US Congress

Lawmakers from both parties are converging on pharmacy benefit managers as a rare point of bipartisan agreement. The middlemen who negotiate drug prices between manufacturers and insurers are facing growing scrutiny in Congress over their role in high medication costs, with proposals to increase transparency and reform their pricing practices gaining traction across the political divide.

President Trump is seeking to withhold $800 million in funding that Congress has already approved, according to Reuters and multiple US news outlets. The move raises fresh questions over executive authority and the separation of powers, as lawmakers from both parties weigh whether the administration can refuse to spend money appropriated by law.

Attention is turning to which US lawmakers will take up the Crypto Clarity Act in the next Congress, a bill aimed at settling how digital assets are regulated. The question comes as crypto firms and investors press Washington for clear rules on whether tokens are securities or commodities. The composition of the incoming Congress, including control of key committees, is expected to shape who leads the drafting effort.

The Trump administration is moving to cancel $810 million in federal spending that was previously approved by Congress. The reported plan would rescind funds lawmakers had already allocated, setting up a fresh clash between the White House and Capitol Hill over control of the federal purse. The move is likely to draw legal and political challenges from members of Congress who argue the executive branch cannot unilaterally refuse to spend money appropriated by law.

President Trump is moving to withhold spending allocated for immigration, a step that raises immediate questions over presidential authority and Congress's power of the purse. The reported action touches funds tied to immigration programs and enforcement, and it lands amid ongoing disputes over border policy and agency budgets. Observers are weighing the legal implications of withholding money already appropriated by lawmakers, with the story drawing attention across US political media.

Bill Gates is calling on the US Congress to write artificial intelligence safeguards into law, arguing that lawmakers should establish rules for how the technology is developed and used. The appeal adds the Microsoft co-founder's voice to the growing debate in Washington over regulating AI, where legislators are weighing how to address risks without stifling innovation.

A proposed Truth and Healing Commission to investigate the history of US federal Indian boarding schools remains pending before Congress as the Day of Remembrance approaches. The commission would document abuses and lasting harms inflicted on Native American children at the schools. Advocates say formal reckoning and acknowledgment are overdue, keeping pressure on lawmakers to advance the legislation.

More Americans are losing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits while Congress weighs the future of the food stamps program, according to US reports. The developments have drawn attention from local outlets in Kansas, with commentators focused on what any legislative changes would mean for low-income households relying on food assistance.

An author known for writing a memoir about life in Appalachia has launched a campaign for a US congressional seat, and is drawing a clear line between her own story and JD Vance's 'Hillbilly Elegy'. 'I'm not JD Vance,' she says, positioning herself as offering a more authentic account of the region than the vice-president's best-selling memoir, which many in Appalachia criticised as stereotyping. The race is now being watched as part of the broader fight over who gets to speak for the region.

A new opinion piece argues that US Congress should address online child exploitation as a public health crisis rather than a piecemeal legal problem. The article calls on lawmakers to adopt a coordinated, health-focused response to protect children from abuse and exploitation on digital platforms, framing the issue as a systemic crisis requiring sustained legislative action.

A court ruling is affecting Missouri's congressional district map, with potential consequences for how the state's US House seats are drawn. Redistricting decisions in Missouri carry weight for both parties, since boundary changes can shift the competitiveness of districts and influence control of Congress. Details of the ruling and its specific impact on the map remain limited.

A new commentary argues that the Supreme Court is being unfairly blamed for problems that originate in Congress. The piece contends that legislative dysfunction—gridlock, inaction, and failures to pass major legislation—should be laid at the feet of lawmakers themselves rather than the judiciary. The argument is drawing attention in ongoing US political debates about the separation of powers and where responsibility for governance failures truly lies.