Sen. Jeff Flake, a key holdout, announces support for Brett Kavanaugh

Phoenix prosecutor Rachel Mitchell questions Christine Blasey Ford as Senators, from left, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, listen during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Manchin, Capito Introduce Nuclear Energy Act

Led by Senators Lisa Murkowski and Cory Booker , additional co-sponsors include Senators James Risch , Mike Crapo , Richard Durbin , Sheldon Whitehouse , and Chris Coons . S. 3422, the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act , will help reestablish U.S. leadership in nuclear energy by launching robust public-private partnerships among the federal government, leading research institutions, and the best industry innovators.

Senate panel to vote on Kraninger’s CFPB nomination

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on the nomination of Kathy Kraninger to become director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau among a slate of six nominees considered by the panel. Kraninger, a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget, has been heavily criticized by Democrats on the panel over her ties to the administration's family-separation policy at the border.

Trump’s pick to run consumer watchdog faces skeptical Senate Source: AP

Kathy Kraninger, President Donald Trump's nominee to take over the nation's watchdog for banks, credit cards and payday lenders, made her public debut in front of the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, where she is facing extremely hostile questioning from Senate Democrats. President Trump nominated Kraninger on June 18 to replace Mick Mulvaney, Trump's budget director, who has been acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since late November.

Congress OKs Sweeping Rewrite of Dodd-Frank

The House voted Tuesday to give final congressional approval to a sweeping rewrite of the nation's banking rules that would roll back key elements of Dodd-Frank but still leave most of that 2010 law on the books. The White House said earlier this week that President Donald Trump would sign into law the "Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act ," which won House approval 258-159 as 33 Democrats and 225 Republicans voted for the bill.

U.S. Department of the INTERIORInterior Approves Final Two Segments…

Interior Approves Final Two Segments of Gateway West Power Line Transmission line will create jobs and provide more reliable power to the Western U.S. The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management has approved routes for segments of the Gateway West electric transmission line project on public lands in southwestern Idaho, connecting previously authorized routes in southern Wyoming and eastern Idaho. The project will improve the nation's energy infrastructure and boost the economy in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West.

Editorials from around Oregon

For five years, Sen. Ron Wyden has pushed Congress to address how U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management leaders often must divert money from other programs, including fire prevention and forest management budgets, to cover the increasingly high cost of fighting massive wildfires. The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act was a part of the $1.3 trillion federal spending package passed by federal lawmakers and signed by the president late last month.

Deregulating Wall Street Sets the Stage for More Bailouts

Wednesday evening, the U.S. Senate approved S. 2155, legislation that deregulates Wall Street, on a vote of 67-31. The bill was authored by U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo , chair of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and contains more than 40 provisions that include deregulation of banks with as much as $250 billion in assets, erasure of reporting requirements meant to combat racial discrimination in lending, permission for certain banks to speculate with depositor funds and many others.

Dem split intensifies as Senate relief bill moves forward

On the eve of a crucial Senate vote on regulatory relief, the split in the Democratic caucus over rolling back the Dodd-Frank Act has never been starker. Lawmakers on Tuesday voted 67 to 32 to begin debating the targeted relief bill that Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, negotiated with moderate Democrats on the panel.

Senate votes 67-32 to begin debate on bank bill

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted 67-32 in favor of beginning to debate a bipartisan bill that would ease rules for mid-sized and small lenders introduced following the 2007-2009 financial crisis. FILE PHOTO: Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Mike Crapo hearing listens to testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen on the "Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 14, 2017.

Senate dominoes from Hatch retirement could give Crapo a shot at coveted Finance chair

The news that longtime Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch will retire, rather than seek another term, not only is drawing attention to a possible Mitt Romney run to replace Hatch; it's also focusing attention on Senate seniority dominoes and chairmanships. Hatch chairs the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees taxes, trade, health care and entitlements.

Fed chair nominee Powell pledges to a respond decisivelya to economic threats

The U.S. Federal Reserve should "respond decisively" to any new economic crisis, Fed chair nominee Jerome Powell told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, positioning himself as an heir to the central bank policies of current chair Janet Yellen and her predecessor Ben Bernanke. At his confirmation hearing before the banking panel, President Trump's nominee to take over as Fed chair endorsed the core ideas that have defined U.S. central banking since the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009 - a willingness to move aggressively against a downturn, and an insistence on flexibility and independence from political influence in setting policy.

Jerome Powell’s hearing for Fed chairman set for Nov. 28

The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled its confirmation hearing for Jerome Powell's nomination to be chairman of the Federal Reserve for Nov. 28. Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said in a statement that he had a positive meeting on Wednesday with Powell and called him "well-equipped to lead our economy and the country in a positive direction." Powell, who has been a member of the Fed's board since 2012, was nominated last week for the top job by President Donald Trump, who decided against selecting current Fed Chair Janet Yellen for a second term.