Under fire in Congress, Trump defends move to pull U.S. troops from Syria Source: Cox Media Group

A day after blindsiding members of his own party in Congress with a decision to withdraw U.S. military forces fighting against the Islamic State in Syria, President Donald Trump on Thursday defended his move, once more making the case that American troops should be on home soil, not embroiled in military action on the other side of the globe. "Getting out of Syria was no surprise," the President tweeted before sunrise on Thursday.

Sherrill Names Legislative Staff

Representative-Elect Mikie Sherrill has named Ethan Saxon, a 12-year veteran of the legislative branch, as her chief of staff, senior campaign staff Kellie Doucette and Jill Hirsch as district directors, and Jackie Burns as communications director. "We're building a team of skilled, passionate, and committed people who are dedicated to serving the people of our community," said Congresswoman-Elect Sherrill.

O’Rourke’s liberal credentials questioned as he eyes 2020

During this year's Texas Senate race, some home-state Democrats grumbled that Beto O'Rourke wasn't softening his liberal positions enough to finish a near-upset of Ted Cruz. Now, as the outgoing congressman mulls a 2020 White House run, a small but vocal segment of activists is suggesting he's not liberal enough, arguing he's more about feel-good flash than commitment to values that will excite his party's ascendant leftist wing.

Arizona’s New Sen. McSally Faces Uncertain Political Future

To the surprise of no one, Republican Rep. Martha McSally was appointed to the U.S. Senate Tuesday and will serve two more years of the term of the late Sen. John McCain, R.-Ariz. "I'm going to commit to holding myself to the standard of service that Sen. McCain exemplified -- putting country before self, and always striving to do the right thing for Arizonans," McSally told reporters in Phoenix, shortly after Republican Gov. Doug Ducey announced her appointment.

U.S. needs a different role in Yemen

In other parts of the globe, like the Republic of Yemen, lethal forces are stalking victims whom Americans cannot always picture in complicated political scenarios we may not quickly grasp. So the average American blinks, and in that blink opportunists make deals with undemocratic, unprincipled bullies.

Elizabeth Warren’s new bill: let the US government manufacture…

Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced a bill called the Affordable Drug Manufacturing Act , which allows the US government to manufacture generic versions of drugs "in cases in which no company is manufacturing a drug, when only one or two companies manufacture a drug and its price has spiked, when the drug is in shortage, or when a medicine listed as essential by the World Health Organization faces limited competition and high prices."

McConnell says he’s in talks with White House after Democrats reject his offer to avoid shutdown

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday said he's in talks with the Trump administration about ways to avoid a partial government shutdown after Democratic lawmakers rejected his offer aimed at averting the closure. The Kentucky Republican offered $1.6 billion for border security, as outlined in a bipartisan Senate bill, along with $1 billion that President Donald Trump could use on the Mexican border, according to an Associated Press report .

When Republicans decide to love an activist judge: The Affordable…

President Donald Trump talks about drug prices during a visit to the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 25. He's pictured with HHS Secretary Alex Azar. On Friday, members of the GOP hailed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor striking down the Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional.

Time to finish the Wall

Russian 2016 Influence Operation Targeted African-Americans - The Russian influence campaign on social media in the 2016 election made an extraordinary effort to target African-Americans, used an array of tactics to try to suppress turnout among Democratic voters and unleashed a blizzard Russia favored Trump, targeted African-Americans with election meddling, reports say - The Russians set up 30 Facebook pages targeting the black community, the researchers found, and 10 YouTube channels that posted 571 videos related to police violence against African-Americans.