As Republican leaders draft President Donald Trump’s big bill of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, dozens of more moderate Republicans from contested congressional districts have positioned themselves at the center of the negotiating table.

Republican members of Congress have gone to great lengths to avoid public meetings with their constituents over their two-week Easter recess.

For 11 seasons, Henry Louis Gates Jr. has sat across from his guests on the popular PBS series “Finding Your Roots” and led them through secrets in their family tree.

President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking broad changes to how elections are run in the U.S. is vast in scope and holds the potential to reorder the voting landscape across the country, even as it faces almost certain litigation.

When Donald Trump arrived in Washington in 2017 on the eve of his first inauguration, he was a stranger to most in town.

A senior official says Canada is looking at putting retaliatory tariffs on American orange juice, sinks, toilets and some steel products if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump goes ahead with his threat to impose 25% on all Canadian products.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Americans “are beginning to wake up to the reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive" and that he would retaliate if Donald Trump goes ahead with them.

A government official says Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products.

Sen. Susan Collins didn’t vote for Donald Trump for president in 2016 or 2020, and the third time will not be the charm.

A Democrat who served one term representing southeast Wisconsin in Congress in the 1990s before going on to become a leader in the Assembly and state revenue secretary announced Thursday that he’s running for Congress again.

The Supreme Court seems inclined to uphold a tax on foreign income while leaving broader questions about a never-enacted tax on wealth for another day.

Evangelical Christian conservatives have long had allies in top Republican leadership in Congress.

Republican colleagues call Steve Scalise a fighter, but the nominee for House speaker may be in for a brawl.

Some members of the GOP are wondering if anyone can take Kevin McCarthy's place as a fundraising dynamo and party builder.

The day before he was ousted, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was doing what he loved — stopping to greet tourists at the Capitol and gushing over its place in American democracy.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy has turned to a strategy that so far has preserved his tenuous hold on House leadership, but also marked his tenure by chaos.

Fox News stars Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Bret Baier are among the personalities who could soon be appearing in a much different venue — court.

Mike Pence and Bernie Sanders are hardly political allies.

When President Joe Biden suggested that Republicans want to slash Medicare and Social Security it brought howls of protests from the GOP side of the aisle during the State of the Union address.

Republican Kevin McCarthy is the new House speaker, but it took days and days, and 15 roll call votes, ending early Saturday.

The Republicans opposing Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become the next House speaker generally have made their mark as part of the GOP’s ultra conservative wing.

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

How has Congress changed in the last four decades.

Judge Ketanji Brown is pledging to defend the Constitution and decide cases “without fear or favor” if she is confirmed to the Supreme Court.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court, is going before the Senate Judiciary Committee with the path to her historic confirmation seemingly clear.

The judge President Joe Biden has chosen to fulfill his historic pledge to name the first Black woman to the Supreme Court would also bring rare experience of defending poor people charged with crimes.

When Ketanji Brown Jackson’s younger daughter was 11, she drafted a letter to President Barack Obama suggesting her federal-judge mom for a vacancy on the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement gives President Joe Biden a chance to make his first nomination to the high court.

U.S. leaders and military veterans are mourning the loss of former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, a World War II veteran and former Republican presidential candidate who served in Congress for 36 years.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe has brought out the biggest names in Democratic politics as he’s tried to maintain his edge in Virginia’s hotly contested gubernatorial race.

Few things Meghan McCain has done on “The View” can be classified as low-key, until her exit on Friday.

Months after Donald Trump’s supporters besieged the Capitol, the ex-president and his supporters are revising their account of that day.

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan is joining the fight against Donald Trump, urging fellow conservatives to reject the former president's divisive politics and the Republican leaders who emulate him.

Republicans have dumped Rep. Liz Cheney from her House leadership post.

There was a brief time, not long ago, when Elise Stefanik wouldn't say Donald Trump’s name.

Republican Kevin McCarthy is leading his party to an inflection point.

The first Senate hearing for President Joe Biden’s judicial nominations featured two African American nominees for appeals court openings.

