Six GOP senators voted with Democrats in support of a proposal sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to block the construction of President Trump’s 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom unless Congress authorizes the project. The amendment would have given Congress sole authority to construct a new ballroom and would have barred any federal funds or private… Source link
Democratic senators are hoping to add guardrails on the military’s AI use to an annual defense policy bill as the House Armed Services Committee prepares to debate the massive legislation on Thursday. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill Tuesday that would limit AI use for launching nuclear weapons, surveilling Americans and developing or deploying… Source link
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 02, 2026 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the U.S. is in talks with Iran and that Tehran has agreed to negotiate parts of its nuclear program it had previously refused to discuss, as lawmakers pressed the Trump administration for a strategy to end the war. “Talks with Iran are not like talks with Switzerland,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “They require the use of intermediators.” Rubio said there is a chance “today,” “tomorrow” or “next week” that Iran could engage on nuclear issues that it had refused to discuss “just a month ago, just a year ago.” That does not guarantee a deal “acceptable to the Senate or acceptable to the American people,” Rubio said, but it would let the U.S. “truly test” how far Iran is willing to go. The comments amounted to a striking shift in tone from …
WASHINGTON — For much of Donald Trump’s second term, Republican senators have largely stayed in line, wary of defying a president with a history of targeting those who cross him. This week, that dynamic noticeably shifted. Senate Republicans blocked two of Trump’s legislative priorities, angered by the push to create a $1.8-billion federal fund to compensate people who claim to have been politically persecuted, including rioters who assaulted the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The revolt forced Republican leaders to pull a planned vote on legislation to fund the president’s immigration crackdown and security features for his White House ballroom project. In response, the president defended the fund and lashed out at its critics. “I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media website. “Instead, I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE”! The president also called Republican senators who broke with him quitters who …
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s grip on his party slipped on Thursday as anger boiled over among Senate Republicans about a growing list of issues. In a striking display of defiance, GOP senators abruptly derailed plans to vote on legislation to fund Trump’s immigration crackdown amid deep disagreements over security funding for a White House ballroom and a $1.8-billion fund to pay people who claim to have been politically persecuted. The discontent had been building for weeks. Many senators had grown frustrated over Trump’s decision to endorse candidates running against longtime Republican incumbents. Others, worried about rising costs as a result from the war in Iran, had aired concerns ahead of the midterm elections. But the breaking point came when the Justice Department, with little warning, pushed to create what it termed the “anti-weaponization fund.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) acknowledged the concerns over the fund Thursday after a reportedly contentious private meeting about it between Senate Republicans and acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche. He also conceded midterm politics had added to the tension. “It’s hard to …
A Senate panel spent hours Wednesday (May 20) hearing whether America’s fast-growing sports betting industry is outpacing the rules meant to control it. The Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee’s hearing, titled “No Sure Bets: Protecting Sports Integrity in America,” brought together regulators, gaming executives, integrity specialists, and lawmakers who disagreed sharply over how prediction markets should be treated under federal law. The session took place inside the Russell Senate Office Building and was led by Sen. Marsha Blackburn through the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy. Much of the discussion centered on prediction-market platforms that now offer contracts tied to sporting events nationwide under commodities regulations instead of traditional state gaming laws. Several senators questioned whether those companies are effectively acting like sportsbooks while avoiding many of the restrictions imposed on licensed gambling operators. AGA warns prediction markets are ‘national sportsbooks’ during Senate hearing Bill Miller, president and chief executive officer of the American Gaming Association, delivered some of the hearing’s strongest criticism toward prediction-market operators. He argued that companies offering sports-event contracts …
A U.S. passport featuring an image and signature of U.S. President Donald Trump is seen in this rendering released by the State Department, in Washington, April 28, 2026. U.S. State Department | Via Reuters President Donald Trump’s face should not be printed on a special edition U.S. passport, a group led by Democratic senators said in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday. The group, led by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., in the letter shared first with CNBC, called on Rubio to halt plans to issue a limited number of passports featuring Trump to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary. “The U.S. passport has never — and should not now — feature an image of a sitting U.S. president. We ask you to halt these plans given the anti-democratic impact this decision will have,” the group wrote. The letter was signed by Sens. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with Democrats. Read more CNBC politics coverage The State Department announced via X in …
Sens. Katie Britt and Richard Blumenthal rolled out bipartisan legislation Monday (May 18) aimed at stopping online platforms from directing sports betting advertisements toward minors. The proposal, called the Gaming Advertisement to Minors Enforcement Act, or GAME Act, would apply to social media companies and digital advertising networks that promote sportsbooks and prediction markets. Congress has been completely feckless when it comes to protecting our children online. It’s past time we take action. I’m introducing legislation with @SenBlumenthal to ban digital gambling ads targeting minors. Proud to be a leader in this fight to take on companies who… https://t.co/YLpLH30MtS — Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) May 18, 2026 Lawmakers from both parties have been pushing for tighter federal oversight of the online gambling industry. Recent congressional efforts have included renewed attention on the SAFE Bet Act, a separate proposal that would add consumer protections, advertising restrictions, and affordability checks for sports bettors. The legislation would apply to major digital platforms with more than 100 million monthly users, including social media companies, search engines, and online …
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators unanimously approved a resolution Thursday to withhold their pay during government shutdowns, an attempt to make federal closures financially painful for lawmakers after a string of record-breaking impasses in the past year. The bipartisan support for the measure comes at a time when federal closures have become longer and more frequent, frustrating lawmakers who say there should be punishment when Congress fails at its most basic legislative duty. Under the resolution, senators’ pay would be withheld by the secretary of the Senate whenever a government shutdown affects one or more agencies, then released once funding is restored. It will take effect the day after the Nov. 3 general election and does not apply to the House. “Shutting down government should not be our default solution to our refusal to work out our issues and our differences,” said Sen. John Kennedy, the bill’s sponsor, in a floor speech Wednesday. “This is about putting our money where our mouth is,” said Kennedy, R-La. Two shutdowns in the past year created significant financial hardship …
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., talks reporters outside the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on “Low-Cost Munitions,” in Dirksen building on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Congress members would be permanently banned from becoming lobbyists after they leave office under a new bipartisan bill, first reported by CNBC. The legislation would not only ban senators and U.S. House members from being registered lobbyists, but would also prevent then from being compensated for trying to influence lawmakers and staff on behalf of companies or groups — closing a loophole that would allow former lawmakers to lobby without being a registered lobbyist. The effort, from Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla. and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., comes as a growing number of lawmakers are speaking out against profiting from their elected positions. Numerous bipartisan bills have been introduced this Congress to ban things like members owning and trading stocks, or banning themselves from betting on prediction markets. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and ranking member of Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban …
