California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, released the last four years of tax returns late last week, providing a glimpse into their financial life over the last four years of Newsom’s time in office. The couple’s annual finances remained relatively stable, with the exception of 2021, when they saw a bump Read More…
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign said he would debate state Rep. James Talarico in Texas’ U.S. Senate race after Talarico challenged him to do so Thursday morning. Talarico, the Democratic nominee, said he had accepted invitations from Texas media groups for three televised debates and urged Paxton, who has not participated in debates Read More…
The man who led the U.S. response to the global pandemic in 2020 told Congress on Wednesday he wouldn’t answer questions about it. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said he will invoke his Fifth Amendment right to protect against self-incrimination in a hearing about his role as Read More…
See the latest fundraising totals, where the money is coming from and how super PACs are spending in what’s poised to be Texas’ most expensive Senate race. The race for Texas’s senate seat is shaping up to be one the most expensive competitions in the nation. Democratic nominee James Talarico is setting records, raising more Read More…
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, released the last four years of tax returns late last week, providing a glimpse into their financial life over the last four years of Newsom’s time in office. The couple’s annual finances remained relatively stable, with the exception of 2021, when they saw a bump Read More…
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign said he would debate state Rep. James Talarico in Texas’ U.S. Senate race after Talarico challenged him to do so Thursday morning. Talarico, the Democratic nominee, said he had accepted invitations from Texas media groups for three televised debates and urged Paxton, who has not participated in debates Read More…
The man who led the U.S. response to the global pandemic in 2020 told Congress on Wednesday he wouldn’t answer questions about it. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said he will invoke his Fifth Amendment right to protect against self-incrimination in a hearing about his role as Read More…
See the latest fundraising totals, where the money is coming from and how super PACs are spending in what’s poised to be Texas’ most expensive Senate race. The race for Texas’s senate seat is shaping up to be one the most expensive competitions in the nation. Democratic nominee James Talarico is setting records, raising more Read More…
A bipartisan coalition of Gulf Coast lawmakers is pushing to change a 73-year-old law that limits their states’ maritime boundaries to 3 miles offshore, potentially reshaping the regulation of local fisheries and generating billions of dollars in tax revenues from offshore energy and minerals leases. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., and a group Read More…
Calling in to Sean Hannity’s radio show Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz offered a blunt warning cry to his party: Democratic state Rep. James Talarico has a legitimate shot at flipping Texas this year. “Unfortunately, I do think he has a real chance,” Cruz told Gov. Greg Abbott, who guest hosted the three-hour talk radio Read More…
Legislation meant to protect American teens and children online recently passed the U.S. House with strong bipartisan support, but civil liberties groups are warning that the bill could have unintended consequences. The Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, which passed the House in a bipartisan 267-117 vote, is a compilation of bills that, among Read More…
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision on Monday, ruled that states can accept and count mail-in ballots received after the federal Election Day. The decision comes out of the high court’s ruling in Watson v. RNC, a case challenging Mississippi’s acceptance of mail-in ballots up to five days after Election Day as long Read More…
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz took a big bipartisan swing last month when he unveiled a compromise bill with Democrats to regulate college sports, a play he believes is the only path to saving the multibillion dollar industry from itself. The Protect College Sports Act, which Cruz wrote with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, after months of Read More…
The vast majority of Republicans indicated they had moved on from the bitter GOP primary and now support Paxton. Talarico had commanding leads among independents and moderates. Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are neck and neck in the race for U.S. Senate, according to a new poll released Tuesday by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas Read More…
(The Center Square) – Betting on a football score isn’t gambling. At least not according to the federal Commodities Futures Trading Commission. The commission recently proposed rule changes to strengthen its governance over prediction markets and sports betting. The changes involve how the panel defines “gaming” and “gambling.” The proposal defines limitations for the CFTC’s Read More…
