SENATE

Good afternoon, Chicago. Here's what is happening today.

President Biden uses the first veto of his presidency to uphold a new rule that allows retirement plans to consider risk factors like climate change and poor corporate governance.

In the ComEd Four trial Monday, former Illinois Senate President John Cullerton’s name surfaced over a political dispute with former House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Lawmakers so far have not had to confront the type of meltdown Congress faced nearly 15 years ago, which some say is a good thing because of polarization.

Advocates of a Washington state bill that would establish a hate crime hotline and compensate some victims is gaining momentum after if failed in the state Senate.

The Vermont Senate on Friday passed a bill that would eliminate most legal liabilities for abortion and sex change providers, protecting the procedures under state law.

A retired Air Force officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear and carried zip-tie handcuffs into the Senate gallery has been sentenced to two years in prison.

A retired Air Force officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear and carried zip-tie handcuffs into the Senate gallery was sentenced on Friday to two years in prison. Larry Brock joined other rioters on the Senate floor only minutes after then-Vice President Mike Pence, senators and their staff evacuated the chamber to escape the mob attacking the building on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. District Judge John Bates also sentenced Brock to two years of supervised release after his prison term and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service.

In a bill passed by the North Carolina Senate, permit holders won't have to wait as long before they can drive unsupervised. The waiting period may be reduced from 12 to six months.

Rep. Chip Roy hinted at the idea of defunding Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a recent tweet, after she said she could not negotiate with Republicans on raising the debt ceiling.

After years of rejecting cannabis access for people suffering from debilitating illnesses, the Kentucky Senate voted to approve a bill legalizing medical marijuana.

A Kansas Senate committee tabled a bill to allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana on Thursday. State legislators aren't likely to legalize medical marijuana this year.

The bill would ban public colleges and universities from using funds to "promote, support, or maintain any programs or campus activities that promote" DEI.

A "parents' bill of rights," which would oblige educators to disclose students' LGBTQ inclinations to their legal guardians, has passed the New Hampshire Senate.

The Senate advanced a bill to repeal two war authorizations against Iraq on Thursday, something some said is long overdue.

A proposed six-week abortion ban is advancing in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has indicated support for the restrictions as he prepares a potential presidential run.

Republicans and Democrats sparred in the Senate today over how willing President Biden is to meet with lawmakers to talk about saving Social Security.

The White House has signaled it will support the bill, which would repeal the 1991 Gulf War authorization and the 2002 Iraq War authorization.

The North Carolina state Senate has approved a bipartisan agreement to expand Medicaid coverage. The proposal could cover more low-income adults and build more health facilities.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s big budget increase of 20% was scoffed at by the GOP. North Carolina’s Republicans originally favored an increase of around 10%.

Senate Republicans are pushing to codify court rulings ensuring that Americans can both own guns individually and carry them outside their homes for self-defense.

If the Senate approves a procedural vote Thursday to repeal authorization of the use of force in Iraq, a final vote in the chamber could come near the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The Senate has taken a first step toward repealing two measures that give open-ended approval for military action in Iraq.

The White House said President Biden supports the bill, which would repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for use of military force.

Sen. Joni Ernst and dozens of Senate Republicans proposed legislation to end the Pentagon's policy of reimbursing service members for abortion-related travel.

Advocates argue that repealing the authorizations is long overdue and necessary to assert the role of Congress in declaring war.

Republican lawmakers in Kentucky have passed a measure to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

Another prominent senator, this time Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), has gone onto medical leave, with no certain timeline for returning.

State legislators introduced the Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act on Wednesday, targeting diversity quotas, relationships with Chinese institutions, and left-wing curricula.

Sen. Ted Cruz responded to Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy's comments that he would not negotiate on gun safety legislation

The North Carolina Senate approved an increase in penalties for drug dealers whose distribution causes a fatal overdose. The bill creates felony offenses for deaths caused by drugs.

Embattled former LA Mayor Eric Garcetti clears first full senate hurdle Wednesday after 7 Republicans helped advance him to a final confirmation vote to be Ambassador to India.

The vote marks a win for the president, who sought to fill the post with a political ally.

