Shutdown clock ticking, GOP struggling for spending deal

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., speaks in his office just after final approval of the Republican rewrite of the tax code, during an interview with The Associated Press at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017. Ryan defied skeptics who thought his party would never get the sweeping tax overhaul bill to President Donald Trump's desk by Christmas.

Amata highlights Veterans legislation in final committee votes of 2017

Washington, D.C .- Congresswoman Aumua Amata highlighted veterans' legislation that passed the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the Committee's final votes of 2017. The bill was introduced in early November with the support of Congresswoman Amata as an original cosponsor of the legislative effort, and strengthened by an amendment in markup to better assess health care in U.S. territories, including American Samoa.

Senator expects January vote on fate of young immigrants

Republican Sen. Jeff Flake said Wednesday that party leaders have assured him the Senate will vote in January on bipartisan legislation to protect certain young immigrants from deportation. Flake, who had pressed for a guarantee during talks for his support on the tax bill, said in a statement he was pleased that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was committed to bringing the immigration bill "we are currently negotiating to the Senate floor in January."

GOP Poised For Tax Victory, After A Brief Delay

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, arrive at the press conference after the Senate passed the GOP tax bill early Wednesday morning. Congress is set to deliver on the first major GOP legislative accomplishment of the Trump era on Wednesday, as the House takes a final vote on a $1.5 trillion tax package that cuts individual rates for eight years and slashes corporate taxes to 21 percent permanently.

Manchin says tax plan is “not a responsible way;” Capito, Mooney disagree

For the first in more than 30 years, major changes to the U.S. tax code are on track to become law as early as the New Year. A final vote in the U.S. House on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Republican Party of Texas to remove Farenthold from primary ballot

The Republican Party of Texas announced today they have granted Congressman Blake Farenthold's request to have his name removed from the list of candidates seeking the Republican nomination for Congressional District 27. In a hearing yesterday morning, the party made a motion to dismiss the case it filed to omit Farenthold's name from the ballot. The party made the motion after attorneys representing the Secretary of State's office affirmed that the state does not have the authority to compel the party to place a name on the ballot.

The Latest: Ryan says tax cut needed to keep businesses home

House Speaker Paul Ryan is acknowledging "nobody knows" if the sweeping tax cuts Congress is enacting will produce enough economic growth to fend off soaring federal deficits. Making the rounds of morning television news shows, the Wisconsin Republican known as a deficit hawk suggested it's a risk that Republicans are willing to take.

Transgender intern: Rep. Lujan Grisham sent a fakea letter

A transgender former intern says an apology letter from her to Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico is a fake. Riley Del Rey told The Associated Press on Tuesday she never wrote the letter and Lujan Grisham's office is circulating the bogus letter to divert attention from claims the congresswoman fired her because she is transgender.

Senate Approves GOP Tax Plan, House to Revote Wednesday

In a vote in the early Wednesday morning hours, the Senate approved the final version of the first overhaul of the US tax code in more than 30 years, handing President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans their most significant legislative victory of 2017. The bill passed along party lines, 51-48 with the final result announced by Vice President Mike Pence who presided over the vote.

This could be why Chris Christie is suddenly pointing the finger at Jared Kushner

Chris Christie made news Tuesday for saying Jared Kushner "deserves to be scrutinized" by special counsel Robert Mueller - but there's another reason he may be dangerous to President Donald Trump. The outgoing New Jersey governor stressed that he's not accusing Kushner of breaking the law, but he said Trump's son-in-law would certainly draw the interest of Mueller and his team of prosecutors.

Connect to CongressSenate moves tax cut legislation to brink of final passage

Jubilant Republicans pushed on early Wednesday to the verge of the most sweeping rewrite of the nation's tax laws in more than three decades , a deeply unpopular bill they insist Americans will learn to love when they see their paychecks in the new year. President Donald Trump cheered the lawmakers on, eager to claim his first major legislative victory.

House and Senate approve Trump’s massive tax overhaul, but last-minute glitch delays final passage

The House and Senate approved the most significant overhaul of the tax code in three decades, but Republicans will have to clear one more legislative hurdle before they can claim their first major legislative win and deliver the $1.5 trillion package to President Trump before Christmas, as he requested. The GOP's sweeping tax measure hit a glitch late Tuesday afternoon in the Senate when the parliamentarian ruled that three minor provisions included in the House-passed bill did not comply with the Senate's strict budget rules.

Will Eye Care Lobbyists Retain Their Consumer Rights Loophole?

Despite the efforts of many to "drain the swamp" of special interests, lobbyists are still making gains in President Donald J. Trump's Washington. While members of the House of Representatives are showing progress in fact-checking special interests' claims, crony influence peddlers still have one piece of valuable leverage on their side: the limited time on members' clocks.

NY Times Mounts Sexist Attacks Against Sen. Susan Collins For Her Tax Bill Support

On Tuesday, Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins bitterly attacked the press's coverage of her ultimate decision to support the GOP's tax bill. Though Collins didn't name a media outlet in her criticism, the New York Times was primary purveyor of now-popular leftist memes, which Collins characterized as "unbelievably sexist," that she was "duped" by party leadership, and that she was so hard-hearted that she wasn't "brought to tears" by protesting Mainers who met with her last week.

11 blue state Republicans vote against tax bill

Twelve House Republicans, including 11 who hail from districts in states won by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, voted against the GOP's ambitious $1.5 trillion measure that rewrites the nation's tax code. The 11 blue state Republicans who voted no are all from California, New York or New Jersey, and represent mostly suburban districts that Democrats are targeting in their quest to retake the House in the 2018 midterm elections.