Kevin Freking

Stay informed with Kevin Freking’s coverage and analysis.

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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters about his push for a House-Senate compromise budget resolution to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda, even with opposition from hard-line conservative Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Trump told Republicans to ‘Close your eyes and get there’ on his budget bill but holdouts forced House Speaker to halt the vote

By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and others

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas

‘I’m tired of the fake math in the swamp’: Conservative House Republicans are stalling action on Trump’s bill of tax breaks and spending reductions

By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and others

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., joined by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the GOP whip, left, talks to reporters at the Capitol, in Washington, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate GOP approves framework for Trump’s tax breaks and spending cuts, but 2 Republicans dissent — ‘Something’s fishy’

By Lisa Mascaro, Leah Askarinam, and others

Scott Bessent in front of a black background

America could run out of cash to pay its bills as early as this summer

By Fatima Hussein, Kevin Freking, and others

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., walks through the Capitol, Monday, March 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

House Republicans dare Democrats to reject spending bill with the deadline to avert a government shutdown just days away

By Kevin Freking and The Associated Press

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

What’s next for Trump budget after House GOP approves tax breaks and spending cuts blueprint: ‘Nothing about this is going to be easy’

By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and others

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, of La., with House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, from left, Rep. Tim Moore, R-N.C. and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, of La., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

House GOP pushes through budget blueprint in step toward Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’, with $4.5 billion in tax breaks and $2 billion in spending cuts

By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and others

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters after meeting with Vice President JD Vance and fellow Republicans to discuss President Donald Trump’s agenda at a luncheon, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate stays up all night to push $340 billion GOP package for Trump’s mass deportations and security measures

By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and others

Mitch McConnell speaks while gesticulating

After his falling out with Trump, Mitch McConnell says he won’t seek reelection, ending his long tenure as the GOP’s power broker

By Bruce Schreiner, Kevin Freking, and others

A kid playing with Legos on the floor with his mom

Republicans consider slashing Medicaid—a move that could siphon billions from the health care coverage offered to the poorest Americans

By Amanda Seitz, Andrew DeMillo, and others

Elon Musk speaks next to Donald Trump in the oval office

One by one, Republicans are speaking up against billionaire Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn DOGE tactics

By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and others

Homeowner David Marquez, left, holds a metal detector as he shows recovered metal items found with his father, Juan Pablo Alvarado, right, inside the walls of their multi-generational home in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

California republicans push back after House speaker threatens to saddle wildfire aid with conditions

By MIchael R. Blood, Kevin Freking, and others

President-elect Donald Trump flanked by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune of S.D. talks to reporters after a meeting with Republican leadership at the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Trump gives GOP senators no set strategy as they struggle to turn his priorities into law: ‘One bill, two bills, doesn’t matter’

By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and others

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks briefly to reporters just before a vote on an interim spending bill to prevent a government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. The vote failed to pass. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House rejects Trump-backed plan to avoid government shutdown—with dozens of Republicans voting ‘no’

By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and others

House Speaker Mike Johnson adjusts his glasses

Trump is slamming the stopgap spending bill for being too expensive while simultaneously calling for a higher debt ceiling

By Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, and others