Trump's Cronies Meddling in Ukraine Undermined U.S. Goals, Says Ambassador Taylor
Plus: Involuntary commitment and "Indian-made" laws scrutinized, unconstitutional copyright bill passes, stranger danger panic, and more...
Congress
Score One for Trump's Trade Policy: Putting Online Speech Protections in Trade Deals Makes Sense
For once, the Trump administration is on the right side of a debate with Congress over trade.
Congress Should Let Marijuana Businesses Have Access to Banks
There are stories of marijuana business owners showing up at California's tax agency offices with trash bags filled with cash, even though the agency generally doesn't allow cash payments.
Congressional Hearings Conflate Vaping With Smoking, Legal E-Cigarettes With Black-Market THC Products
Democratic legislators ignore the tremendous harm-reducing potential of smoke-free nicotine delivery.
Democrats Want to Make It a Federal Crime to Threaten Journalists
Sen. Richard Blumenthal would give journalists special federal protections that they don't need.
Would You Trust the Trump Administration to Teach Digital Literacy?
Plus: Trump murder meme makes waves, California requires abortion pill at public universities, and more...
A Second Whistleblower Complaint Is Targeting Trump's Tax Returns
The House Ways and Means Committee is investigating evidence that Trump may have attempted to influence the mandatory IRS audit conducted on sitting presidents.
Intel Chief Tasks Congress With Investigating Trump's Dealings with Ukraine
Lawmakers can’t outsource presidential oversight responsibilities to the executive branch.
John Yoo Warns That Impeachment Would Undermine Presidential Power. That's the Point.
While there may be sound political reasons to let voters decide Trump's fate, there are sound constitutional reasons to clarify the limits of his authority.
The House Just Voted To Let Marijuana Businesses Legally Use Banks
It's a historic moment in Congress, but Senate support remains uncertain.
Congress Should Not Be Satisfied With Ukraine Call Transcript, Given the Trump White House's History of Fiddling With Records
The Trump administration has lost the benefit of the doubt because it has relentlessly lied about so many less significant matters, from weather maps to transcripts of press conferences.
Trump, Ukraine, and Congress's Power of the Purse
If Trump threatened to withhold aid funds in order to pressure Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden and his son, he undermined Congress' power of the purse. It's an important aspect of the Ukraine scandal that has so far been largely ignored.
Witness Says Vaping Helped Her Quit Smoking. Rashida Tlaib Asks 'Are You a Conspiracy Theorist?'
"Vaping is a health miracle to me," said ex-smoker Vicki Porter. "Not safe, but less harmful."
Historic House Vote Approves Broad Marijuana Federalism
This vote is "a hopeful sign that the harmful policies of marijuana prohibition will soon be a relic of the past."
Congress Plans To Vote on Marijuana Banking Bill Next Week
The SAFE Banking Act will be the first stand-alone marijuana legalization bill to reach the floor of the U.S. House.
Here Are the Problems With the Attorney General's Plan To Expand Background Checks for Gun Buyers
It would not do much to protect public safety, but it would magnify the injustice of existing restrictions on gun ownership.
This Hawaiian Hotelier Hates Airbnb So Much He's Willing to Destroy the Internet To Kill It
The bad news is he's a congressman now. And he's trying to stomp all over Section 230 in order to attack home-sharing apps.
Lobbyists Trying To Revive Ex-Im Bank's Zombie Corpse for 10 More Years
A lobbying effort aimed at unleashing more cronyism launches while a new report demonstrates why the bank should be permanently shuttered.
Here Is What the 2020 Candidates Say About the President's Power to Wage War Without Congressional Approval
The strongest critics of unilateral decisions to attack other countries include Tulsi Gabbard and Bernie Sanders, while Joe Biden thinks anything goes.
The Pentagon Budget Battle Is a Distraction
An ever-growing military budget is yet another illustration of the GOP's abandonment of small-government principles. And Democrats aren't any better.
Congress Must Roll Back Trump's Tariff Authority
Sen. Chuck Grassley and the Senate Finance Committee will debate two bills this fall aimed at restricting presidential authority to impose tariffs without congressional approval.
Curt Schilling Blew $75 Million in Public Funds Making Bad Video Games. Naturally, He Thinks He Should Be in Congress.
Schilling and Trump are alike in attacking immigrants for costing money, while seeking out business subsidies.
Lindsey Graham's Dishonest Defense of 'Red Flag' Laws
"The Second Amendment is not a suicide pact," the senator says, while glossing over the due process issues raised by gun confiscation orders.
