Melania gives Congress private deadline as she works around Trump's team: report

First lady Melania Trump gave Congress a private deadline to pass her signature foster care bill, and she is pursuing it largely outside the usual White House channels, according to a new report in Politico. At a bipartisan roundtable with the House Ways and Means Committee in April, the first lady publicly called foster care legislation a "moral imperative." Then, behind closed doors, she set a target, Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) told the outlet: "I want this on Donald's desk by the August recess." The Fostering the Future Act, which expands housing, education and workforce help for young people aging out of foster care, passed the House unanimously.The Senate has not moved it out of committee, and lawmakers are set to leave Washington around Aug. 10. At a White House picnic the day the House passed the bill, both Trumps urged the Senate to hurry. "Hopefully, it will quickly pass in the Senate," the president said. He has not publicly pressed senators since.The deadline reflects a first lady who increasingly operates on her own track. Her office, not the State Department, has led her effort to reunite children displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war, negotiating directly with Moscow and Kyiv, the White House said. She has also shown a willingness to diverge from the administration's message. She broke with the White House on Epstein, calling for survivors to testify as the president's team tried to move past the scandal, and last week put her own spin on a Supreme Court ruling her husband celebrated, voicing support for the LGBTQIA+ community.A recent book recounted how she resisted Trump's overhaul of the White House grounds and lost.

Congress Can Still Ban Birthright Citizenship. Here’s How.

The Supreme Court has committed a grievous moral and legal error in Trump v. Barbara, the landmark case on birthright...

Time for Congress To Make the Right To Carry a National Right

House Democrats accuse Trump’s Freedom 250 of misleading donors, potential wire fraud

Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee released an interim report on Thursday alleging Freedom 250 potentially misled donors, directing them to complete payments that were rerouted. “According to sources interviewed by Committee Democrats, donors who intended to donate to America250 were instead given wire instructions with Freedom 250’s banking information—including its routing number and…

Former Texas middle school teacher sentenced to over 30 years for sexually abusing 13-year-old student

A former Texas middle school teacher was sentenced to more than three decades in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing a 13-year-old student.

Brendan Boyle brings Congress back to ‘where it all began’ in Philadelphia to mark 250 years of American independence

Members of Congress gathered Thursday at Independence Hall in Philadelphia to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The bipartisan group of lawmakers gathered at Independence Hall specifically on this day because it marked the anniversary of the Second Continental Congress’s vote in support of American independence in 1776 in […]

Congress plans to ‘reign in’ birth tourism scams after SCOTUS ruling

Congress is planning to crack down on birth tourism after the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling preserved birthright citizenship. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that […]

House Democrats accuse Trump of 'hijacking' America's 250th birthday for his own gain

A 55-page report from House Democrats accuses Freedom 250 of America's birthday celebrations for profit, using questionable fundraising methods. Watchdog groups had already sounded alarms.