Senate Votes to Halt Net Neutrality Repeal
Today's vote is a mostly symbolic victory for supporters of the Obama-era internet regulations.
Senate
Gina Haspel, Susan Collins, and the Folly of the 'Good Soldier' Defense of Torture
Haspel's defenders say she was just following protocol when she oversaw the waterboarding of a suspected al-Qaeda operative. That's not good enough.
Gina Haspel's Confirmation Hearing Is a Reckoning for America's Use of Torture During the War on Terror
"It says that it's OK to engage in war crimes and crimes against humanity, and if you do it, you'll get promoted."
Feinstein Finally Catches Up with Her Voters, Abandons Her Opposition to Marijuana Legalization
Even the nanniest of Nanny Staters are coming around.
Senators Respond to Trump's Unauthorized Military Strike on Syria by Trying to Give Him Even More War Powers
This new proposed bipartisan authorization seems more like a blank check for war.
A Bunch of Senators Just Showed They Have No Idea How Facebook Works. They Want to Regulate It Anyway.
"If Facebook and other online companies will not or cannot fix their privacy invasions, then we are going to have to. We, the Congress."
GOP Senate Candidate Austin Petersen Wants You to Be Able to Legally Buy a Machine Gun
"Let's get the conversation to where people are talking not about limiting gun rights but expanding them."
FOSTA Passes Senate, Making Prostitution Ads a Federal Crime Against Objections from DOJ and Trafficking Victims
The measure will "make it harder, not easier, to root out and prosecute sex traffickers," said Sen. Ron Wyden, one of only two senators to vote no on FOSTA.
Florida School Shooting Resurrects Terrible Plan to Prevent People on the No Fly List from Buying Guns
Senators want to use secret, largely unaccountable government watchlists as a justification for denying some citizens' due process.
Jeff Sessions and Chuck Grassley Spar Over Sentencing Reform
"If General Sessions wanted to be involved in marking up this legislation, maybe he should have quit his job and run for the Republican Senate seat in Alabama."
Shutdown Day 2: Donald Trump Urges 'Nuclear Option.' That's Not a Good Plan.
Luckily, no actual nukes are involved. But it could be politically destructive.
Senate Votes to Shut Down Rand Paul Filibuster Against Surveillance Act Renewal
Lawmakers will advance legislation that expands the power of the feds to snoop on American citizens.
Kamala Harris: No Friend to Criminal Justice Reform
She didn't push for reform when she had the opportunity as district attorney and as attorney general.
The Phony Feminism of Kamala Harris
Harris only cares about other women's rights when those rights don't conflict with her career ambitions.
Kamala Harris Now on Senate Judiciary Committee; Bad News for Second Amendment
The former California attorney general has a long history of hostility to Second Amendment rights.
Rand Paul: No Surveillance Debate Means a No Vote on Spending Bill
Senators demand discussion of protections for Americans against unwarranted snooping.
What the GOP Tax Bill Means for Libertarians
"It's basically reassembling deck chairs on a really messy and horribly complex system": Q&A with Chris Edwards, CATO's Director of Tax Policy
Grover Norquist: GOP Tax Bill Is Good Enough For Now (He's Planning to 'Whine Later')
Q&A with the president of Americans for Tax Reform.
How Roy Moore Failed to Reassure Voters He Is Not a Sexual Predator
A hazy memory, self-contradiction, and dubious debunking efforts helped seal the GOP Senate candidate's fate.
Doug Jones, Roy Moore, and the Politics of the Lesser Evil
No one earns a mandate by merely being less awful than the other guy.
Doug Jones Wins Alabama Senate Seat; Roy Moore Does Not Concede
Final tally: 49.9 to 48.4 percent.
Texas Justice Don Willett Is One Step Closer to Being Confirmed to the Federal Bench
Senate Judiciary Committee votes 11-9 to advance Willett's nomination to the Senate floor.
The Harder It Is to Believe Roy Moore, the Cozier He Gets With the GOP
Trump's endorsement and the RNC's renewed support coincide with a crescendo of self-contradiction.
Roy Moore Sees Restoration of Voting Rights of Felons as a Plot Against Him
A law signed by Alabama's Republican governor allows many ex-cons to return to the ballot box.
