Hatch blasts Bannon’s attack on Romney’s faith as – disappointing and unjustified’

AP Photo) Reporters ask questions of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the tax-writing Finance Committee, as he walks to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on the GOP effort to overhaul the tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. Washington a Sen. Orrin Hatch on Wednesday called former presidential adviser Steve Bannon's attacks on Mitt Romney's Mormon faith "disappointing and unjustified," while Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said " Utahns reject the ugly politics and tactics" of Bannon.

Alabama Senate write-in candidates losing hope as election nears

On Monday, when President Donald Trump finally endorsed Roy Moore for Senate, Mac Watson threw up his hands and fired up his grill. Watson, the co-owner of a family patio supply store, was the very first Republican to announce a write-in campaign for the seat, back when national Republicans said they'd wanted one.

On Jerusalem, Trump Will Finally Enact Whims of Congress

President Donald Trump on Wednesday will announce that he is reversing a decades-old U.S. policy by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Like Trump, previous presidents promised to make the same decision prior to being elected.

Q&A: Tax bill impacts on health law coverage and Medicare

The tax overhaul Republicans are pushing toward final votes in Congress could undermine the Affordable Care Act's health insurance markets and add to the financial squeeze on Medicare over time. Lawmakers will meet this week to resolve differences between the House- and Senate-passed bills in hopes of getting a finished product to President Donald Trump's desk around Christmas.

Lawmakers work to reconcile dueling House, Senate tax bills

Significant differences separate the massive tax packages passed by the House and Senate on estate taxes, health care and a prized deduction for home mortgage interest, though Republican leaders are confident none is insurmountable. "We're looking forward to getting a final bill to the president's desk, soon," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Monday.

RNC to support Moore in Senate race in Alabama, weeks after cutting ties with his campaign

President Trump's endorsement of Alabama Senate nominee Roy Moore on Monday prompted the Republican National Committee and a pro-Trump super PAC to re-enter the state, boosting a candidate who had been largely cut off by his party. Senate Republican leaders remained critical of Moore on Monday, warning that the former judge is likely to face an immediate ethics probe if he is elected next week.

Doug Jones says he is not focused on Trump’s endorsement of Roy Moore

Democrat Doug Jones shrugged off the news that President Trump officially endorsed his rival Republican Roy Moore in the special U.S. Senate race here in Alabama, saying his focus is on being an independent voice for the people of his home state. Mr. Trump 's endorsement is likely to boost Mr. Moore , who is trying to overcome allegations of sexual misconduct that sent other GOP leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, running for cover.

Republican leader says a ridiculousa to consider government shutdown over DACA

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., dismissed as "ridiculous" the idea among some Democrats of forcing a government shutdown if Congress doesn't resolve the issue of young undocumented immigrants facing possible deportation with the ending of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. "There's not going to be a government shutdown.

GOP plans stopgap fix to try to avoid government shutdown

Republicans are moving toward passing a two-week stopgap measure to avoid a looming government shutdown, but the path in the coming weeks is treacherous, with obstacles on both sides of the aisle as lawmakers push their own priorities, some unrelated to government spending. With government funding set to expire at the end of Friday, Republicans are aiming to buy more time so they can negotiate over a long-term spending package.

The populist mask is slipping for Trump and the GOP

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan , President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are shown in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Sept. 5. Dec. 1, 2017, will be remembered as the day when the vast majority of Americans fully grasped the consequences of the 2016 elections.

Collins says Trump transition team wrong to reach out to Russia over sanctions

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, makes her way through a crush of reporters after Republican senators met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, on the GOP effort to overhaul the tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 1, 2017. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said on Sunday that it was wrong for the Trump transition team to reach out to Russia over Obama-era sanctions imposed in response to its interference in the U.S. presidential election but that this doesn't prove collusion.

The Biggest Sticking Points Between Senate and House Tax BillsBloomberg

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan listens while Senate Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell speaks to the press after meetings with President Donald Trump at the White House on February 27, 2017. Expiring tax cuts, business perks and health care politics loom over House and Senate Republicans as they face the daunting task of hammering out the differences between their competing bills to rewrite the U.S. tax code.

Hours after Senate GOP passes bill, Trump waffles on size of corporate tax cut

Hours after the pre-dawn passage of a $1.5 trillion tax cut, President Donald Trump suggested for the first time Saturday that he would consider a higher corporate rate than the one Senate Republicans had just endorsed, in remarks that could complicate sensitive negotiations to pass a final bill. On his way to New York for three fundraisers, Trump told reporters that the corporate tax rate in the GOP plan might end up rising to 22 percent from 20 percent.

Republicans confident on clearing remaining tax plan hurdles

Congressional Republicans, buoyed by the Senate's approval of a landmark tax overhaul, expressed confidence Saturday that final legislation would be agreed upon quickly and sent to President Trump by the end of this month. While the tax bills approved by the House and the Senate diverge in significant ways, the same forces that rocketed the measures to passage appear likely to bond Republicans in the two chambers as they work to hash out the differences.

Kentucky GOP rejects governor’s call for resignations

In this Oct. 30, 2017, file photo, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, speaks at the dedication ceremony for the new Toyota production engineering and manufacturing center in Georgetown, Ky. The Republican Party of Kentucky's Central Committee approved a resolution Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, condemning sexual harassment.

Trump says people will be a very, very happya with Republicansa tax overhaul

President Donald Trump praised the Senate's passage of the Republicans' massive tax overall, saying people are going to be 'very, very happy' with the law. Now that the Senate passed its bill, the next step is for the House to vote Monday to send its tax legislation to conference committee.

Tax bill clears Senate in big boost for Trump, GOP

Republicans muscled the largest tax overhaul in 30 years through the Senate early Saturday, taking a big step toward giving President Donald Trump his first major legislative triumph after months of false starts and frustration on other fronts.

Senate votes to block special break for conservative college

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, and other Republican senators gather to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on the GOP effort to overhaul the tax code, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. less Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, and other Republican senators gather to meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on the GOP effort to overhaul the ... more WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats on Friday successfully blocked a provision in the Republicans' sweeping tax bill designed to give a special tax break to a conservative college in Michigan.

Early Saturday morning the Senate narrowly approved the Republican tax bill with a vote of 51-49

Vice President Mike Pence announcing the final vote, which was mostly along party lines, 51 to 49, with only one Republican voting against the bill, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee. And while Republicans have touted it as a victory for the middle class, several independent analyses found it's skewed toward corporations and the wealthy, according to the Tax Policy Center.