JAMES LANKFORD

Senate Republicans are blocking for a second time a bill to clamp down the number of migrants allowed to claim asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Deanne Criswell says “our heart aches for the loss of life” in tornadoes that left four dead and about 100 injured in Oklahoma.

A former youth minister in the Baptist church, Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford is known as one of the most sincere and well-liked members of the Senate.

A provision of border security legislation that would give the U.S. a new authority to block migrants from entering the country has become a central line of attack from many Republicans who are opposing the legislation.

Senate leaders are attempting to push forward a deal to pair new policies at the southern border with wartime aid for Ukraine and other American allies, but they will have to overcome heavy skepticism from Republicans.

A bipartisan Senate deal to pair border enforcement measures and Ukraine aid faces potential collapse.

A deal on U.S. aid for Ukraine and policy changes at the border with Mexico was is still uncertain as Congress returns to Washington.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has led about 60 fellow Republicans in Congress on a visit to the Mexican border.

President Joe Biden’s push to have Congress replenish wartime aid for Ukraine as part of a deal on border and immigration policy changes will almost certainly drag into next year.

Top Biden administration officials have ramped up their involvement in the recent border talks on Capitol Hill.

A deal to provide further U.S. assistance to Ukraine by year-end appears to be increasingly out of reach for President Joe Biden.

House Speaker Mike Johnson tells fellow Republicans that sweeping changes to U.S. border policy will be their “hill to die on” in negotiations over President Joe Biden’s nearly $106 billion package for the wars in Ukraine and Israel and other security needs.

Republican demands to stop the flow of migrants at the Mexico-U.S. border have left Congress scrambling.

The Senate Ethics Committee is admonishing South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham for soliciting campaign contributions inside a federal building after a Nov. 2022 Fox News interview in which he asked viewers to donate to a GOP candidate.

The National Prayer Breakfast is one of the most visible and long-standing events that brings religion and politics together in Washington.

U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin has won the GOP primary runoff for one of Oklahoma’s U.S. Senate seats.

Tuesday’s primary elections feature two top Florida Democrats squaring off for the right to face Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Colorado Republicans have rejected two prominent election deniers in primaries Tuesday night.

Seven states are set to host primary elections Tuesday as the nation comes to terms with last week’s stunning Supreme Court ruling eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion.

U.S. Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma testified as part of a civil case into an alleged sexual assault at the Baptist church camp he oversaw that he believed a 13-year-old can consent to sex.

A Republican Oklahoma lawmaker who wanted to refer to himself as “The Patriot” on the ballot can't use that nickname.

After two years at the front of the line for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, the U.S. could soon have to begin taking a number.

The scandal-ridden former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, has filed to run for an open U.S. Senate seat in Oklahoma.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers called Thursday for restoring the charitable deduction for donors who don’t itemize their taxes, a priority for nonprofits nationwide, but a key senator was noncommittal on the question of whether to support legislation designed to boost payout from foundations and donor-advised funds.

For President Joe Biden and the senators laboring over a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure package, there’s just one question left: Can enough Republicans get to yes.

Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford would seem to have all the conservative credentials he’d need to coast to reelection in deep-red Oklahoma.

Tulsans working on events commemorating the 1921 Race Massacre say a dispute over monetary payments to survivors led to the cancellation of a headline event.

FILE - This March 19, 2020, file photo, shows a 2020 census letter mailed to a U.S. resident. At a hearing of the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, Republican lawmakers told acting Census Bureau director Ron Jarmin that the delay was upending their states' redistricting plans. The state of Alabama also has sued the Census Bureau in an effort to force it to release the redistricting data early. “That meant some of the work we would have started for the redistricting data was set aside for later. The acting Census Bureau director also said the cost of executing the 2020 census would be under its $15.6 billion budget.

It’s widely expected the Senate will approve the bill and the House will whisk it to Biden for his signature by mid-March, handing him a crucial early legislative victory. “We are not going to be timid in the face of a great challenge," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Biden and Senate leaders had agreed Wednesday to retain the $400 weekly jobless payments included in the version of the relief bill the House approved Saturday. In another bargain that satisfied moderates, Biden and Senate Democrats agreed Wednesday to tighten eligibility for the direct checks to individuals. AdAs soon as the Senate began considering the bill, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., forced the chamber's clerks to begin reading the entire 628-page measure aloud.

Trump is accused of inciting the invasion, which prosecutors said was a predictable culmination of the many public and explicit instructions he gave supporters long before his White House rally that unleashed the Jan. 6 attack. Even out of office, Democrats warned, Trump could whip up a mob of followers for similar damage. Even out of the White House, the former president holds influence over large swaths of voters. The first president to face an impeachment trial after leaving office, Trump is also the first to be twice impeached. His lawyers say he cannot be convicted because he is already gone from the White House.

