Stories

Browse major news stories and see what officials have said.

Aug 18, 2026· Updated

Jon Ossoff Names Trump's Personal Aide in an Atlanta Campaign Speech — and the White House Answers With Obscenities From Its Communications Director and Press Shop

At a campaign event in Atlanta on August 16, 2026, Sen. Jon Ossoff — on the ballot in November — attacked President Trump's engagement with the job by name-checking Natalie Harp, the executive assistant who travels with him and handles his dictated posts and messages. Ossoff tied it to the Iran war and the USS Abraham Lincoln's record deployment: the president, he said, "sleeps through his meetings, he golfs, and trades stocks," and wants to "build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the emir of Qatar," a reference to the Qatari-donated aircraft. The White House response was unusually personal and profane. Communications Director Steven Cheung and spokesman Davis Ingle each issued statements attacking Ossoff's character rather than rebutting the substance, and Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) defended Harp by invoking her cancer history. Trump, asked about the attack in the Oval Office on August 17, dismissed Ossoff as a "Pee-wee Herman lookalike." The exchange is a marker for the Georgia Senate race and for how the administration handles criticism aimed at the president's personal staff — a subject the White House has otherwise kept off the record.

“Natalie Harp survived bone cancer because President Trump allowed her the "right to try." Now she's an extremely hardworking and trusted assistant. Any other insinuation is vile.”
Brandon Gill (R-TX) · Aug 18, 2026

Aug 13, 2026· Updated

The House Votes 308-117 to Stop Changing the Clocks — and the Fight Moves to a Senate Where the Opposition Is Republicans From States That Would Not See Sunrise Until After 9 A.M.

On July 14, 2026, the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act 308-117, sending President Trump's long-standing demand for permanent, year-round daylight saving time to the Senate. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL). Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), presiding over the vote, played the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" from his phone as he read the tally. The split does not run cleanly along party lines. The bill's loudest champions are Florida Republicans; its Republican opponents are from northern and Mountain West states — Reps. Bryan Steil (R-WI), Rick Crawford (R-AR), Ryan Zinke (R-MT) and Harriet Hageman (R-WY) all voted no — where year-round daylight saving would push winter sunrise past 8:30 or 9 a.m. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries opposed the measure, while Democrats including Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) argued the sleep-medicine evidence favors permanent standard time instead. Trump renewed his pressure on the Senate on August 13, 2026. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has publicly objected, invoking the failed 1974 experiment with year-round daylight saving, and Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) has said it does not work for his state. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said it remains to be seen whether the bill can reach 60 votes. The Senate returns from recess September 14.

“This is an issue that Republicans, Dumocrats, and Independents can unite behind.”
Donald Trump (R-FL) · Aug 13, 2026

Trump Refuses to Say He Backs Thune for Another Term as Senate GOP Leader — and Republican Senators Close Ranks Around Thune

In a Punchbowl News interview published Friday, August 7, 2026, President Trump pointedly declined to say whether he would support Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) for another term leading Senate Republicans, telling Jake Sherman "I don't want to get into that necessarily." Trump said he gets along with Thune personally but called it "unfortunate that he doesn't have the votes," referring to the two demands that have driven months of friction between them: passing the SAVE America Act and abolishing the legislative filibuster. Thune has repeatedly told Trump the Senate has neither 60 votes for the SAVE America Act nor 50 votes to end the filibuster — a position vindicated on August 8, when the voter ID component of the bill failed 52-46 on the Senate floor for the sixth time. The non-endorsement was widely read as an opening for a Trump-backed challenge to Thune's leadership. Instead, when senators were asked about it in the days after, Republicans closed ranks. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) said there is "a lot of respect for John Thune" in the conference and drew an explicit line: senators may defer to the president on policy, but the choice of their leader "belongs to us." Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) — who challenged Mitch McConnell for the leadership twice and who had sided with Trump on cancelling the August recess — offered only that leading the conference is "a hard job." Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) framed the rift as a policy disagreement between two men who "like each other." Thune himself declined to escalate, pointing to what he called "a really productive run" and noting he had warned from the outset that some of Trump's asks were closer to impossible than merely difficult. The episode marks a rare instance of Senate Republicans publicly declining to follow Trump's lead, and it sets up the question of whether Trump will recruit a challenger before the conference votes on leadership after the November 2026 midterms.

