Politics

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and congressional leaders will hold bipartisan negotiations on a new coronavirus-response bill with the goal of reaching a deal by early next week, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin addresses the daily coronavirus response briefing as U.S. President Donald

FILE PHOTO – U.S. President Donald Trump answers a question during the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department followed proper procedures in denying the U.S. House of Representatives access to President Donald Trump’s tax returns, the inspector

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A partisan skirmish in the U.S. Senate cut short a Republican effort to speed $250 billion in new assistance to small businesses on Friday, forcing Republicans and Democrats to negotiate over how best to help independent firms reeling from the coronavirus outbreak. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) walks to the

FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about responses to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo (Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday proposed expanding access to Medicare and forgiving some student debt in new overtures

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Shavonda Sisson said she requested a mail ballot to vote in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election in Wisconsin well ahead of the election. FILE PHOTO: Patrick Kapple, right, waits in line outside Riverside University High School to cast a ballot during the presidential primary election held amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in

SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris has said privately that he does not plan to stay on beyond the November U.S. presidential election, regardless of whether President Donald Trump wins another term, five sources told Reuters. FILE PHOTO: South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Efforts to push a further $250 billion of coronavirus aid for small businesses through the U.S. Congress were stalling on Wednesday as top Democrats said they would back the measure only if it was coupled with a similar amount for hospitals and local governments. FILE PHOTO: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders addresses a news conference in Burlington, Vermont, U.S. March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign for the White House on Wednesday during a conference call with staff, making former Vice President Joe Biden the presumptive nominee to face Republican

(Reuters) – Earl Kerr, a 57-year-old electrical contractor in Jacksonville, Florida, says he fears for his 80-year-old mother, who entered an assisted living facility just before the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States. And he says he worries that the tanking economy will sink his small business. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House hopes Congress will nearly double the size of its program to support ailing small businesses by the end of the week, as some of the nation’s largest lenders still sit on the sidelines and others remain unable to access the system. FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Capitol Building as seen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Tuesday was preparing to ask Congress for an additional round of emergency loans to help small businesses hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he hoped for approval this week. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks to the media

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Representative John Lewis speaks to the crowd at the Stacey Abrams watch party for mid-terms election at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Lawrence Bryant (Reuters) – U.S. Representative John Lewis of Georgia endorsed Joe Biden’s presidential campaign on Tuesday, giving the Democrat’s bid further support among the

(Reuters) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court put the state’s presidential primary back on track, ruling on Monday that Democratic Governor Tony Evers cannot postpone in-person voting to June despite the coronavirus crisis. Evers had moved to postpone the primary election from Tuesday until June 9, citing health risks from the coronavirus pandemic, but Republicans quickly

FILE PHOTO: A sign directs voters towards a polling place near the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford (Reuters) – Nine Wisconsin mayors, including those representing the state’s five largest cities, on Sunday urged the state’s top public health official to postpone Tuesday’s primary election due to the coronavirus pandemic.

FILE PHOTO: Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson arrives to testify at a House Intelligence Committee closed-door hearing on a whistleblower complaint about President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Michael Atkinson, the outgoing top watchdog of the U.S. Intelligence Community, on

(Reuters) – Former Vice President Joe Biden, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, said on Sunday the party may be forced to host a “virtual” nominating convention in August due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about responses to the COVID-19

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) – Wisconsin is set to hold in-person voting next week after the state’s legislature on Saturday declined to take up an effort delaying the presidential primary due to the coronavirus pandemic. FILE PHOTO: A sign directs voters towards a polling place near the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Nick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick for the new watchdog overseeing $2.3 trillion in coronavirus-related fiscal spending is not independent enough to do the job, congressional Democrats said on Saturday. FILE PHOTO: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) makes a statement about coronavirus disease (COVID-19) economic relief legislation on Capitol Hill in Washington,

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 3, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would ask Congress for more money to make loans to small businesses struggling with the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak

FILE PHOTO: Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson arrives to testify at a House Intelligence Committee closed-door hearing on a whistleblower complaint about President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 4, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump notified Congress on Friday that he is firing

(Reuters) – Republican legislative leaders in Wisconsin rejected Democratic Governor Tony Evers’ call on Friday to cancel in-person voting and delay next week’s presidential primary, saying it must proceed despite fears about the coronavirus pandemic. FILE PHOTO: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tony Evers speaks to supporters at a campaign event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. November 4,

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced plans to nominate a vocal ally of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to an influential federal appeals court in Washington. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump listens during the daily coronavirus response briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said he underwent a second coronavirus test on Thursday, using a rapid diagnostic that produced a result in less than 15 minutes, and it determined that he has not been infected. U.S. President Donald Trump listens to a question during the daily coronavirus response briefing at the White

FILE PHOTO: A mannequin displays disposable face masks at a safety equipment store in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Stephen Yang WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House is expected to issue guidance for people in areas hard hit by the coronavirus to wear face coverings to help stop the

FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about responses to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Democratic Party on Thursday postponed its presidential nominating convention by a month until August, citing the coronavirus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two top Democrats in Congress on Thursday asked Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to reassure broadcasters the agency will not revoke their licenses for airing advertisements critical of President Donald Trump. FILE PHOTO: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai testifies before a House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing on

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the daily coronavirus response briefing as U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper listens at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was considering a plan to halt flights to U.S. coronavirus hot spots as the United States struggles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Just two months after taking office, President Donald Trump in March 2017 traveled to Michigan to announce that he would undo ambitious vehicle emissions standards mandated under his predecessor Barack Obama, portraying the reversal as a boost to the U.S. auto industry centered in the Midwestern state. FILE PHOTO: Morning traffic drives

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Republican lawmakers signaled caution on Tuesday over Democratic plans to prepare another large spending bill to battle the coronavirus crisis, even as President Donald Trump called for $2 trillion in spending, this time on infrastructure. U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a news conference, following a Senate

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden has quietly expanded his lead over President Donald Trump among registered voters, even as the rapidly spreading coronavirus has all but sidelined the former vice president’s campaign, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice