republicans

The Filibuster: A Key Tool of Obstruction in America’s Political Crisis

At the end of October, as the U.S. federal government entered its 30th day of shutdown, President Donald Trump made a forceful call to eliminate the filibuster, arguing that Republicans should be able to pass legislation without Democratic support. He claimed it was time to invoke the so-called “nuclear option” and revert to a simple majority ...

Trump Urges Scrapping Key Vote Threshold to End Shutdown

President Donald Trump on Thursday called for the "Nuclear Option" of scrapping the key 60-vote threshold required for the Senate to advance legislation, as Republicans face mounting pressure to end the US federal shutdown. The move would get rid of a longstanding rule that enables 41 of the 100 senators to block any bill from debate or vote -- a ...

Republicans Warn US Shutdown Could Force Layoffs of Nuke Workers

The US government shutdown could force the layoffs of most of the employees handling the nation's nuclear weapons, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee warned Friday. "We were just informed last night (that) the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) -- the group that handles and manages our nuclear stockpile -- that the ...

María Corina Machado Wins the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

At 58, María Corina Machado became the first Venezuelan woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The announcement from Oslo recognizes her steadfast and nonviolent fight for democracy in a country where opposing the government carries great risk. Born in Caracas in 1967, she is an industrial engineer and a graduate of the Andrés Bello Catholic ...

US Government Shutdown Seen Dragging Into Next Week

The US government shutdown appeared likely to stretch into next week as senators prepared Friday to vote for a fourth time on a funding fix proposed by Donald Trump's Republicans that has little hope of success. Federal agencies have been out of money since Wednesday—with a wide range of public services crippled—as a result of deadlocked ...

Trump Ramps Up Pressure on Democrats Over US Government Shutdown

Donald Trump signaled Thursday that he plans to follow through on his threat for mass layoffs of US federal workers as he ratcheted pressure on Democrats to back moves to end the government shutdown. The Republican president announced he would meet budget chief Russell Vought "to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a ...

ADDS Energy Projects Terminated, New York Funding Freeze

Efforts to swiftly end the US government shutdown collapsed Wednesday as Democrats in Congress went home without resolving a funding stand-off with President Donald Trump and the White House threatened public sector jobs. Federal funding expired at midnight after Trump and lawmakers failed to agree on a deal to keep the lights on, prompting ...

Senate Democrats Reject GOP Funding Bill, Raising Risk of Government Shutdown

US senators failed to pass a stopgap funding bill Friday as Republicans raced to avert a government shutdown and political challenge to President Donald Trump. Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives had narrowly passed the measure, but it was shot down by Democrats in the Senate amid no sign of compromise with Trump's ...

Trump Heads for Historic Second UK State Visit

President Donald Trump will get the red carpet treatment this week on an unprecedented second UK state visit, as Britain counts on royal pomp and circumstance to woo the unpredictable US leader. From a flyby and carriage ride with King Charles III to a grand state banquet at historic Windsor Castle, Britain is pulling out all the stops to flatter ...

Washington Steps up Pressure on Hezbollah

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has toughened his stance against Lebanon's Hezbollah, calling for decisive measures to "put an end to its existence" and raising the possibility of military force as an alternative solution. “The time has come to finish with Hezbollah,” he declared, emphasizing that the group “is trained by Iran and completely ...

Texas Republicans Advance Map that Reignited US Redistricting Wars

The Texas legislature's lower chamber passed a contentious new electoral map on Wednesday that aims to help Donald Trump's Republican Party retain its razor-thin US House majority in the 2026 midterm elections. The vote had been delayed by two weeks after Democratic legislators fled the southern state to halt the aggressive redistricting drive, ...

Trump Flirts with Ukraine Security, with Narrow Margins

Donald Trump's newfound if vague willingness to entertain security guarantees for Ukraine could be a game-changer, but the US president's right-wing base is already warning him not to go too far. After a campaign last year spent bashing predecessor Joe Biden over billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, and Trump's public upbraiding of Ukrainian ...