By
Jessica Brady
| 15 minutes ago Sen. Tom Harkin, who is pushing for the Senate to adopt new rules to limit the use of the filibuster, acknowledged Wednesday that he will likely have to settle for “a little bit of window dressing.”
By
Jennifer Yachnin
| 2 p.m. Rep. Maxine Waters said Wednesday that she is dropping her effort to force an investigation into the suspension of two House ethics committee aides, saying there is not sufficient time remaining in the 111th Congress to conduct a probe.
By
John Stanton
| 10:16 a.m. Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday announced that the Senate would remain in session through Sunday and that he hopes to wrap up the chamber’s work by the middle of next week.
By
Jennifer Bendery
| 10:02 a.m. President Barack Obama made an eleventh-hour appeal to Congress on Wednesday morning to pass the $858 billion tax cut package “as swiftly as possible” when it comes up for a vote in the Senate later in the day and in the House later this week.
By
Steven T. Dennis, Anna Palmer
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer appears to be solidifying his position as the Democratic leader whom Republicans can deal with and trust next year.
By
Emily Heil
Like many great love affairs, this one started late at night. Jim Manley fell for the Senate during the long evenings he worked after arriving on Capitol Hill in 1993.
Lobbying
By
Bennett Roth
President Barack Obama’s desire to streamline the cluttered tax code will spark a lobbying frenzy next year that could pit big business and other interests against each other as they clash over what deductions should be pruned or preserved.
By
Emily Pierce, Jessica Brady
With Democrats trying to reach agreement on ways to diminish his power come January, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell surprised the proponents of reform by inviting them to his office to discuss how they plan to change Senate rules.
