GOP rejects call to back off gay marriage opposition

Visitors show their support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prior to his speech at Westin Town Center in Virginia Beach, Va., Monday, July 11, 2016. Visitors show their support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prior to his speech at Westin Town Center in Virginia Beach, Va., Monday, July 11, 2016.

McConnell bids to shelter GOP senators from Trump upheaval

In this Nov. 13, 2014 file photo, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, followed by Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, center, and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., leave after McConnell was chosen to be the new majority leader, on Capitol Hill in Washington. McConnell faces a nearly impossible task this election year: protecting Senate Republicans from the political upheaval of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

The Latest: Legislators, tribes demand IHS transparency

The Latest on a U.S. Senate hearing being held in South Dakota to discuss legislation aimed at fixing shortcomings at hospitals serving Native Americans : Issues of transparency and accountability have dominated the discussion at a U.S. Senate committee hearing on federal legislation aimed at fixing shortcomings at hospitals serving members of Native American tribes. The hearing Friday in Rapid City, South Dakota, of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee came as the Indian Health Service implements a series of agency-wide reforms, some of which address severe quality-of-care deficiencies recently found at hospitals on some reservations.

Once opposed, now in favour: Republicans form an orderly line to endorse Trump

Marco Rubio not so long ago insulted Donald Trump's tan, made crude insinuations about his anatomy, and dubbed him a "con man" and "the most vulgar person ever to aspire to the presidency". Yet days after Trump clinched enough delegates to become the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, the Florida senator said he would speak on the billionaire's behalf if asked, and would release his delegates to Trump at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July.

There shouldn’t be a GOP platform

The Republican National Committee on Tuesday announced that Sen. John Barrasso will head the committee tasked with crafting the party's official policy positions at the GOP convention in Cleveland. As chairman of the Republican Platform Committee, Barrasso will have the challenging task of bridging the divide between traditional GOP priorities championed by House and Senate leaders and the shifting policy stances of Donald Trump, the party's presumptive nominee.