6 Terrible New Tech Bills in Congress
While expressing concern for free speech and privacy, lawmakers are seriously threatening both.
How Faint Bruises on Baby Ava Nearly Destroyed Her Family
Proposed federal legislation would move overstressed child protection systems in the wrong direction.
The Republican Party's Retirement Problem
Trump makes life miserable for GOP lawmakers—and party leadership only makes it worse.
Selling Drugs to Sex Workers Could Be Human Trafficking Under the Senate's New 'PROTECT Act'
The bipartisan bill says "using drugs or illegal substances to cause a person to engage in a commercial sex act" or in any kind of labor counts as human trafficking.
Can We Make Congress Legislate Again?
Tools exist to modify the incentives for legislative action, and Congress could deploy some of those tools itself to encourage more regular reauthorization and modernization of federal regulatory programs.
Josh Hawley: What Has Technology Done for Us Lately?
The senator leading an anti-tech crusade in Congress is being willfully ignorant of all the ways technology has improved humanity in recent decades.
The House Just Passed a Budget Deal That Will Add $1.7 Trillion to the National Debt
Members of Congress are well aware of the looming threat of the $22 trillion (and growing) national debt, but seem incapable of doing anything except making it worse.
Once Again, Uncle Sam Shirks Fiscal Responsibility in Budget Deal
Trump's 2018 commitment that he would never sign a massive spending deal ever again was fake news.
Robert Mueller Was Not Interested in Serving as the Democrats' Performing Monkey, and It Showed
If lawmakers want to impeach Trump they're going to have to deal with the politics of it all and not use the Justice Department as a shield.
Robert Mueller's Testimony Convinced Everyone of Exactly What They Already Believed
The former special counsel's abridged answers to lawmakers' questions changed few minds.
Democrats Revive Russia-Probe Drama With Live-Action Version of the Mueller Report
Plus: Kamala Harris jokes about starving prisoners, Trump sues over tax-return release, "Big Tech" witch hunt gets official, and more..
Can the Freedom Caucus Convince Trump to Derail This Awful Budget Deal? If Not, Fiscal Conservatism Is Truly Dead.
The House Freedom Caucus could reverse its trend towards irrelevancy by successfully swaying Trump to turn against the new budget deal.
The Harris-Nadler Marijuana Bill Goes Further Than Others in Ways Good and Bad
The MORE Act combines laudably broad legalization and expungement provisions with taxes and spending that may alienate potential Republican allies.
Possible Budget Deal Will Add $2 Trillion to the National Debt
If President Donald Trump signs the deal into law, he will have authorized a 22 percent increase in federal discretionary spending during his first term in office.
Pelosi Rejects Plan to Cut Spending by Less Than 0.3 Percent
The federal government will spend $57 trillion over the next 10 years and run an $11 trillion deficit. But cutting spending by $150 billion is too much to ask?
Amash: Republicans Defending Trump Are 'Hurting Themselves and They're Hurting the Country'
A new book gives insight into Amash's breakup with the Republican Party, which was well underway before Amash said Trump should face impeachment proceedings.
Trump Tells His Critics to 'Go Back' Where They 'Came From.' His Love-It-or-Leave-It Attitude Is Totally Wrong and Arguably Racist.
Is the angry reaction to the president's incendiary comments "all about politics"?
Before Bashing Big Tech, Politicians Should Visit an Apple Store
One of the best ways to succeed long-term in capitalism is by treating customers well rather than ripping them off. That's something you won't hear Democrats or Republicans admit these days.
Justin Amash Left the GOP—Opening a New Set of Possibilities in American Politics
In choosing principle over party, the Michigan congressman has changed what's possible in politics—and possibly the 2020 presidential race.
'Historic' Congressional Hearing on Marijuana Legalization Highlights Strategic Differences
Should federal marijuana reform be tied to a broader "racial justice" agenda?
Justin Amash Officially Quits House Republicans and Steps Down From Committee Seat
Plus: HHS can't compel prices in drug ads, Robert Kraft dines with Trump, and more…
CBO Says $15 Federal Minimum Wage Will Cost 1.3 Million Jobs
The Congressional Budget Office says 17 million workers will see higher paychecks, but the poorest and least skilled are likely to be left out.
Justin Amash on His Break from the GOP: It's Not (Just) About Trump
He says partisan power structures have made government reforms impossible.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump Unite to Defend the Imperial Presidency
The senator and the president she wants to unseat are determined to have their way, regardless of what the law says.
