Ron Elving

Mitch McConnell's status stems from his post as the Senate majority leader. But few who have held this office have been able to wield it with this kind of result.

To secure enough votes in 1994, the ban's sponsors in Congress accepted a "sunset provision" — meaning it would last 10 years but need to be reauthorized. Politics in the U.S. changed.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, said this week that when the Senate returns from recess in September, gun laws will be "front and center."

President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in response to two weekend shootings — one is El Paso, Texas, where a gunman opened fire at a Walmart, The other was in Dayton, Ohio.

In format and style, the second CNN debate was almost a clone of the first. Once again, the emphasis was on finding points of contention and stoking the tension between candidates.

The candidates' preparation level was high for this event in part because the stakes have risen so far, so fast.

A look at the politics associated with the death penalty especially in presidential election cycles. Most Americans think it would be a bad idea to abolish the death penalty.

Robert Mueller has spoken; Republicans want to move on, Democrats don't. Meanwhile, more concerns about potential Russian tampering in the 2020 election.

President Trump's Sunday tweets, his doubling down and then his attempt to distance himself dominated the political news cycle.

By repeating that these immigrants are "not ... you," the president defined them as "the other" in stark terms. The battle lines could not be more clear in a conflict nearly as old as America itself.

A century ago, debate over immigration and urban-rural power stalled congressional action on the results of the census. The tensions that mattered then still persist a century later.

A census citizenship question remains unsettled while Democratic presidential candidates go to Iowa.

The new faces on stage personified the change. Three were in their 30s, four in their 40s, with six women, five people of color and an Indiana mayor who mentioned his husband in his first answer.

Democratic candidates are trying to clarify positions they took during this week's debates while also capitalizing on any momentum they received.

Polls taken 18 months before an election are not predictive, but they have sent signals that proved helpful when heeded by presidents in the past.

President Trump called off an attack that was intended as retaliation for Iran's shooting down of a U.S. military drone.

President Trump now says he would alert the FBI if a foreign power offered him dirt on a political opponent.

The comments of President Trump regarding foreign governments offering negative information about a political rival have renewed fears as old as the republic itself.

John Dean's willingness to compare Nixon and Trump, and to link their handling of investigations into their election campaigns, explains why he is expected to prompt live TV coverage again.

President Trump announced a deal with Mexico after returning from Europe to weak jobs numbers and a populace still divided by opinions about abortion, but warming to the idea of impeachment.