US ambassador walks a post-Trump tightrope in Israel
TEL AVIV – U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said his main mission in the region is to “keep the waters calm.” Another view is that Nides is tasked with preventing any major waves for President Biden’s relationship with Israel, following the Trump administration’s ripping up of decades-old conventional policies. The ambassador, dressed casually in a white T-shirt and blue khakis, sat for an interview with The Hill in Tel Aviv. Nides, who is Jewish, wore a red string around his wrist, a marker of the Jewish practice of Kabbalah. He described himself as “not ideolo
Read MoreManchin faces make-or-break vote on permitting reform
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) faces a make-or-break moment for his top policy priority when the Senate holds a key procedural vote Tuesday on his permitting reform bill, which Republican leaders are working hard to defeat. The Senate will vote at 5:30 p.m. on a motion to proceed to a House-passed “shell” bill that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) hopes to use as a legislative vehicle to pass a government funding bill with Manchin’s permitting reform legislation attached. Schumer promised to attach Manchin’s permitt
Read MoreFive Republicans poised to increase their power if the GOP takes the House
Top Republicans on House panels, confident about the GOP’s chances of taking control of the chamber next year, have for months been planning what they’ll do with committee gavels. Committee chairs influence hearing focus, investigations and subpoenas, in addition to legislative priorities. Lawmakers’ personal style can play a large role in a committee’s work. The House Republican Conference’s Steering Committee will formally select most committee chairs. But while the leaders of some committees are up in the air, most current ranking members are poised to be chairs next
Read MoreSchumer delivers on permitting reform promise to Manchin
The Senate Appropriations Committee late Monday night released the text of a 237-page bill to fund the government until mid-December that includes Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) controversial permitting reform bill, making good on a deal Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) struck with Manchin this summer. The continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government beyond Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, would last until Dec. 16, if it’s approved by the Senate and House and signed by
Read MoreNASA strikes asteroid with spacecraft in historic planetary defense mission
NASA on Monday successfully struck a tiny asteroid more than 7 million miles from Earth with a 1,000-pound spacecraft, completing the world's first planetary defense mission. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft slammed into the asteroid Dimorphos at roughly 7:14 p.m. Eastern at a speed of more than 14,000 miles per hour. It's the first time humanity has ever purposefully struck an object in space. NASA and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory officials who have been working on the DART mission for years erupted into applause as soon as the spacecra
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