administration

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, nominee for Social Security commissioner, July 19, 2023. (Photo courtesy of the Executive Office of the Governor of Maryland.)

U.S. Senate panel advances former Maryland governor’s nomination to lead Social Security

BY: - November 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley moved one step closer Tuesday to becoming the next Social Security commissioner, a role that would become increasingly difficult as the program inches closer to insolvency during the next decade. The U.S. Senate Finance Committee voted 17-10 to send O’Malley’s nomination to the floor, though it’s not clear […]

In December 2022, then Go.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders (left) announced her plan to nominate Mike Mills (right) as secretary of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

Sanders names interim secretary of Parks, Heritage and Tourism on departure of Mike Mills

BY: - June 5, 2023

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday named State Parks Director Shea Lewis as interim secretary of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. Lewis replaces Mike Mills, founder of the Buffalo Outdoor Center in Newton County and a member of the department’s outdoor tourism board. Mills leaves the administration after less than six months. No official […]

The facade of the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C.

U.S. hits debt limit and Treasury Department begins ‘extraordinary measures’

BY: - January 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — The nation reached its debt limit Thursday, beginning the uncertain process known as extraordinary measures, in which the U.S. Treasury Department uses accounting maneuvers to avoid defaulting on the debt.  The often-used practice is intended to give the Republican House, Democratic Senate and Biden administration time to negotiate a bipartisan agreement to raise […]

Robert K. Hur, former U.S. attorney for Maryland, spoke at a press conference in the Maryland State House in November 2021. Hur has been appointed special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland to head up an investigation into President Joe Biden's handing of classified documents found at his Wilmington, Del., residence and at a pre-presidential office in Washington, D.C. (Photo from the Executive Office of the Governor of Maryland)

White House defends delay in revealing classified documents at Biden private office, home

BY: - January 17, 2023

WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday defended sitting on information about Obama administration classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s private residence and a think tank, saying officials are attempting to balance working with the Justice Department and sharing information publicly.  “We understand that there’s a tension between the need to be cooperative with […]

House Minority Leader speaks Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks with House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) during a press conference on the 2023 Fiscal Year at the U.S Capitol on Dec. 14, 2022. During the news conference, House Republicans called on Congress to vote on a short-term spending bill for the government, which would allow them to pass further funding in the 118th Congress when Republicans hold the majority. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

U.S. House GOP plan calls for federal spending cuts, conditions on debt limit increase

BY: and - January 10, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republican leaders during a closed-door meeting Tuesday shared more details of the secret agreements Speaker Kevin McCarthy made with conservative lawmakers last week to secure the votes he needed to hold the gavel.  The so-called handshake deal, displayed on slides during the GOP weekly conference meeting, if adhered to could have […]

Arkansas Teacher of the Year Jessica Saum, State Board of Education (SBE) Member Kathy McFetridge, Governor-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Secretary of Education nominee Jacob Oliva, SBE Member Randy Henderson and SBE Member Lisa Hunter

Nominee for Arkansas education chief described as goal-driven, ambitious

BY: - January 9, 2023

When Jacob Oliva arrived at Florida’s Flagler County School District nearly 25 years ago, his first employer remembers him as an enthusiastic teacher out to change the world. Oliva had a big impact on the district, working his way up from a special education teacher to superintendent during his 17-year tenure. In 2017, he moved […]

Sunrise hits the side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the West Wing of the White House. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

White House keys in on mayors and mayors-elect for D.C. forum on federal funding

BY: - December 15, 2022

WASHINGTON — Mayors from throughout the United States will sit down with senior Biden administration officials Friday for a half-day forum on how their cities can access resources within the COVID-19 aid bill, bipartisan infrastructure law and Democrats’ signature health care and climate change package known as the Inflation Reduction Act.  The meetings, which will […]

U.S. Supreme Court to review Biden student debt relief plan in February

BY: - December 1, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday it will hear oral arguments in February over a legal challenge by six Republican-led states to the Biden administration student borrower relief plan. Until the arguments are heard and the court issues a ruling, the $400 billion Biden plan is on hold due to a nationwide injunction […]

U.S. Supreme Court wrestles over Biden’s immigration enforcement policy

BY: - November 29, 2022

“U.S. Supreme Court wrestles over Biden’s immigration enforcement policy” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.   The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether the Biden administration has the right to […]

President Joe Biden meets with congressional leaders Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, at the White House. On the agenda was a $37-billion request for disaster relief. Biden met with (L-R) House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

More than $37 billion in disaster aid under scrutiny in congressional lame duck

BY: - November 29, 2022

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration wants Congress to approve more than $37 billion to help communities throughout the country recover from various natural disasters, including Hurricanes Ian, which battered Florida and the Southeast U.S. in late September, and Fiona, which hit Puerto Rico.  The supplemental funding request comes on top of a $9 billion COVID-19 […]

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, that student borrowers will get an extension on repaying their loans as the Biden administration battles lawsuits against its debt relief plan. Here, borrowers protest outside the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 18, 2022. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We The 45 Million)

Student loan repayment pause extended by White House amid legal battles over relief plan

BY: - November 22, 2022

WASHINGTON — The Department of Education announced on Tuesday it is extending the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan repayments until June 30 while legal challenges to the administration’s student debt relief program are fought over in the courts. The agency said if the student debt relief program has not been put in place by […]

The Biden administration is asking Congress for another $28 billion for aid to Ukraine. Shown here are rescue workers at the scene of a missile strike in Kyiv on Nov. 15, 2022. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

White House asks Congress for billions in Ukraine, COVID-19 funding during lame-duck session

BY: - November 15, 2022

WASHINGTON —  The Biden administration on Tuesday asked Congress for billions more in funding this year to address COVID-19 and the ongoing war in Ukraine, suggesting lawmakers attach it to a spending bill that must pass before Dec. 16.  The $9 billion request for COVID-19 operations and nearly $38 billion in additional relief for Ukraine […]