The Senate has passed landmark bipartisan legislation to protect same-sex marriages.

The Senate is set to vote Tuesday on legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages, putting Congress one step closer to ensuring that such unions are enshrined in federal law.

Among faith leaders and denominations across the U.S., there are sharp differences over the bill advancing in the Senate that would protect same-sex and interracial marriages in federal law.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed 25 lawsuits against President Joe Biden's administration in the past 20 months.

The federal government wants to expand all-hours mental health and substance abuse care in communities around the country.

States are spending billions of dollars of federal pandemic relief funds on infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and public buildings.

House Democrats are voting this week on changes to a 19th century law for certifying presidential elections.

U.S. leaders from President Joe Biden on down are being careful not to declare a premature victory after a Ukrainian offensive forced Russian troops into a messy retreat in the north.

President Joe Biden’s request for $47 billion in emergency funding is getting a thumbs down from Republicans in Congress.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin are making the case for overhauling the 1800s-era Electoral Count Act.

Republican leaders got their wish with the defeat of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens in the U.S. Senate primary.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has defeated scandal-scarred former Gov. Eric Greitens and 19 others in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Primary elections are being held in six states on Tuesday.

As the Senate contemplates legislation to protect same-sex marriages, there has been a sharp shift in Republican support for the issue.

President Joe Biden hosted hundreds of lawmakers, their families and aides for the first congressional picnic at the White House in three years.

Eric Greitens resigned as Missouri governor in 2018 amid criminal charges and legislative investigations.

An attorney who held key roles in the George W.

The lawyer for the ex-wife of Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Eric Greitens says the family has been subjected to “serious threats” in the days since Greitens released a violent campaign video in which he declares he’s hunting RINOs, or Republicans in Name Only.

An attorney working as a senior investigator for the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection will leave the post amid calls urging him to run for a Missouri U.S. Senate seat as an independent.

Republican Sen_ Rick Scott of Florida is criticizing the Texas GOP's new party platform for not being “inclusive” when it described homosexuality as “an abnormal lifestyle choice.”.

Former Republican U.S. Sen. John Danforth and others are urging a former federal prosecutor who now serves as an attorney for the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection to make an independent run for one of Missouri’s Senate seats.

The Biden administration foresees unnecessary deaths if lawmakers don’t approve billions of dollars more to brace for the pandemic’s next wave.

Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, whose ex-wife recently accused him of physical abuse, says he will not drop his political comeback bid for the U.S. Senate.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has reached an agreement with the Missouri Office of Disciplinary Counsel in which she acknowledges mistakes in her handling of the prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens but won’t face any severe penalties for those mistakes.

A compromise $10 billion measure buttressing the government’s COVID-19 defenses has stalled in the Senate.

Lawmakers have moved to the brink of clinching a scaled-back bipartisan compromise to provide a fresh $10 billion to combat COVID-19.

The investigator who played a key role in former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ resignation in 2018 has pleaded guilty to evidence tampering.

The ex-wife of Missouri GOP Senate candidate Eric Greitens has accused him of physical abuse.

Politicians and friends are fondly remembering Don Young.

For all their angst about the possibility of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens winning the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in the state, GOP leaders haven’t coalesced behind an alternative.

Congressional Democrats and Republicans are showing signs of support for providing $6.4 billion or more in aid to Ukraine and its European neighbors.

The Biden administration is telling Congress it needs an additional $30 billion to press ahead with the fight against COVID-19.

President Joe Biden is urging concern but not alarm as the United States set records for daily reported COVID-19 cases and his administration struggles to ease concerns about testing shortages.

The Senate has confirmed more than 30 ambassadors and other Biden administration nominees after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to schedule a vote on sanctions on the company behind the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany.

The Capitol Police chief is about to gain new authority to request help from the National Guard.

Congressional leaders have reached a deal to lift the nation's debt limit.

Democrats are hoping that Congress is nearing the finish line in its seven-month trek on President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion social and environment package.

Former conservative Republican U.S. Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri has died.

A U.S. Senate candidate in Missouri, Republican state Attorney General Eric Schmitt, is flexing the power of his office by filing a slew of lawsuits, including against Democratic cities and schools to stop mask mandates.

An innovative program to help people with mental health and substance abuse problems is being primed for a major expansion as the COVID-19 pandemic deepens struggles with drug use, depression and anxiety for many Americans.

