Congress passed a $607 billion defense policy bill Tuesday that bans moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States -- something Barack Obama has been trying to do since he was sworn in as president.
The House was poised to approve a two-year budget truce and Republicans were set to nominate Rep. Paul Ryan as the new speaker Wednesday, milestones GOP leaders hope will transform their party's recent chaos into calm in time for next year's presidential and congressional campaigns.
Ryan worked as a congressional intern in college, returning later to work as a paid staffer on Capitol Hill. By 28, he was a member of the House. By his early 40s, he was the chairman of the House Budget Committee and then the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. In 2012, he was a vice presidential candidate and a talked-about future presidential contender.
House Republican leaders on Tuesday pushed toward a vote on a two-year budget deal despite conservative opposition, relying on the backing of Democrats for the far-reaching pact struck with President Barack Obama.
At a time of record auto recalls and rising highway deaths, safety advocates say the Republican-run Congress is snubbing their agenda and taking sides with the auto and trucking industries on legislation that they and the Obama administration contend could worsen matters.
As he travels his southeast Texas district this week, Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold has a message for his constituents: Despite appearances, the House GOP is not in disarray.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat expected to be the party's next leader in the Senate, said he will oppose the Iran nuclear deal in spite of President Barack Obama's intense lobbying in favor of the accord.
As lawmakers head out of the Capitol for a five-week summer recess, they leave behind a pile of unfinished business that all but guarantees a painful fall.
Congress sent President Barack Obama a three-month bill to keep highway and transit money flowing to states on Thursday, one day before the deadline for a cutoff of funds.