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico on Thursday slammed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, his Republican opponent, for a plea deal his office offered a Waco man who was charged with repeatedly sexually abusing a young boy. Speaking from the steps of the McLennan County Courthouse in Waco, Talarico demanded that Paxton release communications from Read More…
(The Center Square) – The controversial union-backed billionaire tax in California is officially heading to the Nov. 3 ballot. Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced the California Billionaire Tax Act exceeded the number of signatures it needed to qualify for the general election. The initiative aims to impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on the Read More…
WASHINGTON — One of the lawyers who defended Attorney General Ken Paxton during his three-year-old impeachment trial endorsed Democrat James Talarico Monday in Texas’ U.S. Senate race. Dan Cogdell, a veteran Houston attorney who represented Paxton in his long-running felony securities fraud case and his 2023 impeachment, announced his support for Talarico in an interview Read More…
(The Center Square) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged in two congressional hearings this week to cut the federal deficit to 3% of GDP, a target the government’s own budget projections do not currently support. Bessent repeated the goal before both the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, telling lawmakers Read More…
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order reclassifying approximately 8,000 policy-influencing federal positions into a new category called Schedule Policy/Career, making it significantly easier for agencies to remove employees who perform poorly, engage in misconduct, or resist presidential directives. The order targeted the highest-ranking career positions outside of the Senior Executive Service, with Read More…
(The Center Square) – The United States has about 20 years to change course on its national debt before it reaches the estimated limits of its debt capacity, according to new research from the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Researchers estimate the outer limit of U.S. debt capacity at about 210% of gross domestic product. At Read More…
National Democrats on Wednesday unveiled their most ambitious list of targets in the Texas House in years, adding a dozen districts, on top of three previously announced seats, to their battleground docket for the fall midterms. Twelve of the Texas districts targeted by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, an arm of the national party that Read More…
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson used the weekly House Republican Leadership press conference Tuesday to highlight new Treasury Department data showing the Working Families Tax Cuts delivered the largest share of tax relief to lower and middle income earners, while simultaneously calling on Democrats to support a trio of Republican bills targeting waste, fraud, Read More…
WASHINGTON — A handful of Senate Republicans this week joined Democrats to oppose a controversial Trump nominee and vote against the president’s “anti-weaponization fund” and East Wing ballroom — the latest display of defection from a band of GOP moderates, retiring members and vulnerable incumbents in the upper chamber. Sen. John Cornyn was not among Read More…
(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania government has a $5.7 billion problem, and close observers of those running the state don’t anticipate seeing a full solution 46 days from now when the 2026-27 budget deadline arrives. The latest projection from the state Independent Fiscal Office is for a budget deficit of $5.7 billion next fiscal year. Read More…
(The Center Square) – Parental rights group the American Parents Coalition is urging Congress to review federal funding of the American Academy of Pediatrics, alleging that the organization prioritizes politics and gender ideology before children’s health while using tax dollars. Executive director of American Parents Coalition Alleigh Marré told The Center Square that “President [Donald] Trump’s Read More…
(The Center Square) – Democratic senators are advancing a series of proposals to tax America’s wealthiest households, with supporters projecting trillions in new federal revenue. Critics, however, argue the plans would generate far less than promised while creating economic and legal complications. Democrats have introduced four major proposals this year aimed at millionaires and billionaires. Read More…
Speaker Mike Johnson delivered remarks after House Republicans ended what he characterized as a Democrat-driven DHS shutdown and passed a budget resolution to fund immigration enforcement and border security for three years, a move Republicans say will prevent future efforts to reopen the border or halt the removal of criminal illegal immigrants. House Republicans also Read More…
House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a sharp rebuke Thursday of congressional Democrats following reports that party leadership is briefing members on the use of the 25th Amendment and amid calls from more than 80 Democratic lawmakers for the impeachment and removal of President Donald Trump. In a statement, Johnson dismissed the efforts as politically motivated Read More…