Democrats are renewing their push to enact their marquee elections bill.

The Senate has voted to award Congressional Gold Medals to the Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department for protecting Congress during the Jan. 6 insurrection, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden for his signature.

Senators negotiating two colossal bills that would deliver more than $4 trillion for infrastructure, health care, environment and other initiatives keep insisting both bills will be fully paid for.

Senate Republicans have rejected an effort to begin debate on a bipartisan infrastructure deal that senators brokered with President Joe Biden.

The Iranian government has expressed anger over the appearance of senior European and U.S. politicians at a rally in support of an opposition group that has long sought to overthrow Iran’s theocratic rulers.

The debate over bipartisanship is coming to a head as a summer legislative flurry intensifies in Congress.

The Senate will take a key vote next week on a sweeping rewrite of voting and election law, setting up a dramatic test of Democratic unity on a top priority that Republicans are vowing to block.

A Senate report examining security failures surrounding the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol blames missed intelligence, poor planning and multiple layers of bureaucracy for the deadly siege.

A Senate investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has found a broad intelligence breakdown across multiple agencies, along with widespread law enforcement and military failures.

President Joe Biden is trying to break a logjam with Republicans on how to pay for infrastructure.

President Joe Biden met for nearly an hour Wednesday with the top Republican negotiator on infrastructure, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.

President Joe Biden is set to meet with the top Republican negotiator on infrastructure, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.

The House has voted to create an independent commission on the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, sending the legislation to an uncertain future in the Senate as Republican leaders work to stop a bipartisan investigation that is opposed by former President Donald Trump.

After meeting at the White House, President Joe Biden and a group of Republican senators have agreed to talk again early next week as negotiations on an infrastructure plan are intensifying.

A judge has denied a defense request to return to a grand jury the case against a St. Louis couple accused of waving guns at racial injustice protesters last year.

Rarely has a routine water resources bill generated so much political buzz.

If President Joe Biden gets his way, the United States is going to be spending an enormous sum on infrastructure.

If President Joe Biden gets his way, the United States is going to be spending an enormous sum on infrastructure.

President Joe Biden is promoting his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan directly to Americans with an appeal to think big.

With an appeal to think big, President Joe Biden is promoting his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan directly to Americans.

Lawmakers are trying to balance openness with safety after Friday’s attack within steps of the Capitol.

The latest deadly breach of the Capitol’s perimeter on Friday could delay the gradual reopening of the building’s grounds to the public just as lawmakers were eyeing a return to more normal security measures after the Jan. 6 riot.

National Guard troops were delayed in getting to the building as the rioters beat up police officers and smashed through windows and doors to get in. On Thursday, seven House committees asked 10 federal agencies for documents and communications from the government as part of a wide-ranging investigation. The Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Rules Committee have already held two hearings with security officials about what went wrong. The security officials described violent attacks on overwhelmed police officers and desperate pleas for backup. As the committees investigate, Capitol officials are improving the building's physical security, including reinforcing the House doors that the rioters attempted to breach.

FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2020 file photo, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt speaks during a news conference in St. Louis. – Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Wednesday announced he's making a bid to replace Roy Blunt in the Senate, setting up a Republican primary against disgraced former Gov. Voters first elected Schmitt to the state Senate in 2008 to represent a suburban St. Louis district. He was elected state treasurer in 2016, then took over as the state attorney general after Josh Hawley vacated the seat to join the U.S. Senate in 2019. He won another term as attorney general in 2020.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pushed for the commission, which would be modeled after the panel that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. “The problem is the scope,” Pelosi said Wednesday. But Republicans swiftly decried the broad latitude that the commission would have to investigate the causes of the insurrection. Senate Republicans cast doubt that there was enough support for the commission. 2 Republican, said he doesn’t think the commission will happen if the legislation isn’t changed.

Greitens' political future seemed doomed by scandal when he resigned as Missouri governor. – O'Eric Greitens' political future seemed doomed by scandal when he resigned as Missouri governor. Also like Trump, Greitens defeated establishment Republicans in the primary before winning in November. Many see Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft as the early favorite to win Blunt's seat, if Ashcroft opts to run. But Missouri Republican Party Treasurer Pat Thomas said Greitens retains “a definite following” among state Republicans.

