Trump: VA pick may want to step aside

Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President Donald Trump's choice to be secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, leaves a Senate office building after meeting individually with some members of the committee that would vet him for the post, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 24, 2018.

The Latest: Watchdog: VA nominee Jackson was unprofessional

Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, center, President Donald Trump's choice to be secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, walks down a stairwell to avoid reporters and cameras as he leaves a Senate office building after meeting individually with some members of the committee that would vet him for the post, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, ... (more)

VA nominee Ronny Jackson in jeopardy as Senate delays hearing amid ‘serious allegations’

WASHINGTON President Trump's nomination of Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs is in peril as the Senate delayed his confirmation hearing amid concerns about his record.

Senate panel approves Mike Pompeo as secretary of State after Rand Paul flips to support

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved CIA Director Mike Pompeo as secretary of State on party lines Monday after a Republican holdout changed his mind at the last minute, avoiding an embarrassing defeat for President Donald Trump. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky had vowed to oppose Pompeo, but Paul tweeted shortly before the vote that after speaking repeatedly to the nominee and Trump he was convinced Pompeo now agreed with the president that "the Iraq war was a mistake and it is time to leave Afghanistan," two of the congressman's key concerns.

Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander, Johnny Isakson just endorsed Grassley’s immigration amendment

Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Johnny Isakson of Georgia quietly endorsed Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley's, R-Iowa, White House-aligned immigration amendment late Wednesday. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., one of the co-sponsors of the Grassley amendment, announced on PBS Newshour that his Georgia colleague and another conservative lawmaker would vote in support of a proposal that is in line with President Trump's list of immigration policy agenda items in return for giving a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and 1 million other illegal immigrants.

U.S. passes landmark tax bill: What it means and what it does to Canada

In the dying hours of debate, with the United States poised to pass its most sweeping tax reform in decades - including far-reaching provisions touching health care, the economy and the national debt - a senator mentioned how it would also reach the northern neighbour, Canada. "We're not gonna have any more pharmaceutical companies buying donut-makers in Canada and move their headquarters to get a lower tax rate," said Sen. Johnny Isakson, in a slightly bungled reference to Burger King buying Tim Hortons and relocating north.

500+ Marchers Join Atlanta Rally Against Ethnic Cleansing in Burma

The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations today thanked the more than 500 Georgians who joined an Atlanta march yesterday against the Burmese government's ongoing ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims. During the march, which included almost 200 members of Georgia's Burmese community, activists called on Georgia senators David Perdue and Johnny Isakson to join Senator John McCain in supporting a Senate resolution that would condemn the Burmese government's violence.

VA reform laws are rare legislative bright spot in 2017 for Trump, Congress

As President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed another bill into law that was designed to make internal reforms at the Department of Veterans Affairs, it was a fresh reminder that one of the few areas of legislative success for Congress and the Trump Administration in 2017 has come on a subject that has drawn strong bipartisan cooperation, with the simple goal of ensuring better treatment for the nation's veterans. "To fulfill our great patriotic duties, we must take care of our great veterans," the President said in a speech to the American Legion in Reno, Nevada, where he later signed into law a bill that modernizes the benefits claims appeals process at the VA, to help speed decisions for veterans.

Congress OKs Big Boost in GI Bill College Aid for Veterans

Congress sent President Donald Trump legislation to provide the biggest expansion of college aid for military veterans in a decade. The Senate cleared the bill by voice vote on Wednesday, passing the second piece of legislation aimed at addressing urgent problems at the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs in as many days.

Continue reading Congress OKs boost in GI Bill college aid for veterans

Congress sent President Donald Trump legislation to provide the biggest expansion of college aid for military veterans in a decade. The Senate cleared the bill by voice vote on Wednesday, passing the second piece of legislation aimed at addressing urgent problems at the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs in as many days.

Senate OKs bills to address VA budget crisis, claims backlog

The Senate approved a pair of bills Tuesday taking aim at urgent problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, clearing a $3.9 billion emergency spending package to fix a looming budget crisis and adopting new measures to pare down a rapidly growing backlog of veterans' disability claims. The spending package provides $2.1 billion to continue funding the Veterans Choice Program, which allows veterans to receive private medical care at government expense.

House Moves to Fill VA’s Budget Gap Despite Vets’ Objections

The Republican-led House is moving to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to shift $2 billion from other programs to cover a sudden budget shortfall in its Choice program of private-sector care. But the plan was meeting resistance from many Democrats following stiff protests from veterans' groups.