debate

Noncitizens allowed to vote in some local elections, spurring backlash from GOP

BY: - March 14, 2023

A few cities and towns around the U.S. are letting noncitizens vote in local elections, and more could follow. In response, Republicans see a chance to turn opposition to noncitizen voting into a national rallying cry. On March 14, Washington, D.C., became the latest city to approve noncitizen voting, when a bill allowing the District’s […]

Democratic National Committee members voted Saturday to make South Carolina the first state to hold a presidential primary in 2024. Here, DNC chair Jamie Harrison speaks at the committee's winter meeting on Feb. 03, 2023, in Philadelphia, (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

DNC delivers blow to New Hampshire, Iowa with overhaul of primary calendar

BY: - February 4, 2023

(CORRECTION: A previous version of this story had an incorrect date for the Michigan primary.) The Democratic National Committee approved a presidential primary calendar Saturday that placed South Carolina as the first nominating state in 2024, pushing back New Hampshire and Iowa from their traditional spots in a party-wide push to diversify the early calendar. […]

COMMENTARY
U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) receives the gavel from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) after McCarthy was elected Speaker on Jan. 7, 2023 after four days of voting and 15 ballots. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

What does the speaker of the House do?

BY: - January 8, 2023

Second in the line of presidential succession after the vice president, the speaker of the House occupies a central role in our national government. But what is it that a speaker actually does? Most people think the speakership is a party office. It’s not. The speaker is selected by the full House membership, though the […]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (right) and Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton were among nine GOP senators who voted Dec. 15, 2022, for a one-week spending bill to keep the government running and give negotiators more time to wrap up legislation that would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Congress clears one-week bill to fund the government, but many hurdles remain

BY: - December 16, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate sent President Joe Biden a one-week government funding bill late Thursday, giving negotiators a few more days to wrap up talks on what is expected to be a $1.7 trillion package to keep the federal government up and running through September.  The short-term bill is the second time Congress has […]

A gloved hand holds a bottle of Covid-19 vaccine.

Federal judge strikes down part of Montana’s far-reaching anti-vax law

BY: - December 13, 2022

In a victory for public health advocates, a federal judge in Montana has blocked the state from implementing a law that would make it illegal for hospitals to ask employees if they are vaccinated. The measure, which passed last year, was the country’s most extreme anti-vaccination law. Health care providers in Montana had sued the […]