Senate Democrats push GOP to end blockade of Biden nominees
CBSN
President Joe Biden unveiled two more ambassador nominees Wednesday, as the White House and Democrats warned that maneuvering by some Senate Republicans to block all but a small fraction of diplomatic and other national security appointees is doing serious harm to U.S. efforts around the globe.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has threatened to keep lawmakers who are eager to get home for Christmas at work in Washington into next week if progress isn't made on the backlog of more than 70 ambassadorial nominees awaiting votes. But about 20 members, mostly Republicans, were already missing during Friday morning votes.
Much of the White House and Schumer's frustration has been pointed toward a few Senate Republicans who have set roadblocks — most notably Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas — by using holds and other procedural maneuvering to slow dozens of ambassador and other appointments at the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State. Schumer told reporters Friday morning there isn't a deal with Republican Senator Ted Cruz on nominations, and that the Senate will be "slogging" through them Friday.
Washington — Senate Democrats are meeting Tuesday morning to elect their leadership for the next two years, after Republicans flipped the chamber in the 2024 elections.
President-elect Donald Trump is pledging to block Japan's Nippon Steel from buying U.S. Steel, a $14.9 billion deal announced a year ago that is now under review for its potential impact on U.S. national security.
A Virginia man has been charged with murder more than four months after his wife disappeared and a substantial amount of blood was found in their suburban Washington home, authorities announced Monday.
Monterey, California — The battle over President-elect Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, may become a test of loyalty for Republican stalwarts — some of whom stood at the center of a bid 10 years ago to remove Hegseth as the head of a veterans' charity over allegations of financial mismanagement, repeated intoxication and sexual misconduct.
The death of a 19-year-old college student on a Texas highway is raising questions about the fleet of drivers Amazon uses to move packages between its facilities. College freshman Iliana Velez's life was cut short in a crash with a contractor who was driving to pick up an Amazon load.
President Biden on Sunday issued a sweeping pardon of his son Hunter, who was convicted earlier this year on federal gun and drug charges, and pleaded guilty to tax charges in California.
Elon Musk's efforts to get his massive $56 billion 2018 Tesla pay package reinstated was rejected by a Delaware judge on Monday.
Two flight attendants for Delta Air Lines were pulled from an international flight after failing a breathalyzer test in Amsterdam on Friday.
Federal investigators found nearly a dozen children to be working dangerous, overnight shifts at Seaboard Triumph Foods' pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, Iowa, the Department of Labor announced.
Washington — Republicans have celebrated holding onto their narrow majority in the House, adding to their flip of the Senate and the White House for a trifecta in Washington next year. But President-elect Donald Trump's selection of a number of House Republicans to fill top posts in his administration is pulling from an already shallow bench, temporarily whittling the GOP majority down further as Trump takes office in January.
President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 30 threatened to slap a 100% tariff on a group of nine nations — the so-called BRICS — if they try to replace the U.S. dollar with another currency.