‘These things happen’: Rex Tillerson refuses to blame…

Sen. Marco Rubio asked Rex Tillerson point-blank whether Vladimir Putin was a war criminal - and Donald Trump's pick for secretary of state blinked. "I would not use that term," said Tillerson, the longtime chief executive of Exxon Mobil who was awarded the Kremlin's Order of Friendship in 2013 .

Cory Booker seizes big moment with historic move against another senator

Sen. Cory Booker will make history Wednesday when he becomes the first sitting senator to testify against another sitting senator for a Cabinet post as he fights Jeff Sessions' nomination to become President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general. The decision has thrust Booker, a New Jersey Democrat and fixture on lists of potential 2020 presidential candidates, into the limelight.

Watch the 2nd day of Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing live

Sen. Jeff Sessions begins his second day of questioning before Congress at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in his quest to be confirmed as U.S. attorney general. On Tuesday, the Alabama senator faced more than 10 hours of questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee for the role of head of the Department of Justice, the top law enforcement post in the country.

How Mike Pompeo went from one of Trump’s biggest critics to one of his biggest fans

CIA Director Mike Pompeo speaks at a Senate committee hearing on Feb. 13, 2018, on Capitol Hill. He was nominated as the new secretary of state, replacing Rex Tillerson, on March 13. CIA Director Mike Pompeo speaks at a Senate committee hearing on Feb. 13, 2018, on Capitol Hill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left,

After debating seven hours through the night, the Senate voted early Thursday to take the first real step toward repealing Obamacare - a top goal of congressional Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump. Obamacare takes first real step closer to repeal after Senate vote After debating seven hours through the night, the Senate voted early Thursday to take the first real step toward repealing Obamacare - a top goal of congressional Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump.

In subtle rebuke to Trump, Clinton extols diplomacy

Hillary Clinton, making a rare public appearance after her presidential election loss, offered an impassioned tribute to the power of diplomacy on Tuesday evening, saying the United States will "weather every storm on the horizon" by staying true to its "universal values." While she never mentioned Donald Trump by name, Clinton's short address at the opening of a new State Department museum was a rebuke of the president-elect, who's already broken decades of diplomatic protocol through his interactions with foreign leaders during his transition.

Sen. Franken Accuses Sen. Sessions of Misrepresenting His Record on Civil Rights

During the Senate confirmation hearing for U.S. attorney general, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minnesota, accused Sen. Sessions, R-Alabama, of misrepresenting the number of desegregation cases he filed as United States attorney in Alabama. "Our country needs an attorney general who doesn't misrepresent or inflate their level of involvement on any given issue," Franken said Tuesday.

Mass. Fiscal Alliance chair, Pepperell resident, weighing run for US Senate

Republican Rick Green, the wealthy owner of a Pepperell-based auto parts company and founder of the conservative non-profit Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, may challenge U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren for re-election in 2018, according to two sources with knowledge of his thinking. Green, who once came up two votes shy of becoming chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, is "thinking about it," according to a close associate, but feels no rush make a decision despite Warren sounding the starting gun last week when she formally declared her intention to seek a second term.

Sessions: Fact That Complainants in 1985 Voting Fraud Case Were Also…

Sen. Jeff Sessions said Tuesday he has been unfairly criticized for indicting three African-Americans for voting fraud in 1985 in Mobile, Ala., while he was U.S. attorney there, because the complainants in the case were also African-American - a fact that is often overlooked although "it's been out there a long time." "It's been out there for a long time," said Sessions.

Highlights From Jeff Sessions’ Confirmation Hearing — So Far

Senator Jeff Sessions, President-elect Trump's nominee for attorney general, went before his colleagues today in a marathon confirmation hearing -- now on its fifth hour and still ongoing. If confirmed, and so far it looks like Sessions will be confirmed, the Republican Senator from Alabama will become the head of the Department of Justice and the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer in the federal government.

A-G choice opposed law banning waterboarding

US President-elect Donald Trump's candidate for attorney general said on Tuesday he was against banning Muslims from entering the country and would enforce a 2015 law that outlawed waterboarding terrorism suspects, even though he had opposed the law. During the 2016 election campaign Trump said waterboarding, which simulates drowning and is widely regarded as torture, was an effective technique and vowed to bring it back and make it "a hell of a lot worse."