senate

Senate Rules and Administration Chairman Richard C. Shelby gave a cool reception Thursday to a bipartisan draft bill disclosed the same day that would require large online platforms to collect and disclose data about the buyers of political advertising.

“We will look at everything; right now, a lot of that is being investigated,” the Alabama Republican said about a proposal from Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and co-sponsored by Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Asked whether he would be open to backing the bill in the future or other legislation to deal with the issue, Shelby said, “Not yet.”

Senators saying they didn’t know about the presence of U.S. troops (or the number of them) in Niger suggests there might need to be a review of how Congress gets notified of such actions.

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is among the lawmakers who in recent days have said on television they were unaware of the activity in Niger, despite a formal letter about U.S. forces in the region that went to Capitol Hill months ago.

President Donald Trump further complicated Republicans’ quest to find agreement on a package of tax rate cuts and code changes, breaking with his party by tweeting Monday that he wants the 401(k) system left unchanged.

The popular retirement program allows employees to save a slice of their paychecks before taxes are withdrawn; taxes are eventually paid, but not for years until the money is withdrawn, typically after that employee has reached retirement age.

Four female Democratic senators described their experiences being sexually harassed as part of the #MeToo campaign to highlight how common it is for women.

Democrats Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii all spoke to “Meet the Press” about their experiences.

Without mentioning a specific name, Sen. John McCain aapeared to take a veiled swipe at President Donald Trump for dodging the draft during the Vietnam War.

In an interview with C-SPAN3’s “American History TV,” McCain commented about the mistakes made by political leadership during the war.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is facing one of her most credible Democratic challengers yet. So she is readying her case to voters that her power in the Senate means she can effectively fight for California — and against President Donald Trump.

But will that argument work?

Senate Republicans have a new strategy to attack Democrats on a still developing tax measure: using past legislation against them.

The campaign could be successful. Some Democrats say the GOP argument makes sense, and several say they are open to the possibility of supporting a final tax bill.

On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump pledged over and over to “drain the swamp,” promising to gut what he said was a gridlocked Washington political establishment.

His supporters chanted the catchy slogan at rallies and kept doing so at Trump events even after the reality television figure moved into the White House.

Both chambers are in session with the House back this week.

Aside from policy news, keep up to date with the controversy over Cups. The beloved food and coffee joint in the Russell Senate Office Building is competing with other companies to keep its contract.

Democratic staffers heard from social media gurus over the House recess last week about creating strategies to amplify their party’s digital efforts.

Many offices don’t have a digital director, especially minority party staff on committees that don’t have the resources to fund a position. Their digital efforts fall to other staffers, often the press secretary or communications director.