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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., conducts a news conference after the Senate luncheons in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., left, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., also appear. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Senate plots its final week before elections with potential data center electricity vote

By Niels Lesniewski
Posted September 25, 2026 at 6:02am
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, talks with reporters in the Capitol on Aug. 5. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Vote on Chinese car imports bill sought as Xi meets with Trump

By Kelly Livingston
Posted September 25, 2026 at 5:00am
Newly installed fences surround the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Sept. 16. President Donald Trump threatened on Sept. 15 to keep the Kennedy Center closed for good after a judge ruled his name cannot be added onto the famed arts institution's facade.

Appropriators push to protect Kennedy Center from demolition

By Aris Folley
Posted September 24, 2026 at 5:04pm
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., hold a joint news conference in the Capitol on Jan. 8.

Schumer, Jeffries sue to block federal agents at polls in November

By Michael Macagnone
Posted September 24, 2026 at 4:36pm
Overton appears at her confirmation hearing on Thursday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

FDA nominee evasive on abortion pill but firm on vaccine safety

By Ariel Cohen
Posted September 24, 2026 at 4:31pm
Whitehouse and Schumer conduct a news conference Thursday to highlight GOP connections to the fossil fuel industry. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Permitting bill off until after midterms even as talks close in

By David Jordan and Kelly Livingston
Posted September 24, 2026 at 12:18pm, Updated at 4:05pm
From left, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., conduct a news conference Wednesday about President Donald Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

AI export controls debate rages as Trump, Xi meet

By Mark Schoeff Jr.
Posted September 23, 2026 at 9:54pm
Activists hold signs during a rally outside the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., on May 10, 2025.

White House drops executive order for tighter NIH purview

By Lia DeGroot
Posted September 23, 2026 at 6:43pm
Chairman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., conducts a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Wednesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Permitting deal down to the wire as senators look to the exits

By David Jordan and Kelly Livingston
Posted September 23, 2026 at 6:07pm
Lindsey Isaacs, who was wrongfully arrested in a fatal hit-and-run in Florida, greets Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., at the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Flock and other surveillance technology. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Flock cameras draw bipartisan concerns at Senate hearing

By Allison Mollenkamp
Posted September 23, 2026 at 5:53pm
Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks on Sept. 15 during the Pro-Human Assembly conference on AI legislation in Washington.

AI ‘superintelligence’ ban proposed by Casar, Sanders

By Allison Mollenkamp
Posted September 23, 2026 at 4:10pm
From left: President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick look on during a meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22, 2026.

Trump says administration is weighing diesel export restrictions

By Kelly Livingston and David Jordan
Posted September 22, 2026 at 6:28pm
Vice President JD Vance conducts the White House briefing on Thursday, Sept. 3.

Vance pushes for health fraud legislation in the Senate

By Lia DeGroot
Posted September 22, 2026 at 3:04pm
President Donald Trump addresses the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

‘Into hell’: Trump signals aggressive lame-duck foreign policy at UN

By John T. Bennett
Posted September 22, 2026 at 1:20pm
Lori Freshwater, a writer and health researcher in Rhode Island, received a $400,000 settlement from the Department of Justice as compensation for her mother's death, which was attributed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune.

Settlement of Camp Lejeune case shows dilemma facing many victims

By Mike Magner
Posted September 22, 2026 at 5:00am
President Donald Trump speaks to the Republican Midterm Convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sept. 9.

Trump pivots to foreign policy amid political, legal battles at home

By John T. Bennett
Posted September 21, 2026 at 12:54pm, Updated at 6:38pm
An aerial view, a Flock camera is seen on Monday in Burbank, Calif.

Flock cameras controversy set for Senate hearing

By Allison Mollenkamp
Posted September 18, 2026 at 5:22pm
Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of Defense for policy, testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on March 3.

Pentagon official’s ‘contemptuous’ briefing sparks bipartisan ire

By John M. Donnelly
Posted September 17, 2026 at 8:26pm
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is seen in the Capitol on June 23, 2026. He sought quick passage of the data centers bill. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Ratepayer bill aimed at data center buildout blocked in Senate

By David Jordan
Posted September 17, 2026 at 3:42pm
Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., right, and Tim Kaine, D-Va., conduct a news conference in the Capitol on Jan. 8 (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

NIL bill foes likely out of timeouts as it clears second procedural hurdle

By John T. Bennett
Posted September 17, 2026 at 1:50pm
Supporters of Ukraine hold a protest in Lafayette Square across from the White House in Washington on March 1, 2025.

Robust House majority backs sanctions on Russia and Iran

By John M. Donnelly
Posted September 16, 2026 at 7:47pm
Nicole Saphier testifies before senators on Wednesday. (Screenshot/Courtesy Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee)

Surgeon general nominee won’t renounce RFK Jr. vaccine decisions

By Ariel Cohen
Posted September 16, 2026 at 5:03pm
Senate Commerce Chairman Cruz, R-Texas, is seen in the Capitol on Aug. 4. He sponsored the 'jawboning' bill advanced by the panel on Wednesday.

Push to restrict ‘jawboning’ advanced by Senate Commerce panel

By Allison Mollenkamp
Posted September 16, 2026 at 1:58pm, Updated at 3:25pm
Sponsor Andy Harris, R-Md., showed in June, wanted a vote on his bill before the recess.

Gas tax holiday bill on ice despite House rule fracas

By Kelly Livingston
Posted September 16, 2026 at 2:59pm
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., provided the 218th signature for the discharge petition on Tuesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Veterans benefit bill gets 218 signatures on discharge petition

By Rebecca Kheel
Posted September 16, 2026 at 12:19pm
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., conducts a news conference after the Senate luncheons in the Capitol on Tuesday. Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., left, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., also appear. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

AI threats confront a Congress far from erecting guardrails

By Allison Mollenkamp and Savannah Behrmann
Posted September 15, 2026 at 6:23pm, Updated at 9:36pm
Attorney General Todd Blanche answers questions during a press briefing in the Rose Garden of the White House on Tuesday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Blanche vows to continue midterm efforts despite court blocking mail ballots rule

By John T. Bennett
Posted September 15, 2026 at 6:14pm
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the administration's Iran war supplemental spending request on July 21, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Iran war has cost $38 billion and counting, CBO says

By John M. Donnelly
Posted September 15, 2026 at 4:27pm
Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., says the policy outline is designed to be implemented under a divided government. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Democratic group lays out environmental, economic roadmap

By David Jordan
Posted September 15, 2026 at 11:59am
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., conduct a news conference with student athletes and coaches outside the U.S. Capitol on the “Protect College Sports Act,” on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026.

Cruz, coaching legends make pitch for NIL bill on cusp of votes

By John T. Bennett
Posted September 14, 2026 at 5:48pm