(The Center Square) – Planned Parenthood received $832 million in taxpayer funding in 2024-2025, an increase of $39.8 million from its previous report. A record number of abortions also were performed by the organization. President of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Marjorie Dannenfelser told The Center Square that “taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund Planned Read More…
The Trump administration released a list Thursday of nine undocumented immigrants facing serious criminal charges across multiple states, using the cases to intensify pressure on congressional Democrats to approve additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security and end what the White House describes as sanctuary city policies that shield criminal offenders from deportation. The Read More…
The White House on Friday celebrated a stronger-than-expected March jobs report, saying the numbers validated President Trump’s economic agenda and signaled accelerating momentum heading into the second quarter of 2026. The economy added 178,000 jobs in March, nearly triple what economists had forecast, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.3% while Read More…
(The Center Square) – Democratic officials from 23 states and the District of Columbia announced Friday they’re suing to block President Donald Trump’s recent executive order regulating mail-in and absentee ballots. The suit was slated to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. A copy of the lawsuit wasn’t available as Read More…
The president on Thursday signed into law three measures authorizing the awarding of the Medal of Honor to U.S. service members for acts of valor in combat. Among the bills signed was H.R. 3377, which authorizes the president to award the Medal of Honor to James Capers Jr. for his actions while serving in the Read More…
House Speaker Mike Johnson sharply criticized Democrats following a House vote on funding for the Department of Homeland Security, accusing them of prioritizing immigration-related policies over national security and public safety. Johnson’s remarks came after what he described as the third vote in which a bipartisan majority of House members supported funding DHS operations, while Read More…
(The Center Square) – The majority of voters across the country support state bans on transgender athletes competing in girls’ and women’s sports, according to The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll. The Voters’ Voice Poll found that 68% of registered voters support allowing the Supreme Court to uphold state bans on transgender women competing in Read More…
The Trump administration on Friday rolled out a sweeping national legislative framework for artificial intelligence, outlining a broad federal agenda aimed at boosting U.S. competitiveness, protecting free speech, supporting families and securing American leadership in the global AI race. The White House said the framework is designed to give Congress a roadmap for tackling the Read More…
(The Center Square) – The American Legislative Exchange Council called on state legislatures to embrace limited tax regulation and greater investment in artificial intelligence to facilitate effective government processes. The council released its AI policy toolkit calling for a “light-touch” policy approach to AI. “U.S. regulators risk jeopardizing A.I.’s massive potential and benefits to consumers Read More…
Former President Bill Clinton told lawmakers Friday that he “saw nothing that gave me pause” during the time he spent with Jeffrey Epstein, offering closed-door testimony to congressional investigators examining his relationship with the late financier and convicted sex offender. Clinton appeared before members of the House Oversight Committee as part of an ongoing inquiry Read More…
(The Center Square) – Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio on Thursday backed a bipartisan proposal to cap annual deficits at 3% of gross domestic product, a resolution that would allow Congress to continue to spend more taxpayer money than it collects for years to come. House Resolution 981 would limit yearly deficits to 3% of GDP Read More…
The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday afternoon signed legislation that involves a $590 million loan for Bay Area public transportation. Speaking before reporters in San Mateo County, Newsom said the loan will be paid back in 12 years. The first two years will be interest-free. “This is not just about transportation. Read More…
The Trump administration on Wednesday pointed to a stronger-than-expected consumer inflation report as evidence that price pressures are easing and real wages are rising, arguing that the economy has rebounded from what officials describe as the prior administration’s inflation surge. In a statement, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai said the latest Consumer Price Read More…
(The Center Square) – A national taxpayer advocacy group is calling on President Donald Trump and Congress to address the nation’s rising debt, warning that interest payments and long-term spending commitments are putting increasing pressure on the federal budget. The warning comes after the Congressional Budget Office projected that federal debt held by the public will reach Read More…
(The Center Square) – The House Oversight Committee is investigating the rapid rise in value of two companies owned by Rep. Ilhan Omar’s husband, amid concerns over financial transparency and potential influence. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Omar’s husband, Timothy Mynett, has ownership stakes in two companies, eStCru Read More…