GOP leaders delay budget vote as internal disputes linger
Top Republicans delayed a planned House vote on a shortterm budget bill Tuesday to give themselves time to quell party divisions and avert a partial government shutdown by the weekend.
With conservatives insisting on commitments to curb spending, a House vote on the temporary measure planned for today will instead occur Thursday, said a GOP leadership aide. In a further signal of problems, the House Rules Committee announced it had postponed a planned meeting from Tuesday until today to work out debating rules for the budget measure.
The staffer spoke on condition of anonymity because the staffer was not authorized to speak publicly about internal party discussions.
The delay underscored the clout that conservatives wield within the House GOP as the party aims to push legislation through the House and Senate this week to keep federal agencies functioning.
GOP leaders now backing Moore, despite allegations
Republican leaders in Washington are coming to grips with the possibility — perhaps even probability — that Alabama’s Roy Moore will win his special election next Tuesday and join them in the capital.
Looking past allegations of sexual misconduct with Alabama teenagers, President Donald Trump formally endorsed Moore, and the Republican National Committee quickly followed suit late Monday.
“I think he’s going to do very well. We don’t want to have a liberal Democrat in Alabama, believe me,” Trump said Tuesday during a lunch with Republican senators. “We want strong borders, we want stopping crime, we want to have the things that we represent and we certainly don’t want to have a liberal Democrat that’s controlled by Nancy Pelosi and controlled by Chuck Schumer, we don’t want to have that for Alabama.”
Mueller details $6.7M spent in early months of Russia probe
The special counsel investigation into possible coordination between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential election has cost more than $6.7 million so far, according to a financial report released Tuesday.
The release of the report by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office comes as the investigation appears to be gaining steam: Prosecutors have gained a key cooperator in their investigation and revealed that they are keenly focused on the actions of the president and his inner circle.
Of the overall price tag, only about $3.2 million was spent directly by the special counsel’s office. An additional $3.5 million was paid out by the Justice Department to support the investigation, though the special counsel’s office says that money would have been spent on ongoing probes anyway, even if Mueller had not been appointed.