But officials in both parties agree that the surge of GOP departures will make the Republicans' challenge more difficult in the Senate. Several Missouri Republicans are expected to seek the nomination to replace Blunt, but none will be more divisive than former Gov. Ahead of Greitens' announcement, some Republicans worried that he could jeopardize the Senate seat if he emerges as the party's nominee. The former president won by the same margin in Iowa, where 87-year-old Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is considering retirement. AdMeanwhile, Blunt predicted political success for Republicans in Missouri and beyond during a Monday news conference.

Sen. Blunt says he will not seek a third term in the U.S. Senate. – Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri said Monday he will not seek reelection, making him the fifth Republican in the Senate to bow out rather than seek another term in a party searching for direction after President Donald Trump. The five Senate Republicans not seeking reelection could set up contested primaries highlighting divisions between far-right, Trump-aligned Republicans and the old guard of the party. After incumbent Republican Sen. “Senate Republicans have a retirement problem,” Christie Roberts, executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

The Republican Party still belongs to Donald Trump. The GOP privately flirted with purging the norm-shattering former president after he incited a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol last month. Ad“There’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day,” McConnell said Saturday, after Trump, the only president to be impeached twice, was acquitted on a 57-43 vote. McConnell had remained loyal to Trump during nearly all of his four years in office, when the pair were the two most powerful members of the Republican Party. In his statement, Trump criticized McConnell for failing to do more to back his unfounded claims of election fraud.

Two Senate committees have summoned top security officials to testify, the beginning of a comprehensive look at what went wrong. In her letter to Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said the House will also put forth supplemental spending to boost security at the Capitol. The hearing will begin a broad examination of the security failures that led to the breach. The security breakdown on Jan. 6, as the House and Senate met for a joint session to count electoral votes, was severe. With the diminished security presence, the rioters not only breached the Capitol but entered the Senate chamber minutes after senators had fled.

Not Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson. Bishop criticized fellow Republicans like Johnson who parroted claims of illegal election activity, even as he remains a Johnson backer. A number of Republicans are eyeing a run for either Senate or governor, depending on what Johnson does. Potential Republican Senate candidates include U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy and Kevin Nicholson, who lost a 2018 Republican Senate primary. Mandela Barnes, the state’s first Black lieutenant governor, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and state Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee.

The GOP already faces a difficult Senate map in 2022, when 14 Democratic-held seats and 20 Republican ones will be on the ballot. That includes at least two open seats that Republicans will be defending because of the retirements of GOP Sens. One of those lawmakers, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, is the new chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a post that makes him the public face of the Senate Republican fundraising efforts. But two senior Republican strategists involved in Senate races say the cumulative effect of the companies' decisions could have a bigger impact. That puts more pressure on the NRSC and the leading Senate Republican outside group, Senate Leadership Fund, to cover the difference.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is calling for congressional action to rein in President Donald Trump after inciting last week's deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol. Trump faces a single charge -- “incitement of insurrection” — after the deadly Capitol riot in an impeachment resolution that the House will begin debating Wednesday. “President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” reads the four-page impeachment bill. Their Democrats' House resolution was blocked by Republicans. But House Republicans are split and a few may vote to impeach.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s Republican leader, has said an impeachment trial could begin as early as Jan. 20 – Inauguration Day. Clyburn says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will decide when to appoint impeachment managers and send the articles to the Senate. Toomey was interviewed Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.”___12:15 a.m.President Donald Trump is facing growing Democratic momentum to impeach him a second time. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is telling Democratic colleagues to be prepared to return to Washington this coming week. Pelosi says Trump should be held accountable but she hasn’t committed to an impeachment vote.

Similar structures have previously been used around the White House and in other cities that faced prolonged demonstrations. “The safety and security of all those participating in the 59th Presidential Inauguration is of the utmost importance,” the Secret Service said in a statement. A Trump rally in front of the White House helped rile up the mob that later stormed the Capitol. The inaugural committee said Biden would receive an official escort, with representatives from every military branch, for a block before arriving at the White House from the Capitol. Trump may not invite Biden to the White House while forgoing the inauguration, which Bendat said would amount to “an assault on our democracy” akin to the mob violence at the Capitol.

