Category: Federal

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison in what was the first of two rounds of sentencing. He was convicted last year of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account. Manafort’s convictions did not relate…

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 in a party-line vote on February 28 to advance OIRA Administrator Neomi Rao’s nomination to replace Brett Kavanaugh on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.   The vote took place less than a week after Senate Judiciary Committee member Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) raised…

There are sixteen notable presidential candidates and 86 weeks to go until November 3, 2020.   Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) entered the race last Friday, calling himself “the only candidate who will make defeating climate change our nation’s number one priority.” On Monday, John Hickenlooper (D), the former governor of Colorado, also announced that…

Former Rep. Aaron Schock (R) reached an agreement with federal prosecutors Wednesday bringing an end to a criminal case over alleged misuse of campaign funds. Schock was first elected to represent Illinois’ 18th Congressional District in 2008. He held the seat until resigning in March 2015 following media reports that he had used campaign and…

On March 2, Republicans from counties represented by Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District selected state Rep. Fred Keller as their nominee for a special election taking place on May 21.   Keller was selected from a field of 14 candidates after four rounds of voting at the party’s convention. He will face college professor Marc Friedenberg,…

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met face-to-face on February 27 and 28, in Hanoi, Vietnam, for their second in-person summit.   Trump and Kim were unable to reach an agreement on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Trump said that Kim wanted all economic sanctions to be lifted in return for…

Andrew Wheeler, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 52-47, mostly along party lines. Republican Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) joined 46 members of the Democratic caucus in voting against Wheeler’s nomination. No Democrats voted for Wheeler’s nomination.   Trump announced his intent to…

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) has announced dates for a special election to represent North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District. The winner of the election will complete the term of former Rep. Walter Jones (R), who passed away on February 10, 2019.   Six Republicans have already declared their intention to run for the seat. Jones…

The Senate rejected the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act by a vote of 53-44. It needed 60 votes to advance. The bill proposed making it a felony if a healthcare practitioner failed to care for a child who survived an abortion or attempted abortion.   All Republicans and Democratic Sens. Bob Casey (Pa.), Doug Jones…

The House passed legislation to overturn President Donald Trump’s declaration of national emergency on the southern border. The resolution passed by a vote of 245-182. Every Democrat and 13 Republicans voted for the resolution.   The 13 Republicans who voted for the resolution were Reps. Justin Amash (Mich.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Mike Gallagher (Wis.), Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.), Will Hurd (Texas), Dusty Johnson (S.D.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), Francis…