President Donald Trump’s early moves, such as trying to slash the federal government and imposing tariffs on key allies, are testing how far Republicans are willing to go in supporting his supercharged “Make America Great Again” agenda.

Congress is proving little match for the Department of Government Efficiency as wary lawmakers watch it march through the bureaucracy.

Robert F.

North Carolina's former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has withdrawn his defamation lawsuit against CNN challenging a report that he made explicit posts on a pornography website’s message board over a decade ago.

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, is insisting to deeply skeptical Democrats that he does not have an “enemies list” and that the bureau under his leadership would not seek retribution against the president’s adversaries or launch politically motivated investigations.

Robert F.

Allies of President Donald Trump have been quick to threaten primary challengers for Republican senators who don’t back Trump's Cabinet picks and legislative priorities.

Many Republicans on Capitol Hill do not agree with President Donald Trump’s decision to pardon and commute sentences for more than 1,500 people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

President Joe Biden has signed into law a measure that boosts Social Security payments for current and former public employees.

The fate of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet is still unclear after Republican senators spent much of December carefully dodging questions.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper leaves his job next week after eight years.

The Senate has passed legislation to boost Social Security payments for millions of people.

Donald Trump’s second term comes with the specter of the world’s richest man serving as his political enforcer.

President-elect Donald Trump has dialed in to what was described as a “love fest” with Senate Republicans.

When Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigned in North Carolina, both candidates courted a state-recognized tribe there whose 55,000 members could have helped tip the swing state.

President-elect Donald Trump has tried to act with impunity while staffing his new administration, choosing loyalists who often lack expertise or sometimes face sexual misconduct allegations.

Senate Republicans vying to replace longtime leader Mitch McConnell have been crossing the country to campaign and fundraise for colleagues, making their final arguments before an important upcoming Senate vote.

Senators criticized top federal officials over the rise of illegal electronic cigarettes in the U.S., a multibillion-dollar business that has flourished in recent years.

TikTok’s extensive lobbying campaign is the latest tech industry push since the House passed legislation that would ban the popular app if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake.

Republicans have been softening their stance on Russia ever since Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election following Russian hacking of his Democratic opponents.

A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators has made an official visit to Hungary’s capital to call on the nationalist government to immediately approve Sweden’s request to join NATO.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers are urging Hungary to immediately ratify Sweden’s application to join NATO.

Washington’s center of gravity on immigration has shifted demonstrably to the right.

Hundreds of thousands of veterans have received additional benefits in the past year after President Joe Biden signed legislation expanding coverage for conditions connected to burn pits that were used to destroy trash and potentially toxic materials.

Republicans delegates in North Carolina have voted to censure the state’s senior U.S. senator for backing LGBTQ+ rights, immigration and gun violence policies.

More than two dozen Democratic members of Congress who are active on TikTok are now facing questions about whether they’ll continue to use it.

Passing legislation to protect same-sex marriages in the Senate was a monthslong effort, building on a decadeslong push.

The Senate has passed landmark bipartisan legislation to protect same-sex marriages.

The Senate is set to vote Tuesday on legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages, putting Congress one step closer to ensuring that such unions are enshrined in federal law.

Legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages has crossed a major Senate hurdle, putting Congress on track to take the historic step of ensuring that such unions are enshrined in federal law.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is warning of economic calamity if climate change is not addressed with immediate government intervention.

Democrats are punting a vote to protect same-sex and interracial marriages until after the November midterm elections, a blow for the legislation that comes days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to put the Senate on the record on the issue “in the coming weeks.”.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the Senate will vote on legislation to protect same-sex marriage “in the coming weeks” as a bipartisan group backing the bill is tweaking it to gain Republican support.

A top official says the Justice Department has charged five people for making threats of violence against election workers amid a rising wave of harassment and intimidation tied to the 2020 presidential election.

As the Senate contemplates legislation to protect same-sex marriages, there has been a sharp shift in Republican support for the issue.

