US Speaker Ryan confirms retirement plans

Paul Ryan will not stand at the congressional US midterm elections in November but says it has nothing to do with Donald Trump's presidency. US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, dealing a blow to the Republican Party just months ahead of pivotal congressional elections, says he will not seek re-election to Congress in November and will relinquish his leadership post at the start of 2019.

Schumer Warns of ‘Constitutional Crisis’ 6 Times in 3 Minutes

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday warned President Trump not to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the man who appointed Mueller to lead the FBI's long-running Trump-Russia probe. A short time earlier, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told a news conference he thinks Mueller should be allowed to finish his investigation.

Congressional panel to grill Trump’s consumer chief

Mick Mulvaney, head of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , is due to face lawmakers on Wednesday who want to know why he has dropped cases against payday lenders and pulled back from regulating the market for small-dollar loans. It will be the first opportunity for Democratic lawmakers to publicly grill Mulvaney on his leadership of the bureau created by Congress to stamp out financial abuse after the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

Trump seethes over FBI raid, ponders firing those he blames

President Donald Trump was so incensed by the FBI's raid of his personal attorney's office and hotel room that he's privately pondered firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and publicly mused about ousting special counsel Robert Mueller. The raid, in which agents seized attorney Michael Cohen's records on topics including a $130,000 payment to a porn actress who alleges she had sex with Trump, left the president more angry than advisers had seen him in weeks, according to five people familiar with the president's views but not authorized to discuss them publicly.

As Trump fumes, senators craft a bill to protect Mueller Source: AP

A bipartisan group of four senators is moving to protect special counsel Robert Mueller's job as President Donald Trump publicly muses about firing him. Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Cory Booker of New Jersey plan to introduce legislation Wednesday that would give any special counsel a 10-day window in which he or she could seek expedited judicial review of a firing, according to two people familiar with the legislation.

Trump ethanol moves may be worse for farmers than soy tariff

Based on his own back-of-the-envelope calculations, Minnesota farmer Kirby Hettver could lose tens of thousands of dollars of earnings because of President Donald Trump. But damaging as the brewing trade war with China may turn out to be for Hettver and other American soybean farmers, he says the greater financial impact could come if Trump moves ahead with changes to the U.S. ethanol mandate, known as the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS.

Arizona teachers join others nationally seeking pay hikes

Arizona teachers who have organized to push for big raises and a restoration of school funding are threatening a statewide walkout, following the lead of educators across the country, including Oklahoma where schools have been closed for more than a week. Leaders for a new grassroots group called Arizona Educators United say they could announce a date for action at any time.

Trump looks to pack the courts with conservatives

President Donald Trump, finding it harder than expected to get his legislative agenda accomplished on Capitol Hill, is looking to pack the courts with conservative jurists. The latest step in the process came on Tuesday, when the White House unveiled its 12th wave of judicial nominees, US attorneys and US Marshals, a package of 30 people who will now face confirmation battles in the Senate.

Senators move to protect Mueller as Trump criticizes probe

A bipartisan group of four senators is moving to protect special counsel Robert Mueller 's job as President Donald Trump publicly muses about firing him. Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Cory Booker of New Jersey plan to introduce legislation Wednesday that would give any special counsel a 10-day window in which he or she could seek expedited judicial review of a firing, according to two people familiar with the legislation.

All 13 Republican candidates for Greenville seat in Congress reject U.S. Chamber of Commerce

The 13 Republican candidates running to replace U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-Spartanburg, participated in a GOP forum in Greenville on April 9. Screenshot The 13 Republican candidates running to replace U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-Spartanburg, participated in a GOP forum in Greenville on April 9. Screenshot All thirteen Republican candidates running to replace congressman Trey Gowdy said Monday they would refuse to accept money or an endorsement from the pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Several running for the seat, which covers Greenville and Spartanburg counties, proudly declared they don't expect the chamber would even offer it to them.

Live updates from Mark Zuckerberg’s Congressional testimony

On Tuesday, Facebook's CEO will make his long-anticipated appearance on Capitol Hill, where he will testify before the Senate's Judiciary and Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committees. Zuckerberg will speak about Facebook's data privacy policies, which have come under fire in the wake of Cambridge Analytica , as well as the social network's role in combating election interference.

Mark Zuckerberg testimony: Facebook founder grilled by Congress

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg faced sharp criticism in the opening comments of Tuesday's highly anticipated congressional hearing, as he prepared to apologize for a series of missteps that, he acknowledges, have imperiled the privacy of tens of millions of Americans and helped spread both phony news and Russian disinformation. "Mr. Zuckerberg, in many ways you and the company that you've created, the story you've created, represent the American Dream," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., chairman of the Commerce Committee, in his opening remarks.

Is It Time for AFRICOM to Get Its Own Troops?

A key defense lawmaker is calling for the U.S. Army to assign one of its new Security Force Assistance Brigades, pictured here, to U.S. Africa Command. When four U.S. soldiers were killed in the west African country of Niger last year, many in the American public - and even some lawmakers who serve on foreign-policy committees - were surprised to discover the United States had troops there.

Sen. Doug Jones working on book scheduled for January

Sen. Doug Jones, the Alabama Democrat who unexpectedly prevailed in one of the country's most Republican states, has a book coming out next year. St. Martin's Press told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Jones' "Bending Toward Justice: The Birmingham Church Bombing that Changed the Course of Civil Rights" is scheduled for January.