“I think we've had a really productive run. There are a couple things I said right from the very beginning are going to be difficult if not impossible—frankly more impossible—to do.”
John Thune (R-SD) · Aug 11, 2026

Senate Leaders Strike a Bipartisan Stopgap to Fund the Government Through December 11, Sidestepping Trump and House Republicans

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) released the text of a continuing resolution on August 2, 2026 that would hold federal funding at current levels through December 11 — pushing the next shutdown deadline past the November midterm elections. The Senate voted 89-4 on Monday, August 3 to limit debate on the measure, an unusually early move given that the fiscal year does not end until September 30 and Congress normally waits until the final hours of a funding deadline. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said the predictability was worth it after two lengthy shutdowns, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the bill preserved room to keep negotiating a budget. The measure includes adjustments for WIC, shipbuilding and the Disaster Relief Fund, and both Collins and Murray highlighted a provision blocking a proposed OMB rule on federal grants for the duration of the CR. The bipartisan deal cut against demands from President Trump and House Republicans, whose own CR had taken a different approach; the House was on recess and not scheduled to return until August 31. Murray, while backing the bill, criticized fellow senators for not doing more to check the administration.

“After three unnecessary lapses in funding during the fiscal year 2026 cycle, putting the possibility of yet another harmful shutdown off the table should be a priority for each and every one of us.”
Susan Collins (R-ME) · Aug 8, 2026

Senate Agriculture Committee Deadlocks 10-11 on the Agricultural Act of 2026, Stalling "Farm Bill 2.0" Over SNAP Error-Rate Cost Shifting

On August 6, 2026, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry failed to advance the Agricultural Act of 2026 — the five-year farm bill reauthorization branded "Farm Bill 2.0" — on a 10-11 party-line vote, leaving the package stranded in committee. The bill collapsed over a single unresolved fight: how quickly states would be forced to pick up a share of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit costs based on their payment error rates. Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.) had negotiated directly with the White House to soften the nutrition title, agreeing to delay the state cost-sharing requirement by one year and to let states use whichever of their fiscal 2026 or 2027 error rates was lower. Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) pushed for a two-year delay, arguing the one-year window let the highest-error-rate states escape cost-sharing entirely while states that had already cleaned up their numbers were penalized. Luján's amendment to extend the delay — scored by CBO at roughly $19 billion — failed, and with it the bill. Most of the farm title enjoyed bipartisan support, and a mandatory country-of-origin labeling amendment drew Majority Leader John Thune along with Sens. Deb Fischer, John Hoeven, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst. But the SNAP impasse held, Democratic amendments were defeated along party lines, and the final vote failed. Boozman pointedly recessed rather than adjourned the committee, signaling he intends to bring the bill back after the August break. House Agriculture Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-Pa.) blamed Senate Democrats. Agriculture groups including the National Corn Growers Association, the American Soybean Association and the Farm Credit Council all voiced disappointment, warning the delay pushes a five-year farm bill further out of reach.

“I'm deeply disappointed by this outcome. We have a responsibility to stand with America's farmers, ranchers and rural communities.”
John Boozman (R-AR) · Aug 6, 2026

Senate Confirms Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence on a Party-Line 51-47 Vote

The Senate confirmed Walter "Jay" Clayton III as Director of National Intelligence on the evening of Tuesday, July 28, 2026, by a party-line vote of 51-47 with no Democrats voting in favor. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had advanced the nomination 9-8 on July 21. Clayton, a former SEC chairman and U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, replaces Bill Pulte, whose temporary appointment following Tulsi Gabbard's resignation had drawn sharp Democratic criticism. Majority Leader John Thune and Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton pointed to Clayton's prosecutorial record, including terrorism cases and the indictment of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Democrats objected to his committee testimony, particularly his answers about subpoenas issued in connection with New York Times reporting and about the 2020 election; Sen. Ron Wyden said there were credible allegations Clayton had provided false testimony. Vice Chairman Mark Warner, who had worked with Clayton at the SEC, said he came away from the process with serious reservations about whether Clayton would resist political pressure.

“Jay Clayton’s record inspires confidence in the type of DNI that he will be.”
John Thune (R-SD) · Jul 28, 2026

Temporary Protected Status Ends for 350,000 Haitians After Senate Republicans Block Extension Bill

Temporary Protected Status for more than 350,000 Haitians ended in late July 2026 after a year of litigation and a failed effort in Congress. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination in November 2025; a district judge blocked it in February 2026, and on June 25, 2026 the Supreme Court cleared the way for the administration to end the program for Haiti and Syria. The D.C. Circuit rejected the administration's request to terminate protections on July 24, holding them in place until at least July 27. In the interim, Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) sought unanimous consent on July 22 and 23 to pass S. 4814, the House-approved bill designating Haiti for TPS through the next presidential election, which had cleared the House 224-204 in April on a bipartisan discharge petition led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) objected, blocking the bill. As protections lapsed, ICE prepared targeted arrest operations and deportation flights, with planning that included Ohio communities with large Haitian populations.