Reporters vie for a response from Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, as Senators take a dinner break while arguments continue in former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – For 90 tense minutes, members of the Senate relived the horror. The rioters were “58 steps” from senators at one point, impeachment manager Eric Swalwell told them. Senators were silent afterward, some sitting quietly and alone, as if to process it all. He walked out of the room in the middle of the presentation, as impeachment manager Stacey Plaskett detailed the threats to Pence’s life.

Neera Tanden also admitted to spending “many months” removing past Twitter posts, saying, “I deleted tweets because I regretted them." He said that included Tanden calling Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton "a fraud” and tweeting that “vampires have more heart” than Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford said Tanden had tweeted more over the past four years than even Trump did. Still, Senate discussion of Tanden's nomination is likely to center more on her past tweets than her budget priorities. Cotton has said they were “filled with hate.” Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn suggested previously that she'd face “certainly a problematic path” to nomination.

President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill, walk out for the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. On the very spot where President Joe Biden delivered his inaugural address, an insurrectionist mob had tried — and failed — to overturn his election just two weeks before. Young poet laureate Amanda Gorman was beaming — under her mask — after receiving plaudits from Vice President Kamala Harris, Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. The teleprompter ensured a quick pace and gave Biden helpful hints such as a reminder to “build" to the finish. Biden had just a handful of small verbal stumbles and couldn’t resist adding an unscripted “folks” — a personal trademark — toward the end.

Tennessee's GOP senators abandoned the effort, as did Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., who lost her runoff election Tuesday, helping to deliver control of the Senate to Democrats. Wisconsin's GOP Sen. Ron Johnson dropped out, as did James Lankford, R-Okla., a promising younger Republican who raised eyebrows when initially supporting the effort. We will not bow to lawlessness or intimidation," said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “We are back at our posts. As senators debated, Trump took it on the chin from longtime critics like Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Enough is enough.”Romney, the party's 2012 nominee, reminded his colleagues that he knows how unpleasant it is to lose a presidential election, drawing hearty laughter.

Some Republican lawmakers were in the midst of raising objections to the results on his behalf when the proceedings were abruptly halted by the mob. Together, the protests and the GOP election objections amounted to an almost unthinkable challenge to American democracy and exposed the depths of the divisions that have coursed through the country during Trump’s four years in office. Before dawn Thursday, lawmakers completed their work, confirming Biden won the presidential election. In the aftermath, several Republicans announced they would drop their objections to the election, including Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., who lost her bid for reelection Tuesday. Some House lawmakers tweeted they were sheltering in place in their offices.

Eleven Republican senators saying they will not be voting Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, to confirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory include Wyoming's newly sworn in Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Cheyenne-area rancher and former congresswoman. It is unclear just what the Republican senators will do, but the process could drag into the night as the two chambers will have to consider each objection individually. And more than a dozen Republican senators have said they will not support the effort. Facing the criticism from many in his own party, Cruz has attempted to put a finer point on his challenge. The commission remains his focus, he has said, not to undo the election results, even though that would be the practical effect of a successful objection.

Though he got nothing but cheers Monday night, Trump's attempt to overturn the presidential election i s splitting the Republican Party. Trump himself is whipping up crowds for a Wednesday rally near the White House. Trump said in Georgia: “I hope that our great vice president comes through for us. Two current Republican senators, Rob Portman of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah, joined the growing number who now oppose the legislators' challenge. Larry Hogan of Maryland; Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking House GOP leader; and former House Speaker Paul Ryan — have criticized the GOP efforts to overturn the election.

Of the more than 50 lawsuits the president and his allies have filed challenging election results, nearly all have been dismissed or dropped. Other prominent former officials also criticized the ongoing attack on election results. Cruz's coalition of 11 Republican senators vows to reject the Electoral College tallies unless Congress launches a commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results. The convening of the joint session to count the Electoral College votes has faced objections before. States choose their own election officials and draft their election laws.

The GOP governor acknowledged Thursday that Biden's lead is getting "bigger and bigger by the day” and Trump’s legal options are dissipating. Many Trump allies in Washington see no path to a Trump victory but remain wary of crossing the outgoing Republican president — or his supporters — especially with control of the Senate still uncertain. GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested Thursday that Biden doesn’t need intelligence briefings because Trump might remain president in the new year. Spencer Cox wrote on Twitter, citing the significant number of Democrats who doubted the legitimacy of Trump's 2016 election victory. “Joe Biden is the president-elect.”George W. Bush, the only living former Republican president, acknowledged Biden's victory on Sunday.