Garcetti's confirmation was stalled for months over concerns that he allegedly did not properly handle accusations of sexual harassment made against one of his former staffers.

Key Democratic campaign groups won't commit to supporting Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin should he decide to run for re-election in 2024.

A committee of senators and lower-house lawmakers are examining a pension reform bill. Another round of strikes is being staged in response to the bill.

Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature are proposing rape and incest exceptions to the state’s 1849 abortion ban and clarifying when abortions that protect the health of the mother would be allowed.

Michigan is on its way to becoming one of the first states in the country to overturn its right-to-work law. The existence of right-to-work laws in 27 U.S. states, mostly in the South and Midwest, has been credited with the dramatic decline in union membership in the United States over the past several decades, as fewer workers sign up to join unions.

Michigan Senate Democrats have voted to repeal the state's "right-to-work" law. The Senate also voted to restore the state's prevailing wage law.

A bill to give Minnesota students free lunch and breakfast was approved by the state Senate. The program is expected to cost the state $400 million in a two-year period.

The Arkansas House approved an abortion monument in the state. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders must now decide on the bill. The monument would be near the state Capitol.

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego is slamming independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema for backing a bank deregulation bill he says contributed to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

After years of running into a roadblock, Kentucky's medical marijuana proposal is gaining momentum. The bill cleared a Senate committee with support from a key Republican leader.

A clip of President Biden's 2007 interview with David Letterman, when the then-senator claimed to have been arrested at age 21 for illegally entering the Senate chamber, went viral.

Federal Chair Jerome Powell told the Senate that the central bank will likely continue to raise interest rates amid surges in job growth and inflation.

The age of American politicians in power is under scrutiny after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 81, fell at a Washington, D.C., dinner last week.

The Kentucky senator suffered a concussion and minor rib fracture when he fell during a Washington D.C. dinner event Wednesday night.

The law grants employees of businesses one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked up to a maximum of 40 total paid hours per year.

The Kentucky Republican suffered a concussion and rib fracture after falling at a hotel last week.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was discharged from a hospital Monday after being treated for a concussion resulting from a fall last week

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has been released from the hospital after treatment for a concussion and will continue to recover in an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was released from the hospital Monday after treatment for a concussion and will continue to recover in an inpatient rehabilitation facility, a spokesman said. McConnell's office said his doctors discovered over the weekend that he had also suffered a “minor rib fracture” after he tripped and fell at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington on Wednesday evening. “Leader McConnell’s concussion recovery is proceeding well and the Leader was discharged from the hospital today,” McConnell spokesman David Popp said in a statement.

The Republican Senate leader will move to an inpatient facility for physical therapy before returning home, his office said.

The Maryland House has approved a measure that would build a framework for selling recreational marijuana in stores. The bill will now head to the Senate floor.

In a legal filing, the government made clear how the Fox News host misled his viewers.

A Treasury official said that invitations to Sunday's briefing were sent to Republican leaders in the House and Senate, but some GOP lawmakers say they were excluded.

Republican Dave McCormick, who ran for the Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022 and may again in 2024, is releasing a new book titled “Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America”

An unpopular bill that would raise the retirement age in France from 62 to 64 has gotten a push forward.

A child marriage bill is heading to the West Virginia governor’s desk after lawmakers agreed to let 16- and 17-year-olds get married with restrictions.

U.S. health agencies have sent a letter to Florida’s surgeon general, warning him that his claims about COVID-19 vaccine risks are harmful to the public.

A bill to prohibit minors from getting married in West Virginia has been resurrected a day after its defeat in a Senate committee.

The House has voted 227-198 to overturn the Biden administration’s protections for thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways, advancing long-held Republican arguments that the regulations are an environmental overreach and burden to business.

Conservative Republicans who want to thwart socially and environmentally conscious investing are now being pushed to water down their proposals by backlash from powerful business groups and fears that state pension systems could see huge losses.

Norfolk Southern’s CEO is apologizing to Congress and pledging millions of dollars to help East Palestine, Ohio, recover from last month's fiery train derailment.

