Privately some Republicans remain anxious about a tariff policy that has injected uncertainty into a shaky economy.

The party is drafting veterans in an effort to break a string of defeats in the once-battleground state.

Prince William County is a window into how data centers can pit residents against local officials.

Many of Emanuel’s would-be 2028 rivals are still in office and can point to concrete governing or legislating proposals. He needs another way.

The issue is another area in which the president’s populist ideas are clashing with GOP free-market orthodoxy.

In a simulation where Russia breaches the Lithuanian border, Europe struggles to respond without U.S. help.

The Trump administration’s attempt to end the war hasn’t produced major breakthroughs as the war approaches its fourth anniversary.

Former White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler is the second high-profile attorney to step down after the release of documents from the Epstein files.

Negotiations will keep going but Democrats and the White House are far apart.

It’s the latest and perhaps most pointed rebuke yet from Minnesota federal judges.

Some of the president’s own supporters fear corporate influence is destroying a movement that helped propel him to a second term.

Some members were still planning to attend the event.

A joint training exercise with 19 U.S. marines and the Mexican Navy was in limbo after the U.S. conducted a Jan. 3 operation to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Bipartisan congressional pressure helped push Mexico’s legislature to approve a joint military exercise between the U.S. and Mexican militaries, according to two people familiar with a U.S. delegation to the country. The U.S. and Mexico had been considering a joint exercise where 19 U.S. Marines would train with the Mexican Navy in the city of Campeche along the Gulf of Mexico (the U.S. calls it the “Gulf of America”). But Mexican lawmakers balked at approving the exercise after the U.S. conducted a Jan. 3 operation to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The plan got back on track following a visit from a congressional delegation led by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), according to two people familiar with the visit who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations. U.S. lawmakers raised the issue with their counterparts in the Mexican Senate, urging them to approve the exercise and telling Mexican lawmakers they would closely track the matter, the people said. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum officially requested the Marines’ entry earlier this week for the exercises, which will run from Feb. 15 to April 16. The nudge from Congress apparently helped, and Mexico’s Senate unanimously approved the Marines’ entry on Wednesday. The involvement of the congressional delegation in securing the approval of the exercise has not been previously reported. McCaul, who chairs the Mexico-United States Interparliamentary Group, and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), the top Democrat for the group, said in a joint statement that they “welcome the approval” and said it was a “key objective of our bipartisan delegation to Mexico this past weekend.” “We are grateful for the Mexican Senate’s commitment to shared security, which will enable our countries to enhance intelligence-sharing and naval capabilities, intercept dangerous shipments before they reach our shores, and better protect communities on both sides of the border,” McCaul and Cuellar said. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said in his own statement that the delegation “in its meetings with Mexican authorities and Senate counterparts, reflects the profound depth of our bilateral cooperation.” He added it was also part of the embassy’s round-the-clock efforts “to work alongside the Government of Mexico and deliver greater security and prosperity for the American and Mexican peoples.” At least in this case, the episode underscores that lawmakers still have some ability to sway foreign policy. And the approval of the exercise comes at a critical juncture for the bilateral security relationship between Mexico City and Washington. President Donald Trump has previously warned he might consider using military force against Mexico’s drug cartels in the name of combating fentanyl trafficking. Meanwhile, drug cartels, which control an increasing amount of territory in Mexico, have continued to expand their technological capabilities. On Wednesday, the U.S. abruptly closed the airspace around El Paso International Airport, saying that a Mexican cartel’s drone had breached U.S. airspace and counter-drone operations around the airport could have endangered commercial flights. Lead Art: A U.S. Army Reserve soldier watches over the Rio Grande river separating Mexico, from the U.S., in Laredo, Texas, Oct. 14, 2025. | David Goldman/AP

The health secretary said Medicare Director Chris Klomp will now oversee all department operations.

Her exit leaves a two-person primary race between Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert.

The end of the Trump administration's Minnesota operation comes as immigration hawks have pushed Trump officials to avoid caving to Democratic policy demands.

The president's threat, which has sparked bipartisan pushback, could play big with swing voters this November.

A POLITICO review shows more than 350 judges have rejected the administration’s approach.

Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo called for a “timely conclusion to the review and extension of the agreement” the U.S. inked with Canada and Mexico during Trump’s first term. Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday signaled strong support for continuing the nearly six-year-old U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in the face of growing concern that President Donald Trump could drop out of the deal he negotiated during his first term. Speaking at the top of the committee’s hearing on the North American trade pact, Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) underscored that “Mexico and Canada are two of our most important trading partners.” “This trilateral relationship should not be taken for granted,” Crapo added. Trump, however, has raised doubts about whether his administration will back an extension of the deal, which is up for review this year. All three countries are required to decide by July 1 whether they want to renew the USMCA for another 16 years. If not, they are expected to continue negotiations until they resolve any outstanding concerns or the pact terminates in 2036. In the worst-case scenario, any country could withdraw from the pact with six months’ notice, an option the administration has refused so far to take off the table. During a trip last month to Detroit, Trump said it was “irrelevant” to him whether the United States stayed in the agreement or not. Bloomberg also reported on Wednesday that Trump was privately mulling whether to withdraw from the pact. No Republicans endorsed that idea at Thursday’s hearing. Crapo noted a public comment period and set of hearings conducted by the administration showed widespread support from business and agricultural groups for continuation of the pact, which Trump negotiated to replace the 1990s-era North American Free Trade Agreement. “Many of those public comments and testimony conveyed the singular importance of business certainty, which is best achieved by a timely conclusion to the review and extension of the agreement,” Crapo said. Other Republicans on the panel echoed that support, while also embracing the Trump administration’s efforts to address problems and new issues that have arisen since the deal was negotiated. “In my humble opinion, the USMCA trade agreement has been the most important, the most successful trade agreement of my lifetime,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) pressed former House Ways and Means Chair Kevin Brady (R-Texas), one of the hearing’s witnesses, about the costs if Trump refused to commit to a 16-year renewal in July. “I think that uncertainty couldn’t come at a worse time,” said Brady, who co-chairs a tri-national pro-USMCA business coalition. “I think it would lower the economic value of that agreement, certainly to America. Right now, this agreement is working for the U.S., Mexico and Canada, because it incentivizes long-term investment in North America. That’s what’s driving the jobs, certainly driving competitiveness.” Ted Vander Schaaf, an Idaho dairy farmer, was more blunt about the impact of withdrawal on the U.S. agricultural sector, which is highly dependent on export sales to the two North American neighbors. “If we were to lose this agreement, it would be devastating to our rural communities,” Vander Schaaf said, while noting there are many improvements he would like to see in the dairy portion of the agreement with both Canada and Mexico. Most Democrats on the panel also signaled support for continuing the agreement, which Congress passed in Trump’s first term with large bipartisan votes. Ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) accused Trump of preferring to “bully” Canada and Mexico with tariff threats, rather than actually enforce provisions of the agreement where the two countries might not be in compliance. “If Donald Trump wants to yell at somebody for not doing their job on USMCA, my own take is, he ought to look in the mirror,” Wyden said. “The fact is, USMCA delivered real wins for Americans.” The Senate has twice passed a resolution disapproving of the president’s tariff hikes on Canada, although the White House exempted imports that are compliant with USMCA requirements. They are likely to face another vote in the coming days, after the House passed a similar resolution on Wednesday, with six House Republicans joining all but one Democrat. The votes are symbolic however, since neither chambers has the support of a two-thirds majority needed to overturn Trump’s all-but-certain veto. Lead Art: Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo presided Thursday over a hearing on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Senate Democrats blocked a funding bill from advancing Thursday after House members had already left Washington.

EPA has chucked the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions drive climate change, drawing promises of lawsuits from environmentalists and Democrats.

The Oklahoma governor has found himself in a protracted dispute with the president over an upcoming event at the White House.

Lawmakers are heading for the exits following a failed Senate vote Thursday, all but guaranteeing the Department of Homeland Security shuts down early Saturday morning. The funding lapse, which will hit parts of DHS harder than others, comes as the White House and congressional Democrats have failed to move closer to a deal after trading proposals to rein in immigration enforcement practices in the wake of two high-profile shootings in Minneapolis. Democrats called the latest offer from the White House insufficient Thursday and are expected to send a counteroffer. “Democrats have been very clear: We will not support an extension of the status quo,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. Democrats went on to block progress on a DHS funding bill the House passed last month, which would have been the vehicle for a short-term funding punt or a larger immigration agreement. The procedural vote was 52-47, well short of the needed 60 votes. Prior to the vote, Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, announced that ICE would be ending its enhanced immigration enforcement, a step that Democrats have called for. But Schumer said Thursday that “ICE’s abuses cannot be solved merely through executive fiat alone — we first and foremost need legislation.” Republicans are expected to try to pass at least one weeks-long stopgap for DHS Thursday afternoon. But because every senator would need to agree to quick passage, it is expected to be blocked on the Senate floor. While the negotiations have centered on ICE and Customs and Border Protection, a shutdown will affect a wider variety of agencies including TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that he thought the White House offer went “a long ways” toward an agreement, adding, “There are a couple of issues obviously that they’re going to have to work through and work out [with Democrats], and lines that neither side is probably going to be able to cross.” Thune added that Democrats are “posturing right now” but that “progress has been real.” With no deal close at hand, the Senate is on track to adjourn Thursday for a previously scheduled one-week recess. The House also adjourned Thursday for its previously scheduled recess, though members are on call to return within 48 hours if an agreement is reached. Thune said Thursday if a deal is struck, senators will need to get back to the Capitol within 24 hours. Some GOP senators publicly pushed to stay in session in the event of a DHS shutdown, but many others pleaded with their colleagues during a closed-door lunch earlier this week to let them go back home and campaign. Others are scheduled to leave Thursday to go on international trips, including a bipartisan group heading to the Munich Security Conference. House Speaker Mike Johnson has barred members from traveling to Munich or going on other government-funded trips over the break. Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report. Lead Art: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) looks on during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol Feb. 10, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO