Susan Crabtree
Articles by Susan Crabtree
Balls cap a busy and star-studded weekend
After an Inauguration Day full of pomp, speeches and parades, the president and first lady joined thousands of supporters and special guests in black ties and an array of sparkling gowns for an elegant evening of dancing and star-studded entertainment at the Washington Convention Center. Published January 21, 2013
Voicing a Blunt objection: Senator questions Obama campaign-turned-nonprofit
A leading Republican senator Sunday questioned the decision by President Obama to transform his 2012 campaign organization into a full-time advocacy group. Published January 21, 2013
In reversal, unions, corporations help pay for Obama’s second inaugural
Now this is change you can believe in: After eschewing big-money donations for first inauguration four years ago, President Obama was asking for donations up to $1 million to help him throw the two big inaugural balls. Published January 19, 2013
Obama campaign machine morphs into activist group
President Obama's campaign has transformed itself into a tax-exempt organization aimed at supporting his second-term agenda and countering a similar group that top Republican strategist Karl Rove has run during the last two election cycles. Published January 18, 2013
House leaders save ethics unit
House leaders reappointed the board of directors for a congressional ethics panel Wednesday, officially allowing the House-funded investigative unit to remain up and running. Published January 16, 2013
Rhetoric heats up on debt ceiling
Republicans and conservative groups rebuffed President Obama's latest attempt to pressure GOP lawmakers to back down from using the debt ceiling as leverage to extract serious, long-term spending cuts from Democrats. Published January 14, 2013
Obama speeds up drawdown in Afghanistan, hedges on post-2014 force
President Obama said Friday Afghan forces would take the lead for security in the country by this spring — slightly ahead of schedule — but gave no clear indication how many U.S. troops would remain in the country beyond next year, following a summit meeting at the White House with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Published January 11, 2013
Obama says Lew has his trust to head Treasury
President Obama officially nominated White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew on Thursday to replace departing Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, calling his key aide a man of great integrity who has his "complete trust." Published January 10, 2013
Solis stepping down as secretary of labor
Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis announced Wednesday that she will leave the administration — a surprise resignation that adds to what is turning into a major shake-up among President Obama's team. Published January 9, 2013
Sessions will try to block Lew’s bid for Treasury chief
The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee will lead a charge to try to block White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew's prospective nomination to become Treasury secretary. Published January 9, 2013
Little enthusiasm on Capitol Hill for Hagel nomination
After making it past one "fiscal cliff" with more to come, it's an odd time for President Obama to be picking a fight with Congress over his choice to run the Pentagon. Published January 8, 2013
Nominations pick fight with GOP
Chuck Hagel faces a tough confirmation fight, but rejecting President Obama's pick to head the Pentagon would be an almost unprecedented act for the Senate, which has rarely rejected a Cabinet nominee chosen from within its own ranks. Published January 7, 2013
Norquist gives Republicans a break on taxes
Urging Republicans to gear up for a season of pitched fiscal battles, anti-tax guru Grover Norquist is diminishing the potential fallout of waging another drawn-out fight over raising the debt-ceiling. Published January 3, 2013
Orszag: Obama lost leverage for fiscal fights ahead
Despite Democratic claims to the contrary, President Obama's former top budget adviser thinks his old boss has lost leverage for the budget battles to come in the wake of this week's deal avoiding an immediate fall over the "fiscal cliff." Published January 3, 2013
Angry GOP: Hill has to ‘get serious about cutting spending’
Despite taking a beating this week in the "fiscal cliff" showdown with President Obama and Democrats, conservative Republicans have vowed to regroup in coming weeks and redouble their efforts to rein in federal spending. Published January 2, 2013
Boehner splits with GOP on ‘fiscal cliff’ vote
Tuesday's vote to avoid the "fiscal cliff" exposed a deep rift within the House GOP that ran from the rank-and-file all the way to the very top of the party. Published January 1, 2013
Obama displeases both sides
As the White House and Congress sought a soft landing in the "fiscal cliff" negotiations, President Obama was getting an earful from critics on the right as well as the left, with even some disgruntled Democrats struggling to paint the president's handling of the talks in the final days in a positive light. Published January 1, 2013
Biden calls on friends in Senate in effort to jump-start ‘fiscal cliff’ solution
Vice President Joseph R. Biden's 36 years in the Senate are coming in handy this week for the Obama administration. Published December 31, 2012
Obama: ‘Fiscal cliff’ deal is close but ‘not done’
With just hours to meet a midnight deadline to avert the "fiscal cliff," President Obama said Monday afternoon that a deal is "within sight but is not done." Published December 31, 2012
Coast Guard may sink career of crash survivor
U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Lance Leone survived a helicopter crash that killed three others and beat back criminal charges of negligent homicide — but now he says he is in a final battle to avoid being sacrificed on the altar of bureaucratic accountability. Published December 23, 2012