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House Speaker Paul Ryan bemoaned America’s “broken politics” in a farewell speech Wednesday and called Washington’s failure to overhaul costly federal benefit programs “our greatest unfinished business.”  Ryan said that our country’s “complex problems are solvable…if our politics will allow it. But he admitted that “the drivers of our broken politics are more obvious than the solutions,” Ryan said. And he worried, “The state of politics these days is another…

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday announced a plan to fund the government through Feb. 5, a move that would allow Congress to go home for Christmas, avoid a partial shutdown, and defer a resolution to the standoff over the border wall funding until next year. But it will also mean that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will have more power over the final product. Right now, Republicans still…

The Islamic State has not been defeated in Syria. But even if it had been, the durable defeat of that terrorist organization requires a continuing American military presence in Syria. Let’s be clear, President Trump’s pledge on Wednesday to withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria is a great gift to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Iran, Russia, and ISIS 2.0. First off, let’s consider what the U.S. military presence in Syria…

A scathing report from Attorney General Lisa Madigan finds the number of Catholic clergy accused of sexual abuse in Illinois is much higher than previously acknowledged, with 690 clergy accused, although Catholic officials have publicly identified only 185 clergy with credible allegations against them. The determination was part of a preliminary report made public Wednesday by Madigan’s office, which has been investigating Catholic clergy sexual abuse of minors following revelations…

President Trump needs to go through Congress if he wants to change immigration law. And a judge just gave him another reminder of this, ruling that the July guidance from then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, essentially ruling out asylum protections for victims of domestic or gang violence, violated federal immigration law on Wednesday. Judge Emmet Sullivan, the same judge that presided over the now-delayed sentencing of Michael Flynn, laid out just…

The Islamic State has not been defeated in Syria. But even if it had been, the durable defeat of that terrorist organization requires a continuing American military presence in Syria. Let’s be clear, President Trump’s pledge on Wednesday to withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria is a great gift to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Iran, Russia, and ISIS 2.0. First off, let’s consider what the U.S. military presence in Syria…

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday announced a plan to fund the government through Feb. 5, a move that would allow Congress to go home for Christmas, avoid a partial shutdown, and defer a resolution to the standoff over the border wall funding until next year. But it will also mean that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will have more power over the final product. Right now, Republicans still…

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House Speaker Paul Ryan, in his farewell address at the Library of Congress Great Hall just now, touted years of economic growth under his leadership and the Trump administration: “Three years ago, when we last gathered in this hall, we began a great journey,” he said. “To set our nation on a better path. To move our economy from stagnation to growth.” Ryan and his fellow Republicans criticized the policies…

Home for the holidays. A tiny house reported stolen by a Missouri woman will be returned after the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office tracked down the missing residence Wednesday morning. Sheriff Dave Marshak said in a tweet that Meghan Panu’s home, which was built on wheels, was found parked on a dirt road in a wooded area in House Springs, Missouri, about 30 miles away from where it had been nabbed…

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tburr@sltrib.com

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LORDSBURG, N.M. —Democratic Rep. Joaquín Castro issued a call for the head of Customs and Border Protection to step down for failing to speedily report the death of a 7-year-old girl while in border officials’ custody. Castro made the demand Tuesday after he and 11 other members of Congress visited border facilities to find out more about the death of Jakelin Caal Maquin. “Based on my conversations with him, based…

President TrumpDonald John TrumpREAD: Transcript of James Comey’s interview with House Republicans Klobuchar on 2020: ‘I do think you want voices from the Midwest’ Israel boycott fight roils Democrats in year-end spending debate MORE tweeted one day after the White House dropped border wall funding demands that Republicans will win on the divisive issue “one way or the other.” “In our Country, so much money has been poured down the drain, for…

Judge Emmet Sullivan’s extraordinary rebuke of Michael Flynn indicates that the former national security adviser has painful days ahead. But by suggesting to Flynn’s legal team that they ask for a sentencing delay, and then accepting that delay, Sullivan’s words might also indicate Flynn has given special counsel Robert Mueller little incriminating material on President Trump. After all, had Flynn’s evidence provided a prosecution link to Trump or his inner…

In one of this Congress’s final acts, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the most significant change in a generation to prison sentencing laws late Tuesday evening, offering much-needed reforms to the nation’s criminal justice system. By no means is the legislation the only step in reforming the nation’s laws, but it’s the beginning of a likely long effort to restore the justice system. “This bill in its entirety has been endorsed…

Migrants, one carrying a child, who plan to turn themselves over to U.S. border agents, walk up the embankment after climbing over a U.S. border wall from Playas de Tijuana, Mexico, last week. On Tuesday, members of the Hispanic Caucus called for improved medical facilities and trained personnel at ports of entry. Moises Castillo/AP hide caption toggle caption Moises Castillo/AP Migrants, one carrying a child, who plan to turn themselves…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a sweeping criminal justice bill Tuesday that addresses concerns that the nation’s war on drugs had led to the imprisonment of too many Americans for non-violent crimes without adequately preparing them for their return to society. Senate passage of the bill by a vote of 87-12 culminates years of negotiations and gives President Donald Trump a signature policy victory, with the outcome hailed by…

Reporter Andrew Feinberg shouted at White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders following a press briefing on Tuesday. (File) A reporter shouted “do your job” at White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on Tuesday, as she wrapped up the briefing after roughly 15 minutes at the podium. Breakfast Media’s Andrew Feinberg confirmed to Fox News that he was the reporter who shouted, “Do your job, Sarah!” Feinberg took to Twitter following…