Gop, Congress | featured news

The Republicans who control the House are using cuts to food aid, health care and social services like Meals on Wheels to protect the Pentagon from a wave of budget cuts come January....

At a closed door meeting with rank-and-file Republicans, House Speaker John A. Boehner reiterated his concerns the party could lose control of the House majority this fall, giving his troops file a sober reminder of the challenge ahead.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says Republican Mitt Romney will win the White House, but not with Rubio on the ticket.

The U.S. Senate's top Republican called on his party to unite behind leading presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Sunday as rival Rick Santorum vowed to stay in the race beyond a likely defeat in Tuesday's Wisconsin primary.

The No Child Left Behind education law offered the promise of improved schools and better prepared students in a competitive world. Yet after a decade on the books, President George W. Bush's most hyped domestic accomplishment has become a symbol to many of federal overreach and Congress' inability to fix something that's clearly flawed.

House of Representatives Republican Speaker John Boehner has agreed to accept a bipartisan deal to extend a payroll tax cut, in an abrupt U-turn. He had refused a vote on the bill, which was passed by Republicans and Democrats in the Senate last Saturday. Correspondents say the move amounts to a cave-in by House Republicans, and victory for President Barack Obama.

House Speaker John Boehner and his team of GOP negotiators gathered around a conference table in the Capitol on Wednesday to show they were hard at work -- although they have no one to negotiate with, not even Senate Republicans.

Top House Republicans said Sunday they oppose a Senate-approved bill that extends a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months and said congressional bargainers need to write a new version lasting a longer time....

It's safe to say the word "Obamacare" has a negative connotation, given how it's been thrown around on the Senate floor, in campaign videos, and during GOP debates. But a new campaign called "Thanks Obamacare!" seeks to wrest the term back from conservatives. Run by two progressive Colorado organizations, the website features a top-10 list of good things about the Affordable Care Act, along with a lively video and a handy timeline.

Sen. Lamar Alexander says he'll resign from his GOP leadership post to spend more time making the Senate "a more effective institution."