Senate confirms Pentagon official Robert Wilkie to lead VA – Mon, 23 Jul 2018 PST

The Senate easily confirmed Robert Wilkie on Monday as the 10th secretary of Veterans Affairs, elevating the top Pentagon official and Washington insider to lead an agency that serves a key constituency for President Donald Trump but has floundered amid political infighting. The 86-to-9 bipartisan vote, with Democrats casting nearly all of the no votes, was without the drama of other Cabinet confirmations in the Trump administration.

Democratic socialism surging in Trump era

A week ago, Maine Democrat Zak Ringelstein wasn't quite ready to consider himself a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, even if he appreciated the organization's values and endorsement in his bid to become a U.S. senator. Three days later, he told The Associated Press it was time to join up.

Democratic socialism rising in the age of Trump

A week ago, Maine Democrat Zak Ringelstein wasn't quite ready to consider himself a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, even if he appreciated the organization's values and endorsement in his bid to become a U.S. senator. Three days later, he told The Associated Press it was time to join up.

Detaining immigrant kids is now a billion-dollar industry

Detaining immigrant children has morphed into a surging industry in the U.S. that now reaps $1 billion annually - a tenfold increase over the past decade, an Associated Press analysis finds. Health and Human Services grants for shelters, foster care and other child welfare services for detained unaccompanied and separated children soared from $74.5 million in 2007 to $958 million dollars in 2017.

Democratic Senators Among Hundreds at Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court Nomination Protests

Because publicity had surrounded Kavanaugh's nomination, activists were able to print and distribute "Stop Kavanaugh" signs for the Supreme Court protests shortly after the announcement, as documented by , the Center for American Progress convened a rally at the Supreme Court, where several high-profile Democratic senators spoke following the announcement. Senators Elizabeth Warren , Bernie Sanders , Cory Booker , and Kirsten Gillibrand were among those voicing their opposition to Kavanaugh.

2020 White House contendersrace to oppose Trump s pick

Several Democratic senators considered contenders for the partyA s 2020 White House nomination quickly came out in opposition to Brett Kavanaugh, President TrumpA s Supreme Court pick. Democratic Sens. Cory Booker , Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand were among the senators who said on Monday night that they would oppose Kavanaugh.

The top 15 Democratic presidential candidates for 2020, ranked

In this June 16, 2017, file photo, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu speaks in Washington on race in America and his decision to take down Confederate monuments in his city. FILE - In this June 16, 2017, file photo, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu speaks in Washington on race in America and his decision to take down Confederate monuments in his city.

The Democrats’ Socialist Meltdown

The skies over America the Beautiful were filled with fireworks, and the Twittersphere was filled with three Democratic senators blowing themselves up. My U.S. Senator Kamal Harris, Massachusetts's Elizabeth Warren and New York's Kirsten Gillibrand spent their holiday week attacking President Trump in speeches and tweets.

Pence defends immigration agency, rips Democrats

Vice President Mike Pence is defending federal immigration authorities charged with detaining and deporting migrants entering the country illegally, and he's accusing Democrats of making opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement the "center" of their party. In a speech at the agency's headquarters, Pence says Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio have called for the abolition of ICE.

The liberal stampede to abolish ICE

Before last week, these were the mindless slogans of an infantile left, seen on signs at rallies to abolish ICE, the agency that arrests and deports criminal aliens who have no right to be in our country. By last week, however, "Abolish ICE!" was no longer the exclusive slogan of the unhinged left.

Trump paints Democrats as a radical lefta over calls to abolish ICE

Several potential 2020 presidential hopefuls are signaling a shift to the progressive left by calling for the end of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and now President Donald Trump is using that rhetoric as a rallying cry. In several tweets over the weekend, Trump painted Democrats as the "radical left" and said without ICE, crime would be "rampant and uncontrollable."

The Latest: Warren says Trump is ‘not the king’

The Latest on the looming battle to choose a successor for retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy : Senator Elizabeth Warren says the country is in a perilous state with Republicans controlling the executive and legislative branches and President Donald Trump about to make his second Supreme Court nomination. The Massachusetts Democrat spoke at a rally Thursday in front of the Supreme Court, saying, "People around this country are worried and they're right to worry."

New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand, Bill de Blasio echo progressive calls to ‘abolish ICE’

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio both called for the dismantling of ICE this week amid backlash over President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" immigration policy. "I don't think ICE today is working as intended," Gillibrand said on CNN Thursday evening.

With 2020 approaching, some Democrats call to “abolish ICE”

Several prominent Democrats who are mulling a bid for the White House in 2020 have sought to bolster their progressive credentials by calling for major changes to immigration enforcement, with some pressing for the outright abolition of the federal government's chief immigration enforcement agency. President Trump responded on Twitter Saturday that it will "never happen!" Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, has "become a deportation force," telling CNN late Thursday "you should get rid of it, start over, reimagine it and build something that actually works."

Concern over using US military to help border…

The Trump administration's request for the Pentagon to house migrants detained at the U.S. southern border and even help prosecute them is prompting concern about strains to the military. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who has made it his top priority to improve the military's fitness for combat, argues that the Pentagon is nonetheless obliged to provide help with border enforcement.