The Latest Breaking News from Roll Call

South Carolina governor picks Graham’s sister to serve out his term

Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the late South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, will fill his Senate seat through the end of his term in January, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster announced Monday.  “Lindsey took care of his little sister in years long departed,” McMaster said at a news conference…

Roll Call · Jul 13

Man arrested at Capitol barricade had a gun in his lap, police say

A man was arrested Monday after driving up to the North Barricade of the Capitol in a rented Ford Bronco with a handgun in his lap, Capitol Police said.  He asked an officer for directions to the Supreme Court, which is across from the Capitol’s East Front. The officer ordered…

Roll Call · Jul 13

Trump loses his ‘Senate whisperer’ after Graham’s sudden death

Donald Trump has lost a go-to ally in the Senate after the death of Lindsey Graham, with senior White House aides and other Republicans — and even some Democrats — saying the late senator had become a crucial part of the president’s legislative efforts. The 71-year-old Budget Committee chairman and…

Roll Call · Jul 13

Lindsey Graham, defense hawk and four-term senator, dead at 71

Senate Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a long-standing foreign policy hawk who became a close ally of President Donald Trump during his final years, has died at 71 “from a brief and sudden illness,” according to his office.   The Washington, D.C. medical examiner Sunday issued preliminary findings that Graham died…

Roll Call · Jul 12

Race for Platner alternative takes shape

Maine Democrats have begun laying out the process for replacing Graham Platner as the party’s Senate nominee, as candidates race to assemble campaigns for a weekslong sprint to set up a marquee Senate matchup. Platner posted a letter declaring his withdrawal of candidacy to social media on Friday afternoon, making…

Roll Call · Jul 10

Trump: Definitely not signing bipartisan housing bill

President Donald Trump on Friday put to rest any lingering hopes he would sign into law major housing legislation Congress recently cleared with overwhelming bipartisan majorities. The legislation, which is designed to increase the supply and lower the costs of housing, would become law at midnight tonight, if Trump doesn’t veto…

Roll Call · Jul 10

Government-seeded accounts could test Trump’s ‘communists’ claim

President Donald Trump’s recent attacks on democratic socialists who have won Democratic Party primaries could clash with his idea of creating investment accounts for American adults. The administration this week already formally launched its Trump Accounts initiative for children, which includes a one-time government contribution of $1,000 for each eligible…

Roll Call · Jul 10

After Thursday night firings, election commission has no members

President Donald Trump on Thursday night removed the remaining members of a federal commission intended to assist with federal elections, amid his broader effort to control voting procedures and election administration. Trump fired Chair Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland from the Election Assistance Commission, while Republican commissioner Christy McCormick resigned.…

Roll Call · Jul 10

CBO: House highway bill would widen trust fund deficit

The House version of this year’s mega surface transportation reauthorization bill could increase the deficit anticipated in the Highway Trust Fund over the next five years despite the inclusion of new fees on electric vehicles and hybrids, according to the Congressional Budget Office The CBO analysis, released Thursday, found that…

Roll Call · Jul 10

As Trump threatens the Smithsonian, Congress is on the sidelines

As the White House accuses the Smithsonian Institution of “ideological capture,” it’s put members of Congress in a tough spot as they weigh what, if anything, they can do. A 162-page White House report released last weekend singled out the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, saying it “no longer…

Roll Call · Jul 9