WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will visit the Rome and Vatican City next month in what will likely be his last presidential mission overseas, as he tries to solidify his legacy on the world stage.

But Biden’s farewell visit with Pope Francis is also likely to be deeply personal. As the second Roman Catholic president and the most ...Read more

WASHINGTON — House lawmakers from both sides of the aisle joined together to reject Speaker Mike Johnson’s latest stopgap funding package Thursday night, with one day to spare before a partial government shutdown is set to begin.

The House voted 174-235 against the package under suspension of the rules, which requires two-thirds support ...Read more

Elon Musk isn’t the president, but his power over Congress was made very clear this week when he single-handedly torpedoed a bipartisan bill which would have kept the government open through the new year.

At least, that’s what happened as far as congressional Democrats are concerned.

On Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was ...Read more

A revamped stopgap spending plan put forward by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson failed in the House late Thursday, one day after President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk torpedoed a deal needed to avert a government shutdown.

The new proposal, which would have required two-thirds of the majority to pass, failed in a vote of 174-235, due...Read more

When the initials “DJT” flash on Felix Lasarte’s cellphone, there’s business to discuss with a once and future president.

The veteran Miami lobbyist and land-use lawyer took on President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Doral resort as a client weeks after the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol by supporters of Trump’s effort to overturn ...Read more

WASHINGTON — On a chaotic day at the Capitol, Maryland Democrats scrambled to ensure Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement funding remained in a catch-all spending bill that — in a two-day period — was endorsed and rejected by House Republicans who announced a new deal Thursday afternoon.

The new agreement contained the federal commitment ...Read more

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has an unconventional idea: electing Elon Musk as speaker of the House of Representatives.

“The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress,” Paul, a Republican, wrote in a Dec. 19 post on X. “Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk…think about it…nothing’s impossible.”

He ...Read more

President-elect Donald Trump endorsed a revamped stopgap spending plan put forward by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson late Thursday, just one day after Trump and Elon Musk torpedoed a deal needed to avert a government shutdown as soon as this weekend.

Trump backed the spending proposal crafted by Johnson and fellow GOP leaders that ...Read more

President-elect Donald Trump urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to “act decisively” and reject compromise with Democrats on Thursday after Trump and Elon Musk torpedoed a spending deal to avert a government shutdown as soon as this weekend.

With a shutdown just hours away, Trump declared that he wants the GOP leader to force a new deal ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan spending bill that includes Hurricane Helene relief for Georgians was in tatters Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump warned Republicans it would be a “betrayal” to back the package ahead of a looming government shutdown.

The denunciation fueled a growing conservative revolt and left Georgia leaders ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Since South Carolina passed its fetal heartbeat abortion ban in 2021, the issue has been in the public spotlight either through court challenges or legislative attempts to strengthen its provisions. That will not change in 2025, as two Supreme Courts and the General Assembly all have abortion-related items on their agendas.

...Read more

ATLANTA — The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office should be disqualified from the 2020 election interference case, a bombshell decision that upends the last remaining criminal case against incoming President Donald Trump.

In a 2-1 opinion, the court concluded that Willis�...Read more

DENVER — Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, one of the state’s most prominent election deniers, transferred jails this week due to safety concerns, sheriff’s officials said Wednesday.

Peters recently told deputies at the Mesa County Jail that she was afraid for her safety, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

Mesa ...Read more

Shortly after former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration to serve as U.S. attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate Pam Bondi for the position. A former Florida attorney general, Bondi also worked for Trump as a defense lawyer during the first of his two impeachment trials.

While much ...Read more

ATLANTA — The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office should be disqualified from the 2020 election interference case, a bombshell decision that upends the last remaining criminal case against incoming President Donald Trump.

In a 2-1 opinion, the court concluded that Willis�...Read more

President-elect Donald Trump urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to “act decisively” and reject compromise with Democrats on Thursday after Trump and Elon Musk torpedoed a spending deal to avert a government shutdown as soon as this weekend.

With a shutdown just hours away, Trump declared that he wants the GOP leader to force a new deal ...Read more

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified Thursday from the Georgia election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump over an affair with her top lieutenant.

In the latest big legal victory for Trump, a Georgia appeals court said in a 2-1 ruling that “disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will ...Read more

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to hold talks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, while striking a defiant tone on his war on Ukraine by saying he should have invaded sooner.

“I don’t know when we’ll meet because he doesn’t say anything about it,” Putin said of Trump Thursday at his annual televised news conference and ...Read more

ATLANTA — The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office should be disqualified from the 2020 election interference case, a bombshell decision that upends the last remaining criminal case against incoming President Donald Trump.

In a 2-1 opinion, a panel of judges, all GOP ...Read more