Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Wednesday downplayed Democrats’ sweeping victories in the off-year elections, saying they weren’t an indictment of Republicans nor a preview of what’s to come. “There’s no surprises,” he said at a press conference. “What happened last night was blue states and blue cities voted blue. We all saw that coming. And no one should read too much into last night’s election results. Off-year elections are not indicative of what’s to come. That’s what history teaches us.” Th

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) spoke Sunday night in support of the deal brokered by rank-and-file senators on both sides of the aisle to end the government shutdown. “After 40 long days, I’m hopeful we can finally bring the shutdown to an end,” he said just ahead of a procedural vote to advance the measure. The agreement — which came together during a rare weekend Senate session — sets up a three-bill appropriations “minibus” that would fund, for the full fiscal year, the Agriculture

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said the administration was preparing to unveil a “substantial pickup” in Russia sanctions either later Wednesday or Thursday morning. “We are going to, either announce after the close this afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning, a substantial pickup in Russia sanctions,” he told reporters at the White House. The remarks come a day after the White House put on hold its plans for a summit in Budapest between President Trump and Russian President Vl