Recent articles
March 27, 2026
Johnson calls out GOP Senate over "joke" of a DHS plan
Sharp differences between House and Senate GOP leaders burst into the open this afternoon, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune's (R-S.D.) two-step plan to fund the Department of Homeland Securit...
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March 27, 2026
Thune lays out next steps after Trump's move to restore TSA pay
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Republican senators Thursday night that they need to "work together to ensure that DHS, including ICE and Border Patrol, is funded in a sustainable manner for...
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March 25, 2026
Senate locked in staring contest on DHS as insults fly
Senate Republicans and Democrats are in a high-stakes staring contest over funding the Department of Homeland Security, with Democrats refining their demands to include "guardrails" on money author...
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March 23, 2026
Republicans seek elusive path to restoring DHS funding
House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington is in informal talks with Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham about a second reconciliation bill to fund the Pentagon — and potentially DHS.Why it matters: With DH...
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March 18, 2026
"Tell me to my face": Paul a "no" on Mullin after heated hearing
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) opened Sen. Markwayne Mullin's confirmation hearing with a remarkable challenge, daring the Homeland Security secretary nominee to "tell me to my face" why Paul deserved an a...
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March 18, 2026
Sen. Markwayne Mullin's secret war zone past
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) has privately hinted to colleagues that he was involved in dangerous private security work in Middle East war zones before running for Congress in 2012, according to...
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March 17, 2026
Scoop: Witkoff to brief bipartisan group of senators Tuesday on Iran
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is planning to brief a small bipartisan group of senators on the war in Iran in a classified setting Tuesday afternoon, according to three people familiar with the matter.W...
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March 13, 2026
Illinois' $50 million primary experiment
Data: AdImpact; Chart: Axios VisualsDemocrats will learn whether money talks in 2026 in the Illinois Senate primary Tuesday in a race that will almost certainly determine who replaces Sen. Dick Dur...
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March 11, 2026
Thune eyes marathon sessions to ease MAGA anger over SAVE Act
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is exploring an open-ended debate on the SAVE America Act that could run a week or longer, forcing Democrats to publicly defend their opposition to the bill, accor...
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March 9, 2026
Trump lays down law on Iran and SAVE Act in GOP pep talk
DORAL, FL: President Trump told House Republicans the conflict in Iran will be "over pretty quickly," without giving a firm timeline — and repeated his warning that he would not sign any legislatio...
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March 5, 2026
Senate GOP cheers Trump's decision to dump Noem
Republican senators celebrated President Trump's decision to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.).Why it matters: Congressional Republicans — along w...
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March 4, 2026
Texas warning signs: 4 takeaways from the first primaries of 2026
Voters are on the verge of sending multiple House incumbents packing but gave four-term Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) hope that he can defeat Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a runoff in May.Why i...
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February 20, 2026
Congress risks major loss to Trump over war powers vote on Iran
Barring a surprise, Congress and its elected leaders are on track to give President Trump the equivalent of a green light ahead of a potential major war in the Middle East.Why it matters: War Power...
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February 6, 2026
MAP: See where a blue wave would swipe the most GOP seats
Data: The Downballot and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Map: Kavya Beheraj/AxiosHouse Democrats will need to overperform Vice President Harris by roughly t...
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February 5, 2026
Scoop: Cornyn unloading $10 million in last-minute ad blitz
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and his allies are planning to spend roughly $10 million in the next four weeks."That's a round number," Cornyn told Axios.Why it matters: Cornyn is targeting Texas Attor...
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January 30, 2026
Gabbard expected to join election officials' meeting after Georgia raid
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is scheduled to attend the winter gathering of the National Association of Secretaries of State on Friday, forcing the group to reconfigure its agend...
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January 29, 2026
Schumer and White House engage in 11th-hour talks to avoid a shutdown
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is directly engaged with the White House on a plan to avert — or shorten — a partial government shutdown, according to a person familiar with the matte...
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January 28, 2026
Republicans turn on Noem, demand resignation
Anger at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem coursed throughout the Senate on Tuesday, especially among senators who voted to confirm her.Why it matters: Democrats disagreed on whether her depa...
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January 24, 2026
Minneapolis shooting hardens Democrats on government shutdown
The odds of a partial government shutdown are dramatically increasing after another U.S. citizen was killed by federal agents on Saturday in Minneapolis.Why it matters: The Senate was planning on a...
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January 21, 2026
How Mike Johnson plans to beat the deadline on a government shutdown
Congressional leaders are daring their members to vote against the grand plan to avoid a shutdown at the end of January.Why it matters: In a Congress defined by the silent treatment and name-callin...
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January 16, 2026
MAGA targets Brian Mast over AI chips regulation
Top MAGA influencers, including Laura Loomer and David Sacks, are picking a public fight with a key GOP lawmaker over who should regulate the sale of AI chips to China.Why it matters: Legislation f...
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January 16, 2026
Caracas CODEL: Senators are eager to visit Venezuela
Senators left a meeting Thursday with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado with plans to visit her country — but differing views on when she should return herself.Why it matters: Presi...
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January 15, 2026
Exclusive: Bipartisan plan in Congress aims to create U.S. reserve for critical minerals
A bipartisan group of lawmakers will introduce new legislation Thursday to establish a $2.5 billion "Strategic Resilience Reserve" (SRR) for critical minerals, Axios has learned.Why it matters: Pre...
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January 13, 2026
Stunned Republicans tread carefully on DOJ's Powell investigation
Senate Republican leaders are proceeding very carefully on the Department of Justice's criminal probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Why it matters: After last week's war powers resolution vote, Re...
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