Administration officials say Maduro’s capture was a law enforcement action that merely used military resources and therefore did not require congressional approval, referencing a drug trafficking indictment issued by the Department of Justice in March.

The government shutdown is poised to become the longest ever this week as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans has dragged into a new month.

The last shutdown was in President Donald Trump’s first term when he demanded that Congress give him money for his U.S.-Mexico border wall. Trump retreated after 35 days — the longest shutdown ever — amid intensifying airport delays and missed paydays for federal workers.

President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill is now law, after days of heated debate and close votes in Congress. Democrats say the cuts will impact low-income Americans.

A growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers called Friday for President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid, even as the president insisted he’s ready to return to the campaign trail next week to counter what he called a “dark vision” laid out by Republican Donald Trump.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a deal Wednesday night to divert a U.S. default on its debt; the bill now heads to the Senate for approval. However, the deal was not without controversy for lawmakers of both political parties.

Drawn by Democrats in the General Assembly and signed into law by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the map was designed to help the party keep control of the U.S. House by sending 14 Democrats and three Republicans to Congress from Illinois. That would represent a gain of one Democratic seat — and a loss of two GOP seats.

President Joe Biden has faced pressure from liberals to provide broader relief to hard-hit borrowers, and from moderates and Republicans questioning the fairness of any widespread forgiveness. 

Both candidates are current U.S. Representatives — Casten in the 6th District, Newman in the 3rd District — and are facing off in the 6th District, which includes many of Chicago’s western suburbs.

In remarks Tuesday at the White House, President Biden detailed major changes to his COVID-19 winter plan, his hand forced by the arrival of the fast-spreading variant, whose properties are yet not fully understood by scientists.

The U.S. action is focused on helping Americans coping with higher fuel and other prices ahead of Thanksgiving and winter holiday travel. Gasoline prices are at about $3.40 a gallon, more than 50% higher than a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association. 

The House voted late Tuesday to keep the government funded, suspend the federal debt limit and provide disaster and refugee aid, setting up a high-stakes showdown with Republicans who oppose the package despite the risk of triggering a fiscal crisis.

The Chicago region is warming faster than the globe, says the newly sworn-in administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. How a new plan aims to take on the root cause of climate change: greenhouse gas emissions.

President Joe Biden laid out a long list of policy priorities in his speech to Congress — and some are more politically plausible than others. A look at what’s possible, and what’s unlikely, when it comes to action in Congress.

As the latest federal pandemic relief package makes its way to President Joe Biden’s desk, Americans may be wondering when the benefits will reach them. The $1.9 trillion known as the “American Rescue Plan” is massive. Here’s you need to know.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that Congress will establish an independent, Sept. 11-style commission to look into the deadly insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol.