GOP senator: FBI agent’s political text messages don’t taint all of Robert Mueller’s investigation

A Republican senator disagreed with people from his own party who've said special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election is completely compromised because of anti-President Trump texts sent by one agent involved. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said on CBS' "Face The Nation" Sunday the investigation isn't totally tainted because one agent - kicked off of the probe in July - sent texts critical of Trump in 2016.

Tax reforms could hurt charitable giving, experts say

While national groups worry the Senate tax bill passed Saturday may hurt charitable giving, some local charities have confidence locals' generosity will prevail. "The people who give big are still going to give big, and the people who make are making that donation from the heart," said Steve Mallinckrodt, director of SERVE, Inc. "I don't think a new tax law will change that."

Senate edges closer to passing sweeping tax-reform bill

Telling reporters we have the votes, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to the chamber after a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers to advance the stalled GOP overhaul of the tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. Telling reporters we have the votes, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to the chamber after a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers to advance the stalled GOP overhaul of the tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017.

Republican deficit hawks vanish as Senate races to pass tax bill

The Republican chase for a rare political and policy win with passage of their tax plan has thinned the ranks of the party's deficit hawks. The last one standing in the Senate chamber was Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, and he was resigned to defeat.

Senate tax trigger is said to allow $350B increase

Senate Republicans are discussing adding provisions to their tax bill that could trigger up to $350 billion in automatic tax increases over 10 years beginning in 2022, according to two people briefed by congressional staff members on the plan. A third person familiar with the emerging proposal confirmed the details.

Senate tax drama intensifies as bill faces key panel vote

President Donald Trump's drive to overhaul the U.S. tax code headed toward a new drama on Tuesday in the Senate, where a pair of Republican lawmakers demanded changes to the party's tax bill in exchange for their help in moving the measure forward. Trump was due to lobby Republicans at their weekly policy luncheon in the U.S. Capitol, with the Senate poised for a possible vote on tax legislation as early as Thursday.

Senators consider automatic tax hikes if federal revenue falls short

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER and MARCY GORDON Associated Press WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans are considering a trigger that would automatically increase taxes if their sweeping legislation fails to generate as much revenue as they expect.

Brian Kilmeade, Fox Radio, on Roy Moore latest: a I would kick his head ina

During discussion with Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma about a woman who alleged Alabama's Moore called her high school to ask her for a date - at a time when Moore was in his 30s - Brian Kilmeade, on his Fox News Radio show, went this side of blunt and said: If that were my daughter, I'd kick Moore in the head. His words, noted by the Hill: "I would kick his head in if was one of my daughters, and then I would call the cops," Kilmeade said, speaking of Moore and calling the senate candidate's alleged contact of the girl at high school an "obscene" behavior.

Fox News host on Roy Moore: ‘I’d kick his head in if it was one of my daughters’

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade said the alleged behavior by Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore was "obscene" and he'd take dramatic action if a 30-year-old man attempted to date one of his daughters. "I would kick his head in if it was one of my daughters, and then I would call the cops," Kilmeade said on Friday's "Brian Kilmeade Show" on Fox News Radio.

Tax Reform Bill Should Honor Free Speech of Churches and Charities

As Congress considers the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act this week, National Religious Broadcasters welcomed efforts to lift the free speech burden of the infamous "Johnson Amendment" off of all charitable organizations. NRB believes the Free Speech Fairness Act unshackles basic expression, a priceless bedrock principle of our nation, without allowing charities to become conduits for targeted political expenditures.

Deficit worries complicate path for Republican tax cuts

Unease among Republicans about a massive increase in the federal deficit could complicate passage of two tax-cut bills working their way through the U.S. Congress, endangering President Donald Trump's top legislative priority. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan budget watchdog in Washington, on Friday called a Senate Republican tax plan a "fatally flawed budget buster," likening it to Republican legislation in the House of Representatives that the House tax committee has approved.

GOP: Mueller investigation won’t derail tax plans

News of the first indictments in the investigation by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller captivated Capitol Hill on Monday night, just as Republicans were putting the finishing touches on their long-awaited tax bill. House Republicans are expected to release their tax bill Wednesday afternoon after months of work, but the already tough job of passing tax reform could get harder if the President -- the most popular and visible voice within the GOP -- grows distracted by the latest Russia investigation developments and allows it to overshadow the legislative work being done on Capitol Hill.

GOP senators call on ATF for new bump fire stock guidance

At least 12 of the weapons found in Stephen Paddock's Las Vegas hotel room were outfitted with bump stocks, which allowed the semi-automatic weapons to mimic the gunfire of automatic ones. - Nine Republican senators sent a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Friday asking the agency to review its policy on bump fire stocks, a firearm accessory that allows semi-automatic weapons to fire more like automatic ones.

White House to release immigration demands to Congress by next week

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced Thursday that President Trump will roll out his priorities for immigration reform by next Wednesday. "The president will be laying out his responsible immigration plan over the next week," Sanders told reporters during the briefing.

Sasse calls out Richard Spencer in tweetstorm

Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse slammed white supremacist Richard Spencer in a tweetstorm Thursday night, calling Spencer's ideas "un-American poison." The series of tweets started after Sasse posted a Reuters article Wednesday on remarks by Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford, who alleged Wednesday that Russian internet trolls, in an effort to polarize Americans, helped fuel debate over President Donald Trump's comments criticizing NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem.

Russian trolls used social media to fuel NFL national anthem debate, Senator says

Sen. James Lankford said Russian trolls used social media to bolster the debate on NFL players protesting the national anthem. Russian internet trolls have been actively working to fuel the controversy over NFL players kneeling or sitting during the national anthem in a bid to stir up divisions in the United States, a Republican Senator said Wednesday.

US House, Senate inviting social media giants to testify

The House and Senate intelligence committees are inviting tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet - the parent company of Google - to appear for public hearings as part of their investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, The Associated Press has learned. The House intelligence committee is planning to hold a hearing in October and the Senate intelligence committee has invited witnesses to appear Nov. 1. The announcements of public hearings come the day before Twitter is scheduled to hold closed-door staff briefings with both panels.

Senators Lankford, Tillis To Introduce Legislation Addressing Undocumented Children

Senators James Lankford and Thom Tillis will hold a press conference Monday to announce the introduction of merit-based legislation that addresses the uncertain legal status of undocumented children. On September 5, the President ended the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals Executive Order program with a six-month delay, and called on "Congress to finally act."