Cheney fuels talk of independent bid

Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-Wyo.) comment that she will not be a Republican if former President Trump wins the party’s 2024 presidential nomination is sparking chatter that she might mount an independent White House run.   While Cheney lost her House primary to the former president’s endorsed candidate last month, her break with the MAGA wing of the GOP has made her the leader of the anti-Trump movement among Republicans and beyond.  It’s unclear whether Cheney will run in 2024 at all, whether she would run as an independent if she mounted a bid or what impact an independe

Read More

US faces bleak options as Putin turns bellicose on nukes

U.S. officials are walking a careful line in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest suggestion that he may be willing to resort to nuclear weapons. Following Putin’s thinly-veiled reference to the nuclear option in remarks last week, Biden administration officials have said they are taking the comments seriously, while trying to avoid escalating the situation with more bellicose rhetoric. The Kremlin’s announcement, which also detailed aggressive new steps to try and turn the tide of the war in Ukraine back in Moscow’s favor, has U.S. officials caught betw

Read More

Manchin surprised by McConnell opposition: 'You can be a hero one day and a villain the next'

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) admitted Monday that he was caught by surprise when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Senate Republicans decided to oppose his permitting reform bill, which means it will likely fail on the Senate floor this week.   Manchin said he expected Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), an outspoken progressive, and other “far-left” liberals to oppose his legislation to limited federal agency authority to review new energy projects but was stunned when Republicans also came out in opposition last week.  “I never did think I’d have Ber

Read More

Biden's student loan forgiveness plan to cost about $400 billion: CBO

window.loadAnvato({"mcp":"LIN","width":"100%","height":"100%","video":"8023865","autoplay":false,"expect_preroll":true,"pInstance":"p7","plugins":{"comscore":{"clientId":"6036439","c3":"thehill.com","version":"5.2.0","useDerivedMetadata":true,"mapping":{"c3":"thehill.com","ns_st_st":"hill","ns_st_pu":"Nexstar","ns_st_ge":"TheHill.com","cs_ucfr":""}},"dfp":{"adTagUrl":"h

Read More

Senate GOP leadership whipping against Manchin permitting bill

Senate Republican leaders are urging their GOP colleagues to stay unified against a permitting reform bill sponsored by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (D) and to support instead a competing bill sponsored by his home-state colleague, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).  Senate GOP sources say Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) is doing most of the whipping but that Senate GOP leadership is united in trying to push colleagues to Capito’s bill.   “There’s a concerted effort in the Republican conference to stay united in our support for Capito’s legislation

Read More