Large number of GOP senators skipping Trump’s convention

In this July 7, 2015, file photo, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, A large number of GOP senators are skipping next week's convention in Cleveland, citing a range of prior commitments, from fly-fishing to lawn-mowing. Although a majority of the Republican senators do plan to attend, the level of absenteeism is high as Donald Trump prepares to claim the Republican Party's nomination.

Majority of GOP senators to attend Trump convention

A majority of Senate Republicans will be attending the party's national convention in Cleveland this month, despite the reservations that many of them have about Donald Trump Trump campaign gains complicated by internal struggles Criminal sentencing bill tests McConnell-Grassley relationship Trump, Clinton struggle to take advantage of other's failures MORE A survey by The Hill found that 32 Senate Republicans plan to attend the convention in Cleveland later this month, while 15 will skip it. Five Republican senators said they had not yet decided, and two did not respond.

Incumbent Senate Republicans build leads amid a substantiala ticket-splitting

Donald Trump may be down in the polls, but Republican Senate candidates are still faring relatively well, suggesting - at least for now - that they may escape being drawn down by the whirlpool that analysts predicted would drown all who surround the billionaire businessman. While presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton tops Mr. Trump in matchups in Florida, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, incumbent Senate Republicans are all ahead in polling in their own races, building significant leads.

Sanders’ campaign is over, yet Secret Service remains

Bernie Sanders is back to his old day job, trading the booming applause of his campaign rallies to the far more tedious work of the Senate. "I have a parliamentary inquiry!" Sanders shouted on the Senate floor one night last week, testing the patience of his colleagues, who were eager to leave the Capitol and start their holiday break.

Envoy: ISIS’ allure still threat to West

The threat of "lone wolf" acts of terrorism inspired by the Islamic State will persist in the West, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday, even as the extremist group loses battles and territory in the Middle East. Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the anti-Islamic State coalition, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Islamic State has always sought to strike the U.S. and other Western nations.

‘Lone wolf’ terror attacks inspired by IS to persist in West

Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. listens on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 28, 2016, as Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk, the U.S. representative to the anti-Islamic State coalition, testified before the committee.

Wisconsin Republicans still struggling with Trump

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks with reporters Tuesday, June 21, 2016, in Watertown, Wis. Walker says he thinks delegates to the Republican national convention should be able to vote their conscience, even if that means not supporting presumptive nominee Donald Trump.

FBI releases partial transcripts of calls with Orlando shooter

The FBI released a partial transcript Monday of conversations between gunman Omar Mateen and Orlando police during his deadly rampage at Pulse nightclub June 12, in which Mateen called himself an Islamic soldier and refused to cooperate with hostage negotiators. The transcript, which includes a 50-second phone conversation with police, sheds light on the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.

GOP’s Trump says US should consider profiling Muslims

Donald Trump suggested Sunday that the United States should "seriously" consider profiling Muslims inside the country as a terrorism-fighting tool, the latest example of the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting increasingly backing positions that could single out a group based on their religion. "We really have to look at profiling," Trump said in an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation."

Trump advocates profiling Muslims in US

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, takes the stage for a rally in Greensboro, N.C., June 14, 2016. Recent polls are showing that Trumpi 1 2s repeated calls for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, on the heels of the attack in Orlando, is not gaining traction among voters he will need in November.

Vulnerable Republican: Support versus endorsement

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican facing a tough re-election bid, tamped down previous comments that he would endorse the Republican nominee, saying Sunday that he was only prepared to "support" Donald Trump. "To me, 'endorsement' is a big embrace.

Orlando killer posted on Facebook during attack, raged of ‘filthy ways of the West’

Orlando gunman Omar Mateen apparently made a series of Facebook posts before and during his attack on a gay nightclub, raging against the "filthy ways of the west" and blaming the U.S. for the deaths of "innocent women and children," according to a Senate committee letter released Wednesday. The killer whose rampage left 49 people dead also searched for "Pulse Orlando" and "Shooting" online on the morning of the carnage Sunday and said on Facebook: "America and Russia stop bombing the Islamic state," according to the letter.

Some vulnerable Republican senators giving that terrorist gun ban a second look

Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, which is frightening.We must make sure his hateful rhetoric does not even... Sign if you agree: Presidents do not stop working in the final year of their term. Neither should the Senate.

The Latest: Mayor uplifted by city’s unity after shooting

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said he was uplifted by the way the community has come together during a citywide prayer service for the 49 people who were killed in a nightclub shooting over the weekend. More than a thousand people - including many clergy and local, state and national civic leaders - met Tuesday night at First Baptist Orlando to hold a vigil for the victims of the early Sunday morning shooting at the Pulse nightclub.

Senate Homeland Security Chair: – Islamic Terrorists’ Are – Root Cause’ of Airport Waits

Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson says the "root cause" of long wait times in U.S. airports is the ongoing threat to the nation's aviation system from Islamic terrorists. "We have to understand the root cause of problem here is Islamic terrorists," Johnson said Tuesday regarding the current changes in airport security protocol made by the Transportation Security Administration that has caused tens of thousands of passengers to miss their flights..

Senate investigation finds ‘systemic’ failures at VA watchdog

The probe by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found the VA inspector general discounted key evidence and left veterans in harm's way at a VA facility in Wisconsin. Senate investigation finds 'systemic' failures at VA watchdog The probe by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found the VA inspector general discounted key evidence and left veterans in harm's way at a VA facility in Wisconsin.