The Senate has unexpectedly launched a new push to protect same-sex marriage in federal law.

The Biden administration and Democrats are warning of dire consequences if Congress fails to act on computer chips legislation.

The House has sent President Joe Biden the most wide-ranging gun violence bill Congress has passed in decades.

The Senate has approved a bipartisan gun violence bill.

Last month's mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, have produced a groundswell for change in Congress.

Democratic and Republican senators are at odds over how to keep firearms from dangerous people.

The House has passed a wide-ranging gun control bill in response to recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.

Former President Donald Trump’s influence was enough to elevate his Senate candidate to victory in North Carolina on Tuesday.

First-term U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn has lost to North Carolina state Sen. Chuck Edwards in the Republican congressional primary.

Former President Donald Trump’s winning streak in U.S. Senate primaries is on the line Tuesday as voters in five states cast their ballots in midterm elections.

A series of unforced political and personal errors by GOP congressman Madison Cawthorn has brought the forces of big-name Republicans and traditional enemies to bear on his reelection bid in North Carolina.

Officials say a loaded gun was found in North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s carry-on bag at an airport security checkpoint.

Home-district projects for members of Congress are back, sprinkled across the government-wide $1.5 trillion bill that President Joe Biden signed recently.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis has endorsed a state legislator over U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn in the upcoming Republican primary.

Empathy is not a quality many Republican senators want to see in the next Supreme Court justice.

After more than 30 hours of hearings, the Senate is on track to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

It’s not just Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson who is being watched as she makes history as the first Black woman to be considered for the job.

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson may not get any Republican votes.

Congress has taken a new step toward reining in the market dominance of Big Tech. Bipartisan legislation advanced by a Senate panel would bar the dominant online platforms from favoring their own goods and services over those of rivals on the platforms.

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

Democrats are mounting an impassioned bid to overhaul Senate rules that stand in the way of their sweeping voting legislation.

A federal lawsuit accuses the National Rifle Association of violating campaign finance laws by using shell companies to illegally funnel up to $35 million to Republican candidates, including former President Donald Trump, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri and others.

A prominent backer of Republican causes and candidates is notably absent from the conservative political groups backing efforts to ban in schools what they call critical race theory.

Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban are arriving in the U.S., and a handful of former Trump administration officials are working to turn Republicans against them.

As the U.S. rushes to evacuate Americans and allies from Afghanistan, a growing number of Republicans are questioning why the U.S. should take in Afghan citizens who worked side by side with Americans.

Across the county, the offices of members of Congress have become makeshift crisis centers.

Across the county, the offices of members of Congress have become makeshift crisis centers.

Authorities in North Carolina have found two people dead and about 20 remain missing in Haywood County in floods caused by Tropical Storm Fred.

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.

Senate Republicans are poised to block the creation of a special commission to study the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Senators are laboring to find a path forward for legislation creating a commission on the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Republicans are poised to block legislation that would create a commission on the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The former president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is eyeing the North Carolina Senate seat being vacated by Republican Richard Burr. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)RALEIGH, N.C. – A Trump may be on the ballot next year — but not Donald Trump. The former president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is eyeing the North Carolina Senate seat being vacated by Republican Richard Burr. The answer to that question has implications that extend far beyond Lara Trump's political future. The 38-year-old Lara Trump is married to the former president's son, Eric.