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 congressional Republican leaders have been left almost speechless by Trump’s year-end scorching of their work. Instead, Washington is now hurtling toward a crisis with COVID aid about to collapse, as the president is at his Mar-a-Lago club. Many have opposed larger $2,000 checks as too costly and poorly targeted. Even if the House is able to approve Trump's $2,000 checks on Monday, that measure would likely die in the GOP-controlled Senate, which is due back in session on Tuesday. The year-end package Trump railed against as a “disgrace” is the product of months of work.

That's the message from the congressional committee organizing inauguration ceremonies for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Despite this week’s rollout of the new vaccine, its availability to the general public is still months away. Biden's own inaugural committee, which works with the congressional committee, had already asked supporters to stay away from Washington and plan safe inaugural celebrations at home. Features of that convention, such as the virtual roll call from every state, may be incorporated into a virtual inauguration experience. Blunt said planners were developing "enhanced opportunities to watch the ceremonies online, in addition to the traditional televised national broadcast.”

Then he pivoted, privately warning Republican senators away from disputing the Electoral College tally when Congress convenes in a joint session Jan. 6 to confirm the results. “I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden,” McConnell said as he opened the Senate. One House Republican, Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, is planning to challenge the Electoral College results when Congress convenes for the joint session. John Thune of South Dakota and Roy Blunt of Missouri, warned the senators off any Electoral College challenge, according to one of the people familiar with Tuesday's call. The GOP leaders further warned senators that forcing their colleagues into a vote on Electoral College challenges would prove difficult, especially for those facing their own reelections in 2022.

Then he pivoted, privately warning Republican senators away from disputing the Electoral College tally when Congress convenes in a joint session Jan. 6 to confirm the results. “I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden,” McConnell said as he opened the Senate. Some GOP lawmakers have vowed to carry the fight to Jan. 6 when Congress votes to accept or reject the Electoral College results. One House Republican, Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, is planning to challenge the Electoral College results when Congress convenes for the joint session. The GOP leaders further warned senators that forcing their colleagues into a vote on Electoral College challenges would prove difficult, especially for those facing their own reelections in 2022.

He said Monday’s Electoral College vote “was significant.”Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn said barring further legal challenges it appears Biden will be president. Others have said Trump's legal battles should continue toward resolution by inauguration day, Jan. 20. "Once the Electoral College has voted, most people are going to recognize Joe Biden as the president-elect." "Although I supported President Trump, the Electoral College vote today makes clear that Joe Biden is now President-Elect,” said Sen. Many Republicans are unwilling to declare Biden the winner for the same reasons they avoided standing up to Trump during his presidency.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, to announce his health care team. Next week’s Dec. 14 Electoral College deadline may produce just a few more congratulatory GOP calls to Biden. Increasingly, GOP lawmakers say the Jan. 6 vote in Congress to accept the Electoral College outcome may be when the presidential winner becomes official. They're relying on Trump voters to power the Georgia runoff elections Jan. 5 that will determine control of the Senate. Until then, his group is trying to push Georgia's Trump voters to the polls, even as the president disputes Biden's win of the state.

WASHINGTON – The Latest on President-elect Joe Biden (all times local):4:20 p.m.President-elect Joe Biden is confirming that he will nominate retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defense. And he wrote that Austin knows that the secretary of defense has a different set of responsibilities than a military officer. ___HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDEN'S TRANSITION TO THE WHITE HOUSE:President-elect Joe Biden will nominate retired four-star Army general Lloyd J. Austin to be secretary of defense, according to four people familiar with the decision. Those pledges came even as Biden struck a somber tone about the toll the coronavirus has already taken. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies is being prevented from publicly announcing its plans for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

The inaugural platform on the Capitol's West Front is going up just like always, but it probably won't be as crowded. Work to build the inaugural platform at the Capitol and the White House reviewing stand began before the Nov. 3 election, as is traditional. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who heads the congressional inaugural committee, has been careful not to refute Trump’s baseless claims that he won the election. But Waltz said the congressional inaugural committee staff nonetheless is ready to work with Biden's Presidential Inaugural Committee. Even though plans are still taking shape, Biden's inaugural committee is already raising money for such events as balls and concerts.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi resumed talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin about a year-end spending package that could include COVID relief provisions. But lawmakers across the spectrum are beginning to act as though they fear adjourning for the year without approving some COVID aid. Lawmakers' bipartisan effort comes after a split-decision election delivered the White House to Democrats and gave Republicans down-ballot success. “This is an important time to step up if we can.”Pelosi and Mnuchin were discussing COVID relief and other end-of-session items, including a $1.4 trillion catchall government funding bill. Pelosi and Mnuchin grappled over a relief bill for weeks before the November election, discussing legislation of up to $2 trillion.

