negotiations

Striking UAW workers at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne on Sept. 18, 2023. (Ken Coleman/Michigan Advance)

UAW head says union has ‘cards left to play’ as Detroit Three negotiations continue

BY: - October 21, 2023

As the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against the Detroit Three automakers stretches into its fifth week, President Shawn Fain said Friday afternoon that the union “has cards left to play” in negotiations. “In the past 24 hours, we’ve gotten new offers from two of the three companies. So despite all the bluster about how […]

Louisiana GOP Rep. Garret Graves, left, and North Carolina Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry speak with reporters about debt limit and government spending negotiations outside the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

Treasury secretary pinpoints June 5 as earliest date for U.S. debt default

BY: - May 26, 2023

This story was updated to include Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s latest estimates on a debt limit deadline. WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress and the Biden administration have until at least June 5 to broker and enact a debt limit bill under new estimates from the Treasury Department, giving negotiators a few more days before the […]

President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference following the Group of Seven (G-7) leaders summit on May 21, 2023, in Hiroshima, Japan. Biden called Republican demands for sharp spending cuts unacceptable and said he'll talk with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about debt-ceiling and budget negotiations on his flight back from Japan. (Kiyoshi Ota-Pool/Getty Images)

Biden says he’s offered $1 trillion in spending cuts but GOP won’t budge on debt limit

BY: - May 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Sunday his administration has offered $1 trillion in spending cuts as part of the ongoing talks with Republicans around a budget agreement, but he said no deal has yet been reached.  Biden, speaking from Japan during a press conference following the G7 summit, said his administration wants House Speaker […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy outside the White House after talks on the debt limit with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders. May 16, 2023. (Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

Some movement reported in debt limit talks as Biden cuts short overseas trip

BY: and - May 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and congressional leaders struggled to find common ground on the debt ceiling during a Tuesday meeting, though lawmakers said afterward there was some progress toward a deal. Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will become the two primary negotiators on a bipartisan debt limit bill that could include other […]

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gives a thumbs-up after being elected Speaker of the House in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 7, 2023. After four days of voting and 15 ballots, McCarthy secured enough votes to become speaker for the 118th Congress. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

U.S. House GOP backs McCarthy as speaker after tense and chaotic late-night session

BY: and - January 7, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House elected Kevin McCarthy speaker early Saturday after most of the chamber’s Republicans finally gathered behind him, ending a four-day stalemate that led to the most rounds of voting for a speaker since before the Civil War.  The California Republican was able to clinch the gavel on the 15th ballot by […]

U.S. Rep.-elect Steve Scalise (R-LA) (right) talks to Rep.-elect Ken Buck (R-CO) in the House Chambers on the second day of voting for Speaker of the House on Jan. 04, 2023. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to earn more than 218 votes on six separate ballots Tuesday and Wednesday, the first time in 100 years that the Speaker was not elected on the first ballot. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

U.S. House paralyzed following second day of GOP failure to elect a speaker

BY: and - January 4, 2023

(This story was updated at 7:50 p.m. Central on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, to reflect the House’s vote to adjourn until Thursday.) WASHINGTON — The U.S. House adjourned without a speaker for the second day in a row Wednesday as Republicans’ stalemate over who should lead the chamber for the next two years dragged on, with […]

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) encouraged his fellow Republicans on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, to pass the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package by Friday to keep the government funded through Sept. 30, 2023.(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Congress rolls out $1.7 trillion spending deal in race to Friday deadline

BY: - December 20, 2022

WASHINGTON — Congress unveiled a $1.7 trillion spending package early Tuesday that would fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, completing the annual process that began this spring when President Joe Biden sent lawmakers his budget request.  Biden’s chief budget official in a statement urged Congress to speedily pass the massive […]

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 and Senate GOP at odds over massive government spending deal

BY: - December 14, 2022

WASHINGTON — Congress is trying to wrap up its remaining must-pass bills before leaving for the holidays — but a split between Senate Republican and House GOP leaders could hamstring the all-important task of funding government operations and averting a partial shutdown. Senate Republicans are working with Democrats in both chambers to negotiate a major […]

President Joe Biden signs bipartisan legislation to avert a freight rail workers strike with (L-R) Director of Made in America Celeste Drake, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Dec. 02, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Biden signs bill that staves off railroad workers strike

BY: - December 2, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday signed into law a resolution intended to avert a freight rail strike, based on an agreement reached between some rail unions and freight rail companies. Several unions did not agree with the deal passed by Congress because it lacked paid sick leave, but Democrats have said the alternative […]

John Boozman sails to victory for third term in U.S. Senate

BY: and - November 8, 2022

Arkansas U.S. Sen. John Boozman won a third six-year term Tuesday, and if Republicans retake control, he is likely the next chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The Associated Press declared him the winner over Democrat Natalie James and Libertarian Kenneth Cates shortly after the polls closed at 7:30 p.m.  At 9:32 p.m., with 57% […]

U.S. Senate approves stopgap spending bill with disaster relief, heating aid

BY: - September 29, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved broadly bipartisan legislation Thursday that would provide billions for natural disaster relief, military and economic aid to Ukraine, and funding to help low-income families offset the rising costs of heating and cooling their homes.  It includes $2.5 billion in assistance for the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire that burned large […]