Political Headlines
Democratic Sen. Fetterman: āIām not rooting againstā Trump
Julia Cherner/ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. John Fetterman said he hopes President-elect Donald Trump is successful in his second term and that he's not "rooting against him.""If you're rooting against the president, you are rooting against the nation," Fetterman told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl. "So country first. I know that's become maybe like a cliche, but it happens to be true."Fetterman, who has made headlines as one of the few in his party who have met with several of Trump's cabinet picks, said his Democratic colleagues need to "chill out" over everything Trump does."I've been warning people, like, 'You got to chill out,' you know? Like the constant, you know, freakout, it's not helpful," Fetterman said. "Pack ... Read More
What’s in the approved government funding bill
Glowimages/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- After days of heated negotiations on Capitol Hill and eleventh-hour interference from President-elect Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk, the House passed a funding bill to prevent a government shutdown Friday night, with the Senate following suit early Saturday morning.The 118-page bill contains most of the provisions that were put in place in the bipartisan bill that was agreed to on Wednesday before it was killed after Musk criticized Republicans who supported it.Trump also called for the bill to raise the debt limit ceiling. The federal government is not expected to hit its borrowing limit until sometime in the spring or winter of 2025, and Trump has stated his desire to have the issue dealt with ... Read More
Biden to announce $4.28 billion in student loan relief for 55,000 borrowers
(Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)(WASHINGTON) -- President Joe Biden's administration will announce on Friday another $4.28 billion dollars in student loan relief for nearly 55,000 public service workers.The announcement will bring the total loan forgiveness by the Biden administration to "approximately $180 billion for nearly 5 million Americans," according to a fact sheet from the Department of Education.The forgiveness will be delivered to individuals enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), which allows for debt forgiveness for people in jobs like firefighting, nursing and teaching after 10 years of continuous payment.The Biden administration has made fixes to this program that had failed to deliver student loan relief to many due to poor implementations and errors in ... Read More
Death row inmate Robert Roberson expected to speak before state House committee
Bo Zaunders/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson, whose "shaken baby syndromeā murder conviction in the death of his 2-year-old daughter has come under scrutiny, has been ordered to appear before the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Friday over the stateās so-called ājunk scienceā law.The legislation, passed in 2013, creates a pathway for people to challenge their convictions if new scientific evidence or developments would have impacted the outcome of their case. However, some legislators say they are concerned that the state law may not adequately address these issues and it is now being investigated by the House committee.āRobert is eager to testify and grateful for the chance to be heard,ā said Gretchen Sween, Robersonās attorney. āWe ... Read More
Democrats dig in while GOP negotiates with themselves as shutdown looms
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday night that Republicans will "regroup" and "come up with another solution" after the government funding bill they negotiated with President-elect Donald Trump that would avert a government shutdown failed to pass.The bill failed by a 174-235-1 vote with 38 Republicans voting against it.Johnson blamed Democrats for the bill's failure.āThe only difference on this legislation was that we would push the debt ceiling to January of 2027,ā Johnson claimed. āI want you all to remember that it was just last spring that the same Democrats berated Republicans and said that it was irresponsible to hold the debt limit, the debt ceiling, hostage. What changed?āHouse Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries celebrated the bill's defeat, ... Read More
Trump endorses GOP leadership’s spending deal that would avert shutdown
Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesPresident-elect Donald Trump on Thursday endorsed a spending deal that House Republican leadership said it had reached to continue to fund the government through March and avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week."All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote āYESā for this Bill, TONIGHT!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.The House began debating the new bill Thursday evening before a vote later tonight.Earlier Thursday, House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole told reporters that House Republicans had reached an agreement among themselves. Asked if Trump is on board, Cole replied, āAll Iāll tell you is we have an agreement.āCole refused to divulge any details of the deal, ... Read More
Trump says he gave permission to Elon Musk to trash GOP-proposed spending bill on X
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President-elect Donald Trump, after rejecting House Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to avoid a government shutdown, worked the phones on Thursday, showing wavering confidence in Johnson and claiming he is aligned with billionaire Elon Musk, who first posted multiple calls to kill the GOP-brokered spending deal."If the speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain speaker," Trump told Fox News Digital.In an separate interview, Trump suggested that Johnson's proposed continuing resolution -- which would keep spending going at current levels -- was "unacceptable.""We'll see. What they had yesterday was unacceptable," Trump told NBC ... Read More
Trump threatens government shutdown unless debt limit demand met, blames Biden if it happens
Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday took credit for killing the House Republican-proposed government funding bill, telling ABC News there will be a government shutdown unless Congress eliminates or extends the limit on government borrowing."We're not going to fall into the debt ceiling quicksand," Trump said in an exclusive phone interview. "There won't be anything approved unless the debt ceiling is done with."Trump said he is concerned that if government borrowing reaches the limit set by the debt ceiling, it could lead to an economic depression. Under current law, the federal government would hit its borrowing limit sometime in the spring of 2025, during the first months of the second Trump presidency. Trump said he wants it taken care ... Read More
