The Latest Breaking News from McClatchy Washington Bureau

McConnell killed election reform in Senate. Democrats will now take it to the people

WASHINGTON — Mitch McConnell held his entire Republican caucus together to effectively kill the Democrats’ highest legislative priority of the year, a transformative 888-page bill intended to make it easier to vote, rein in the wealthy’s impact on elections, and outlaw the gerrymandering process that constructs partisan congressional districts.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jun 23, 2021

Can Congress take back California’s COVID-19 relief? Senators want to try in infrastructure deal

WASHINGTON — California’s $75 billion budget surplus is proving to be an alluring target for Washington lawmakers scrambling to find a way to pay for a national infrastructure improvement plan.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jun 23, 2021

‘Look beyond the criticism’: Kamala Harris’ allies urge vice president to resist border fight

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris’ immigration work has become the target of critics with a singular question: when will she visit the southern border?

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jun 22, 2021

Democrats vow to confront their ‘single biggest problem’: Reaching out to minority voters

WASHINGTON — Democrats say they have settled on a plan to reverse their across-the-board declines with voters of color in the 2020 election.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jun 18, 2021

Sen. Menendez pressed VP Harris in private to put immigration measure in infrastructure bill

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Menendez pressed Vice President Kamala Harris in a private meeting this week to include a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in legislation that includes the Biden administration’s infrastructure proposal.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jun 17, 2021

Missouri Senate candidate lost job when he came out. Now, LGBTQ rights central to campaign

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate candidate Tim Shepard was working as an evangelical Christian missionary eight years ago when he came out as a gay man.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jun 15, 2021

McConnell: ‘Highly unlikely’ he’d allow Biden to fill Supreme Court vacancy in 2024

WASHINGTON — Mitch McConnell said Monday it’s “highly unlikely” he’d allow President Joe Biden to fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 2024 if he were Senate majority leader, once again stirring liberals’ fears about the composition of the country’s highest court and the importance of next year’s midterm elections.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jun 15, 2021

Biden forming new panels of experts to study ‘Havana syndrome’

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is forming two panels of experts to study unexplained health incidents among U.S. personnel that have baffled and concerned the government since 2016, when American diplomats in Cuba became ill with mysterious ailments known as “Havana syndrome,” three sources familiar with the matter told McClatchy.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jun 11, 2021

‘Who’s he supposed to be afraid of?’ Biden at legislative impasse with Manchin

WASHINGTON — The White House has reached an impasse with Sen. Joe Manchin, the centrist Democrat from conservative West Virginia who this week reiterated his opposition to key elements of the president’s legislative agenda.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jun 10, 2021

‘Cori hasn’t hesitated.’ From police to Palestine, Missouri’s Bush has national voice

WASHINGTON — When House leaders learned that freshman Missouri Rep. Cori Bush was going to oppose a $1.9 billion bill to upgrade U.S. Capitol security, they enlisted the senior colleague from her home state in the hope that he could dissuade her.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jun 10, 2021