All articles tagged with #us congress
At the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, members of the U.S. Congress reaffirm bipartisan support for Taiwan and its security, underscoring ongoing arms sales approved by Congress and the United States’ unwavering commitment to Taiwan’s defense, even amid intermittent back-and-forth remarks from Trump.
Two members of Congress who traveled to Israel and the West Bank say the territory is undergoing a de facto annexation, citing Palestinian village evacuations, home demolitions, a surge in settlements and settler violence. They point to 2025 as a landmark year for settlement expansion, warn that the move jeopardizes the two-state solution and U.S. interests, and urge policy actions such as restoring sanctions on violent actors and restricting West Bank settlers’ access to the US visa waiver program while pushing the West Bank Violence Prevention Act.
Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson confirms she will not seek a ninth term, saying she’s not retiring and will remain politically engaged. She explains the timing amid Florida’s redrawn maps and a district realignment that concentrates Black voters in District 24, a seat she says carries Carrie Meek’s legacy. Wilson will vet potential successors, continue advocacy for district needs, and pursue other public-oriented work (including a memoir), joking about future runs while emphasizing the importance of voter participation.
Barney Frank, longtime Massachusetts Democrat and one of the first openly gay U.S. representatives, died at 86 after hospice care in Maine. A trailblazer for LGBT rights and the first member of Congress in a same-sex marriage, he helped shape post-crisis banking reform through the Dodd-Frank Act.
With three days to go before Kentucky’s primary, Rep. Thomas Massie told a Florence rally that the vote is a national referendum, as he runs against Trump-backed Ed Gallrein and emphasizes high stakes in the campaign’s final days.
More than 30 House lawmakers urged top defense, state, and homeland security officials to end migrant detention at Guantánamo Bay and reject any military action against Cuba, warning such moves would be unlawful and destabilizing and would worsen displacement; they also pressed to lift sanctions contributing to Cuba’s humanitarian crisis and oppose plans for a Guantánamo migrant camp, citing the base’s abusive history.
Alabama Republicans are pressing to hold new U.S. House primaries if courts approve the state’s redistricting maps, with a special-session clash over SB1/HB1 sparking protests as lawmakers debate how voting districts will be redrawn.
King Charles III’s four-day US visit culminates in an address to Congress, a high-stakes diplomatic moment amid a volatile Trump-led environment. The piece argues he must thread a delicate line—supporting American values and transatlantic ties while avoiding provoking Trump—relying on historical precedent and a calm, composed presence to bolster UK‑US relations.
Congress voted to extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for 10 days after failing to secure a longer reform package, keeping Section 702 powers that let the NSA collect foreigners’ communications (and incidental Americans’ data) without warrants as lawmakers debate changes like ending the backdoor search loophole; supporters say it aids national security, critics argue it enables mass surveillance; the extension runs to April 30 while negotiations continue, with President Trump pressuring for a no-change extension but signaling openness to extending without reforms.
Democrats in Congress are growing reluctant to fund Israel’s Iron Dome amid the Iran-related conflict, with lawmakers like McGovern, Huffman, and Pocan citing accountability concerns and a desire to curb further military aid, signaling a shift that is influencing primaries and pressuring the party to reassess its stance on Israel even as some remain supportive.
Democrat Analilia Mejia narrowly won New Jersey’s 11th District special election to fill Mikie Sherrill’s seat, boosting Democrats to 214 representatives and narrowing Republicans’ slim margin in the House; Mejia ran on affordability and progressive priorities (childcare funding, higher taxes on the wealthy, ICE abolition), and both Mejia and Hathaway will face June primaries for the next two-year term.
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced a bill to extend protections for Haitian immigrants, likely renewing Temporary Protected Status and related safeguards amid ongoing debates over immigration policy and in reaction to prior administration policies; the measure’s fate in the Senate remains uncertain.
A Beverly Hills woman, Lonna Drewes, alleges that Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell raped and choked her during a 2018 hotel encounter, claiming she was drugged and unconscious; Swalwell’s attorney denies the accusations as false and politically motivated, following earlier reports of other women’s accounts and Swalwell’s resignation from Congress, with a special election to fill his seat and primary races already underway for the governor’s contest.
Former New York Democrat Eliot Engel, who chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee and played a key role in Kosovo’s war and the Trump impeachment inquiry, died at 79 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He served 44 years in public service, won his first seat in 1988, and lost the 2020 primary to Jamaal Bowman, marking the end of a long, influential career in diplomacy and policy.
Lawmakers react to reports that the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran as thousands of US troops gather in the Middle East. Officials say plans are options, not a decision, with debates over objectives and congressional oversight. Possible actions range from special-forces raids to broader operations, amid a broader US budget discussion and heightened Iranian threats.