Tribune Conversation with U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke D-El Paso on November 4, 2016

U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke said Thursday he is all but certain to make a run for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz 's seat in 2018. "I've had the chance to talk to a lot of people around the state of Texas over the last six weeks, and I will tell you, I'm very encouraged," he told The Texas Tribune on Thursday in an interview.

GOP Rep Introduces Bill Protecting Gun Rights of Military Families

On January 5, Representative Blake Farenthold introduced legislation that protects the gun rights of military families by allowing the spouses of deployed military personnel to buy guns "in the state where they live due to military orders." This legislation is needed in light of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which bars law-abiding citizens from purchasing handguns outside their state of residence.

Republicans aim to defund Planned Parenthood via Obamacare repeal

US Republicans will seek to defund US women's health care provider Planned Parenthood through a bill that repeals President Barack Obama's landmark health care reform, the top Republican in Congress said Thursday. "Planned Parenthood legislation would be in our reconciliation bill," House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters when asked how his party would attempt to defund the organization now that the White House and both chambers of Congress will be in Republican hands when Donald Trump is inaugurated president on January 20. Reconciliation is a special congressional procedure by which legislation can bypass Senate blocking tactics and need only a simply majority to pass, rather than a 60-vote supermajority in the 100-member chamber.

The fight to defund Planned Parenthood has very little to do with abortions

Anti-abortion activists hold a rally opposing federal funding for Planned Parenthood in front of the U.S. Capitol July 28, 2015 in Washington, DC. In a one-two punch, House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday that Republicans plan to defund Planned Parenthood when they try to repeal the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare.

Keith Ellison votes against GOP’s Israel resolution

Rep. Keith Ellison attends a news conference with the Congressional Progressive Caucus about the nominations for President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet in Washington on Dec. 8, 2016. U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison , who had not commented on a controversial United Nations resolution that called Israel's settlements in disputed territories "illegal," voted Thursday night against a GOP resolution that condemned it.

A Bipartisan Repudiation of President Obama

The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to condemn a United Nations resolution critical of Israeli settlements as anti-Israel and one-sided, in a rebuke of the Obama administration's decision to allow the resolution to pass. The U.N. resolution, which passed in late December 14 to 0 with an abstention from the United States, declares Israeli settlements a "flagrant violation under international law" and describes east Jerusalem and the Western Wall as "occupied Palestinian territory."

US House passes motion repudiating UN resolution on Israel

The US House of Representatives passed a scathing rebuke Thursday night to a United Nations Security Council resolution the Obama administration allowed through last month that condemned Israeli settlements as illegal. House Resolution 11 declared the UN motion a "one-sided" effort that is an obstacle to peace, placing disproportionate blame on Israel for the continuation of the conflict and encouraging Palestinians from engaging in direct, bilateral negotiations.

Top Democrat Would Support Challenge to Electoral Vote Certification

The second-ranking House Democrat, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, would support an effort to challenge certification of the votes that will formally put Trump in the White House on Friday, he told ABC News Political Director Rick Klein on the Powerhouse Politics podcast. Congress is slated to count the Electoral College ballots to officially elect Donald Trump as President on Friday, but a few House Democrats, led by Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado, are weighing options to protest the Electoral College votes.

Activists Prepare For Congress To Count Electoral Votes

At least one organization organization argues that "just among Republican electors, there are at least 50 electoral votes that were not regularly given or not lawfully certified." The Electoral College may have voted to name Donald Trump president weeks ago, but there are some protesters still fighting back.

Liberal Dem seeks to upend VA establishment with governor run

Democrat Tom Perriello Thursday joined the 2017 race for governor in Virginia, promising to make sure the commonwealth acts as a firewall to Republican President-elect Trump. Perriello, a former congressman with ties to President Obama , is challenging Lt.

Massachusetts Dem Rep says she’s boycotting inauguration of…

Democratic U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark says she will not be attending the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump because she doesn't want to "normalize" the "bigoted, misogynist, anti-Semitic, and racist" things he has said. TheHill.com reported Thursday on a Boston Globe report that Clark is the one Democratic elected official from Massachusetts who has chosen to boycott the inauguration.

IL: High-Speed Rail Road Closures Nearly Finished

The current closure at College Avenue and Mulberry Street is the only remaining long-term closure, said City Manager Mark Peterson - and that intersection is expected to re-open next month, though it will close again temporarily in the spring. "There will be some short-term closures on some of the other crossings while they're finishing the signal work," he said.

When It Comes To Russia, So Far Donald Trump Mostly Stands Alone

The Republican Party has embraced President-elect Donald Trump's positions on immigration, trade, the deficit and conflicts of interest, but when it comes to Russia, Trump and his party are not even close to being on the same page. Trump has repeatedly and consistently expressed admiration for Vladimir Putin and has refused to accept intelligence community findings that Russia hacked Democratic Party emails during the campaign.

Cruz pushes to move US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

Republican Senator Ted Cruz submitted a bill proposal to the new US Congress on its very first day calling for the United States to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's eternal and undivided capital and to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Texan senator's bill, which was also sponsored by Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Nevada Senator Dean Heller, includes an article that suggests Congress would delay the transfer of budgets to the State Department until the move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is done.

Fact Check: Once Again, Lawmakers Are Stretching The Facts On Obamacare

Kesha Wilson holds her 1-year-old son, Kamiyan Cooper, while family nurse practitioner Terrance James makes notes as part of an examination, at a county health center in Portland, Ore., in 2012. President Obama and Vice President-elect Mike Pence were both on Capitol Hill Wednesday, making competing cases for and against Obama's signature health care law.

Bay Area police unions call for removal of painting depicting cops as pig-like creatures

"Untitled #1" by David Pulphus has drawn criticism from Bay Area police unions who say it depicts officers as warthog-like creatures. The acrylic painting was selected as the winner of Missouri Congressman William Lacy Clay's 16th annual Congressional Art Competition last spring.