“Washington has invented a new definition of "temporary": Permanent. I object to this bill which would keep 350,000 Haitians here permanently. TPS was created for emergencies. Democrats have turned it into a one-way ratchet toward permanent mass immigration. Temporary must mean temporary. And elections must have consequences.”
Eric Schmitt (R-MO) · Jul 23, 2026

House Passes Second Iran War Powers Resolution 214-208 as Senate Rejects Its Own 47-49

On Thursday, July 23, 2026, the House voted 214-208 to limit President Trump's authority to expand the war with Iran — the second war powers rebuke the chamber has passed since the war began, and the first since the ceasefire collapsed and the US resumed strikes in early July. The resolution, led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), drew four Republican crossover votes: Reps. Tom Barrett (R-MI), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Warren Davidson (R-OH). The vote came five days after an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack killed three US service members. Later the same day the Senate rejected a parallel measure 47-49, denying opponents of the war the bicameral rebuke they had secured weeks earlier. The House resolution is not legally binding.

“We have all the authorities necessary at this moment.”
Pete Hegseth (R-MN) · Jul 23, 2026

Sen. Lindsey Graham Dies at 71, Drawing Bipartisan Tributes

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died the night of Saturday, July 11, 2026, at his Capitol Hill residence in Washington, DC, after emergency personnel responded to a cardiac arrest call. His office confirmed the death early Sunday, July 12, attributing it to a "brief and sudden illness." He was 71. A preliminary report from the DC medical examiner gave the cause as aortic dissection due to heart disease. Graham was first elected to the Senate in 2002 after four terms in the House, and had become one of President Trump's closest Senate allies after years as a leading foreign-policy hawk and ally of the late Sen. John McCain. His death drew tributes from across the political spectrum and from foreign leaders including Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Benjamin Netanyahu, and left Senate Republicans with a vacancy in a chamber where their majority is narrow.

“A one-of-a-kind figure in our politics. I couldn't help but like him.”
JD Vance (R-OH) · Jul 12, 2026

Sen. Mitch McConnell Hospitalized for Weeks After June 2026 Home Medical Emergency

Former Senate Republican Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 84, was hospitalized on June 14, 2026, after paramedics were dispatched to his Washington, D.C., home for a report of an "unconscious" person; police-scanner audio indicated EMS performed CPR for a "cardiac arrest" at the address. His office has never disclosed a diagnosis or the reason for admission. As of early July 2026 he remained hospitalized for weeks, with his office saying he "continues to improve" and is working with staff on Senate and Kentucky matters while the Senate is out of session. It was his second hospitalization of the year. Senate colleagues and Kentucky officials, including Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Rand Paul, offered well-wishes and updates on his recovery.

“The senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) · Jul 2, 2026

Senate Passes $70 Billion ICE and Border Patrol Funding Bill 52-47

The Senate voted 52-47 early on June 5, 2026 to pass a $70 billion immigration enforcement package funding ICE ($38.6B) and Customs and Border Protection ($26B) through the end of the Trump administration. The bill also includes a $5 billion DHS enforcement allocation and a $1.776 billion DOJ "anti-weaponization" settlement fund that had sparked weeks of internal Republican backlash. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the only Republican to vote against the bill, which all Democrats opposed. The final vote came just before 5 a.m. after a 19-hour session that saw Republicans defeat multiple Democratic and GOP amendments to eliminate the settlement fund. The bill now heads to the House, where Majority Leader Steve Scalise indicated he wants quick passage.

“Republicans are going to continue to ensure that these agencies have the funding that they need to fulfill their national security responsibilities.”
John Thune (R-SD) · Jun 5, 2026

May 25, 2026· Updated

Trump Says Iran Deal "Largely Negotiated" — GOP Senators Call It a Disaster

On May 23, 2026, President Trump announced on Truth Social that a memorandum of understanding to end the US-Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz is "largely negotiated," with Secretary of State Rubio confirming "a pretty solid thing on the table." The reported deal terms — a 60-day ceasefire extension, Iran retaining uranium enrichment capabilities, and Iran maintaining a role in the strait — immediately drew sharp Republican opposition. Senators Graham and Wicker, chairs of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees respectively, called a 60-day ceasefire with Iran "a disaster." Sen. Ted Cruz warned that any deal leaving Iran with enrichment capabilities and effective control of the Strait of Hormuz would be "a disastrous mistake." Sen. Thom Tillis said the deal was "doomed to fail" without congressional oversight. Democrats also weighed in, with Sen. Cory Booker calling the framework hypocritical given the Trump administration's rejection of the Obama-era nuclear deal. Speaker Johnson and Rep. Massie were among the minority of Republican voices expressing support for or openness to a deal.

“[Johnson predicted that a deal with Iran would bring gas prices down and be "a big thing" for the US midterm elections.]”
Mike Johnson (R-LA) · May 25, 2026

PreviousPage 3 of 4Next