(AP Photo/Steven Senne)BOSTON – A sneaker-clad Latino state senator in Rhode Island is objecting to his chamber’s jacket and dress shirt edict as a form of white oppression. With women and people of color elected in larger numbers in many states, legislatures are being forced to confront longstanding dress codes that are increasingly viewed as sexist and racist. But the Denver-based organization said roughly half of all state legislatures had some sort of formalized dress code in 2019. The Democrat-controlled Rhode Island Senate approved its new dress code Tuesday, over objections from Acosta and other lawmakers. But he said the strong opposition to ending the dress code outright only underscores the uphill battle younger, progressive lawmakers face in trying to advance more pressing priorities.

Eleven Republican senators saying they will not be voting Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, to confirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory include Wyoming's newly sworn in Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Cheyenne-area rancher and former congresswoman. It is unclear just what the Republican senators will do, but the process could drag into the night as the two chambers will have to consider each objection individually. And more than a dozen Republican senators have said they will not support the effort. Facing the criticism from many in his own party, Cruz has attempted to put a finer point on his challenge. The commission remains his focus, he has said, not to undo the election results, even though that would be the practical effect of a successful objection.

Though he got nothing but cheers Monday night, Trump's attempt to overturn the presidential election i s splitting the Republican Party. Trump himself is whipping up crowds for a Wednesday rally near the White House. Trump said in Georgia: “I hope that our great vice president comes through for us. Two current Republican senators, Rob Portman of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah, joined the growing number who now oppose the legislators' challenge. Larry Hogan of Maryland; Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking House GOP leader; and former House Speaker Paul Ryan — have criticized the GOP efforts to overturn the election.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks to the media, Wednesday Dec. 30, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The group of House and Senate Republicans are echoing President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud. Democrat Nancy Pelosi was set to be reelected as House speaker by her party, which retains the majority in the House but with the slimmest margin in 20 years. Hawley specifically defended himself against criticism from GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania as he challenges that state’s election results. Rep. Nancy Pelosi is set to be reelected as House speaker by fellow Democrats, who retain the House majority but with the slimmest margin in 20 years.

President Donald Trump participates in a video teleconference call with members of the military on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020, at the White House in Washington. Republicans acknowledge Trump as the GOP’s biggest turnout driver, including in Georgia, where Biden won by fewer than 13,000 votes out of about 5 million cast. “Followers of Trump will follow Trump, but they’re not blind to the huge stakes. Before November, Democrats dreaded a second Trump term more than Republicans feared Trump losing, Robinson reasoned. “I couldn’t be more excited to welcome” the president “back to Georgia,” Loeffler wrote on Twitter after Trump confirmed his plans.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks about House Republicans and the election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. House Republicans are “the most united and energized” he's ever seen after their “historic political upset." McCarthy and his team are now among the remaining leaders from the tea party era, when House Republicans last controlled Congress. In the Trump era, House Republicans’ role receded as the White House often dominated the discussion and Republicans held the majority in the Senate. The House Republicans had to seek a waiver from the District of Columbia, which has restrictions on large gatherings.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks about House Republicans and the election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. House Republicans are “the most united and energized” he's ever seen after their “historic political upset." McCarthy and his team are now among the remaining leaders from the tea party era, when House Republicans last controlled Congress. In the Trump era, House Republicans’ role receded as the White House often dominated the discussion and Republicans held the majority in the Senate. The House Republicans had to seek a waiver from the District of Columbia, which has restrictions on large gatherings.

