ERICA WERNER | The Seattle Times

November 28, 2018 at 1:14 pm

Lawmakers reach tentative farm bill deal after months-long impasse

Key lawmakers said Wednesday they have reached a tentative deal on a massive farm bill, breaking a months-long impasse over legislation that doles out more...

Nation & World

FILE — Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, testifies before a House Ways and Means Committee hearing in Washington, March 21, 2018. European and U.S. senior trade officials met in Brussels to discuss eliminating tariffs. Despite attempts to project optimism, chances of failure were high. (Tom Brenner/The New York Times) XNYT77 XNYT77

September 25, 2018 at 8:38 am

US all but certain to miss weekend deadline to include Canada in three-way NAFTA deal

A downbeat U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer on Tuesday said negotiators are "sort of running out of time" to include Canada in the trade...

Nation & World

Justice Department official, Bruce G. Ohr, center, arrives for a closed hearing of the House Judiciary and House Oversight committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018. Ohr will be interviewed as part of an investigation into decisions made by the department in 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) DCPM101 DCPM101

August 29, 2018 at 5:52 pm

Trump intensifies attack on Bruce Ohr, Justice official linked to Russia dossier

On Tuesday, the president's allies in Congress interviewed Ohr for eight hours about his relationship with Trump-Russia dossier author Christopher Steele.

June 14, 2018 at 10:00 am

Senate sides with Trump, votes down GOP plan to expand national security oversight

The vote was another instance of the Senate declining to assert authority over Trump administration decision-making on trade-related issues. Earlier this week, GOP leaders blocked...

June 6, 2018 at 5:40 pm

Trump signs veterans’ health bill as White House works against bipartisan plan to fund it

The VA Mission Act authorizes new health-care programs for veterans, but the bill does not reserve federal money to pay for those programs.

Nation & World

FILE — House Speaker Paul Ryan speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill on Dec. 19, 2017. Ryan told House Republican colleagues on Wednesday. April 11, 2018, that he will not seek re-election in November, ending a brief stint atop the House and signaling the peril that the Republican majority faces in the midterm elections. (Tom Brenner/The New York Times) XNYT3 XNYT3

April 11, 2018 at 10:04 am

Fiscal hawk Ryan leaves behind growing deficits and a changed GOP

WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney was all smiles as he introduced an ebullient Rep. Paul Ryan to the nation as his Republican vice presidential choice on...

The Capitol dome in Washington, March 21, 2018. With government funding set to run out this weekend, congressional leaders neared agreement Wednesday on a voluminous spending bill that would fund the government through September. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times) XNYT219 XNYT219

March 22, 2018 at 8:06 am

Congress passes $1.3 trillion budget with little time to spare

The 2,232-page bill, which was released just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, would keep government agencies operating through September. It directs $700 billion toward the military...

March 14, 2018 at 8:02 pm

In fundraising speech, Trump says he made up facts in meeting with Trudeau

President Trump's rare comments laid bare his approach to arguing trade facts with foreign leaders that show how he might try to engage with numerous...

Nation & World

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., joined from left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, responds to reporters after the announcement by President Donald Trump that he was firing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 13, 2018. McConnell says they are continuing to work on rolling back banking regulations, including new provision that would exempt an estimated 85 percent of all U.S. banks and credit unions from public reporting requirements. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) DCSA109 DCSA109

March 13, 2018 at 12:48 pm

McConnell: No legislation is planned to undo Trump tariffs

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that it is "highly unlikely" the Senate will take up legislation to undo President Donald Trump's...

Business

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., flanked by Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., left, and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., arrive with other lawmakers for a procedural vote as the Senate moves to pass legislation that would roll back some of the safeguards Congress put into place after a financial crisis rocked the nation’s economy ten years ago at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) DCSA116 DCSA116

March 6, 2018 at 9:06 am

Senate advances plan to weaken Dodd-Frank banking rules

A plan to scale back banking rules imposed after the 2008 financial crisis cleared a key Senate hurdle Tuesday, though days of contentious wrangling on...