EL PASO, Texas — President Donald Trump headed to the Texas border on Monday to argue his case that walls work as Democrats and Republicans back home in Washington announced a deal had been reached to avoid another government shutdown. Trump was bound for El Paso, aiming to reshape the...
Anti-Abortion Bills: Odds Good in GOP States, not Congress
President Donald Trump's call for a ban on late-term abortions is unlikely to prevail in Congress, but Republican legislators in several states are pushing ahead with their own tough anti-abortion bills that they hope can pass muster with the Supreme Court. Two bills proposing to outlaw abortions after a fetal...
Trump Now Says He Wants More Legal Immigration
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he’s now in favor of more legal immigration because of economic gains on his watch. Trump raised eyebrows in his State of the Union speech Tuesday when he said he wanted people “to come into our country in the largest numbers ever, but they...
Walters: Will the One-Percenters Flee California's High Taxes?
Reality – a new reality – is hitting home as Californians work on their 2018 federal income tax returns. Some are seeing smaller federal tax bites and bigger refunds, thanks to a more generous standard deduction in the tax overhaul that a Republican Congress and President Donald Trump enacted in...
A Different Kind of Shade: Pelosi Smirks, Dismisses Trump
WASHINGTON — So President Donald Trump blew through House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's customary introduction before his State of the Union speech. Who cares? Not Pelosi, who was the white-clad backdrop to every Trump word uttered during his first address to a joint session of Congress under divided government. With a smirk...
Watchdog: 4 Mar-a-Lago Trips in 2017 Costs Taxpayers $14M
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump's four trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort in early 2017 cost taxpayers nearly $14 million, a watchdog report Tuesday said. The Government Accountability Office said travel and accommodations, Secret Service expenses, deployment of bomb-sniffing dogs and other costs for the trips between February 3 and...
SOTU: Trump Says 'Ridiculous Partisan' Probes May Upset Progress
WASHINGTON — In his first State of the Union address to a divided Congress, President Donald Trump warned Democrats on Tuesday that "ridiculous partisan investigations" could derail the nation's economic progress. Trump peppered his speech with calls for bipartisanship, urging Washington to govern "not as two parties, but as one...
Trump to Call for Unity, Face Skepticism in State of Union
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Donald Trump will call for optimism and unity in his State of the Union address, using the moment to attempt a reset after two years of bitter partisanship and deeply personal attacks. But will anyone buy it? Skepticism will emanate from both sides...
Trump Tabs Former Westlands Lobbyist to Lead Interior Dept.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he's nominating a Washington veteran with lobbying ties to U.S. energy companies and farm water interests to lead the Interior Department. David Bernhardt, currently Interior's acting head, would replace Ryan Zinke if the Senate approves his nomination. Zinke resigned in December amid ethics investigations....
Trump Campaign Takes Steps to Prevent a Challenge Within GOP
WASHINGTON — Worried about a potential Republican primary challenge, President Donald Trump's campaign has launched a state-by-state effort to prevent an intraparty fight that could spill over into the general-election campaign. The nascent initiative has been an intense focus in recent weeks and includes taking steps to change state party...