Senate Republicans weigh in on new government funding challenges as clock ticks
Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- As President-elect Donald Trump's comments tanking House Speaker Mike Johnson's short-term government funding bill sent House Republicans into a tailspin Wednesday night, Senate Republicans were left to try to make sense of the remaining pieces.Congress must act to fund the government by midnight on Friday or risk a shutdown. With the House back at the drawing board, the clock is ticking.The nature of government funding bills means that the Senate is usually in a wait-and-see posture until the House acts. That's particularly true this time around, where Johnson has to wrangle his slim House majority into passing legislation that Trump will find palatable before the Senate decides whether they can accept it.The looming funding deadline means ... Read More
Trump backs House GOP accusation Liz Cheney tampered with Jan. 6 committee witness
Mike Kline (notkalvin)/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk, chairman of the House Administration's subcommittee on Oversight, in a new report suggests former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney should be investigated for alleged criminal witness tampering, claiming she played an "integral role" shaping key witness testimony before the Jan. 6 committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.President-elect Donald Trump posted early Wednesday morning on his social media platform that "Liz Cheney could be in a lot of trouble based on the evidence obtained by the subcommittee, which states that 'numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, and these violations should be investigated by the FBI."Earlier this month, Trump, speaking about Jan. 6 committee members, ... Read More
Paris Hilton-backed child abuse bill headed to Biden’s desk for signature
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The House passed the Paris Hilton-championed Stop Institutionalized Child Abuse bill on Wednesday, a sweet victory for the celebrity hotel heiress after the nearly three years she's spent lobbying politicians in Washington on the issue of reform in the "troubled teen" industry.The measure that would require more federal oversight into these facilities for troubled minors passed by a vote of 373-33.All those who voted against the legislation were Republican, most from the far-right faction of the party, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar of Arizona, Byron Donalds of Florida, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, among others.The Senate passed the bill a week ago with unanimous support. ... Read More
DOJ urges judge to deny Jan. 6 defendant’s request to attend Trump inauguration
J. David Ake/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Federal prosecutors on Wednesday urged a federal judge to reject a request from a defendant convicted for participation in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next month, according to a court filing.Cindy Young, of New Hampshire, was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia of four misdemeanor charges earlier this year for joining the Capitol riot and was sentenced to four months incarceration as well as a term of probation -- which included conditions that bar her from entering Washington, D.C., without approval from her probation officer.Last week, Young requested permission to attend Trump's inauguration in a filing stating she "poses no threat of danger ... Read More
Supreme Court to hear arguments over TikTok ban on Jan. 10
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Jan. 10 over TikTok's effort to block a federal ban on the platform if it's not sold by Jan. 19.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.Copyright Ā© 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. ... Read More
Government funding plan collapses after threats from Trump and Musk as shutdown looms
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Bloomberg via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The stopgap spending plan negotiated between House Republicans and Democrats to avoid a government shutdown appears to be dead two days before the deadline after it was condemned by President-elect Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk.Johnson's original plan called for extending government spending at current levels until March and added other provisions like relief for disaster victims and farmers and a pay raise for members of Congress.In a joint statement Wednesday afternoon, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance called on Congress to "pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn't give [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.""Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut ... Read More
What we know about the shooter
WASHINGTON (AP) Ć¢ā¬ā The man identified as the shooter in the apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump was a 20-year-old from a Pittsburgh suburb not far from the campaign rally where one attendee was killed. Investigators were working Sunday to gather more information about Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who they say opened fire at the rally before being killed by Secret Service days before Trump was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. An FBI official said late Saturday that investigators had not yet determined a motive. Two spectators were critically injured, authorities said. Relatives of Crooks didnĆ¢ā¬ā¢t immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press. His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN late ... Read MorePrayers for Trump also pour in from political rivals
Prayers for the former president are also coming from his political opponents. Ć¢ā¬ÅI am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe. Political violence has no place in our country,Ć¢ā¬Ā said Sen. Chuck Schumer in a statement. Ć¢ā¬ÅWe should all condemn what happened today and I am hoping for the health of the former president and everyone else at the rally,Ć¢ā¬Ā Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy posted on the social platform X. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a post on X that his Ć¢ā¬Åthoughts and prayers are with former President TrumpĆ¢ā¬Ā and expressed thanks Ć¢ā¬Åfor the decisive law enforcement response.Ć¢ā¬Ā ... Read MoreTop of page
