Politics & Government

Voters take to the polls on March 7, 2023, at Mann Elementary School in south St. Louis. If supporters get enough signatures, an abortion initiative will likely be on the ballot in 2024.

Missouri's strict abortion ban could change. Even a GOP-led group thinks it should.

5:00am October 09, 2023

by Jason Rosenbaum

Missouri has one of the strictest abortion bans in the U.S. Abortion rights advocates hope to put forward a ballot initiative next year to take the issue directly to voters.

Politics & Government

Politics chat: U.S. reacts to conflict in Israel, Republicans to select House Speaker

8:11am October 08, 2023

The U.S. reaction to the Israel conflict, and what's ahead as Republicans select a speaker of the House.

Alabama's new Congressional district map turns one seat blue after long legal battle

8:11am October 08, 2023

by Kyle Gassiott

A new congressional map drawn by the courts for Alabama will likely turn one Congressional seat blue. We get reaction from both parties.

Biden says U.S. will stand with Israel after attacks from Gaza

3:40pm October 07, 2023

by Asma Khalid

NPR's Scott Simon and Scott Detrow speak with political correspondent Asma Khalid following President Biden's remarks this afternoon.

Queue Listen Now

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., appears before the House Rules Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 22. Gaetz introduced a Motion to Vacate House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that led to the first ouster of a sitting Speaker in American history.

Jeered in Washington by his fellow Republicans, Rep. Matt Gaetz gets cheers back home

2:24pm October 07, 2023

by Greg Allen

The Florida congressman is proud to be the one to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. That move hasn't won him any prizes with House Republicans but his constituents want to see more just like it.

Queue Listen Now

Politics & Government

Week in politics: Speaker McCarthy's ouster; Trump's fraud trial

7:58am October 07, 2023

We look at the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy by his own party, as well as former President Donald Trump's fraud trial in New York.

Clockwise from top left: Pushinka, a gift to President John F. Kennedy from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev; Bo, President Barack Obama's Portuguese water dog; Commander, President Biden's German shepherd; and Socks, President Bill Clinton's cat.

Presidential pets can breed controversy. A dog was once suspected of being a spy

7:00am October 07, 2023

by Scott Neuman

Historically, pets — everything from birds to cats to dogs — have been part of the White House. And Biden's dog Commander isn't alone. More than a few have ended up embroiled in some controversy.

Students at Minneapolis' Hiawatha Collegiate High School discuss polarization within the federal government.

Today's lesson in AP U.S. Government: What just happened with Kevin McCarthy

6:01am October 07, 2023

The week's turmoil on Capitol Hill was one for the history books — and that has made for some very timely discussions in high school civics classes.

Queue Listen Now

Kevin McCarthy of Calif., then the newly elected speaker of the House, picks up the gavel as he begins to speak in the House chamber on Jan. 7.

Politics & Government

McCarthy's fall marks new low in the speakership's declining status

5:00am October 07, 2023

by Ron Elving

The status of the speakership has been declining for years. McCarthy's ouster is an extreme example in a sequence of events that have made the speaker more vulnerable — and thus weaker.

Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., speaks during a Capitol Hill news conference on June 15. On Friday, a New Mexico state judge ruled against a Republican Party challenge of congressional boundaries approved by Democrats that divvied up a politically conservative region.

Politics & Government

A New Mexico judge rules against Republicans in a redistricting case

5:14pm October 06, 2023

by Nash Jones

A judge in New Mexico has upheld the state's Democratic-drawn congressional map. The decision could be yet another redistricting case that affects the balance of power in the U.S. House.