And just like the Trump administration, Biden is expected to aggressively wield the rule-making powers of the executive branch to address health insurance coverage and prescription drug costs. With COVID-19 surging across the country, Biden's top health care priority is whipping the federal government’s response into shape. “We’re going to work quickly with the Congress to dramatically ramp up health care protections, get Americans universal coverage, lower health care costs, as soon as humanly possible,” the president-elect said earlier this week. A factor that may work in Biden's favor is that many Republicans want to change the subject on health care. Coronavirus relief legislation could provide an early vehicle for some broader health care changes.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden feels at home on Capitol Hill, but the place sure has changed since he left. The clubby atmosphere that Biden knew so well during his 36-year Senate career is gone, probably forever. Republicans are favored to retain control of the Senate heading into two runoff elections in Georgia in January. And some lawmakers say voters made clear in the election that governance from the middle is exactly what they want. “He has a remarkable record of shape-shifting to run his conference in a unique manner determined by the political imperative of the moment," said former Senate Democratic leadership aide Mike Spahn.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden feels at home on Capitol Hill, but the place sure has changed since he left. The clubby atmosphere that Biden knew so well during his 36-year Senate career is gone, probably forever. Republicans are favored to retain control of the Senate heading into two runoff elections in Georgia in January. And some lawmakers say voters made clear in the election that governance from the middle is exactly what they want. “He has a remarkable record of shape-shifting to run his conference in a unique manner determined by the political imperative of the moment," said former Senate Democratic leadership aide Mike Spahn.

“Their intent is to delegitimize this election and thereby delegitimize President-elect Biden’s presidency,” said Valerie Jarrett, who was a White House senior adviser to President Barack Obama. He has cleared the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. Still, Republicans have allowed Trump's misinformation to flourish, pushed along by conservative media and on the internet. The turmoil surrounding the transition, he added, said more about the person leaving the White House than the one who will soon enter. Those lies helped fuel some of the hard-line opposition to Obama within the party, making it difficult for more mainstream GOP leaders to work with the White House.

– Political groups fighting for control of the U.S. Senate have poured more than $118 million into the contest between Montana's Democratic Gov. And the Montana political ad spending is almost 10 times as much per voter being spent on ads in Colorado's Senate contest between former Democratic Gov. But the main driver is the race's competitive nature and the high stakes in the Senate. “These groups that are spending, they're spending big," Bullock told The AP. The Annenberg center's Jamieson, whose grandmother homesteaded in Montana, noted that political ads have a long history in the state.

The Utah Republican and 2012 GOP presidential nominee incensed President Donald Trump and Republicans with his impeachment vote. No court nominee in U.S. history has been considered so close to a presidential election. Without speaking to anyone at the White House, Romney then made his decision official, clearing the way for the Senate to move ahead. Romney would not, for example, voice an opinion on any specific potential Trump nominee. Supporting the GOP effort to replace Ginsburg, Romney said, represented his “intention” — for now.

LAS VEGAS As President Donald Trump's reelection campaign challenged Nevada's new voting law in court, the president and Republicans argued the rules would facilitate fraud and illegal voting. Trump and the GOP contend ballot harvesting opens the door for fraud and have fought to restrict it. This has escalated as states prepare for greater reliance on absentee voting or vote-by-mail amid COVID-19. In Nevada, an easing of ballot collection rules was included in a new law that calls for automatically sending ballots to all active voters this November. Nevada is among 26 other states allowing voters to more broadly designate someone to drop off their ballot.

It was a rare rebuke for Trump from his fellow Republicans but one that might not last. Reeves said he opposes any plan to change the election date: I dont personally think a delay in the election at this point in time is necessary." Trump cannot change the election date without the approval of Congress, and policymakers in both parties made clear they would oppose such a move. Trump's ultimate goal, however, may have less to do with the election date than undermining the results of the election if he loses. The Republican president did not deny that he was trying to cast doubt about the election results when asked directly during Thursday's press briefing.

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON For a moment, Congress had a chance to act on policing reform, mobilized by a national trauma and overwhelming public support. There are other high-profile examples where public support has been unable to overcome hyper-partisanship in Congress most notably on gun control. The parties have also failed to make progress in overhauling the nations fractured immigration laws, despite broad public support. Murray said in an interview that there was little attempt to do that kind of behind-the-scenes work on policing reform. The feeling that you want to accomplish something, that you want to get something done ... is a very different feeling than we saw with policing reform."