News

The Senate passed a six-month spending bill on Friday hours before a government shutdown, overcoming sharp Democratic opposition to the measure and sending it to President Donald Trump to be signed into law. The vote was 54-46. Democrats voiced frustration that Republicans went ahead with a measure they said included little input from them, and one they viewed as shortchanging key priorities such ...[Read More]

The Senate passed a massive party-line spending package Tuesday, including a one-time surge in defense spending the Pentagon is counting on for its upcoming fiscal year 2026 budget. By a vote of 51-50 — with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie — the chamber advanced the vast tax, healthcare and border security bill President Donald Trump has championed as key to his legislative agenda. That 9...[Read More]

A notable Army lieutenant general’s promotion stalled Thursday when his name was left off a list of nearly 1,000 military promotions. Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, the current commander of the 18th Airborne Corps, which oversees the 82nd Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division and 3rd Infantry Division, among other units, was among the names on the Pentagon’s recommended promotion list approved ...[Read More]

Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a key voice for Democrats on veterans and military spending issues, lost his re-election bid on Tuesday to Republican challenger Tim Sheehy, an outcome that gave GOP leaders the majority in the Senate. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Sheehy early Wednesday morning, with the Republican leading by nearly 8% in the vote. Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL who also ...[Read More]

Senate Veterans’ Affairs ranking member Richard Blumenthal will host former Veterans Affairs Inspector General Michael Missal as his guest for President Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Thursday night, an invitation designed to criticize the administration’s handling of watchdog offices. Missal led the department’s chief independent oversight efforts from 2016 until earlier this year, when Tr...[Read More]

Former college football coach Sen. Tommy Tuberville said this week he plans to push for new rules in this year’s defense authorization bill debate allowing elite military academy athletes to pursue professional sports careers after graduation, calling it an invaluable recruiting tool for the services. The proposal, discussed at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday focused on oversig...[Read More]

Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego on Tuesday vowed to hold all senior Veterans Affairs nominees in an effort to force department leaders to reconsider massive planned cuts to the agency’s workforce in coming months. The move by Gallego — a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and a Marine Corps veteran who saw combat in Iraq — came on the same day the committee held confirmation he...[Read More]

The Navy remains years behind in projected ship deliveries and cannot provide firm timelines for improvement, military officials told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on Tuesday. The hearing saw testimony from Navy Secretary John Phelan, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith and Navy Adm. James Kilby, acting chief of naval operations. Kilby told lawmakers that the Navy is “laser...[Read More]

A pair of Republican senators are demanding another investigation into whether former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley undermined civilian control of the military during his time in office, stating they are not satisfied with past findings. In a letter to the Defense Department Inspector General, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and Indiana Sen. Jim Banks said the issue is “too important to be swept...[Read More]