But the North Carolina Republican’s vote to convict former President Donald Trump should not have come as a shock. AdWith Burr retiring at the end of his term in 2022, it’s a vote that could end up defining his career. Exactly a year later, as the Russia investigation was wrapping up, Burr’s time leading the committee came to an abrupt end. He sided with most Republicans in a vote to dismiss the trial, creating an expectation he’d also vote to acquit. AdSo when Burr stood up to vote for Trump's conviction, many in the chamber wondered if there would be other surprises.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)WASHINGTON – Donald Trump's acquittal at his second impeachment trial may not be the final word on whether he’s to blame for the deadly Capitol riot. “President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen, unless the statute of limitations has run,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said after that vote. Federal prosecutors have said they are looking at all angles of the assault on the Capitol and whether the violence had been incited. A phone call between Trump and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy emerged during the impeachment trial in which McCarthy, as rioters stormed the Capitol, begged Trump to call off the mob. AdIt's possible federal prosecutors will decide not to bring charges, and if Trump were indicted in one of the many other separate investigations, federal prosecutors could decide justice would be done elsewhere.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)WASHINGTON – Donald Trump's acquittal at his second impeachment trial may not be the final word on whether he’s to blame for the deadly Capitol riot. “President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen, unless the statute of limitations has run,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said after that vote. Federal prosecutors have said they are looking at all angles of the assault on the Capitol and whether the violence had been incited. A phone call between Trump and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy emerged during the impeachment trial in which McCarthy, as rioters stormed the Capitol, begged Trump to call off the mob. AdIt's possible federal prosecutors will decide not to bring charges, and if Trump were indicted in one of the many other separate investigations, federal prosecutors could decide justice would be done elsewhere.

From left, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined the Democratic senators for a private virtual meeting, both declaring the Republicans' $618 billion offer was too small. “President Biden spoke about the need for Congress to respond boldly and quickly,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the lunch meeting. The president made it clear that he won’t delay aid in hopes of winning GOP support. Biden proposes $170 billion for schools, compared to $20 billion in the Republican plan.

President Joe Biden meets Republican lawmakers to discuss a coronavirus relief package, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in Washington. From left, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. AdRepublicans are tapping into bipartisan urgency to improve the nation's vaccine distribution and vastly expand virus testing with $160 billion in aid. Psaki said earlier Monday there is “obviously a big gap” between the $1.9 trillion package Biden has proposed and the $618 billion counteroffer. Biden himself has been on the phone to some of the Republicans, the official said.

President Joe Biden delivers his inaugural address on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. We saw many recognizable faces Wednesday at the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, but there were many people -- some quite notable -- who were not in attendance. President Donald Trump: He announced on Twitter ahead of the inauguration that he would not be attending, and he stuck to his word. He’s the first outgoing president who chose not to attend the ceremony since President Andrew Johnson’s refusal in 1869. Sen. Marco Rubio: Rubio conveyed he would be hard at work instead.

Instead, the sprint to the Jan. 5 runoffs for two seats in Georgia will determine whether the Senate becomes a Republican-held check on Biden's agenda or a Democratic partnership with the new White House. With a Democratic Senate, Biden would have allies to easily confirm his nominees, including for cabinet positions, and shape passage of legislation. If Republicans keep control, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell can block Biden's agenda. Senate Republicans need Trump — and his voters — on board for the Georgia race. Loeffler and Perdue stunned many this week when they jointly called their own state election system an “embarrassment" as Biden was leading over Trump.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON – The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):7:15 p.m.President Donald Trump is endorsing the chair of the Republican National Committee for another term, despite his electoral defeat. Cunningham conceded the race on Tuesday, saying that “the voters have spoken” and that it was clear Tillis had won. His Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, was declared the winner of the presidential election on Nov. 7 after flipping Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Trump won those states in 2016. ___11:05 a.m.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called Donald Trump the “previous president” of the United States and said it was “refreshing” to talk to President-elect Joe Biden.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Democrat Cal Cunningham conceded to incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina on Tuesday, saying “the voters have spoken” and it was clear Tillis had won. With votes still uncounted and the races in North Carolina and Alaska still too early to call Tuesday, the Senate remained tied 48-48. Alaska GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is favored for another term against Al Gross, an independent running as a Democrat. In North Carolina, Tillis led Cunningham by more than 95,000 votes, or 1.76 percentage points. “I am incredibly humbled by the chance to serve the people of North Carolina in the United States Senate for six more years and I pledge to continue keeping my promises and delivering results.”

