Stymied by a GOP House, Obama looks ahead to 2014 to cement his legacy

President Obama, now facing the consequences of automatic spending cuts and the complications they raise for his broader domestic agenda, is taking the most specific steps of his administration in an attempt to ensure the election of a Democratic-controlled Congress in two years. “What I can’t do is force Congress to do the right thing,” Obama told reporters at the White House on Friday...

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Obama, congressional leaders fail to reach deal on sequester

President Obama acknowledged Friday that deep federal budget cuts are here with no end in sight, an outcome that he warned would harm the economy but said he lacked the power to stop. A final attempt to find common ground with congressional leaders at a White House meeting proved fruitless. The president continued to press for higher taxes as part of a deal, and Republicans continued to...

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Why can’t all agencies avoid sequestration furloughs?

Some federal agencies appear to be better-positioned than others to avoid furloughs, which are likely to happen unless Congress and the president reach a deal to avert the automatic budget cuts set to kick in Friday. The Government Accountability Office, the Small Business Administration, the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Agency for International Development have all said they expect...

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A fluent secretary of state

This just in from our colleague Anne Gearan, who’s playing the role of foreign correspondent as she covers Secretary of State John Kerry’s first official overseas jaunt: During his failed 2004 presidential run, Kerry may have been ridiculed as a French-speaking, windsurfing East Coast aristocrat, but he was in his element in Paris on Wednesday. He spoke in effortless French, with a good...

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Federal prison guard slain at Pennsylvania facility

A corrections officer at the Canaan federal penitentiary in Pennsylvania was killed by an inmate late Monday night, according to prison officials, marking the first slaying of a federal prison guard in nearly five years. Officer Eric Williams, 34, of Nanticoke, Pa., was working in a housing unit at the high-security federal facility in Northeast Pennsylvania when he was beaten and fatally...

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In Oklahoma, tiny airport attracts federal money, but few planes

ARDMORE, Okla. — Along a country road in southern Oklahoma, there is a place that doesn’t make sense. It is an airport without passengers. Or, for that matter, planes. This is Lake Murray State Park Airport, one of the least busy of the nation’s 3,300-plus public airfields. In an entire week here, there might be one landing and one takeoff — often so pilots can use the bathroom. Or...

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Legislative branch prepares for spending cuts

Lawmakers will return to work Monday after a week-long break, with $85 billion in automatic spending cuts set to take effect in four days. Congressional offices and agencies have remained largely quiet on the issue compared with the executive branch, where top officials — from President Obama to Cabinet members such as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Defense Secretary Leon...

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Senators near a deal on background checks for most private gun sales

A bipartisan group of senators is on the verge of a deal that would expand background checks to all private firearms sales with limited exemptions, but significant disagreements remain on the issue of keeping records of private gun sales, according to aides familiar with the talks. An agreement would be a bold first step toward consideration of legislation to limit gun violence in the...

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With campaign, Mark Sanford goes from Appalachian Trail to comeback trail

BLUFFTON, S.C. — In the annals of political redemption stories, it is hard to top the one that former governor Mark Sanford (R) is attempting to write in South Carolina. After a spectacular 2009 scandal that destroyed his marriage, spawned impeachment proceedings and saddled him with the biggest ethics fine in state history, Sanford is making a new start right back where he started his...

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Group releases list of 90 medical ‘don’ts’

Don’t use feeding tubes in patients with advanced dementia. Don’t use drugs to aggressively treat diabetes in those older than 65. Don’t automati­cally use imaging technology for minor head injuries in children and headaches in adults. And don’t give antacids to babies with reflux. Those are among the 90 medical “don’ts” on a list being released Thursday by a coalition of doctor and consumer...

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As sequester nears, Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale at center of storm

Pentagon comptroller Robert F. Hale is overseeing the Defense Department’s plans to furlough most of its 800,000 civilian workers, but he insists that he still meets with friendly faces as he strides down the building’s corridors. “I teasingly say, ‘When I walk down the hall, people still wave, but with fewer fingers,’ ” said Hale, who is balancing the tension and frustration of the times...

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Denmark on the radar?

Rufus Gifford, former Democratic National Committee finance chairman and more recently President Obama’s near-legendary 2012 campaign fundraising chief, is said to be the leading pick for ambassador to Denmark. Gifford, an indefatigable — some beleaguered donors have said maybe too indefatigable — fundraiser, was the key person behind the campaign’s $1 billion war chest. The...

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President’s Day, by George

Did you enjoy that relaxing three-day weekend? Caught up on sleep, maybe sneaked in a movie or a few errands? That’s no thanks to Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), who’s playing the role of the Grinch Who Wants to Steal Presidents’ Day. Wolf recently reintroduced a bill that would do away with the congressionally established Monday holiday (it’s set for the third Monday of the month) and instead...

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Congressional staffers often travel on tabs of foreign governments

About a dozen congressional staffers flew business class on a trip to China last summer and stayed at luxury hotels while touring the Great Wall and the Forbidden City and receiving a “briefing on ancient artifacts and dynasties” at the Shanghai Museum. The all-expenses-paid visit came courtesy of China. The Chinese government hosted a day of meetings with officials in Beijing followed...

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Dominican Republic port contract scrutinized, along with senator, eye doctor’s relationship

SANTO DOMINGO — When the U.S. Embassy set out to press the Dominican government over a long-stalled contract to provide port security, American officials took on some tough opponents. The deal had languished for more than a decade amid stiff resistance from the American Chamber of Commerce, which represents the interests of American and local businessmen in the Dominican Republic, and the country’s...

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Jesse Jackson Jr. charged with conspiracy

The downward spiral for former congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr. took another dramatic turn Friday when federal prosecutors in Washington laid out their criminal case against the once-promising Illinois Democrat, accusing him of misusing campaign funds to benefit himself and his wife. Among the purchases were fur coats, a high-end watch and a football autographed by presidents. Jackson...

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Postmaster takes case for five-day mail delivery to skeptical senators

Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe took his controversial plan for five-day mail delivery before a congressional hearing Wednesday, where he told senators that the Postal Service “needs your help.” Donahoe’s refrain was familiar. ●The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is losing $25 million a day.●Last year, the Postal Service lost $15.9 billion.●It defaulted on $11.1 billion...

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Obama urges a move away from narrow focus on politics of austerity

Just about every argument in Washington since the 2010 midterm elections, which returned control of the House to Republicans, has centered on reducing the federal deficit. On Tuesday night, President Obama leaned into his second term by declaring that a single-minded focus on deficit reduction would jeopardize the nation’s future. And he sounded an urgent call to rebuild. Reelected by...

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Furloughs likely would exceed 1 million; feds feel ‘undervalued, unappreciated’

On the day President Obama delivers his annual address to Congress, the state of the federal workforce is precarious. It is precarious because employees are worried about their paychecks when Uncle Sam is in danger of not fully making his payroll. They are worried that budget cuts could diminish their ability to serve citizens and fulfill agency missions.They are worried about being...

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Obama keeps newspaper reporters at arm’s length

“Entertainment Tonight” scored one last year. The New York Times did not. “The View” has gotten several. The Washington Post hasn’t had one in years. Albuquerque radio station KOB-FM’s “Morning Mayhem” crew interviewed him in August. The last time the Wall Street Journal did so was in 2009.America’s newspapers have trouble enough these days, what with shrinking ad revenue and straying...

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