The GOP governor acknowledged that Biden's lead is getting "bigger and bigger by the day” and Trump’s legal options are dissipating. Many Trump allies in Washington see no path to a Trump victory but remain wary of crossing the outgoing Republican president — or his supporters — especially with control of the Senate still uncertain. GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested Thursday that Biden doesn’t need intelligence briefings because Trump might remain president in the new year. Spencer Cox wrote on Twitter, citing the significant number of Democrats who doubted the legitimacy of Trump's 2016 election victory. “Joe Biden is the president-elect.”George W. Bush, the only living former Republican president, acknowledged Biden's victory on Sunday.

As he contests this year's election results, Trump has not authorized President-elect Joe Biden to lay eyes on the brief. National security and intelligence experts hope Trump changes his mind, citing the need for an incoming president to be fully prepared to confront any national security issues on Day One. That's the type of information that might be in the PDB, a daily summary of high-level, classified information and analysis on national security issues that's been offered to presidents since 1946. It is coordinated and delivered by the Office of the National Intelligence Director with input from the CIA and other agencies. Biden is missing out on all counts: More than a week into his transition, Biden doesn't have access to the PDB, the agencies or government resources to help him get ready to take charge.

And now Lafayette Square. Trump had briefly been forced to take shelter in the emergency White House bunker and flames had risen from St. Johns Church across from the executive mansion. Lafayette Square was ordered to be cleared. The White House quickly produced a slick ad celebrating the triumph. Some observers believe Trump may be able to cast aside Lafayette Square too.

Trump had scheduled the rally for June 19, known as Juneteenth because it marks the end of slavery in the United States. He didn't see it as disrespectful to be able to do it on Juneteenth, Lankford said. Other people interpreted it differently and so he moved the rally date.Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said he was thankful that Trump rescheduled the rally. But Trump's campaign was aware, according to two campaign officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose internal discussions. Although selecting June 19 was not meant to be incendiary, some pushback was expected, the Trump campaign officials said.

Sen. Rand Paul wants to stop sending surplus U.S. military equipment to local law enforcement. And GOP Sen. Mitt Romney is trying to assemble a bipartisan package of bills in response to police violence. I think we should all be optimistic right now," Scott, the only black GOP senator, told reporters at the Capitol. Lawmakers are watching as demonstrations erupt in all corners of the country, from the biggest cities to the smallest towns, and acknowledging the arrival of a mass movement for law enforcement changes as politically impossible to ignore. Obviously this is a national awakening, GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said Tuesday on CNBC.

But when Trump was caught bragging of sexual assault and seeking political help from Ukraine, the country was relatively comfortable. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told reporters Tuesday when asked whether Trump's use of force against peaceful protesters was the right thing to do. Even now, as they squirm about the president's suggestion of using the military to enforce the law, most Republicans aren't breaking with Trump. Defense Secretary Mike Esper, who allowed himself to be squarely at the center of Trump's photo op at St. Johns, scrambled. As of right now, Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during her midday briefing.

But when Trump was caught bragging of sexual assault and seeking political help from Ukraine, the country was relatively comfortable. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told reporters Tuesday when asked whether Trump's use of force against peaceful protesters was the right thing to do. Even now, as they squirm about the president's suggestion of using the military to enforce the law, most Republicans aren't breaking with Trump. Defense Secretary Mike Esper, who allowed himself to be squarely at the center of Trump's photo op at St. Johns, scrambled. As of right now, Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during her midday briefing.

The 9:02 gate at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum is pictured behind a sign announcing the closure of the site, Wednesday, April 15, 2020, in Oklahoma City. “I’m not with my sisters today, I’m not with my mother today,” in Oklahoma City, he said by phone from Baltimore, where he now lives. “They did just an extraordinary ceremony under extraordinary circumstances, it was just remarkable,” Ashwood said of the video put together by the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. “The 25th is another time for us here in Oklahoma City to refocus on what makes the event and the site relevant in the decades to come." “People in Oklahoma City sort of have a special obligation to stand for the idea that we have much more in common than we have different," he said.

The move came on the same day Democrats planned to offer their own amendment in the Appropriations Committee to give $500 million to states to improve their election security infrastructure. Until his floor speech, which took place about a half hour before the committee was set to meet, McConnell had not publicly called for the $250 million in additional election security funding. He has argued the foreign interference problems like the nation faced in 2016 did not resurface in 2018, a sign their efforts to improve election security were successful. "That will bring our total allocation for election security to more than $600 million since fiscal 2018," McConnell said. On Wednesday, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia, also seemed wary of approving more funds, in part because past efforts to boost election security were successful.