Thousands of pages of documents in a recent lawsuit show that Fox News' top executives sometimes were actively involved in politics rather than simply reporting or offering opinions on it.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell suffered a concussion after a fall at a local hotel and remains hospitalized “for a few days of observation and treatment,” a spokesman says.

The Senate has voted to block new District of Columbia crime laws and overrule the city government as lawmakers in both parties have expressed concern about rising violent crime rates in cities nationwide.

President Joe Biden’s support of a resolution to block new District of Columbia crime laws has split members of his own party amid rising concerns about crime in the nation’s capital and other cities.

The Minnesota Senate has voted to make it harder for thieves to sell stolen catalytic converters, a crime that has skyrocketed across the country in recent years.

President Joe Biden has visited the Senate to demonstrate unity among Democrats — but he ended up endorsing a Republican priority instead.

French senators have started debating President Emmanuel Macron’s contested pension plan.

The two top Democrats in Congress are asking Fox News executives not to spread false information about the 2020 election and are demanding that commentators who suggested that the election was stolen acknowledge on the air that they were wrong.

President Joe Biden is imploring House Democrats to go out and sell the Democratic accomplishments of the last two years to voters.

Lawmakers and voters in North Carolina have rejected past efforts to remove from the state constitution an unenforceable literacy test requirement that had been used to disenfranchise Black voters during the Jim Crow era.

A push to mandate members of religious clergy report child sexual abuse when it's brought to their attention is facing pushback from churches throughout the United States.

Indiana Republican state Senators are advancing a proposal to ban all gender-affirming care for children and teens under 18.

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has signed a bill to ban gender-affirming care in the state for anyone younger than 18.

A spokesman for Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman says the Democrat is “on a path to recovery” after checking himself into a hospital for clinical depression earlier this month, and he is still expected to be away from the Senate for several weeks.

Senate Republicans' campaign operation is taking steps to avoid a repeat of their party's disastrous showing in last year's midterms.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is doing an abrupt about-face on an issue Democrats have been hammering him on this election year.

A bill to help people in prison get a second chance has stalled in the General Assembly.

A dozen bills revolving around transgender athletes as well as parents rights over their child's gender identity at school have died in the General Assembly.

The office of Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman says he has checked himself into the hospital for clinical depression.

A bill in Kansas and similar legislation in at least seven other states have LGBTQ-rights advocates worrying about a sweeping Republican-led effort to erase the legal existence of transgender men and women.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is not seeking reelection in 2024.

A judicial oversight commission has dismissed a complaint against a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who accused a Donald Trump attorney of making racist contentions and trying to protect his “king” in a case challenging the 2020 election results.

Senator Tim Kaine introduced the Reproductive Freedom for All Act to codify abortion access in federal law.

The Senate will vote this month to repeal two decades-old measures that approved American military action in Iraq.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who had a stroke during his campaign last year, has been hospitalized in Washington after feeling lightheaded while attending a Democratic retreat.

Members of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus are denouncing efforts by the state Legislature to grab power from the capital city of Jackson.

North Carolina’s Republican-controlled Senate has passed a bill requiring teachers to alert parents in most circumstances before calling a student by a different name or pronoun.

The Michigan House voted along party lines Tuesday to move the state's primary to the fourth week of February to match an early presidential primary plan approved by a Democratic National Committee panel last month.

Gov. Tim Walz has enshrined the right to abortion and other reproductive health care into Minnesota statutes.

Public schools in West Virginia may soon be required to display the phrase “In God We Trust” in every building if a bill passed by the state Senate on Monday becomes law.

Republican lawmakers who've spread election conspiracy theories and falsely claimed that the 2020 presidential outcome was rigged are overseeing legislative committees charged with setting election policy in two major battleground states.

For the second time this month, House Republicans have advanced a measure to restrict presidential use of the nation’s emergency oil stockpile — a proposal that has already drawn a White House veto threat.

A Democratic-led Virginia Senate panel has defeated several bills that would have restricted abortion access in the state.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is trying to delay new tax credits for electric vehicles, a key feature of President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law.

President Joe Biden has hosted the Democratic congressional leaders at the White House.