The State Department has issued the first US passport with an “X” gender marker as it seeks to implement gender-inclusive polices, the department announced Wednesday. The department announced in June it would update its procedures to allow applicants to self-select their sex marker for passports and that it “will no longer require medical certification” if…… MORE
Democrats seemed to move further apart over the course of the last 24 hours, laying bare the very real risk that President Joe Biden will fall short in his effort to secure an agreement before he arrives on the global stage later this week. In private meetings from the Oval Office to House Speaker Nancy…… MORE
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is backing former football star Herschel Walker’s Senate bid in Georgia, a sign that the Republican establishment is aligning behind Walker after initially holding concerns about the GOP candidate’s viability. McConnell over the summer had privately expressed concerns with Walker’s potential candidacy and suggested to allies that former Georgia Sens.…… MORE
Attorney General Merrick Garland is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, where he is likely to face fierce Republican blowback to a memo he issued addressing threats to school boards, as well as bipartisan heat for the FBI’s handling of the Larry Nassar probe. Garland’s appearance comes as the Justice Department weighs whether…… MORE
President Joe Biden on Tuesday excoriated Virginia Republican Glenn Youngkin during his final event with Democrat Terry McAuliffe ahead of next week’s election, repeatedly comparing the gubernatorial candidate to former President Donald Trump. Biden’s remarks were a point-by-point upbraiding of both Youngkin and Trump, building on a campaign-long strategy by McAuliffe to link his Republican…… MORE
The House select committee investigating the US Capitol insurrection plans to subpoena John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who had worked with then-President Donald Trump’s legal team and tried to convince then-Vice President Mike Pence that he could overturn the election results on January 6, a committee aide told CNN on Tuesday. The aide noted that…… MORE
The latest back-and-forth in the race to be Virginia’s next governor is centered on the value of teaching a Toni Morrison novel in commonwealth schools, highlighting Republican Glenn Youngkin‘s attempt to make the culture wars around education the major issue of the race as Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe accuses him of using a “racist dog…… MORE
Democrats are within striking distance of securing agreement on two critical components of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, as they work through final language on the universal preschool and child care components of the package. For Biden, the looming agreement ensures that a central plank of his…… MORE
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Cindy McCain as the US ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, securing a longtime Republican ally of President Joe Biden for a spot in his administration. McCain — the widow of GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona, whose relationship with Biden has spanned decades — was…… MORE
President Joe Biden is pushing to create a national standard on paid family and sick leave, which already exists in most other developed nations. It’s been a long-held priority for many Democrats to create a federal benefit that allows new parents as well as workers recovering from illness or caring for sick family members to…… MORE
