Health care debate shifting over to Senate

The contentious debate over overhauling the health care system shifts to the Senate and a moderate Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, says the Senate will not take up the House bill and will instead start from scratch . Some senators have already voiced displeasure with the health care bill that cleared the House last week.

Senate approves $1.2tn government spending bill to avoid shutdown

Budget Director Mick Mulvaney is insisting the budget deal that will keep the government running until September is a win for the White House, despite complaints from President Trump. "They wanted a shutdown", Mulvaney said of Democrats.

The President Donald Trump Wants Corporate Tax Rate of 15%

The plan also called for almost doubling the personal exemption for individuals but eliminating deductions for state and local taxes . Republican lawmakers will be open-minded, but "they're going to likely start off from a skeptical point of view", said David Winston, a GOP consultant who has advised congressional leaders.

US House Passes Budget; Senate Next

Budget Director Mick Mulvaney speaks to the media during the daily press briefing at the White House, May 2, 2017, in Washington. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a budget bill to fund the government through September - one without funding for the border wall President Donald Trump's promised during his campaign.

Trump: Government ‘needs a good shutdown’

President Donald Trump talks with reporters as he walks to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. President Donald Trump says the nation "needs a good `shutdown' in September" to fix a "mess" in the Senate, saying on Twitter that the country needs to "either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51 ," suggesting more rules changes ahead in the Senate.

Spending bill win claimed by both sides

President Trump tried to portray his White House as the true winner of the spending bill debate despite Democrats' declaring victory, even as Republicans' Obamacare replacement plan barely clung to life yesterday. "This is what winning looks like," said Trump from the Rose Garden, rattling off the increased military and border security funding and other highlights of the spending bill he advocated for.

The Latest: White House says Trump will sign spending bill

The White House budget office says in an official policy statement that the administration is pleased with additional money for the Pentagon and border security, though it's "concerned" that lawmakers ignored Trump's request that the spending increases be accompanied by spending cuts elsewhere in the budget. The statement arrived on the eve of a House vote on the measure.

Trump: US needs September a shutdowna to fix Senate a messa

President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that the U.S. government "needs a good shutdown" in September to fix a "mess" in the Senate, signaling his displeasure with a temporary spending bill that Republican congressional leaders - and Trump himself - are praising as a major accomplishment. On Twitter and then in a White House ceremony, Trump issued contradictory statements ahead of key votes in Congress on the budget bill to keep the government running into the fall.

The N.E.A. Really Isn’t “Welfare for Rich, Liberal Elites”

Last autumn, I had a mischievous fantasy that I would fudge my address as Bartley, Nebraska, or Piedmont, South Dakota, on some grant applications in the hope of boosting my odds for success. If every other writer applying to the Guggenheim or the National Endowment for the Arts lives in Brooklyn, or Silver Lake, wouldn't a rural Zip Code give my application a glimmer of geographic diversity? I offer this small confession because many writers, painters, musicians, and art teachers, suffering the proverbial Stockholm syndrome, have internalized the Republican dogma that established artists in coastal cities are hoarding public and private art funds, in a self-serving parochial loop.

GOP, Democratic primaries May 2 –

Photo courtesy of the Union County Democratic Party Les Murphy , candidate for the Democratic nomination for the US House of Representatives Fifth District Seat; Zachariah Hartman , Field Organizer for the Parnell for Congress campaign; and Luke Beadle , South Carolina Democratic Party 3rd Vice Chair Candidate, pose for a picture with Union County Democratic Party Chairman Ann Stevens . Murphy, Hartman, and Beadle attended the Monday, April 24 meeting of the Union County Democratic Party held at the City of Union Municipal Building.

US-Mexico wall demands eased as spending talks advance

Congressional negotiators have inched towards a potential agreement on a catch-all spending bill that would deny President Donald Trump's request for immediate funding to construct a wall along the Mexico border. The emerging measure would increase the defence budget and eliminate the threat of a government shutdown on Mr Trump's 100th day in office this Saturday.

GOP drops US-Mexico wall demands as spending talks advance54 minutes ago

Congressional negotiators on Tuesday inched toward a potential agreement on a catchall spending bill that would deny President Donald Trump's request for immediate funding to construct a wall along the Mexico border. The emerging measure would increase the defense budget and eliminate the threat of a government shutdown on Trump's 100th day in office this Saturday.

Negotiators make progress on bill to keep government open

By ALAN FRAM and ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON - Congressional and White House negotiators made progress Tuesday on a must-pass spending bill to keep the federal government open days ahead of a deadline as President Donald Trump indicated that U.S. funding for a border wall with Mexico could wait until September. But a big stumbling block remains, involving a Democratic demand for money for insurance companies that help low-income people afford health policies under former President Barack Obama's health law, or that Trump abandon a threat to use the payments as a bargaining chip.

Progress seen on budget deal that would prevent government shutdown

Bipartisan bargainers are making progress toward a budget deal to prevent a partial federal shutdown this weekend, a major hurdle overcome when President Donald Trump signaled he would put off his demand that the measure include money to build his border wall with Mexico. Republicans are also vetting proposed changes to their beleaguered health care bill that they hope will attract enough votes to finally push it through the House.

Government shutdown, health bill rescue at stake in Congress

Bipartisan bargainers are making progress toward a budget deal to prevent a partial federal shutdown this weekend, a major hurdle overcome when President Donald Trump signaled he would put off his demand that the measure include money to build his border wall with Mexico. Republicans are also vetting proposed changes to their beleaguered health care bill that they hope will attract enough votes to finally push it through the House.

Dems say Trump can avert shutdown risk if he relents on wall

In this April 5, 2017 file photo, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York takes a question during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. President Donald Trump could avert the risk of a government shutdown next weekend by stepping back from his demand that lawmakers fund his promised border wall with Mexico in a must-pass spending bill, Congress' two top Democrats said Monday, April 24, 2017.

White House talks tough on wall funding ahead of spending fight

The White House appeared ready to go to the mat for its planned Mexican border wall in this week's must-pass spending bill, setting up a clash with Democrats that may make a government shutdown at week's end more likely. "The Democrats don't want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang members," President Donald Trump said in previewing the budget fight on Twitter on Sunday.

White House Appears Ready to Go to the Mat for Its Border Wall

The White House appeared ready to go to the mat for its planned Mexican border wall in this week's must-pass spending bill, setting up a clash with Democrats that may make a government shutdown at week's end more likely. "The Democrats don't want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang members," President Donald Trump said in previewing the budget fight on Twitter on Sunday.