(Kevin Dietsch/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the longest-serving Republican senator and third in the line of presidential succession, said he has tested positive for the coronavirus. Grassley, 87, had announced earlier Tuesday that he was quarantining after being exposed to the virus and was waiting for test results. At least three members of the House have tested positive in the last week, and several more are quarantining. Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida was also absent as he is in quarantine after an exposure. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also took their masks off when speaking on the Senate floor Monday.

Yet in Congress, where talks over economic relief bills stalled out months ago, lame-duck approval of aid is hardly front-of-mind. “Another Vaccine just announced,” Trump tweeted Monday morning after Moderna announced that its candidate appeared in early testing to be 95% effective against the virus. COVID relief could be an add-on to either bill. “Frankly, our best chance to get some COVID relief might be to get a regular funding bill and put the most critical pieces of COVID relief on that,” said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. Trump has urged supporters to push Whitmer to reopen the state following virus restrictions, though many rules had been lifted previously.

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)WASHINGTON – Republicans controlling the Senate unveiled a government-wide, $1.4 trillion spending bill on Tuesday, a largely bipartisan measure that faces uncertain odds during this period of post-election tumult in Washington. Success depends on getting the signature of Trump, however, whose unpredictability and toxic relationships with Democrats threaten to doom the effort. The recent history of lame-duck sessions conducted as the White House is turning over has been that unfinished spending bills get kicked into the next year, with existing funding simply left on auto-pilot. At issue is the roughly one-third of the federal budget that is written annually by Congress under a time-tested bipartisan process. “By and large, these bills are the product of bipartisan cooperation among members of the committee," Shelby said in a statement.

The outlook for legislation was also clouded by President Donald Trump's refusal to concede his defeat in the election. Biden on Monday quickly established an coronavirus advisory board and implored Americans to wear masks, saying action is needed to avoid a “dark winter.”Biden also made clear he does not want to wait until January to get a relief package done. Now, the California Democrat may have to settle for a lot less than the $2 trillion-plus package the House passed before the election. “I hope our Democratic colleagues will finally put aside their all or nothing obstruction and let the targeted pandemic relief — targeted pandemic relief is what we need — let it move forward," McConnell said Monday. A $1.8 trillion rescue plan in March passed virtually unanimously but the two sides formed different opinions about the size and scope of another relief measure.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's wild and unsupported claims of voter fraud have emerged as a high-stakes Republican loyalty test that illustrates the tug of war likely to define the future of the GOP whether he wins or loses the presidency. Larry Hogan, a second-term Republican who has not ruled out a 2024 White House bid. ... We've always been a noisy democracy.”Yet history suggests that Trump's rhetoric and actions go well beyond the normal trappings of democracy. With polls showing him lagging, Trump raised questions about the integrity of the voting system for much of the year. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, highlighted the obvious downside of Trump's questions about the integrity of the voting process.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's wild and unsupported claims of voter fraud have emerged as a high-stakes Republican loyalty test that illustrates the tug of war likely to define the future of the GOP whether he wins or loses the presidency. Larry Hogan, a second-term Republican who has not ruled out a 2024 White House bid. ... We've always been a noisy democracy.”Yet history suggests that Trump's rhetoric and actions go well beyond the normal trappings of democracy. With polls showing him lagging, Trump raised questions about the integrity of the voting system for much of the year. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, highlighted the obvious downside of Trump's questions about the integrity of the voting process.

Republican senators are fighting to save their majority against an onslaught of challengers in states once off limits to Democrats that are now hotbeds of the backlash to President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans are fighting to save their majority, a final election push against the onslaught of challengers in states once off limits to Democrats but now hotbeds of a potential backlash to President Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill. With it, a reelected Trump could confirm his nominees and ensure a backstop against legislation from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. With the chamber now split, 53-47, three or four seats will determine Senate control, depending on which party wins the White House. Swooping in to fill the gap for Republicans is the Senate Leadership Fund, tapping deep-pocketed donors.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows speaks with reporters at the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, in Washington. President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, accused Pelosi of slow-walking the talks. Pelosi remains optimistic, even after Washington was blanketed with media reports that McConnell, R-Ky., has warned the White House against sealing a $2 trillion or so relief deal with Pelosi before the election. “We haven’t seen a lot of action from Speaker Pelosi,” Meadows said. Lame-duck sessions during White House changeovers in 2008 and 2016 didn't deliver much.

