WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans' first bill of the new Congress aims to insert the legislative branch into President Donald Trump's Middle East policy — but also tries to drive a wedge between centrist and liberal Democrats over attitudes toward Israel. Among other provisions, the bipartisan package, backed by Senate Majority...
Trump to Take Case for Border Wall to Prime-Time Audience
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will argue to the nation Tuesday night that a "crisis" at the U.S.-Mexico border requires the long and invulnerable wall he's demanding before ending a partial government shutdown that has hundreds of thousands of federal workers fearing missed paychecks on Friday. Trump's first Oval Office...
Newsom Hits Trump's White House Hard in Inaugural Speech
SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom was sworn in Monday and immediately drew sharp battle lines with President Donald Trump, pledging to enact "progressive, principled" policies as the antidote to the White House's "corruption and incompetence." "People's lives, freedom, security, the water we drink, the air we breathe — they...
Trump, Democrats Rams Up Pressure as Shutdown Hits 3rd Week
WASHINGTON — With no weekend breakthrough to end a prolonged partial government shutdown, President Donald Trump is standing firm in his border wall funding demands and newly empowered House Democrats are planning to step up pressure on Trump and Republican lawmakers to reopen the government. Trump showed no signs of...
Trump: Shutdown Could Last 'Months or Even Years'
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared Friday he could keep parts of the government shut down for "months or even years" as he and Democratic leaders failed in a second closed-door meeting to resolve his demand for billions of dollars for a border wall with Mexico. They did agree to...
Is AG Becerra's Focus on Trump Diverting His Attention From Crime?
SACRAMENTO — Xavier Becerra became perhaps the nation's most influential attorney general when he was named California's top lawyer two years ago, and he has since used his post atop what some call the "Resistance State" to pummel President Donald Trump's administration with dozens of legal actions. Heading into 2019,...
Powell Says He Would Reject Any Trump Request to Resign
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that he will not resign if asked to do so by President Donald Trump, a message that heartened investors who had been concerned by Trump's repeated attacks on his hand-picked choice to lead the nation's central bank. Appearing on a panel...
California and Judicial Watch Settle on Cleaning Up Voter Rolls
LOS ANGELES — State election officials and the conservative legal group Judicial Watch have reached a settlement over how California handles records of inactive voters. At issue was how election officials were handling records of voters who hadn't voted in repeated elections and were not part of active voter rolls...
Trump Talks to Family of Slain Valley Police Officer Ronil Singh
President Donald Trump has spoken to the family and former colleagues of the Newman police officer who was shot to death during a Dec. 26 traffic stop by an alleged Mexican national accused of living in the U.S. illegally. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump praised Cpl....
Trump Reclaims Spotlight With Long, Rambling Cabinet Meeting
WASHINGTON — Home alone no more, President Donald Trump had a lot to share when he convened a rambling Cabinet meeting on Day 12 of the government shutdown. The president, eager for company after a lonely stretch in a near-empty White House, zigzagged for more than 90 minutes from his...