School Choice ‘Is What Winning for Young Children’ Looks Like in DC

President Donald Trump signaled his support for education choice at a Wednesday event celebrating the achievements of charter school students and school voucher recipients in the nation's capital. It was an honor to be at this White House event to watch Trump, along with Vice President Mike Pence and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, applaud the students who participate in the District of Columbia's school choice programs.

Heritage Foundation board ousts president Jim DeMint

The board of the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday ousted president Jim DeMint after days of turmoil and internal debate, blaming him for management and communication problems that have roiled the venerable conservative think tank. Thomas A. Saunders III, chairman of the Heritage Foundation's Board of Trustees, said in a statement that the 22-member board unanimously requested and received the resignation of DeMint, the firebrand former senator from South Carolina.

Congress reaches budget deal to fund government through Sept.

In this April 4, 2017, file photo, the Capitol is seen at dawn in Washington. Top Capitol Hill negotiators are reporting progress toward a long-sought agreement on a massive $1 trillion-plus spending bill that would fund the day-to-day operations of virtually every federal agency through Oct. 1. The House and Senate have until Friday at midnight to pass the measure to avert a government shutdown.

Request for hair testing in drug screening draws mixed reactions

Psychemedics, a company that conducts drug testing, cited a 38% decrease in accidents in Brazil since that nation mandated hair testing for all commercial drivers in its comments. A number of trucking industry groups and motor carriers expressed support for using hair samples instead of urine when testing for drugs during pre-employment screenings of truck drivers.

Attorneys general: Restore guidance to aid student borrowers

Attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia are faulting Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for rolling back Obama-era guidance they say is helping protect student loan borrowers. In a letter sent Monday, Democratic attorneys general Maura Healey of Massachusetts and Lisa Madigan of Illinois called on DeVos to restore the memos instituted by the Education Department last year under former President Barack Obama.

Possible shutdown, health care quagmire awaiting Congress

Lawmakers returning to Washington this coming week will find a familiar quagmire on health care legislation and a budget deadline dramatized by the prospect of a protracted battle between President Donald Trump and Democrats over his border wall. Trump's GOP allies control Congress, but they've been unable to send him a single major bill as his presidency faces the symbolic 100-day mark on April 29 - the very day when the government, in a worst-case scenario, could shut down.

‘Drain the swamp’ more a Trump slogan than a practice so far

The leader of a bipartisan good-government group, Zach Wamp, headed to the White House last week to ask whether President Donald Trump's "drain the swamp" slogan would ever be more than a throwaway campaign slogan. One of the president's closest aides, Steve Bannon, assured him it's a priority.

Trump secrecy moves threaten his ‘drain the swamp’ pledge

The leader of a bipartisan good-government group, Zach Wamp, headed to the White House last week to ask whether President Donald Trump's "drain the swamp" slogan would ever be more than a throwaway campaign slogan. One of the president's closest aides, Steve Bannon, assured him it's a priority.

Washington lawmakers pass bill for two-tier licensing

Washington lawmakers reached agreement Thursday on a two-tiered licensing system that seeks to bring Washington state into compliance with federal identification requirements. With final passage of the measure, lawmakers end a multiyear struggle over how to best comply with the REAL ID Act, a 2005 federal law that requires state driver's licenses and ID cards to have security enhancements and be issued to people who can prove they are legally in the United States.

This Is What Happens When You Try To Get Congress High

That was one of many questions surrounding an event held Thursday just one block from the U.S. Senate. Local marijuana advocacy organization DCMJ was marking the unofficial cannabis holiday on April 20 - better known as 4/20 - by handing out free joints to members of Congress and their staffs.

Republicans eye new Obamacare repeal attempt as early as Wednesday, report says

The White House is eyeing Wednesday as a target date for a vote on an Obamacare repeal and replacement bill, according to a report, but a Republican aide on Capitol Hill said there is no text of a bill yet. The Washington Post's Robert Costa tweeted that a top White House official said aides to President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans will circulate revised language on a health-care bill Thursday evening.

Order your beer in peace: D.C. licenses will no longer say ‘District of Columbia’

The entrance to the Georgetown branch of the District of Columbia's Department of Motor Vehicles. The agency is ditching "District of Columbia" from driver's licenses after confusion that led to residents struggling to order beers and board planes.

Federal tax bill hits hardest in District of Columbia

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Michael Hayden, former CIA director: Russiaa s election hacking wasna t an a act of wara

Russia 's involvement in last year's White House race was no "act of war," former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden said Tuesday, discounting claims raised across Washington amid lingering accusations over Moscow's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential race. "I would never use that term," the retired four-star Air Force general told The Hill in an interview Tuesday, separating himself from a growing list of Democrats and Republicans who claim Russia committed an "act of war" by interfering in last year's presidential election.

6 things to watch for at the AIPAC policy conference

AIPAC's byword is bipartisanship and, as we reported this week, that's a hard sell in the increasingly polarized Trump era . Still, AIPAC remains the preeminent pro-Israel lobby and its conferences have been a reliable weathervane of where US Middle East policy is headed for the next six months.

Federal threats to Colorado’s aid-in-dying law

Last month, former House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., voted against a bill in committee that would overturn the District of Columbia's Death with Dignity Act that authorizes medical aid in dying as an option for terminally ill adults to end unbearable suffering. Yet, Rep. Issa said he opposed medical aid-in-dying laws, including Colorado's End-of-Life Options Act, and urged Congress to develop additional "national safeguards" for these laws.

Many governors welcome demise of GOP health care bill

In this Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017 file photo, Gov. Brian Sandoval receives a standing ovation at the conclusion of his state of the state address at the Legislative Building in Carson City, Nev. Failure of the Republican bill to overhaul Obama's health care law is welcomed by many governors, primarily in states that had expanded Medicaid.

Perspective: What college teaches young conservatives

In the best-case scenarios, several Republicans now working in Washington told me that being a conservative in overwhelmingly liberal places sharpened their critical thinking skills, moderated some of their views and tempered their youthful arrogance. But life on the defensive can also foster a kind of ideological contrarianism that can curdle into reactionary politics.