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Erik Wasson
U.S. President Donald Trump (center), flanked by Sens. Rick Scott (left) and John Barrasso, Republicans from Florida and Wyoming, respectively, speak to members of the media at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2026
Trump and Republicans clash after president scraps housing bill signing
Lawmakers pressed Trump over his handling of the war in Iran.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) points during a press conference with Republican House Leadership, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2026
Republican-led House votes to stop Iran war in rebuke to Trump
The vote against the war is the latest in a series of setbacks for a president who has bent Congress to his will for most of his second term.
Britain's King Charles III speaks during a joint address to Congress in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2026
King Charles urges U.S. to reject isolationism in landmark speech
Britain¡¯s King Charles III used his remarks to a joint session of Congress to also argue for preserving the alliance between the U.K. and U.S.
A view of the U.S. Capitol building. The deal demonstrates how difficult it is for Democrats to use what little leverage they have in a Republican-controlled Washington.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 11, 2025
U.S. shutdown nears end as Senate passes deal and House readies vote
The Senate¡¯s 60-40 vote comes amid flight disruptions, food aid delays and frustrations in a federal workforce that has mostly gone without pay for more than a month.
The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2025
U.S. shutdown nears end as Senate Democrats agree to funding deal
¡°It looks like we¡¯re getting closer to the shutdown ending,¡± U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday evening as he returned to the White House.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference with House Republican leadership at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2025
U.S. shutdown dealmaking hits new roadblocks as tensions flare
Prospects are fading for a deal this week to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history despite warnings of worsening flight disruptions and concerns over food aid.
The Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington on Thursday. Republicans are seeking to use the threat of permanent cuts to the federal bureaucracy to encourage Democrats to vote to reopen the government.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 3, 2025
Trump eyes firing thousands of federal workers over shutdown
Some budget experts have argued that spending money to conduct permanent layoffs during a shutdown is illegal.
Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts and ranking member of the House Rules Committee (center left) speaks during a hearing in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
Trump tax bill hits Republican resistance in House ahead of vote
Trump, the GOP¡¯s most forceful whip, quickly turned his attention from the Senate to the House, putting public pressure on Republicans to back the bill.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the media in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2024
Defying hardliners, Johnson presses ahead on Ukraine and Israel plan
The Republican leader outlined a $95 billion aid package after intense discussions with ultraconservatives.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2024
U.S. Congress unveils temporary spending bill to avert shutdown
The temporary spending bill would extend funds for some agencies that face a Jan. 20 deadline.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy speaks at the Capitol after he was ousted as speaker of the House, in Washington on Tuesday. The ouster is without precedent in modern U.S. history and leaves the chamber without a leader, plunging it into chaos.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 4, 2023
U.S. House speaker ouster means more chaos as shutdown fight looms
Kevin McCarthy lost his post after hardliners in his party revolted over his compromise with Democrats to avert government shutdown.
A downgrade by Fitch Ratings is being viewed as a condemnation of partisan U.S. politics, including the recent debt ceiling standoff and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2023
Fitch¡¯s U.S. downgrade stokes the very fight it warned against
Washington¡¯s hostile political factions have quickly taken up the agency¡¯s downgrade of U.S. government debt as a new weapon of political combat.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 22, 2023
Biden and McCarthy to meet Monday as staff debt-limit talks resume
Investors are girding for more volatility in markets this week as the two sides grapple for a deal.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 12, 2023
Biden¡¯s debt ceiling meeting with McCarthy pushed to next week
The delay likely signals that staff-level talks on energy permitting reform and government spending have yielded progress.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2023
¡®Crisis and confusion¡¯: Four days of Republican barbs, chaos and cigars
Establishment Republicans were horrified, while Democrats snickered and comedian Jon Stewart called it the best season of C-SPAN ever.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 6, 2023
McCarthy fails in 11th U.S. Speaker vote, cementing longest fight since 1859
The stalemate has left House Republicans fractured after they reclaimed the majority in the November election and has stopped all other business in the chamber.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 4, 2023
U.S. House adjourns with Kevin McCarthy¡¯s speaker bid still in doubt
It was the first time in a century that the House hasn¡¯t elected a speaker, the top position in Congress, after one round of balloting.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 3, 2022
Biden is staffing up for GOP probes even while downplaying risks
The White House is bracing for the onslaught by ramping up the team that will handle the probes, including bringing on a key staffer from a powerful congressional committee.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 18, 2022
House GOP primed to hit Biden with avalanche of investigations
GOP lawmakers have been setting the groundwork for wide-ranging investigations that, at least in part, will serve as payback for probes of Donald Trump.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 18, 2022
Nancy Pelosi to exit as top House Democrat, ending historic era
Pelosi, 82, is leaving the post as Republicans are set to take control of the House in January after winning the majority in the midterm election.

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