GOP panel presses ahead on budget plan

Republicans are pressing ahead with a budget plan designed to help the party to deliver on a GOP-only effort to overhaul the tax code. The plan before the House Budget Committee on Wednesday also features promises to cut more than $5 trillion from the budget over the coming decade, though Republicans only appear serious about actually enacting a relatively modest $203 billion deficit cut over the same period The importance of the effort has been magnified by the cratering in the Senate of the Trump-backed effort to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law, leaving a rewrite of the tax code as the best chance for Trump to score a major legislative win this year.

Who’s to Blame for the GOP Health Care Debacle, Trump or McConnell?

Now that it appears the Republican Party's seven-year crusade to repeal Obamacare and replace it with their own mysterious alternative is finally dead the GOP is on the hunt for someone to scapegoat. As New York 's Jonathan Chait argued , the real reason for Trumpcare's defeat is that "it was never possible to reconcile public standards for a humane health-care system with conservative ideology."

Australian woman killed by Minneapolis police officer ‘didn’t have to die,’ says police chief

Speaking publicly for the first time since the deadly officer-involved shooting, Minneapolis Police Chief Jane Harteau said Thursday the killing of Au... -- President Donald Trump told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday that "ISIS is falling fast." As he and Vice President Mike Pence arrived at the Pentagon for a... The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is investigating about two dozen complaints from farmers about dicamba herbicide drift.

Trump’s critique of Sessions reflects long-held frustrations

President Donald Trump's persistent overtures toward Russia are placing him increasingly at odds with his national security and foreign policy advisers, who have long urged a more cautious approach to dealing with... President Donald Trump's persistent overtures toward Russia are placing him increasingly at odds with his national security and foreign policy advisers, who have long urged a more cautious approach to dealing with the foreign adversary. Republican senators are hunkering down for a last-ditch attempt to prevent their own divisions from pushing their health care bill to oblivion.

“Let Obamacare fail,” Trump declares as GOP plan collapses

President Donald Trump declared Tuesday it's time to "let Obamacare fail" after the latest GOP health care plan crashed and burned in the Senate, a stunning failure for the president, Republican leader Mitch McConnell and a party that has vowed for years to abolish the law. In a head-spinning series of developments, rank-and-file Republican senators turned on McConnell and Trump for the third time in a row, denying the votes to move forward with a plan for a straight-up repeal of "Obamacare."

Healthcare push leaves Republicans in disarray

A months-long push from Senate Republican leaders to repeal ObamaCare crashed and burned on Tuesday, leaving the GOP with no clear path forward on its top legislative priority. On Tuesday, GOP leadership insisted that there would still be a vote on healthcare in the chamber, but it's no longer a matter of repealing the law - it's about bringing finality to a legislative push that appears to have reached the end of the road.

With healthcare bill derailed, GOP wonders: What now?

The stunning collapse of ObamaCare repeal on Tuesday forced Republicans to confront a sobering reality: Their party and agenda are in a deep hole, and it's not going to be easy to get out. Republicans have campaigned on repealing and replacing ObamaCare for the past seven years but find themselves unable to deliver on that promise despite having unified control of Congress and the White House.

Manchin organizing bipartisan healthcare meeting Tuesday night

Joe Manchin Manchin organizing bipartisan healthcare meeting Tuesday night Moderate Republicans, Dems huddle on healthcare This week: ObamaCare repeal faces latest setback in Senate MORE is organizing a bipartisan group of senators who are former governors to discuss possible bipartisan action on healthcare, with a meeting planned for Tuesday night. The meeting comes as talk of bipartisan action to stabilize ObamaCare markets is picking up in the wake of the collapse of the Republican healthcare bill.

Threat of U.S. oil sanctions on Venezuela sparks fears of economic a collapsea

People line up to cast their ballots at poll station during a symbolic referendum in Caracas, Venezuela, on Sunday. Venezuela's opposition called for a massive turnout Sunday in a symbolic rejection of President Nicolas Maduro's plan to rewrite the constitution, a proposal that's escalating tensions in a nation stricken by widespread shortages and more than 100 days of anti-government protests.

Mike Lee

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah talks on his cellphone outside a Senate Republican meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 18, 2017. President Donald Trump blasted congressional Democrats and "a few Republicans" over the collapse of the GOP effort to rewrite the Obama health care law.

Hastert faces sex-offender treatment with prison release

In this June 22, 2016, file photo, former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, right, reports to the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., to begin serving a sentence in a hush money case. Federal Bureau of Prisons records on Tuesday, July 18, 2017, show that Hastert has been released from the Minnesota federal prison and transferred to a Chicago re-entry facility.

An ‘unmitigated disaster for Trump’: President’s agenda in…

President Donald Trump's ambitious agenda appeared to take a severe hit Monday night when the Senate healthcare bill hit a wall and threw into doubt Republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Trump was caught off guard by the move from Sens. Mike Lee and Jerry Moran to oppose the Better Care Reconciliation Act , which ultimately doomed "I was very surprised when the two folks came out last night because we thought they were in fairly good shape but they did," Trump told reporters Tuesday .

Wildfire destroys several northeast Nevada homes

Hundreds of residents of two rural northeast Nevada communities were being allowed to return to their homes Tuesday to assess damage from a raging wildfire that destroyed several residences in Elko County and shut down a stretch of Interstate 80 for several hours. No serious injuries have been reported.

What’s next? Senate GOP scrambles after health care flop

Senate Republicans were scrambling to pick up the pieces Tuesday after their attempt to repeal and replace the Obama-era health care law collapsed a second time. After working for months on a new health package, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Tuesday that the Senate would vote to simply repeal Obama's health care law "sometime in the near future."

Poll: Do you think America relies too much on foreign labor?

Businesses will soon be able to apply to bring in up to 15,000 more foreigners for seasonal work, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday - prompting questions about whether the move fit in with the White House's "America First" posture. The Department of Homeland Security's announcement came as the White House kicked off its "Made in America" week, during which the administration is highlighting its efforts to increase domestic employment and investment.