McConnell puts brakes on new coronavirus aid bill in Senate
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday any action on a new coronavirus-response bill could be weeks away, insisting that he needed to see further evidence of whether the $3 trillion that Congress had authorized was enough.
Michigan sends mail-in vote applications to all registered voters
Michigan will send absentee ballot applications to all registered voters, a state official announced on Tuesday, as the state prepares to hold the Nov. 3 election largely by mail due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Ex-Trump aide Flynn asks appeals court to toss criminal charges
President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Tuesday asked a U.S. appeals court to force a judge to dismiss the criminal charges against him.
U.S. energy secretary criticized by advocacy groups for ‘redlining’ comment
Liberal groups criticized U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette on Tuesday for a comment they interpreted as comparing the reluctance of some banks to finance fossil fuels projects with discrimination against minorities.
Senate panel backs Trump nominee Ratcliffe to be top U.S. spy
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee voted along party lines on Tuesday to back President Donald Trump’s nomination of Republican Representative John Ratcliffe to be director of national intelligence.
Mnuchin defends U.S. fiscal response to pandemic, seeks payroll loan extension
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday defended the Trump administration’s fiscal response to the coronavirus pandemic and told senators he was willing to consider extending and modifying a payroll loan program for small businesses.
Top Senate Republican says still mulling if more coronavirus relief needed
The Republican leader of the U.S. Senate said on Tuesday the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress were still evaluating the need for more coronavirus relief legislation and would discuss plans in a couple of weeks.
Top House Republican backs easing rules for coronavirus loan program
U.S. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday said he could support extending the time allowed for small businesses to use federal loans to keep their enterprises afloat during the coronavirus pandemic – one of several ideas circulating in Con…
Citing ‘greatest adversary’ coronavirus, some U.S. Democrats want defense cuts
Calling the novel coronavirus the “greatest adversary” facing the United States, progressive U.S. House of Representatives Democrats called on Tuesday for a reduction in military spending as the country grapples with the pandemic.
Fed, Treasury chiefs face heat over uneven U.S. coronavirus response
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin found themselves in the hot seat on Tuesday as U.S. lawmakers grilled them about the uneven nature of the fiscal response to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
