Sean Lengell
Articles by Sean Lengell
Goodell pledges player safety reforms, Sen. Durbin says
Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday assured him the league was taking steps to project player safety and the league's integrity in the wake of an ongoing scandal involving player bounties. Published June 20, 2012
Last-minute deal fizzles; Holder contempt vote still on tap
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. faces a contempt of Congress hearing Wednesday after refusing a last-minute compromise offer to turn over subpoenaed documents to a House committee investigating the botched Fast and Furious gunrunning operation. Published June 19, 2012
Capitol Hill meeting fails, Holder faces contempt of Congress charge
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. faces a contempt of Congress hearing Wednesday after refusing a last-minute compromise offer to turn over subpoenaed documents to a House committee investigating the botched “Fast and Furious” gunrunning operation. Published June 19, 2012
GOP sees roadblock to Keystone pipeline
Capitol Hill Republicans say yet another environmental impact study of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline is unwarranted and nothing more than a stall tactic by the Obama administration that threatens the project. Published June 18, 2012
McConnell: Obama a threat to First Amendment
The Senate's top Republican on Friday portrayed the Obama administration as an Orwellian-style authority bent on stifling free speech of dissidents and whose "radicalism" threatens the First Amendment. Published June 15, 2012
Senate GOP signals halt on circuit judge nominees
Senate Republicans have signaled that they will block further votes on White House nominations for some top federal courts until after the November presidential election, a move Democrats decry as partisan obstructionism that will strain a judicial system already suffering a backlog of vacancies. Published June 14, 2012
Permits for rallies, marches in Tampa still available
The city of Tampa, Fla., has received fewer permit applications than expected from groups seeking to hold rallies, protest marches and other outside events during the Republican National Convention in August — extending a Monday deadline for organizations wishing to exercise their First Amendment rights. Published June 13, 2012
Florida’s West has the money, needs votes
Rep. Allen B. West, the acerbic Florida Republican who emerged two years ago as a leading face of the national tea party movement, is rarely short of words. And as the freshman amps up his re-election bid, neither is he short of money. Published June 13, 2012
Obama adviser denies administration leaks
Senior Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod insisted Sunday that national security leaks weren't coming from the White House while Republicans continued to put the responsibility squarely at the feet of the president. Published June 10, 2012
Indiana Gov. Daniels: Public sector unions a ‘bad idea’
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said Sunday he would like to see public sector unions' power curtailed because "government works better without them." Published June 10, 2012
Taking a look back on a bad week for Obama
When President Obama looks back on the past week, perhaps he'll remember fondly the pies that first lady Michelle Obama purchased for him at a bakery in Virginia – because the rest of his week was a political nightmare. Published June 8, 2012
Transport funding may be delayed
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Thursday that if Congress can't come up with a long-term transportation funding bill this month he will shelve the matter until the late-year lame-duck session, a stance Democrats say is a stalling tactic designed to stifle the economy — and make President Obama look bad — until after the November elections. Published June 7, 2012
Media, lawmakers balk at new labor-news rules
Members of Congress have sided with the media to blast a new Labor Department policy that tightens control over the distribution of employment data, saying the new rules threaten press freedom and raise concerns of possible Big Brother government interference. Published June 6, 2012
Labor has much on the line in Walker recall vote
While Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker made his initial mark in office with polarizing anti-union measures, organized labor says its fight to oust the Republican from office is much larger than just his curtailing its collective-bargaining rights. Published June 4, 2012
Highway bill talks sluggish on Capitol Hill
Congress has hinted it's in danger of once again missing a self-imposed deadline on a critical spending measure, as House and Senate negotiators appear far from reaching a long-term deal to keep federal highway, rail and transit programs funded beyond June. Published June 3, 2012
Pelosi: Raise tax-hike threshold to $1M
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday defended her proposal to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for those earning up to $1 million annually, saying she is trying to find a middle-ground approach that can jump-start debate. Published May 31, 2012
Democrats increase fundraising efforts to defeat Walker in Wisconsin
After being knocked for sitting on the sidelines, Democrats nationally are ramping up fundraising efforts in a bid to oust Gov. Scott Walker, Wisconsin Republican, in a recall election next week. Published May 30, 2012
Runoff set in Texas Senate race
Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and tea-party favorite Ted Cruz are heading to a July 31 runoff in the state's Republican Senate primary, the Associated Press declared late Tuesday. Published May 29, 2012
Defense chief Panetta: Looming cuts would be ‘disastrous’
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Sunday that more than $500 billion in defense-related cuts scheduled to kick in early next year would be "disastrous" to national security and begged lawmakers to restore the money. Published May 27, 2012
Texan aims to ride second tea party wave
One by one, several candidates hoping to be Texas' next GOP Senate nominee made their pitches to the Republican Party's forum in Erath County, just west of Fort Worth - but the few dozen voters packed inside the small meeting hall on a hot afternoon last week were getting antsy. Published May 27, 2012