Politics & Government

Politics & Government

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema leaves the Democratic Party

4:05pm December 09, 2022

by Susan Davis

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent. Her decision will not affect the Senate's balance of power but raises questions about her political future.

Politics & Government

Newt Gingrich thinks the GOP needs to stop underestimating Biden

4:05pm December 09, 2022

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich about how President Biden has been able to complete his goals in a divided House.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona speaks at the U.S. Capitol after the Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act in November. Sinema announced Friday she would register as an independent rather than a Democrat.

Here's what Sinema's switch from Democrat to independent could mean for the Senate

1:50pm December 09, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

Sinema's move is unlikely to change the power balance in the Senate, as it comes days after Sen. Raphael Warnock won the Georgia runoff election to give Democrats a 51-49 majority.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party

8:42am December 09, 2022

by Deirdre Walsh

Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving her party to register as an independent. The decision shakes up the power dynamic in the closely divided U.S. Senate.

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Politics & Government

How Republicans got on board with the Respect for Marriage Act

7:26am December 09, 2022

Former Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen discusses how conservative lobbyists worked to convince Republican senators to support the Respect for Marriage Act.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence campaigns for Sen. Chuck Grassley at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa on August 19, 2022.

As Democrats look elsewhere, Republicans are keeping Iowa first

5:01am December 09, 2022

by Clay Masters

The DNC has taken its first steps to make drastic changes to the primary calendar. But Republicans want to keep things exactly as they are and that means a lot of attention on Iowa.

Politics & Government

What the GOP's next steps should be after Herschel Walker's loss

5:00am December 09, 2022

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with GOP fundraiser Steven Law about Herschel Walker's loss in the Georgia Senate runoff and how he believes the party should recalculate to move forward.

Rep.-Elect Maxwell Frost (D-FL) speaks at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus event on Nov. 18, 2022 in Washington, DC.

The first Gen Z member of Congress was denied a D.C. apartment due to bad credit

5:00am December 09, 2022

by Jaclyn Diaz

Maxwell Frost, who became the first Gen Z candidate to be elected to the U.S. House in November, says Congress has a serious problem of accessibility for people who don't come from wealth.

Rev. Rob Schenck speaks during press conference in front of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on April 17, 2019. Schenck testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee Dec. 8, 2022 saying that he knew of a leak out of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014.

Former evangelical activist says he 'pushed the boundaries' in Supreme Court dealings

9:37pm December 08, 2022

by Sarah McCammon

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, the Rev. Rob Schenck said he knew the outcome of a pivotal religious freedom decision weeks before the Supreme Court released it in 2014.

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Paul Whelan holds a sign in protest as he awaits his verdict in Moscow in June 2020. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges of espionage.

Biden vows to bring longtime detainee Paul Whelan home from Russia too

2:58pm December 08, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

The former U.S. Marine has been held in Russia since 2018. As supporters celebrate Brittney Griner's release, they — Whelan himself included — are wondering why he was left behind.