JOHN THUNE

The conversations mark the first time McConnell has spoken directly with anyone on his leadership team — apart from exchanging text messages — since his fall.

Congress is trying to figure out how best to respond to the abrupt failure of two U.S. banks.

Another prominent senator, this time Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), has gone onto medical leave, with no certain timeline for returning.

"We invite him to visit Ukraine to get a deeper understanding of Russia's full-scale invasion and the threats it poses to US interests," a Ukrainian government spokesman said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to run for president in 2024, said the continued support for Ukraine is not a "vital" national interest.

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Republican John Thune will unveil a highly anticipated bill to give the president broad power to address threats from TikTok.

GOP lawmakers toured the southern border on Friday, before putting the blame for the ongoing migrant crisis at the feet of the Biden administration's policies.

The office of Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman says he has checked himself into the hospital for clinical depression.

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman is in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to seek treatment for clinical depression.

The Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act of 2023 aims to prevent President Biden from canceling student debt and protect taxpayers from covering the costs.

The vice president told "CBS Mornings" there has been a growing "theatrical element" to joint sessions of Congress for the State of the Union.

South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune joins "CBS Mornings" to discuss President Biden's State of the Union address and the Republican reaction.

Kari Lake and Blake Masters ran unsuccessful campaigns for state office in Arizona last year, aligning themselves closely to former President Trump.

Senators John Thune and James Lankford to codify protections for babies who survive botched abortions mirroring the bill that passed in the House earlier this month.

After disappointing results in this year's elections, Republicans are reevaluating their antipathy to mail voting.

Donald Trump is betting he can win his way back to the White House by reviving the outsider appeal that fueled his success in 2016.

Republicans are engaged in a round of finger-pointing as both parties sift through the results of Democrats’ stronger-than-expected showing in the midterm elections.

Former President Donald Trump has launched another run for the presidency, promising supporters he will “make America great and glorious again.”.

Senate Republicans are mulling who will lead them into 2024, amid their disappointing midterm elections.

Former President Donald Trump is moving forward with his planned Tuesday announcement, pressing on with a third presidential run.

Neither South Dakota's “Curse of Karl” nor the invocations of former President Donald Trump weighed on Republican Sen. John Thune this week as he breezed to a historic fourth term that could see him ascend to lead the GOP's Senate caucus. It's a conservative style that has been effective for Thune in deep-red South Dakota, which he has represented in the Senate since 2005. Only one other South Dakota senator has won four terms: Sen. Karl Mundt, whose time in Congress from the 1930s to the 1970s inspired a joke in state political circles known as the “Curse of Karl.”

South Dakota GOP Sen. John Thune seeks decisive re-election on Tuesday. Thune holds a major fundraising advantage over Democratic challenger Brian Bengs.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem described the U.S. border with Mexico as a “war zone” last year when she sent dozens of state National Guard troops there.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says he believes his party now has a 50-50 shot of getting the chamber back less than six weeks away from the midterm elections.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has introduced a bill calling for a nationwide abortion ban.

The Senate's sweeping climate, health care and tax bill keeps limit on SALT tax deductions. House Democrats who oppose the cap plan to support the bill anway.

CORRECTION: Seven Democrats voted for the GOP amendment that would extend a cap on the SALT tax deduction. A previous version of this story included incorrect information. Maverick Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Sunday backed a Republican amendment to shield businesses that rely on capital investment from private equity groups from the 15 percent corporate minimum…

Republicans see inflation, taxes and immigration as Democratic weak spots worth attacking in the upcoming battle over an economic package the Democrats want to push through the Senate.

After 13 years, at least three crashes, dozens of scams and Ponzi schemes and hundreds of billions of dollars made and evaporated, cryptocurrencies finally have the full attention of Congress.

One month into his presidency, Joe Biden made clear his distaste for even naming the man he'd ousted from the Oval Office.

With “Three Johns” aspiring to succeed McConnell, Republicans keep tabs on how their caucus splits on big votes.

Many Senate Republicans are not taking a position on the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that would enshrine the right to same-sex and interracial marriage in federal law.

The Senate has unexpectedly launched a new push to protect same-sex marriage in federal law.

