democrats

WASHINGTON —  The Supreme Court likes to think of itself as one of the last Washington institutions that is above partisan politics. The justices’ lifetime appointments and lack of cameras inside the courtroom have helped promote the view that the high court operates with impartiality when interpreting the law. But controversial decisions, Senate fights over judicial appointments and a recent spate of ethics scandals have imperiled this state of affairs. Will these scandals change how Americans think about the court, or…

WASHINGTON—House Democrats took the next step in starting a discharge petition for a debt-ceiling increase, a maneuver that could allow them to go around Republican leaders if they can win a handful of GOP votes. The petition process allows a majority of House lawmakers to bring a bill directly to the floor without the cooperation of leadership. But it is time-consuming and rarely successful, and Democrats earlier this year said they had shelved the idea as too difficult.…

WASHINGTON—House Republicans are pushing to require more people seeking federal assistance to find jobs, thrusting a long-running debate over aid for poor Americans into the middle of a battle with Democrats over raising the debt limit.  In legislation that passed the House on Wednesday with only GOP support, lawmakers moved to toughen existing work requirements for food and cash assistance, while proposing to add similar conditions to be eligible for Medicaid, a healthcare program for low-income and…

WASHINGTON —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hasn’t officially entered the presidential race. But his chances of overtaking former President Trump for the Republican nomination took another symbolic hit this week when the dominant video from his trip to Asia was of the governor looking like a bobblehead — his eyes and mouth agape while his head and shoulders wiggled, as he tried to wave off an uncomfortable question about his low poll numbers.Many Democrats are gloating, in part because they despise DeSantis’ culture war…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Firearm sales increased to approximately 2.5 million in March 2020, an estimated 85% increase compared to March 2019. Firearm-related injuries and deaths also increased during the pandemic. What drove people to purchase firearms (whether a previous firearm owner or not) in response to the pandemic had not been previously studied at the time of the research.…

Nearly half of U.S. voters support banning the Chinese-owned TikTok video app, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll, but there are sharp divisions along partisan, age and even racial lines. Nearly half of U.S. voters support banning the Chinese-owned TikTok video app,…

SACRAMENTO —  Will this be the year California limits solitary confinement in state prisons and jails?Even though the state’s voters and the Legislature’s Democratic majority have embraced a number of progressive criminal justice reforms over the last decade that have reduced the prison population, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom last year vetoed legislation to limit the use of solitary confinement.Many experts say the practice amounts to torture and argue that it runs counter to the state’s larger move away from…

WASHINGTON—Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su defended her record at the start of a confirmation hearing Thursday, as she seeks to gain Senate approval to lead the department. President Biden picked Ms. Su for the cabinet post earlier this year. She was confirmed to take the No. 2 position at the Labor Department in 2021, but confirmation for the top job isn’t assured in the closely divided Senate. Some Democrats haven’t said whether they would support her. Ms. Su needs near universal support from Mr.…

SACRAMENTO —  California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s absence in Washington, which began when she was briefly hospitalized with shingles in February, has created headaches for President Biden and congressional Democrats in Washington and is stirring speculation at home.Though working at home in San Francisco while recuperating, Feinstein’s absence from the U.S. Capitol has halted confirmation hearings for federal judges in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is split evenly with 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans because of…

WASHINGTON—The White House is working to secure the support of key Capitol Hill allies as officials deliberate over whom to nominate for the No. 2 job at the Federal Reserve, according to people familiar with the matter, with Democrats’ slim majority in the Senate hanging over the search. WASHINGTON—The White House is working to secure the support of key Capitol Hill allies as officials deliberate over whom to nominate for the No. 2 job at the Federal Reserve, according to people familiar with…