Rachel Notley expects to meet with members of Trump administration

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says she expects to meet face to face Wednesday with members of U.S. President Donald Trump's government as she continues a visit to Washington, D.C. "I'm not going to get into specific names until those meetings are finally confirmed, but, yes, we do anticipate meeting with people in the Trump administration," Notley said Tuesday in a conference call from the U.S. capital. Trump is contemplating changes to the trade relationship with Canada, including a new border tax.

Vulnerable Dems lay low as town hall angst rages

From Montana to West Virginia, the nation's most vulnerable Senate Democrats are avoiding town hall meetings as their Republican counterparts get pummeled by an energized electorate frustrated with President Donald Trump's early agenda. Some Democrats prefer to connect with constituents over the telephone or using social media.

Sen. McCaskill asks for emergency meeting with DHS secretary on immigration order

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, the top Democrat on the Senate's Homeland Security committee, has asked for an emergency meeting with the agency's secretary, John Kelly. McCaskill, along with six other Democrats who serve on the committee, requested on Monday that Kelly meet with them within 24 hours to explain his role in implementing President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration.

Trumpa s hiring freeze is already hurting some of his most loyal supporters: Veterans

President Donald Trump's temporary hiring freeze on federal jobs is disproportionately affecting a group of his most loyal supporters: veterans, who receive preference in federal hiring. Some already have had job interviews canceled or postponed, advocacy groups say.

Montana Lawmakers Unite To Denounce Neo-Nazi Rally Plans

Top Montana Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Tuesday warned neo-Nazis they would find "no safe haven" for a rally that could include guns planned for next month in a mountain town where white nationalists have threatened Jewish residents. The lawmakers include both Democrats and U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke, recently picked by Republican President-elect Donald Trump to be interior secretary.

License issued for $1B Montana power storage project

A Montana company has been granted a license to build a $1 billion, 400-megawatt power storage project in the central part of the state that would supplement electricity from wind turbines and other sources, according to documents released Thursday by federal regulators. The 50-year license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission allows Absaroka Energy, of Bozeman, Montana, to construct and operate the project on a 177-acre site near the tiny town of Martinsdale, home to fewer than 100 people.

Zinke Accepts Nod to Oversee Interior

Rep. Ryan Zinke announced Dec. 15 that he has accepted the offer to serve as the incoming Secretary of the Interior. In remarks announcing Zinke's nomination, President-elect Donald Trump praised the Montana native's positions, ranging from regulations and forest management to energy development and public land use.

Montana pol is choice for Interior

In this Dec. 12, 2016 file photo, Interior Secretary-designate, Rep. Ryan Zinke, right, R-Mont., arrives in Trump Tower in New York. As President-elect Donald Trump fills out his Cabinet, it's looking less like America's population and more like the world Trump has always orbited, filled with rich white men and delivering on Trump's promise to ignore political correctness.

Trump’s Cabinet picks unexpectedly putting Senate GOP in bind

Then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appears at a campaign roundtable event in Manchester, N.H., on Oct. 28. WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans had hoped that Donald Trump's Cabinet selections could give them a leg up in the 2018 midterm races.

Natalia Castro: “Going Nuclear” On Supreme Court Pick

One issue that helped shape the election was the debate over the next Supreme Court Justice nomination as a fear of a liberal replacement to the late Justice Antonin Scalia brought conservatives to the voting booth in droves. Now President-elect Donald Trump must remain true to his promise and deliver a strict constitutionalist to the Supreme Court, but his new enemy in this battle is not Hillary Clinton , but the Senate.

Hotline Extra: Cooper’s Lead Grows in North Carolina

North Carolina Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper grew his lead over the weekend against Republican Gov. Pat McCrory to 9,558 votes as of Monday afternoon, according to the State Board of Elections . Cooper's lawyer, Marc Elias, told reporters earlier Monday that it is "extremely unlikely" that margin breaks 10,000, the threshold that would disallow McCrory's requested statewide, taxpayer-funded recount.

APNewsBreak: US moves to block mining near Yellowstone

U.S. officials plan to block new mining claims outside Yellowstone National Park as the Obama administration races in its last days to keep industry out of pristine and environmentally sensitive areas. Mining claims on 30,000 acres north of the nation's first national park would be prohibited for at least two years while a long-term ban is considered.

The Latest: Tester seeks to block mining near Yellowstone

Montana U.S. Sen. Jon Tester has asked the Obama administration to take steps to block a pair of mining proposals outside Yellowstone National Park. The Democratic lawmaker says the Yellowstone area and Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness deserve special protections because of their beauty and ecological value.

Sen. Jon Tester, a Democratic holdout, endorses Hillary Clinton

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., the man in charge of Democratic efforts to retake the Senate, endorsed Hillary Clinton for president on Friday. Tester, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, frequently has to work with more conservative, red state Democrats in his home state Montana and in places across the country where there are competitive races.