Biden on Sunday appealed directly to his former colleagues in the Senate to “take a step back from the brink." If Trump wins the election, his nominee should have a vote, Biden said, but if he wins the presidency, he should choose the next justice. Republicans believe the fight ahead will boost voter enthusiasm for Trump and Senate Republicans at serious risk of losing their majority. With only two of the 53 Republican senators voicing opposition to a confirmation vote before the Nov. 3 election, Democrats appeared outnumbered — and without recourse to block the nomination. Asked about potential House maneuvers to stall the nomination, such as impeaching Attorney General William Barr, Pelosi quipped, “What is the use of talking about that?” She stressed that Americans should “vote, vote, vote” to put Democrats in charge of the White House, House and Senate.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)WASHINGTON A GOP coronavirus relief package faces dire prospects in a Senate test vote, and negotiators involved in recent efforts to strike a deal that could pass before the November election say they see little reason for hope. Democrats have indicated they will shelve the Republican measure as insufficient, leaving lawmakers at an impasse. Unless something really broke through, its not going to happen, said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Set aside $31 billion for a coronavirus vaccine, $16 billion for virus testing and $15 billion to help child care providers reopen. The GOP bill also lacks money for election security that lawmakers from both parties have supported.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he was optimistic that Republicans would deliver strong support vote for the GOP's $500 billion slimmed-down COVID-19 rescue package in a test vote Thursday. Democrats have indicated they will shelve the Republican measure as insufficient, leaving lawmakers at an impasse. The Republican measure headed for a test vote Thursday would:provide $105 billion to help schools reopen. set aside $31 billion for a coronavirus vaccine, $16 billion for virus testing and $15 billion to help child care providers reopen. The GOP bill also lacks money for election security that lawmakers from both parties have supported.

Standing behind Trump are Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., from left, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. So far, voters are signaling they want to finish the job they started in 2018 by installing Democrats for House majority control. In battleground Arizona, Republican Sen. Martha McSally is trailing Democrat Mark Kelly, a former astronaut. Gonzales said after GOP losses in 2018 there was an expectation that Trump atop the ticket would bring back Republican voters in 2020. But President Trump continues to drive Democratic energy and turnout, he said.

WASHINGTON Senate Republican leaders are preparing a slimmed-down virus relief package of roughly $500 billion that will include extended payments for unemployed people and smaller businesses, a GOP senator said Tuesday. Negotiations over a far larger coronavirus relief bill are expected to resume after Labor Day between the White House and top congressional Democrats. Democrats want to continue the added $600 in payments, but Trump and congressional Republicans have pushed for less. A second GOP Senate aide said the new proposal includes $105 billion for education. The Democratic-led House approved a $3 trillion relief plan in May, while Senate Republicans offered a $1 trillion package.

The lack of tracking was highlighted this week when a GOP lawmaker, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, found out he had contracted the virus. Fearing Gohmert's frequent refusal to wear a mask could have caused other members and staff to become infected, Pelosi and Capitol officials quickly issued broad new mask requirements for the House. The dilemma for Congress is similar to the one facing workplaces and schools as they struggle to reopen. Pelosi and McConnell cited those front-line workers when they rejected Trump's offer earlier this year to send rapid tests for lawmakers to the Capitol. Let's expand access to rapid testing on Capitol Hill, but also throughout the country, Van Hollen said.

As top White House negotiators return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday the leverage is apparent: They are meeting at House Speaker Nancy Pelosis office. It's unclear whether any agreement can be reached between Congress and President Donald Trump before Friday's deadline for expiring aid. Democrats have shown flickers of willingness to curb the federal aid, but are refusing to go that low. We have to do what's right for the American people, Pelosi said late Monday after meeting with the White House negotiators. As bipartisan talks unfold, the White House is now suggesting a narrower relief package may be all that's possible with Friday's approaching deadlines.