On Thursday, the Senate cast what is expected to be its last vote for the next five weeks, leaving the Republican-controlled Congress without any major legislative victories in the first six-plus months of the new administration. In fact, "the Senate has approved less than 10 bills this year that required a roll call," The Washington Post reports.
Most of the Senate's output consisted of approving Trump's nominations and the regulatory repeals, both of which required a simple majority on roll calls and little to no input from Democrats. [...] Last week's 98-to-2 vote imposing sanctions against Russia is the legislative highlight of the year, a bill the president did not even support but was forced into signing.Another bill gave the Government Accountability Office a bit more investigative authority. Another granted a waiver allowing Jim Mattis to become secretary of defense despite retiring from active military service in 2013.Another piece of legislation passed by the Senate, on a roll-call vote of 82 to 15, allowed for a historic steamboat, the Delta Queen, to be relocated to St. Louis. [The Washington Post]
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's oppositionThe Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
-
How the woke right gained power in the USUnder the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Musk vows DOGE pullback as Tesla profits plungeSpeed Read The Tesla SEO says he will soon step back from government matters to devote more time to the company
-
IMF sees slump from tariffs, Trump tries to calm marketsSpeed Read The International Monetary Fund predicts the U.S. and global economies will slow significantly due to the president's trade war
-
DHS chief Kristi Noem's purse stolen from eaterySpeed Read Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse was stolen while she dined with family at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reportsSpeed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
-
Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group textSpeed Read The defense secretary sent information about an attack in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contemptSpeed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cutsSpeed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deporteeSpeed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