The delay has the potential to upend civic norms, impede Biden’s transition to the White House and sow doubt in the nation’s civic and election systems. Trump would need to produce ample evidence of impropriety to undo Biden’s lead, which appears unlikely. During a closed-door lunch, Vice President Mike Pence told Senate Republicans about the legal strategy. Trump and his GOP allies haven’t offered evidence of election fraud, and their legal challenges have largely been rejected by the courts. McConnell noted the potential turmoil during the transition in praising ousted Defense Secretary Mark Esper, whom Trump fired on Monday.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., won another term as Republican leader, his office said, cementing his role as the longest-serving GOP leader in U.S. history. But it’s still to be determined whether McConnell will retain his role as majority leader or cede it to Schumer as the final races for the U.S. Senate play out. Republicans brushed back Democratic challengers in several states, but failed to lock down the seats needed to retain their majority. The math has become more challenging for McConnell because the vice president of the party holding the White House casts the tie-breaking vote in the Senate. A Democratic majority in the Senate, the party that also controls the House would give the party a firm grasp on power in Washington.

WASHINGTON – Control of the Senate likely won’t be decided until a January runoff in Georgia, even after Democrat Joe Biden won the White House on Saturday. That post-election cliff-hanger will determine the balance of power in Washington, as neither party appears to have a lock on a Senate majority right now. If Democrats fall short, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, could wield the power to check Biden's ambitions. And Republican Sen. David Perdue, a top Trump ally, will face Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff. “It’s all on the line in Georgia,” said Steven Law, the president of Senate Leadership Fund, the outside group aligned with McConnell that spent big trying keep Senate control.

WASHINGTON – Control of the Senate likely won’t be decided until a January runoff in Georgia, even after Democrat Joe Biden won the White House on Saturday. That post-election cliff-hanger will determine the balance of power in Washington, as neither party appears to have a lock on a Senate majority right now. If Democrats fall short, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, could wield the power to check Biden's ambitions. And Republican Sen. David Perdue, a top Trump ally, will face Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff. “It’s all on the line in Georgia,” said Steven Law, the president of Senate Leadership Fund, the outside group aligned with McConnell that spent big trying keep Senate control.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks with reporters during a press conference in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. “We’re waiting — whether I’m going to be the majority leader or not,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday. There already is a Jan. 5 runoff in the state's other Senate race. Securing the Senate majority will be vital for the winner of the presidency. John Hickenlooper defeated GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, and Arizona, where former astronaut Mark Kelly beat Republican incumbent Martha McSally.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi was on track to keep control of the Democratic House, but saw her majority shrinking and her leadership called into question. By evening, Pelosi had all but declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner, saying House Democrats “will now have the opportunity to deliver extraordinary progress” on party priorities — lowering health care costs, providing jobs through new infrastructure and others. “I know folks are anxious,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told followers on a live Twitter video. McConnell also warned of the continued problems Republicans face in the Trump era as voters turn away from the GOP. “It’s time for a different approach,” said Democrat John Hickenlooper, a former governor who unseated Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado.

With the race unsettled in several key battlegrounds, Trump's strong Election Day surge may not be enough to overcome a Democratic operation that also turned out its vote. But the tight presidential races and unexpected Democratic losses in congressional races demonstrated the resilient power of Trump’s appeal with rural, white voters and a growing polarization that may outlast his leadership. “But in this election we found it’s not ticking fast enough for the Democrats.”Even as the winner of the White House was unclear, Republicans had victories to celebrate Wednesday and white, rural voters to thank. Trump held one of his final, largest campaign rallies in Butler, drawing an estimated 54,000 people two days before Election Day. State Republicans spent months signing up new GOP registrants in the county — the GOP netted 11,000 voters over Democrats since Trump's 2016 election.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi was on track to keep control of the Democratic House, but saw her majority shrinking and her leadership called into question. By evening, Pelosi had all but declared Democrat Joe Biden the winner, saying House Democrats “will now have the opportunity to deliver extraordinary progress” on party priorities — lowering health care costs, providing jobs through new infrastructure and others. “I know folks are anxious,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told followers on a live Twitter video. McConnell also warned of the continued problems Republicans face in the Trump era as voters turn away from the GOP. “It’s time for a different approach,” said Democrat John Hickenlooper, a former governor who unseated Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado.

