the Republican leadership tries to reach a policy agreement between conservatives and moderates on immigration, in Washington, Thursday, June 7, 2018. Denham and other moderates need just two more GOP signatures on a petition to require immigration votes, assuming all Democrats sign on.

A year after shooting, GOP lawmakers hold firm on gun rights

In the year since House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and others were shot at a congressional baseball practice, mass shootings have occurred at a Texas church, a Las Vegas music festival and high schools in Parkland, Florida, and Santa Fe, Texas. Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a doctor who helped save Scalise's life last June, has watched those attacks unfold with the acute sensitivity of a mass shooting survivor.

GOP moderate leader: Tentative immigration deal in works

Reporters pursue Marc Short, the White House legislative liaison, as House Republicans try to bridge their party's internal struggle over immigration at a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June... . House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, answers questions from reporters as House Republicans try to bridge their party's internal struggle over immigration at a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill in Wash... .

Tariffs will slow economic growth, says a internal White House study

The findings from the White House Council of Economic Advisers have been circulated only internally and not publicly released, as is often the case with the council's work, making the exact economic projections unknown. But the determination comes as top White House officials continue to insist publicly that Mr. Trump's trade approach will be "massively good for the U.S. economy."

Why Facebook tie-up with China’s Huawei is the sum of all US fears

'If Facebook granted Huawei special access to social data of Americans, it might as well have given it directly to the government of China' Amid the uproar over Facebook's admission that it shared user data with Chinese device makers is an undercurrent of tension between the United States and China over technological dominance. Not only was Facebook passing previously undisclosed personal information to other companies, but also one of the dozens of firms involved was Huawei, a Chinese firm flagged by US intelligence officials as a national security risk because of its alleged ties to China's government.

President Trump blasts Jeff Flake: ‘Let’s face it, he’s a Flake!’

President Donald Trump teed off on Sen. Jeff Flake again on Thursday, ridiculing his persistent Republican critic from Arizona as "humiliatingly forced out of his own Senate seat without even a fight." Trump's tweet appears to be a preemptive strike against Flake, who on Thursday delivered the latest in a series of Trump critiques from the Senate floor.

House GOP: Session could crash again without reforms

House GOP: Session could crash again without reforms Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to issue Friday a call for a third Special Session of the spring. Check out this story on thetowntalk.com: BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's House Republican Caucus has sent a letter to Gov. John Bel Edwards saying its members can't support more taxes to address the state's budget without spending reforms and transparency.

Skepticism and backlash follow US deal with China’s ZTE

The United States had banned ZTE, a state-controlled Chinese smartphone maker, from buying American parts, saying it breached a 2017 deal in which it admitted to violating sanctions on Iran and North Korea. Most unusual, though, is a provision that will allow a US-appointed oversight team to keep tabs on the company from the inside.

House GOP in tentative deal to help ‘Dreamers’

House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, answers questions from reporters as House Republicans try to bridge their party's internal struggle over immigration at a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 7, 2018. Top Republicans want to head off an election-year showdown that divides the party.

Former Va. senator awarded Gerald R. Ford Medal

Former Virginia Senator John W. Warner was honored as a recipient of the Gerald R. Ford Medal of Distinguished Public Service Monday for his years of service and dedication to his country. A 30-year veteran of the U.S. Senate, Warner is the second-longest serving senator in the state's history and has garnered a reputation as one of the most effective legislators of his time.

Sobering report teases out factors leading to suicides

All eyes are on Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller's re-election bid,... A pair of Democratic U.S. House seats that will be up for grabs in Nevada in November could be key to the party's effort to cut into GOP majorities in Congress. A pair of Democratic U.S. House seats that will be up for grabs in Nevada in November could be key to the party's effort to cut into GOP majorities in Congress.

Trump plan to cut $15B in spending squeaks through House

The House on Thursday only narrowly passed a White House plan to cut almost $15 billion in unused government money, a closer-than-expected tally on legislation that's designed to demonstrate fiscal discipline in Washington even though it wouldn't have much of an impact on spiraling deficits. The measure, which passed 210-206, would take a mostly symbolic whack at government spending because it would basically eliminate leftover funding that wouldn't have been spent anyway.

Ted Cruz Says Imperiled Biofuel Overhaul Plan Not Dead

A day after a tentative agreement to overhaul U.S. biofuel policy appeared to collapse amid farm-state concerns, EPA chief Scott Pruitt met to discuss the issue with the lead senator pushing for the changes: Ted Cruz. Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, declined to comment on the June 6 meeting, but Cruz said it included discussion about the Renewable Fuel Standard and had been planned well before reports June 4 that a White House-brokered accord was unraveling.

Immigration Debate Shines Spotlight On Divided GOP

Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., represents a district where 70 percent of his constituents are Hispanic and nearly half are foreign born. House Republicans huddled for hours Thursday morning in another attempt to find party unity on an issue that divides the GOP like no other: immigration.

Trump brings ZTE, sanctions-busting smart phone giant, back to life….

The Trump administration agreed Thursday to resurrect Chinese phone maker ZTE, in exchange for a $1 billion fine and a management overhaul meant to ensure the tech giant won't bust U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea again. The move was widely condemned in Congress, where lawmakers in both parties -- including Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn -- had warned President Donald Trump not to cave to Chinese pressure or use the enforcement action against ZTE as a bargaining chip in trade talks.

Route 66 gets its signs

That highway "runs the entire width of Texas, and there's not one song that talks about Interstate 10," said Quandt, who is the vice president of Amarillo's Convention and Visitor Council. "Interstate 35 thinks it's pretty important, running up the central part of the state, but there's not one club in Germany or England celebrating I-35.

Democrats apparently did get shut out of one California congressional district

For all their worrying about Orange County, it could be San Bernardino County where Democrats are once again shut out of a congressional race. Unofficial results posted by the California Secretary of State on Wednesday, June 6 showed Republican Tim Donnelly leading Democrat Marge Doyle by 760 votes for second place in the 8th Congressional District, a sprawling district covering the High Desert, Lake Arrowhead and Crestline along with Inyo and Mono counties.