Tax Reform Is on Track to Add $1 Trillion to the National Debt, Even After Accounting for Economic Growth
The GOP tax plan looks like it could pass, but should it?
CIA Director Tom Cotton: A Disaster for Foreign Policy or a Boon for Better Lawmaking?
The Senate would lose an authoritarian who wants to crack down on immigrants and fight the drug war. But he's also a hawk in favor of foreign interventions.
Will This Awful Bill Allowing Warrantless Domestic Snooping Get Shoved Into an End-of-Year Spending Plan?
Congress might quietly expand the feds' surveillance powers without any actual debate.
Maybe Not Libertarian, But There Are Some Things to Like in This Tax Reform
The House and Senate still refuse to consider cutting government spending.
Trump Tacitly Endorses Roy Moore, Noting His Denials 12 Times
The president says he may campaign for the Republican Senate candidate, notwithstanding credible allegations of sexual assault.
The Senate Intelligence Committee Really Wants to Secretly Snoop on Americans
Every attempt to restrain and reform unwarranted domestic surveillance batted away.
Senators Push To Defund Jeff Sessions' Civil Asset Forfeiture Expansion
The House passed amendments this fall blocking Jeff Sessions' asset forfeiture directive. Now senators want to make it stick.
Sen. Feinstein's Threat to 'Do Something' to Social Media Companies Is a Bigger Danger to Democracy Than Russia
Do not ignore the self-interest of elected officials in controlling online political messaging.
Libertarian Republican Sen. Jeff Flake Will Not Run for Re-Election (UPDATED)
"There may not be a place for a Republican like me in the current Republican climate or the current Republican Party."
Sens. Rand Paul and Ron Wyden Unveil Long-Awaited, Privacy-Protecting Surveillance Reform Bill
The Fourth Amendment matters to some legislators.
Rand Paul Endorses Roy Moore in Alabama Senate Race, Annoys Libertarians
If ever there were a would-be colleague who someone of even slight libertarian tendencies should be leery of, it is Roy Moore.
If Sen. Feinstein Loses Re-Election, It Certainly Won't Be Because She's Not 'Left' Enough
California's top-two primary system helps protect her, but what's her appeal outside of her own party?
Corker Against World War III Now That Trump Is for It
Corker is a longtime defender of American intervention and war in the Middle East, and now wants to supply billions in weapons to the Saudis and Ukraine.
The Senate Will Try Again On Sentencing Reform This Year
A bipartisan group of senators has reintroduced one of the biggest sentencing reform bills in years. Can it pass this time?
Senators Want to Make Prosecutors Prove Defendants Intended to Break Laws Before Locking Them Up
In a country with so many crimes, many laws don't require proof citizens knew they were doing wrong.
Republican Senate Candidate Austin Petersen Has His Personal Facebook Page Suspended
He doesn't know why, and the former Libertarian finds it worth noting Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is a maxed-out donor to his potential Democratic opponent.
The Return of Criminal Justice Reform
Congress failed to pass a bill reforming mandatory minimums last year; now two senators want to try again.
Wiretapping Sex Workers, Punishing Pre-Crime, and National Strategy to Stop Sex-Buyers Approved by Senate
Congress moves to grant Trump administration vast new policing powers, because "sex trafficking."
Rand Paul Stages Senatorial Sit-In for Debate on Sunsetting Authorization for Endless War
Paul announces that his move won four hours of floor debate in Senate over ending the 16-year-old Authorization for the Use of Military Force that launched modern war on terror.
Why Trump's Wall Is Not Going to Happen
Plenty of GOP members would rather put Barack Obama on Mount Rushmore than underwrite this addled project.
They Won't Stop at Backpage
The "Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act" would not stop sexual exploitation. But it could blow up the legal framework that supports the internet as we know it.
State Licensing Laws Are Mostly Awful; Sen. Mike Lee Might Have a Solution
Licensing laws are mostly a state issue, but a 2014 Supreme Court decision gives the federal government a role to play too. Lee is seizing the opportunity.
Six Republicans Who Voted for Obamacare Repeal in 2015 Sank the 'Clean Repeal' Bill Today
Another day, another defeat for the Senate's health care effort
