I confess, I like earmarks
CNN
Former Rep. Charlie Dent writes that Congress should bring back earmarks because they increase the likelihood of bipartisan efforts on future pieces of legislation. When members can negotiate for district or state-specific assistance to be written into a major bill, they are predisposed to vote for the bill.
The practice ended in 2011 after the Tea Party won a number of seats in Congress and reports surfaced of congressmen abusing the earmark system. Members lobbying for wasteful projects like Alaska's "bridge to nowhere" -- a $223 million earmark buried inside a federal transportation bill in 2005 -- certainly didn't help matters.
Pete Buttigieg is expected to forgo a run for Michigan’s open US Senate seat in 2026, according to two people familiar with the former transportation secretary’s plans, setting up a potential presidential bid in 2028.
The ambiguity of the president’s warning could pave the way for lawsuits. It also could be damaging, critics say, if it has the effect of stifling freedom of speech, among the nation’s most fundamental and heralded rights.
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s decision to not seek reelection marks the latest bit of tough luck for Senate Democrats, who face an increasingly challenging midterm election map as they fight to climb out of the minority.
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A month after losing her job at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Corinne Bazarnyj is still waiting to be approved for unemployment benefits.
An explosion on the Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock set off fires and power outages Wednesday, leading school officials to issue evacuation orders for several buildings and cancel classes for the rest of the week.
Tim Walz is headed back out on the road – this time, for a tour of House districts represented by Republicans, some of whom have stopped holding town halls amid the raucous receptions their colleagues have gotten across the country.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has announced a “strategic alliance” to fight organized crime with Erik Prince, the founder of the controversial private defense contractor formerly known as Blackwater.
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Indian authorities have arrested a Lithuanian man wanted by the US for allegedly running a $96 billion cryptocurrency exchange that allowed terrorist organizations, drug traffickers and cybercriminals to launder money.
A federal judge on Wednesday halted parts of President Donald Trump’s executive order that targeted a Democratic-linked law firm.
The sister of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was the target of a bomb threat at her home earlier this month in Charleston, South Carolina, police said Wednesday.
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire announced Wednesday that she will not seek reelection in 2026, a decision that will bring an end to the senator’s historic career in Congress and sets up a competitive race for the Senate seat in the Granite State.