Moments after Mitch McConnell voted to confirm President Donald Trump 's pick for HUD secretary, the 82-year-old Kentucky senator fell down the stairs, according to multiple reports. "Sen. McConnell slipped and fell walking out of the Senate chamber just now," wrote Alexander Bolton, a journalist for The Hill , on X on Feb. 5., "but he was immediately helped to his feet by security and colleagues, including Sens. Steve Daines and Markwayne Mullin. McConnell then walked to Mansfield Room without help." Chad Pergram, senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel,...

President Trump's campaign promise to dismantle the Department of Education could prove more costly for red states than blue. Why it matters: Funding for public schools primarily falls to local and state governments, but federal funds work to fill the gaps. • States that voted for Trump last November, on average, use more federal funding in their education apportions than states that voted for former Vice President Harris. • "That dependence is, in large part, because they're just lower wealth states and they don't have the same capacity to step...

The watchdogs said they have found that over 476,000 Florida voters in 2024 cast ballots without providing legally required ID. In this photo illustration, the names of the candidates for the 2024 Presidential election, including Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, and Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, appear on a vote-by-mail ballot in Miami, Fla., on Oct. 2, 2024. In this photo illustration, the names of the candidates for the 2024 Presidential election, including Republican presidential nominee, former U.S.

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. This coverage is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting access. Sign up for Votebeat Texas’ free newsletters here. More than a dozen Texas counties are fighting a push by some Republican state lawmakers to get rid of a program that allows voters to cast their ballots at any county polling location on Election Day, arguing that the option saves taxpayers...

House Republicans have released a new package of election security bills ahead of the 2026 midterms. Fulton County elections workers process absentee ballots at the new Fulton County Elections Hub and Operations Center in Union City, Ga., on Nov. 4, 2024. Fulton County elections workers process absentee ballots at the new Fulton County Elections Hub and Operations Center in Union City, Ga., on Nov. 4, 2024. Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images House Republicans have released a new package of election security bills ahead of the 2026 midterms. Rep. August Pfluger...

Fresh off one national title, Columbus is in the running for another as the Best Beer City in the United States. USA TODAY's 10Best, an ongoing series of readers' choice votes on food, drinks and destinations around the country, has added Columbus to a list of 20 Best Beer City nominees that it says boast "stellar collections of established and up-and-coming breweries, beer bars, brewpubs, beer festivals and even thriving homebrewing communities where novice brewers can get their foot in the door." You can cast your vote until noon on...

Sixty Texas counties are scrambling to replace an important piece of voting equipment after the electronic poll books used to check in voters at the poll were decertified. In December 2024, the state decertified a poll book from the company Election Systems & Software that was widely used across Texas because thousands of voters in Dallas County received the wrong ballot during the 2024 presidential election, according to a report from the Texas Tribune. At the time, local officials attributed the problem to glitches with the e-poll book. Just months...

The Republican-led Senate is ahead of the pace of confirmations in Trump’s first term. The Senate has begun voting on confirmations for President Donald Trump’s nominees to serve in his Cabinet. Members of the Cabinet oversee federal departments including defense, state and treasury, while other Cabinet-level officials include the U.S. trade representative, CIA director and United Nations ambassador, among others. The Senate conducts hearings and votes as a part of their constitutional “advice and consent” role in presidential appointments.

"Selling Sunset" star Jason Oppenheim says California lawmakers have "failed to protect" their constituents in a video posted on social media. Oppenheim, 47, claimed his best friend and co-star, Mary Fitzgerald Bonnet, and her husband Romain were the victims of a burglary last week. In addition to their possessions being stolen, their dog was "found in the middle of the street," he said. "Luckily, he's OK, and we called 911." The real estate guru said authorities weren't immediately available and blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass for not...

Most of President Donald Trump's successful Cabinet nominees so far — including, as of Monday evening, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — were confirmed by comfortable margins. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth squeaked by 51 to 50, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the second-ever tie-breaking vote for a Cabinet secretary. Sen. Thom Tillis cast the deciding vote Friday night after telling Hegseth's former sister-in-law he would oppose the nomination, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.