by Marshall Cohen | Mar 19, 2013 | National Security
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., (left) and Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., (right) announce Tuesday a new bill to provide nonlethal aid and training to vetted elements of the Syrian opposition. They spoke to reporters in the Dirksen Senate Office Building shortly before a...
by Marshall Cohen | Mar 12, 2013 | Business, Politics
The Senate Banking Committee held two confirmations today: Mary Jo White, right, for chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Richard Cordray, left, for director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (Audrey Cheng/Medill)Republicans blocked...
by Marshall Cohen | Mar 7, 2013 | Living, Politics
WASHINGTON — “Elections have consequences,” politicians often say, but the long lines at polling places in November have triggered a debate on voting reform that could outlast the re-elected president and his agenda. In the wake of problems on Election Day, President...
by Marshall Cohen | Mar 5, 2013 | Business, Politics
WASHINGTON — Jack Lew has accumulated a few gray hairs after four decades in Washington. Now that he’s Treasury secretary, he’s in store to grow a few more. Lew enjoyed a surprisingly smooth nomination process and the Senate overwhelmingly confirmed him last week to...
by Marshall Cohen | Feb 27, 2013 | Business, Politics
Most states follow the federal minimum wage, but some states have taken matters into their own hands and raised the pay limit. Graphic by Marshall Cohen/MedillWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama caught the political world off guard when he proposed raising the minimum...
by Marshall Cohen | Feb 26, 2013 | National Security, Politics
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Chuck Hagel for defense secretary, handing a victory to President Barack Obama after a two-month showdown. Senators voted 58-41 to confirm Hagel. Only four Republicans joined a unified Democratic caucus to support Hagel’s...
by Marshall Cohen | Feb 13, 2013 | Business, Politics
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary nominee Jack Lew deflected Republican critiques of his personal finances Wednesday at his Senate confirmation hearing, moving one step closer to his expected confirmation. Republicans peppered Lew, appearing before the Senate...
by Marshall Cohen | Feb 13, 2013 | Politics
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama urged Congress to take on his ambitious second-term agenda of job growth, immigration reform and gun control in a sweeping State of the Union address on Tuesday. “It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built...
by Marshall Cohen | Feb 6, 2013 | Politics
WASHINGTON — Republicans unveiled a new attack Wednesday against President Barack Obama’s short-term sequester plan, accusing him of risking American lives with billions of dollars in proposed defense cuts. “We’re done cutting meat, we’re into the bone,” said Rep....
by Marshall Cohen | Jan 30, 2013 | Immigration, Politics
Sens. John McCain (center) and Chuck Schumer (right) discuss immigration Wednesday morning with Politico’s Mike Allen. (Fritz T. Burgher/ Medill)McCain and Schumer are optimistic they can get bipartisan support in the Senate, setting a lofty goal of 80 votes for their...
by Marshall Cohen | Jan 23, 2013 | Business, Politics
WASHINGTON — House Republicans approved Wednesday a three-month suspension of the federal debt limit in a move intended to pressure Senate Democrats to pass a budget in the interim. The bill passed 285-144 with support from most Republicans and about half of the...
by Marshall Cohen | Jan 16, 2013 | Business, Politics
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., prepare to announce a new bill that would eliminate the federal debt ceiling. (Kimberly Railey/Medill)Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., says the debt ceiling, now set at $16.4 trillion, was once a “mere...
