Sahil Kapur

WASHINGTON — Centrist Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced Thursday he won’t run for re-election next year, a much anticipated decision that will reshape the battle for Senate control in 2024. “After months of deliberation and long conversations with my family, I believe in my heart of hearts that I have accomplished what I set out to do for West Virginia. I have made one of the toughest decisions of my life and decided that I will not be running for re-election to the United S…

WASHINGTON — A weak performance for Republicans in Tuesday’s elections has sparked new waves of anxiety in the party, and strategists are now urging their candidates to change course on how they discuss the issue in order to win competitive races next year. Three GOP sources told NBC News that party operatives fighting to win control of Congress are making a concerted push Wednesday to encourage Republicans to make clear to voters, in speeches and TV ads, that they don’t favor a national ban on…

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans released a proposal for tougher immigration laws Monday while issuing a warning to President Joe Biden that there will be no further Ukraine aid without stricter rules for being granted asylum in the U.S. The one-page plan — written by GOP Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — calls for a wide variety of changes, including raising the “credible fear” standard for asylum-seekers, curtailing officials’ abilit…

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., is launching the first TV ad of his 2024 re-election campaign, as he vies for his fourth term in a red state seen by both parties as crucial to Senate control. The spot, called “Big Sandy,” uses upbeat music and Tester’s voice to highlight his roots as a third-generation Montanan. It casts him as a Washington outsider seeking to combat Montana’s rising costs, to “expand veterans’ clinics, and save our rural hospitals and schools.” “I know the Montana that’s worth protec…

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has hit a milestone as the Democratic-led Senate confirmed his 150th federal judge. Back-to-back votes Tuesday made Kenly Kiya Kato and Julia Kobick district court judges in California and Massachusetts, respectively, totaling 113 district court judges chosen by Biden. He has also secured lifetime appointments for 36 appeals court judges — who have the final word on most matters of federal law — and one Supreme Court justice: Ketanji Brown Jackson. Senate Majorit…

At a closed-door meeting Tuesday, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines showed fellow GOP senators an internal poll of a three-way Arizona Senate race that found Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego leading with 41%, followed by Republican Kari Lake with 37% and independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema with 17%, said a source familiar with the meeting. Notably, Daines told Republicans that Sinema is currently pulling more votes from Lake than she is from Gallego, despite her longtime affil…

WASHINGTON — The House and the Senate are at odds over how to proceed with President Joe Biden’s sweeping funding request for foreign aid and national security goals. On Tuesday, Senate Democrats will seek to bolster their position at a hearing titled “A Review of the National Security Supplemental Request,” where Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are expected to make their case for fully funding the new spending package. Their testimony before the Senate Appro…

WASHINGTON — In his first major move, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is using the bipartisan goal of providing aid to Israel to pick a fight with President Joe Biden over his signature achievement. A new bill House Republicans released Monday includes $14.3 billion in emergency funding for Israel while rescinding the same amount of IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, a major climate, health care and tax law Biden signed last year. The new GOP bill is slated for consideration by the…

WASHINGTON — There’s a renewed hope for approving additional aid to Ukraine after House Republicans resolved their speaker paralysis, and as some hard-right lawmakers critical of new funding hint at a viable path to vote on it. One month ago, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., voted with 93 Republicans to cut off Ukraine aid. Now, as speaker, Johnson said he’s asked White House staff to “bifurcate” aid to Israel and Ukraine. But he emphasized that the U.S. must stop Russia’s advances. “We can’t allow Vla…

WASHINGTON — Newly minted Speaker Mike Johnson has pitched House Republicans on a short-term funding bill to prevent a government shutdown next month while they hammer out a longer-term solution. Even ultraconservative lawmakers who firmly oppose stopgap bills said after he won the speakership that they’re willing to give him the space to pursue his plan, explaining that they trust him and that he inherited a tough situation. It’s a sign that Johnson, R-La., will have a honeymoon period with the…