President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday meant to make shipping goods across oceans cheaper.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune's remarks follow arguments from other Republicans in the weeks after the mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, Tex., and Tulsa that Americans use AR-15s to kill feral pigs, hunt hogs and get rid of raccoons.

In South Dakota, former President Trump has endorsed GOP Gov. Kristi Noem. As for Republican Sen. John Thune, Trump said his political career was "over" after Thune dismissed election fraud claims.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has won the Republican primary for another term, defeating a former legislative leader who accused her of using the office to mount a 2024 White House bid.

Primary elections in seven states Tuesday will set the stage for U.S. House and Senate battles this fall that will play into control of Congress.

The gunman who killed 19 elementary school children and two teachers in Texas added to the state's grim recent history of mass shootings.

As Biden mulls forgiving a portion of student debt, conservatives say it would be a gift to irresponsible elites, while liberals say it’s a crucial lifeline for young people struggling to get ahead.

Final congressional approval of a $40 billion Ukraine aid bill seems certain within days.

Lawmakers are working toward a compromise on President Joe Biden’s $33 billion Ukraine aid request that they hope to have ready as soon as next week.

A Senate hearing on Wednesday is likely to produce fireworks as Republicans and Democrats square off over the role that foundations and nonprofits are playing in elections.

Biden's request for $33 billion in aid to Ukraine hit an snag on Capitol Hill, where a dispute over immigration threatens to hamstring assistance to Kyiv.

Manchin has responded to a new report about a meeting with Republicans by suggesting he wasn't seriously entertaining their entreaties. But how seriously should we take it?

A compromise $10 billion measure buttressing the government’s COVID-19 defenses has stalled in the Senate.

Legislation punishing Russia for the war in Ukraine is finally getting a vote in the U.S. Senate.

Republicans have blocked a Democratic attempt to begin Senate debate on a $10 billion COVID-19 compromise that is just a day old.

multiple Republicans said Tuesday that they would seek a vote on border restrictions as a condition of the covid-19 package.

The Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which was approved unanimously in the Senate after a version was approved in the House late last year, aims to ease shipping backlogs at U.S. ports.

Jackson’s confirmation will not be overwhelmingly bipartisan, but leaders of both parties agreed the long and often tense interrogation did not alter the fundamental dynamics around the nomination.

Congressional leaders have reached a bipartisan deal to provide $13.6 billion to help Ukraine fend off its invasion by Russia and assist European allies coping with the continent's worst refugee crisis since World War II.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says proposed U.S. aid for Ukraine and its European allies has grown beyond $12 billion.

Senate Democrats and Republicans each want to flash election-year signals that they’re helping families struggling with rising costs and the two-year-old pandemic.

Sure, the minority leader would like to diminish Trump’s influence. But he cares much more about winning elections.

Police in Irving, Texas, once confiscated a gun from Republican Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker following a domestic disturbance — because, they said, the former football star talked about having “a shoot-out with police.”.

The National Archives has confirmed multiple reports of Trump's potentially very blatant violations of presidential records law.

Voting legislation that Democrats and civil rights groups argue is vital for protecting democracy has collapsed.

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota has repeatedly made it clear that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election in a fair process.

Democrats are mounting an impassioned bid to overhaul Senate rules that stand in the way of their sweeping voting legislation.

The South Dakota Republican, a likely successor to Republican leader Mitch McConnell, says he will run for reelection in 2022, putting an end to the speculation about his political future.

U.S. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota is seeking reelection to a fourth term in 2022.

South Dakota political candidates are revving into full campaign mode this week, with one big exception — Republican Sen. John Thune.

As President Joe Biden announces two more ambassador nominees, the White House and Democrats are warning that maneuvering by some Senate Republicans to block all but a small fraction of Biden’s diplomatic and other national security appointees is doing serious harm to U.S. diplomatic efforts around the globe.

It’s one of the most far-reaching of all the federal aid programs launched during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senators say new social media laws could be on the way - sooner than later | Accountable

Senators say new social media laws could be on the way - sooner than later | Accountable

Republicans were livid over Schumer's rebuke after debt ceiling vote. Joe Manchin would've 'done it differently.'

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he will not again help Democrats extend the government’s borrowing authority.

