US House Speaker, Trump Aides Vow Tax Reform by End of 2017

Top Republicans from Congress and the Trump administration vowed on Tuesday to complete tax reform by the end of 2017, despite party infighting and political distractions from investigations of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election. In a speech to U.S. manufacturers, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress hoped to complete the job in the autumn, with a new tax system in place by the beginning of 2018.

Republican Karen Handel wins Georgia special election in most expensive House race in US history

Karen Handel, Republican candidate for Congress, checks in for her voter card Tuesday, June 20, 2017, at the 6th District Special Election at St Mary's Orthodox Church in Roswell, Ga. Karen Handel, Republican candidate for Congress, checks in for her voter card Tuesday, June 20, 2017, at the 6th District Special Election at St Mary's Orthodox Church in Roswell, Ga.

Back to Iowa, Trump faces some disgruntled independents

In this Oct. 28, 2016, file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Iowa independents who helped Trump win the presidency see last year's tough-talking candidate as a thin-skinned chief executive and wish he'd show more grace.

In Georgia, Republicans aim to hang onto congressional seat

Rain isn't slowing down the Georgia voters who will settle the most expensive House race in U.S. history and potentially set a new course for the 2018 midterm elections. Republican Karen Handel, a veteran Georgia politician, is fighting to claim the 6th Congressional District seat that's been in her party's hands since 1979.

GOP leaders exclude most lawmakers from secret tax talks

The White House plans to privately negotiate a massive overhaul of the tax system with Republican leaders in Congress, possibly giving rank-and-file members little if any say over the finished product, a top aide to President Donald Trump said Tuesday. Gary Cohn, Trump's top economic aide, said the administration doesn't want to engage in prolonged negotiations after the package is made public this fall.

Indiana forking over $100,000 to search through Pence’s private …

The personal AOL email account that Vice President Mike Pence used to conduct official state business as governor is costing the State of Indiana $100,000 to clear a backlog of public records requests. The Associated Press obtained 'documents' from Indiana that show Pence's handpicked successor, Governor Eric Holcomb, contracted with Shelbyville law firm McNeely Stephenson to handle fifty pending public requests.

Trump slams Russia probe for looking into obstruction of justice, while Pence hires lawyer

A heightened sense of unease gripped the White House on Thursday, as President Donald Trump lashed out at reports that he's under scrutiny over whether he obstructed justice, aides repeatedly deflected questions about the probe and Vice President Mike Pence acknowledged hiring a private lawyer to handle fallout from investigations into Russian election meddling. Pence's decision to hire Richard Cullen, a Richmond, Virginia-based lawyer who previously served as a U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, came less than a month after Trump hired his own private lawyer.

The Latest: Shooting at Republican Congressional Softball Practice

House Speaker Paul Ryan has told his fellow lawmakers that "an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us." Ryan addressed the House in the wake of Wednesday's shooting at a practice of lawmakers for the annual charity congressional baseball game.

Trump: GOP baseball shooter is dead

"Authorities are continuing to investigate the crime and the assailant has now died from his injuries," Trump said from the White House. Scalise, a congressional staffer and two law enforcement officials suffered gunshot wounds after the shooter opened fire on Republican members of Congress on the baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia.

Trump transition team ordered to save materials on Russia, Ukraine: NYT

President Donald Trump's transition team has been ordered to preserve materials related to ongoing investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, the New York Times reported on Friday, as Trump again assailed the probes. Citing a memo from the general counsel's office of Trump's transition team, the Times said former members were given the order on Thursday for any information involving Russia or Ukraine in the latest sign of the investigations' expanding reach.

President Trump says House health care bill was – mean’

President Donald Trump did not pressure Republican senators to rush a new draft of the health care bill at a Tuesday meeting, sources say, but instead lamented the saga that took place on the House side, and said the bill that passed in in the lower chamber was "mean" and the Senate bill should be more "generous." "He wasn't prescribing deadlines, because I think he recognized what happened in the House wasn't good, and he wants to make sure that we have a process that proceeds in an orderly way," said Sen. John Thune, R-SD, who attended the meeting at the White House.

Trump touts investment and jobs in infrastructure push

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. center and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn R-Texas right listen to President Donald Trump left speak during Trump's meeting with House and Senate Leadership in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington Although infrastructure was initially seen as a policy priority on which Republican and Democrats could work together, Democrats have balked at Trump's plans for financing improvements, arguing they would result in taxpayer-funded corporate profits and cause costs to be offloaded onto consumers.

Pence promises end to Obamacare during Milwaukee visit

Vice President Mike Pence and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker speak during a roundtable event at Direct Supply, a medical supply on Saturday June 10, 2017 in Milwaukee. Pence promised a group of Wisconsin business leaders Saturday that the Trump administration will replace former President Barack Obama's health care law with a system that gives states greater flexibility over coverage for their residents.

HAMILTON Producer Won’t Rule Out a Visit from The Trump Family

A recent report has indicated that as a result of a public tussle with the current presidential administration, the hit Broadway show, Hamilton, has seen a drop in visits from Republican politicians. The New York Daily News reported that "Shortly after the November election, waves were made when actor Brandon Victor Dixon - who plays Vice President Aaron Burr in the show - addressed Pence at curtain call, urging him and the Trump administration 'to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.'

Democrat Jon Ossoff leads Republican rival by 7 points in conservative Georgia seat

Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff speaks to his supporters in Georgia's 6th Congressional District: Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images Democrat Jon Ossoff is leading Republican Karen Handel in the special election race for Georgia's traditionally conservative sixth district, a new poll finds. The poll, conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , shows the 30-year-old Democrat leading by seven points: 51 per cent to Ms Handel's 44. Mr Ossoff, a first-time candidate, boasts a large majority with women voters.

GOP demand for ‘Hamilton’ tix cooled after Pence visit

"Hamilton" is still the hottest ticket in town, but demand for the much-coveted seats have dropped among one sector: Republican pols. Interest from the right side of the aisle started to sag after Vice President Mike Pence's much discussed visit to the red-hot Broadway hit , Public Theater artistic director Oskar Eustis told us at the Public's annual gala at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.