A small corner of hell may be freezing over. Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican and fierce Obama administration critic, today opposed a bill to provide arms to Syrian rebels with an argument that could have come straight from the...
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Photograph by Pete Marovich/Bloomberg
Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, questions a witness during a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2013. Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook defended his company's use of offshore tax shelters before U.S. senators who castigated the most-valuable technology company for avoiding $9 billion and more in payments.
Paul Echoes White House in Opposition to Arming Syrians
Photograph by Rich Clement/Bloomberg
Supporters for passage of a new agriculture law rally near the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 12, 2012.
Reid: Farm Bill Can Be Finished This Week
From Bloomberg Government’s CongressTracker Though it’s only Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can see the end of the week from here. During today’s session-opening floor remarks, Reid said that the chairwoman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, Michigan...
Read more »Alabama Joins States Pursuing Differing Paths on Gun Control
The firearm regulation debate spurred by December’s massacre of 20 first-graders and 6 adults by a young gunman at a Connecticut elementary school ultimately may be remembered for heightening the divide between Democratic-leaning “blue” states and Republican-prone “red” states. A bill that cleared...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Jeffrey Zients, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), speaks during a news conference on April 10, 2013.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: $1.1 Trillion
That’s how much President Barack Obama’s budget proposal would trim federal budget deficits over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Obama’s budget would produce deficits of $5.2 trillion between fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2023, compared with $6.3...
Read more »Ensign to Join Parents in Paying FEC Fines Totaling $54,000
Former U.S. Senator John Ensign, his campaign committees and his parents will pay a total of $54,000 in penalties resulting from a Federal Election Commission investigation that stemmed from the extramarital affair that ended the Nevada Republican’s political career. The FEC announced...
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Photograph by Alex Wong/Getty Images
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) speaks during a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee on May 17, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
Mike Kelly’s IRS Spotlight for John Q. Public: Standing Ovation
Rep. Mike Kelly came to politics late and, only in his second term at 65 years of age, the actuarial tables don’t favor him rising to become a Capitol Hill kingpin. He could retire tomorrow, though, and know that he made the most...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Steven Miller
IRS: Republicans’ Own Selective Examination: ‘Targets’
Speaking of the truth vs. the whole truth, House Republicans did some selective editing of an inspector general’s report during today’s hearing on the Internal Revenue Service. Steven Miller, the acting — and outgoing — commissioner of the Internal Revenue...
Read more »Ex-Rep. Maguire Readies New Jersey Comeback Campaign
More than 30 years after leaving Congress, New Jersey Democrat Andy Maguire is preparing for a comeback effort in 2014. Maguire, 74, filed a federal statement of candidacy to seek the northern 5th District seat held by Republican Scott Garrett,...
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Photograph by Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images
A cardboard cut-out of President Barack Obama in a tent defending "Obamacare" at a street fair in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Obamacare in Three Words: OMG
The long-running competition for one-upsmanship over Obamacare in three pithy words has reached a fever pitch, pitting the White House and allies against repeal-minded Republicans with all sorts of bystanders weighing in — remembering that last summer one of those...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters in Washington, D.C.
IRS Scandal Good for Tax Reform: Baucus, Camp, in Interview
Written with Peter Cook The scandal at the Internal Revenue Service is emboldening the chief congressional proponents for rewriting the tax code, they said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “This actually leads to new momentum for tax reform,” said...
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Contributors
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Al Hunt
is a columnist for Bloomberg View and host of the weekly show "Political Capital with Al Hunt" on Bloomberg TV. -
Mark Silva
is deputy managing editor for government news in Washington and editor of Political Capital. He has covered the White House and national politics. -
Emma Fidel
is political editor for Bloomberg.com in Washington. She previously covered financial regulation as a Bloomberg intern. -
Don Frederick
edits political and government coverage for Bloomberg News. He previously worked for more than a decade at the Los Angeles Times' Washington bureau. -
Gregory Giroux
analyzes elections, financing of congressional and presidential elections, political advertising and demographics in Bloomberg's Washington Bureau. -
Julie Bykowicz
covers the influence of money and lobbying in Washington, and covered the state legislature and city crime for the Baltimore Sun for 10 years. -
Jonathan Salant
covers campaign finance and lobbying in Washington. He was president of the National Press Club and started in Washington in 1987. -
Richard Rubin
covers federal tax policy. He worked at Congressional Quarterly and The Charlotte Observer before joining Bloomberg News in 2010. -
Julie Hirschfeld Davis
is a senior political reporter for the Washington Bureau. She covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News and previously covered the White House for the Baltimore Sun. -
Lisa Lerer
covers the White House and covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News. She covered Congress, lobbying and the 2008 campaign for Politico. -
John McCormick
is a national political reporter looking forward to the 2016 presidential campaign, which will be the fifth he's covered. He's also reported for The Des Moines Register and Chicago Tribune. -
Julianna Goldman
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Hans Nichols
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Margaret Talev
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and covered the White House for McClatchy Newspapers. She has covered California and Florida politics. -
Cary O'Reilly
is Editor at Large at Bloomberg First Word and is Washington Daybook columnist for Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg News.
