The Latest Breaking News from McClatchy Washington Bureau

Why Biden’s team sees reasons for optimism in dealing with Mitch McConnell

WASHINGTON — He credited him with bipartisan leadership that produced results. He said he trusted him implicitly as a man who doesn’t waste time or break his word. And he even went so far to call him a “real friend,” a rarity in modern day Washington.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jan 20, 2021

Trump leaves the White House as he came in: Isolated and unpredictable

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump exits the White House after four years of tumult much as he arrived, with only a handful of loyalists and family members at his side.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jan 18, 2021

Inauguration Day will come and go. Violent domestic extremism may be around for a while

WASHINGTON — When it’s over, it won’t be over.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jan 16, 2021

Could McConnell’s signal to Republicans open floodgates against Trump?

WASHINGTON — Sen. Mitch McConnell’s openness to convicting Donald Trump in a U.S. Senate impeachment trial is a seismic signal to his caucus that could prod other Republicans to break with the president in the coming days and weeks.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jan 13, 2021

Riot at Capitol was an act of ‘sedition,’ military’s top leadership says in memo

WASHINGTON — For a third time during Donald Trump’s presidency, his top defense chiefs have spoken out during a moment of upheaval, issuing a memo to troops describing the violence at the U.S. Capitol as “sedition” and “insurrection” and affirming that Joe Biden is the incoming president.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jan 13, 2021

Military investigating whether troops had role in violence at US Capitol

WASHINGTON — The military is expanding its investigation into whether any troops who participated in last week’s pro-Trump rally also took part in the violence inside the U.S. Capitol, even as lawmakers are pressing the Defense Department to rescreen the thousands of military personnel assigned to support the presidential inauguration…

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jan 11, 2021

McConnell will now lead a fractious GOP minority, but he still wields real power

WASHINGTON — The anarchy that overran the U.S. Capitol this week obscured another seismic event that shifted Washington power: For the first time in six years, Mitch McConnell will no longer run the U.S. Senate.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jan 9, 2021

Unknown COVID-19 mutations may be fueling coronavirus spike, CDC’s Redfield says

WASHINGTON — Unidentified variants of the coronavirus that are more contagious than those that first spread in the United States may be fueling an explosion in cases and the rising death toll, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jan 9, 2021

CDC’s Redfield warns storming of Capitol was a ‘surge event’ in coronavirus pandemic

WASHINGTON — Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned on Friday that the storming of the U.S. Capitol was likely a “surge event” in the coronavirus pandemic that would have public health consequences nationwide.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jan 9, 2021

Poll: Half of Republicans say Biden to blame for Trump supporters storming Capitol

A majority of Republican voters surveyed in a new poll said President-elect Joe Biden is at fault for the actions of President Donald Trump’s supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

McClatchy Washington Bureau · Jan 8, 2021