The social media platforms have been working for months, if not years since the last presidential election, to prepare for Trumps unsubstantiated claims of election fraud and premature victory declarations. (AP Photo)Ahead of the election, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube promised to clamp down on election misinformation, including unsubstantiated charges of fraud and premature declarations of victory by candidates. For the most part, what they said they would, which primarily meant labeling false or misleading election posts in order to point users to reliable information. But Google placed an “information panel” beneath the videos noting that election results may not be final and linking to Google’s election results page with additional information. It labeled Trump’s tweets declaring premature victory as well as claims from Trump and others about premature victory in specific states.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said President Donald Trump’s campaign helped his GOP allies, but that state election officials were still counting ballots. Key Senate races in North Carolina, Alaska and Georgia remained undecided. Democrats contested seats from New England to the Deep South and the Midwest to the Mountain West, reaching deep into GOP strongholds. North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has struggled against Democrat Cal Cunningham, despite the married challenger’s sexting scandal with a public relations strategist. GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler will face Democrat Raphael Warnock, a Black pastor at the church where the Rev.

WHY AP CALLED NORTH CAROLINA FOR TRUMPThe Associated Press declared Donald Trump the winner in North Carolina on Friday after concluding there were not enough ballots left to be counted that would allow Joe Biden to overtake his lead. Friday was the deadline for counties in North Carolina to certify their results. Following updates from most counties in the state, Trump was leading by about 73,690 votes, or 1.3 percentage points. But a few individual contests, including North Carolina, remained too early to call. Now that Trump has been declared the winner in North Carolina the only state yet to be called is Georgia, which is conducting a hand tally of the presidential race there.

Republican Senate candidate Sen. Mitch McConnell, second from right, and his wife, Elaine Chao, right, look on as aides show him the election results in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)WASHINGTON – Hopes fading for Senate control, Democrats had a disappointing election night as Republicans swatted down an onslaught of challengers and fought to retain their fragile majority. Democrats contested seats from New England to the Deep South and the Midwest to the Mountain West, reaching deep into GOP strongholds. The Democrats' gains were in Colorado and Arizona, where former astronaut Mark Kelly beat GOP incumbent Martha McSally. Republican Cynthia Lummis, the former congresswoman from Wyoming, won the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Mike Enzi.

Republican senators are fighting to save their majority against an onslaught of challengers in states once off limits to Democrats that are now hotbeds of the backlash to President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans are fighting to save their majority, a final election push against the onslaught of challengers in states once off limits to Democrats but now hotbeds of a potential backlash to President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. With it, a reelected Trump could confirm his nominees and ensure a backstop against legislation from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. With the chamber now split, 53-47, three or four seats will determine Senate control, depending on which party wins the White House. Swooping in to fill the gap for Republicans is the Senate Leadership Fund, tapping deep-pocketed donors.

Barrett was confirmed to be a Supreme Court justice by the Senate earlier in the evening. It's been only a month since President Donald Trump's Rose Garden event to announce he was nominating Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis — tested positive after attending the earlier White House celebration. Indiana Sen. Todd Young told reporters that he had told the White House he would attend, but was reconsidering. She said people need to be careful about gatherings as illnesses have been rising, but stopped short of calling the White House event a mistake.

