USDA official who roiled Capitol Hill with his erotica now one of Rollins’ closest advisers

Tucker Stewart, a former USDA congressional liaison, is now a legal adviser to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, according to five people familiar with the move. The USDA staffer whose smutty novella sparked controversy in September — and inside President Donald Trump’s White House, where top aides considered his termination — remains at the department. In … Read more

House to return to laundry list of controversies after 7-week hiatus

Speaker Mike Johnson is faced with jump-starting dormant committees, tackling a looming health care deadline and resolving the long-brewing Jeffrey Epstein fight — if he can reopen the government first. The House is set to return to work Wednesday after a staggering 54 days out of session. Ending the record government shutdown will be the … Read more

Senate rejects Paul’s hemp pitch

76 lawmakers voted to block the Kentucky Republican’s effort to strip language that he argues will destroy the hemp industry. Senators shot down an attempt by Sen. Rand Paul to eliminate language in their shutdown-ending deal that the Kentucky Republican argues will destroy the booming hemp industry. The amendment was blocked on a 76-24 vote … Read more

Senate passes shutdown-ending deal

The House could clear the package for President Donald Trump’s signature by Wednesday. The Senate passed a government funding package Monday night that paves the way for ending the longest shutdown in history. The 60-40 vote came roughly 24 hours after a bipartisan group of rank-and-file senators, in tandem with Majority Leader John Thune, reached … Read more

The hottest ticket in Brazil just might be a meeting with Gavin Newsom

The California governor drew crowds at an economic summit ahead of this week’s UN climate talks. SÃO PAULO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom isn’t even at the United Nations climate talks yet — but he’s already getting bombarded with meeting requests. Newsom kicked off his trip to Brazil 1,800 miles south of the Amazonian city … Read more

How Senate Republicans won the last vote to end the shutdown

Sen. Tim Kaine wanted a “moratorium on mischief” from the Trump administration. He didn’t get it until Sunday night. Tim Kaine privately laid out weeks ago what he needed in return for his vote to end the government shutdown: a “moratorium on mischief.” That’s what the Virginia Democrat told Senate Majority Leader John Thune that … Read more

Japan and China exchange barbs after prime minister’s remarks about Taiwan

“We have no choice but cut off that dirty neck that has been lunged at us without hesitation,” a Chinese official said. TOKYO — Japan was involved in a war of words with China on Monday after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a survival-threatening situation” for Japan requiring … Read more