It was a changed Washington that greeted Donald Trump when he took the oath of office as president a second time.

Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for energy secretary, told senators during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that he would promote all sources of American energy, while also acknowledging the burning of fossil fuels causes climate change.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a longtime Democrat, says he'll run for Michigan governor in 2026 as an independent because “there are a lot of people in this country who are tired of both” the Democratic and Republican parties.

The Defense Department is going to require cognitive assessments for new personnel as part of updated guidance aimed at protecting personnel from “blast overpressure” as leaders seek to mitigate risks of brain injury associated with repeated blasts.

Politicians are closing in on the required number of votes needed to pass federal legislation that requires AM radios in every new car.

Maine's vaunted independent voters are becoming scarcer as Super Tuesday approaches.

A new generation of senators is working on gun violence prevention legislation in the aftermath of mass shootings.

Two senators from Maine are asking the U.S. Army inspector general to provide a full accounting of interactions with a reservist before he killed 18 people at a bowling alley and bar.

The Supreme Court is speaking with one voice in response to recent criticism of the justices’ ethical practices: No need to fix what isn’t broken.

Utah's Evan McMullin is emerging as the nation’s most competitive independent candidate running for U.S. Senate in the 2022 midterm elections.

Donations from Fidelity Charitable climbed 11% to a record $4.8 billion for the first half of 2022.

President Joe Biden is lauding the CIA as the “bedrock of our national security,” He visited the agency Friday to mark 75th anniversary since its founding after World War II.

Three consecutive summits over the next week will test Western resolve to support Ukraine and the extent of international unity as rising geopolitical tensions and economic pain cast an increasingly long shadow.

A former lawmaker in Oregon is aiming to shake up state politics by running as an unaffiliated candidate for governor.

U.S. intelligence agencies have begun a review of how they judge the will and ability of foreign governments to fight.

Top U.S. intelligence officials acknowledge they misjudged the durability of the governments in both Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Fears are rising about what would happen to Europe’s energy supply if Russia were to invade Ukraine and then shut off its natural gas in retaliation for U.S. and European sanctions.

More than 600 sitting senators have died or resigned since the first Congress met in 1789.

Donald Trump’s relentless, false claims about the 2020 presidential election have sparked fresh urgency in Congress for changing the Electoral Count Act.

Democrats are picking up the pieces after the collapse of their sweeping voting rights legislation.

A new report is shedding light on what types of organizations are receiving the most donations from charitable funds that have been a hotbed of contention.

President Joe Biden says he feels “very positive about reaching a deal on his big domestic policy bill.

The White House says President Joe Biden will lay out his thinking in the coming weeks about moving to “fundamentally alter” the filibuster or even eliminate the legislative roadblock that empowers the Senate minority.

For the third time this year, Senate Democrats tried to pass sweeping elections legislation that they tout as a powerful counterweight to new voting restrictions in the states.

The White House will withdraw the nomination of a gun-control advocate to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after David Chipman ran into bipartisan opposition in the Senate.

Three senators say they have tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated.

After much delay, senators have unveiled their $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.

The Senate has advanced a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure plan with a bipartisan group of senators helping it clear one more hurdle on Friday.

At a time of widespread digital insecurity it turns out that the oldest and simplest computer fix there is — turning a device off then back on again — can thwart hackers from stealing information from smartphones.

Wealthy philanthropists have long enjoyed an advantageous way to give to charity: Using something called a donor-advised fund, they’ve been able to enjoy tax deductions and investment gains on their donations long before they give the money away.

The State Department will offer rewards up to $10 million for information leading to the identification of anyone engaged in foreign state-sanctioned malicious cyber activity, including ransomware attacks, against critical U.S. infrastructure.

Looming over the Senate Democrats this year is a decision that could fundamentally change Congress as it has operated for decades.

With American troops withdrawing from Afghanistan, pressure is mounting for the Biden administration to evacuate Afghans who supported U.S. military operations during two decades of war.

Congressional Democrats are eyeing a $6 trillion infrastructure package that goes far beyond roads and bridges.

A bipartisan senators’ group working on a $1 trillion infrastructure compromise has now doubled in size, expanding to 21 members.

Two key U.S. senators introduced legislation Wednesday designed to spur faster payouts from donor-advised funds and foundations, giving new momentum to an effort that has deeply divided philanthropy.

Foreign keyboard criminals with scant fear of repercussions have paralyzed U.S. schools and hospitals, leaked highly sensitive police files, triggered fuel shortages and, most recently, threatened global food supply chains.

The short answer for many security experts and federal officials is that it can’t — at least not without some significant changes. Ad“The SolarWinds hack was a victory for our foreign adversaries, and a failure for DHS,” said Sen. The FAA initially told the AP in mid-February that it had not been affected by the SolarWinds hack, only to issue a second statement a few days later that it was continuing to investigate. Federal officials said that amount is only a down payment on much bigger planned spending to improve threat detection. The hosting services of Amazon Web Services and GoDaddy were used by the SolarWinds hackers to evade detection, officials said recently.

AdThat means some people who received the last round of $600 relief checks approved in December wouldn't get anything this time. We need to get this done.”Liberals were already angry after Senate Democrats jettisoned the House bill’s minimum wage increase to $15 by 2025. The House version of the relief checks would cost $422 billion, making them the package’s single most expensive item. Republicans continued lashing the measure as an overpriced Democratic wish list of liberal causes that lavishes help on many who don’t really need it. When people want checks to help them get out of the morass, that's not a liberal wish list.