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2020, file photo, Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham talks during during a televised debate with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., in Raleigh, N.C. Cunningham inched back into the public sphere on Wednesday, Oct. 7, a day after The Associated Press reported the he had an intimate encounter this summer with a public relations consultant. Within hours of the military disclosing that it is investigating Cunningham, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, he rejected the idea that the race with Tillis had turned into a referendum on his character, even while expressing remorse for extramarital activity. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, Pool)

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome, Pool)RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Cal Cunningham is bypassing uncomfortable questions about his extramarital activities in the final days of his closely contested race with GOP Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis' campaign also says he's given more than two dozen interviews since Cunningham's lone news conference. Groups from the Human Rights Campaign to the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters to unions are coming to Cunningham's side. Cunningham’s campaign didn’t make him available for an AP interview. “It's troubling for sure, but I don’t think that those actions will change what he can do for North Carolina,” Hall said.

Less than two weeks from an Election Day that will determine Senate control, each party is throwing late money at an up-for-grabs Democratic seat in Michigan. The Senate Majority PAC, a political committee aligned with the chamber's Democratic leaders, has canceled its remaining $1.2 million in spending against GOP Sen. Cory Gardner in Colorado, sensing victory. He's getting outspent 3-1,” said GOP Sen. Pat Roberts, whose retirement is making the seat available. Besides Alabama, Michigan is the GOP's best chance at gaining a seat and thwarting Democrats' drive to a Senate majority. “It matters," agreed Poersch of Democrats' Senate Majority PAC, citing a shift in voters' sentiment over the final weeks of the 2016 campaign that helped Trump edge to victory.

Never has the Senate confirmed a Supreme Court nominee so close to a presidential election. Republicans have bristled at Democrats’ claim that the Obama-era health law, known as “Obamacare,” is in jeopardy if Barrett joins the court. As the Senate committee met, protesters, some shouting “Stop the confirmation!” demonstrated outside the Capitol across the street from the Supreme Court. Unable to stop the confirmation, Democrats have been trying unsuccessfully to stall the process so the winner of the White House race could name the new nominee. Senate Majority Leader McConnell, R-Ky., has defended Barrett as “exceptionally qualified” as well as his own decision to push her nomination forward.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett departs with her husband, Jesse, after the third day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – For Republicans, the nomination fight over Amy Coney Barrett is a chance to seal conservative control of the Supreme Court for decades. Either way, both sides are using the Supreme Court battle in fundraising appeals and other ways that underscore its political potency. Four GOP senators in competitive campaigns are on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which wrapped up hearings Thursday on Barrett's nomination. That contrasts with the 2018 confirmation fight over Trump Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of a decades-old sexual assault that he denied.

Trump finds himself locked in a close race in Iowa with Democrat Joe Biden, and Ernst is as well against Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield. Walking the tightrope between pleasing the Trump base versus attracting other voters is challenging," said John Stineman, a Iowa Republican strategist unaffiliated with the Ernst or Trump campaigns. “You have the road of the radical left,” she said while introducing Vice President Mike Pence at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in August. Trump carried Iowa by 9.4 percentage points in 2016 and Ernst surprised four-term Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley by nearly as much in 2014. The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee has spent $11.3 million supporting Ernst, according to Kantar.

“I think Amy’s doing incredibly well,” he said at the White House departing for a campaign rally. Allowing Trump to fill the seat with Barrett “poses a threat to safe and legal abortion in our country," Harris said. Democrats warn that she would be a vote to undo the law and strip health coverage from millions of Americans. "I'm not hostile to the ACA,” Barrett told the senators. “You would not be getting Justice Scalia, you would be getting Justice Barrett,” she declared.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut was among several Democrats demanding that Barrett pledge not to take part in any election case. “Health care coverage for millions of Americans is at stake with this nomination,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the committee’s senior Democrat. Among Republicans, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, dismissed warnings Barrett will undo the law as “outrageous.”Trump himself seemed to be watching, tweeting several times about the hearing. In one message, he tweeted that he’d have a “FAR BETTER” health care plan, with lower costs and protections for preexisting conditions. But he has not, as yet, discussed an actual health care plan.