The national debt has grown under both Republican and Democratic administrations. But the fight over it continues to be a partisan affair.

Republicans are stepping up efforts to derail Biden's domestic agenda, and ensuring political brinksmanship over the debt ceiling will heighten.

The Senate voted to advance a $1.2 trillion infrastructure measure, setting up final passage as soon as this weekend.

Many of those reasons were misleading or contradictory.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is looking to speed up consideration of a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan national infrastructure package.

The Senate has advanced a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure plan with a bipartisan group of senators helping it clear one more hurdle on Friday.

President Joe Biden has leapt back into the Senate’s up-and-down efforts to clinch a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure deal.

The Senate may vote to advance a vehicle for the bill next week, even if the legislative text is not finalized.

Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is known for doing the unthinkable in Washington — spending time with Republicans.

Congressional bargainers say they’ve agreed to a bipartisan framework for overhauling policing procedures.

The agreement comes after White House officials met with the bipartisan group of senators twice on Wednesday.

The meeting comes after White House officials met with a bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will confer with White House officials on next steps for President Joe Biden’s $4 trillion infrastructure plans.

Not all Senate Democrats are up for Joe Biden's planned social programs or the methods to finance them, and Republicans hope to split the difference.

A new poll showed that Biden's $4 trillion sweeping infrastructure plan drew two-thirds support among voters. Republicans are pushing to cut its size.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is providing assurances to Congress the recent jump in inflation is being watched very closely by the Biden administration, but said again that such increases appear temporary.

Some lawmakers are trying to stop 144 American cities from losing their designations as “metropolitan areas.”.

Republicans set their infrastructure trap

McConnell, who previously blocked Barack Obama from filling a court vacancy in 2016, told Hugh Hewitt he'd do the same to Biden.

John F. Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate, said only months ago that those losing fossil fuel jobs in coal and hydraulic fracturing will find they have a better choice in jobs in either the solar industry or as wind turbine technicians.

Republican Sen. John Thune says they are closing in on a compromise that would not include any tax hikes.

Republican Sen. John Thune says they are closing in on a compromise that would not include any tax hikes.

The minority leader threw cold water on the bipartisan proposal from Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Lisa Murkowski.

Although some Republican leaders deplored their violence, most have come to support the rioters’ claim that Trump’s defeat meant the election was inherently illegitimate.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says congressional Democrats’ efforts to make it easier to sue police officers are causing law enforcement agencies to have problems recruiting and retaining personnel.

The GOP resistance to a bipartisan commission devoted to examining the deadly Capitol insurrection imperils a deeper investigation into the siege.

The horror of Jan. 6 has been reduced from a stunning assault on American democracy to another political fight.

Pressed to explain his decision, Rep. Greg Pence of Indiana praised his brother as a “hero" and turned his ire on Democrats, calling the commission a “coverup about the failed Biden administration.” Pence's swift pivot to attacking Democrats and defending the former president about a riot that threatened his brother's life is a stark measure of how the horror of Jan. 6 has been reduced from a violent assault on American democracy to a purely political fight. Rather than uniting behind a bipartisan investigation like the ones that followed the 9/11 terror attacks, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy or Pearl Harbor, Republicans are calculating they can regain at least partial control of Congress if they put the issue behind them as quickly as possible without antagonizing Trump or his supporters.

Tim Scott of South Carolina is the only Black Republican senator.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pushed for the commission, which would be modeled after the panel that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. “The problem is the scope,” Pelosi said Wednesday. But Republicans swiftly decried the broad latitude that the commission would have to investigate the causes of the insurrection. Senate Republicans cast doubt that there was enough support for the commission. 2 Republican, said he doesn’t think the commission will happen if the legislation isn’t changed.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and congressmen is urging the federal government not to approve recommendations to remove 144 cities from the designation of metropolitan statistical areas. Reclassifying them as “micropolitan” would put key federal funding at risk, they said. Doing so would reclassify more than a third of the current 392 metro areas as micropolitan statistical areas. In a separate letter to the Office of Management and Budget, Hoeven said the proposal also would hurt micropolitan areas that were on the cusp of becoming metro areas. “If a metropolitan statistical area is redefined as a micropolitan area, it may fall out of the conversation.