Congress back at work trying to end government shutdown

Congress prepared to return to work Saturday as negotiators pressed for a budget deal to keep a government shutdown that began at midnight short-lived. Agencies shut down for the first time in more than four years late Friday after senators rejected a temporary spending patch and bipartisan efforts to find an alternative fell short as a midnight deadline came and went.

The Latest: Congress seems no closer to reopening government

Republicans and Democrats appear to be no closer to ending a government shutdown, and the White House is indicating it's waiting for Democrats to drop their demand that a funding bill include protections for younger immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. Budget director Mick Mulvaney and legislative affairs director Marc Short are lobbing verbal attacks at Democrats for blocking a spending bill over the unrelated legislation.

White House promises this shutdown – will looka

The government shutdown is fast becoming an unwelcome and costly staple of American democracy. After the last prolonged closure delivered a substantial hit to the economy and created hardship and frustration fo If Congress can't reach a deal on continuing resolution, the government will face a potential shutdown, which means "non-essential" services provided by information bureaus, national parks, as well as other employees across the federal government will close.

Midnight government shutdown nears; no accord in sight

The government careened toward shutdown Friday night in a chaotic close to Donald Trump's first year as president, as Democrats and Republicans preemptively traded blame while still struggling to find some accord before a deadline at the stroke of midnight. The lawmakers and Trump's White House mounted last-ditch negotiations to stave off what had come to appear as the inevitable, with the parties in stare-down mode over federal spending and proposals to protect some 700,000 younger immigrants from deportation.

Shutdown deadline nears; no accord ina

President Donald Trump and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer met Friday afternoon in an eleventh-hour effort to avert a government shutdown, with a bitterly divided Washington locked in stare-down over fed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y. walks to his vehicle following his meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer met Friday afternoon in an eleventh-hour effort to avert a government shutdown, with a bitterly divided Washington locked in stare-down over federal spending and legislation to protect some 700,000 younger immigrants from deportation.

At UN, diplomats are watching Candidate Haley

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney listen as US President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, US, January 10, 2018. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst United Nations, United States: One year into the job, Nikki Haley stands out as the star of President Donald Trump's administration, and diplomats say the UN ambassador is directing some of that star power into a likely White House bid.

DC forecast: Gathering winter storm over wall vs. DACA, possible shutdown

Democrats are trying to flex their muscles noting that their votes are typically needed on issues such as spending and debt; Mike Emanuel explains on 'Special Report.' A meteorological "bomb cyclone" ravaged the East Coast last week. A political bomb cyclone could wreck Washington come January 19. That's the date Congress has to fund government operations and avoid a government shutdown.

High-stakes federal budget talks begin as deadline approaches

A showdown in Washington over government spending kicked off Wednesday with a high-level gathering between congressional leaders and the White House that previewed the broader fight likely to consume Washington for much of January. The meeting between the four highest-ranking members of Congress and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney marked the initial round in an effort by Democrats and Republicans to make sure their top priorities are funded.

Senate Committee Rejects Trump Nominee After Intense Opposition From Big Business

The Senate banking committee rejected President Donald Trump's choice to lead the Export-Import Bank on Tuesday, voting 10-13 against advancing his nomination to the full Senate. WASHINGTON - The Senate banking committee rejected President Donald Trump's choice to lead the Export-Import Bank on Tuesday, voting 10-13 against advancing his nomination to the full Senate.

Lawsuit challenges Trump’s financial bureau appointment

A federal credit union in New York City has sued President Donald Trump, saying his acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is "trying to minimize its existence." The Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.

Meet Leandra English, The GOP’s Latest Boogeyman

Over the past two weeks, conservative media has been warning of a new menace loose in the corridors of Washington, a " It's the type of conspiracy theory popular in Facebook groups and Reddit forums that cater to fringe paranoia. But in this case, these ominous concerns are coming from Republican senators.

Lawmakers work to reconcile dueling House, Senate tax bills

Significant differences separate the massive tax packages passed by the House and Senate on estate taxes, health care and a prized deduction for home mortgage interest, though Republican leaders are confident none is insurmountable. "We're looking forward to getting a final bill to the president's desk, soon," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Monday.

Why Republicans who once fought budget debt now embrace it

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, left, walks with Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., as they head to the Senate chamber after a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers to advance the GOP overhaul of the tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. Over the next decade, their tax plan would add at least $1 trillion to the national debt.

Experiencing the corruption in Mexico that led to a housing debacle

To the editor: The problems in Mexico with the construction of housing tracts is heartbreaking but not surprising. Having visited Baja California a number of times over the years for vacation, I was always bothered by the way business was done.

Mulvaney heads consumer agency

By JESSICA GRESKO and KEN SWEET Associated Press WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump scored a victory Tuesday when a federal judge refused to block the president's choice to temporarily run the nation's top consumer financial watchdog and, for the moment, ended a two-way battle for leadership of the agency.

Judge sides with Trump’s pick to take over consumer agency

President Donald Trump scored a victory Tuesday when a federal judge refused to block the president's choice to temporarily run the nation's top consumer financial watchdog and, for the moment, ended a two-way battle for leadership of the agency. Judge Timothy Kelly declined to stop the Republican president from putting Mick Mulvaney in place as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Trump-installed consumer agency head sets hiring freeze, halts new rules

The fight for control of the U.S. consumer watchdog agency intensified on Monday as Mick Mulvaney, President Donald Trump's pick to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , imposed a hiring freeze and halted any new regulations. In a partisan showdown over the CFPB, which was created to crack down on predatory financial practices, Mulvaney is being sued by Leandra English, an Obama-era appointee to the agency who argues that she is the consumer bureau's rightful leader.

Here’s Where the GOP Tax Plan Stands Right Now

Around the same time, Leandra English, the agency's other acting director, sent an all-staff email thanking employees for their service. White House Memo Justifying CFPB Takeover Was Written by Payday Lender Attorney - The lawyer who wrote the Office of Legal Counsel memo supporting the Trump administration's viewpoint that the president can appoint Mick Mulvaney as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau represented At the CFPB, two acting directors show up to take command; one brings doughnuts, the other well-wishes - As a Republican congressman, Mick Mulvaney called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a "joke" and said he wished it didn't exist.