“He said we need to pass this bill and pass it soon. The Senate bill was expected to largely mirror the House-approved package, with the most glaring divergence the Senate's dropping of language boosting the federal minimum wage to $15 hourly. Schumer said Senate debate would commence as soon as Wednesday and predicted, “We'll have the votes we need to pass the bill." Progressives, though, were still smarting over the virtual certainty that the Senate bill will lack the minimum wage boost, up from $7.25 hourly locked in since 2009. The funding was removed after some Republican lawmakers had criticized it as an example of a wasteful spending item that should not be part of the COVID relief bill.

He can send the White House into a tailspin with a single five-minute interview or three-sentence statement. With a 50-50 split in the Senate leaving little room for error on tough votes, other moderate Democrats like Sens. He received a call from the White House shortly after his complaint to try to smooth things over. AdThe White House shares those political concerns. Their significance to the final vote on the COVID-19 bill means some moderates are already getting extra attention from the White House.

Two Senate committees have summoned top security officials to testify, the beginning of a comprehensive look at what went wrong. In her letter to Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said the House will also put forth supplemental spending to boost security at the Capitol. The hearing will begin a broad examination of the security failures that led to the breach. The security breakdown on Jan. 6, as the House and Senate met for a joint session to count electoral votes, was severe. With the diminished security presence, the rioters not only breached the Capitol but entered the Senate chamber minutes after senators had fled.

In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks about the motion to call witnesses during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Coming amid the searing COVID-19 crisis, the Biden White House is trying to rush pandemic relief through Congress. Most of them ultimately voted to acquit, doubting whether Trump was fully responsible or if impeachment is the appropriate response. Within a week Biden was inaugurated, Trump was gone and Pelosi sent the article of impeachment to the Senate days later, launching the proceedings. At the same time, this year's trial carried similar warnings from the prosecutors that Trump must be held accountable because he has shown repeatedly he has no bounds.

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2021, file photo President Joe Biden speaks about the economy in the State Dinning Room of the White House in Washington. One featured a public show of trying to reach across the political aisle, with bipartisan rhetoric and a White House invitation for Republican senators. But it's more likely that the White House will need to choose between the two extremes. “President Biden’s got some pretty big tests in front of him when it comes to domestic policy. AdThe process of securing the $787 billion package — aid broadly credited for helping boost an economy in free fall — left a bad taste for the Obama-Biden White House.

At least a dozen senators met for an hour and 15 minutes in a virtual call with White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese and other senior White House officials. Many hope to approve a relief package before former President Donald Trump's trial, which is set to begin in two weeks, overtakes Washington’s attention. Senators also wanted more data on how the White House reached the $1.9 trillion figure. “It was about how can we work together to help the people of this country.”White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients and White House legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell also joined the call. “We’re going to continue to push because we can’t wait,” said White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“We cannot leave anything to chance,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues, emphasizing the importance of winning House seats for Democrats — not just to expand their majority but to prepare for the possibility that the House must settle the presidential race. But if the Electoral College is deadlocked or unable to reach a majority outcome, the question goes to the House as a “contingent election." Each state’s congressional delegation, consisting of the newly elected House lawmakers, casts one vote to determine the presidential outcome, according to the House history website. But as of now, Pelosi explained, Republicans have a “razor thin” margin — 26 of the state delegations, compared with 22 for Democrats. “We must achieve that majority of delegations or keep the Republicans from doing so,” Pelosi wrote.

The goal, part of the Russian playbook for decades, was to sow chaos by posting content on both sides of the racial divide. Indeed, no single group of Americans was targeted by IRA information operatives more than African-Americans, concluded a report from the Senate intelligence committee. They fear the Trump administration's decision to limit what it tells Congress and by extension the American people about election threats will allow the propaganda to spread. The intelligence statement did not offer specifics about what tactics Russia is using, but the past provides important clues. What people need to be looking for is stuff that is seemingly trying to get a rise out of them, Jankowicz said.

In the past, delivering all-member briefings in-person, he said, has resulted in leaks for political purposes within moments. A falsehood, yet again another lie by the president, responded Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. We will compel the intelligence community to give Congress the information that we need, Schiff said. Ratcliffe insisted that China is the graver threat to election security than Russia. Trump on Saturday said Ratcliffe got tired of intelligence about election security leaking from Congress.

WASHINGTON Donald Trump isnt just changing the presidency during his first term in office. Republicans shrug it off as Trump being Trump, leaving Democrats almost alone to object. But typically presidents only go so far, knowing Congress is eyeing their every move, ready and willing to intervene. Trump rejects that model outright, treating the Congress as support staff to his presidency and relying on sheer force of personality to shape the government to his will. Congress is evolving, said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., once a Trump rival for the White House.

WASHINGTON Donald Trump isnt just changing the presidency during his first term in office. Republicans shrug it off as Trump being Trump, leaving Democrats almost alone to object. But typically presidents only go so far, knowing Congress is eyeing their every move, ready and willing to intervene. Trump rejects that model outright, treating the Congress as support staff to his presidency and relying on sheer force of personality to shape the government to his will. Congress is evolving, said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., once a Trump rival for the White House.

Thomson's nomination as CIA inspector general comes as Trump is attacking the inspector general and whistleblower system. Trump has fired or replaced inspectors general across the federal government in recent months, including the former watchdogs for the intelligence community and State Department. "If I was fired for doing my job in a lawful way, in an appropriate way, then I would be fired,'' Thomson said. The White House Counsel's office interviewed him before his nomination, but he did not speak personally with Trump, Thomson said. "I never perceived any kind of loyalty test at all with regard to the president,'' Thomson said.

WASHINGTON The day he declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency, President Donald Trump made a cryptic offhand remark. That prompted 10 senators to look into how sweeping Trump believes his emergency powers are. They have asked to see this administration's Presidential Emergency Action Documents, or PEADs. The senators think the documents would provide them a window into how this White House interprets presidential emergency powers. The most publicized example was Trumps decision last year to declare the security situation along the U.S.-Mexico border a national emergency.