Federal Budget
  • Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) arrives at Democratic Party caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 19, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/ File Photo

    Factbox: What happens in a U.S. government shutdown?

    By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker, Reuters

    In shutdowns, nonessential government employees are furloughed, or placed on temporary unpaid leave. Workers deemed essential, including those dealing with public safety and national security, keep...

  • FILE PHOTO - Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin listens as U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a tax reform industry meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 31, 2017.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

    Trump Tries to Sell Tax Reform to Democrats

    By David Morgan, Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump intensified his efforts to sell Democrats on his tax reform plan on Wednesday even as Senate Republicans edged closer to passing a budget measure that...

  • U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran nuclear deal in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

    Senate Republicans Gain Crucial Support for Budget Vital to Tax Reform

    By David Morgan, Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans on Monday gained crucial support for a vote on a budget resolution that is vital to President Donald Trump's hopes of signing sweeping tax reform...

  • FILE PHOTO: Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 12, 2017.   REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

    No Talk of Ousting Speaker Ryan, Key Conservative Says

    By Reuters

    Many Republicans are unhappy with the deal President Donald Trump reached last week with Democratic leaders to raise the government's debt ceiling and allow it to continue financing federal spending...

  • FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Capitol Building is lit at sunset in Washington, U.S., December 20, 2016.  REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

    Congress sends Trump disaster aid, debt limit increase

    By Richard Cowan and Amanda Becker, Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to provide disaster aid, extend the debt ceiling and fund the federal government for three months on Friday, delivering on...

  • Obama to discuss fiscal issues at news conference

    Obama to discuss fiscal issues at news conference

    By Mark Felsenthal, Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama scheduled a surprise news conference for Monday to press his case for raising the U.S. borrowing limit and to renew his call for a balanced approach in...

  • Defense Cuts Could Burst the D.C. Business Bubble

    By Josh Boak and Eric Pianin, The Fiscal Times

    For decades, the Washington area has flourished, and escaped the worst of the recession, thanks to government spending fueled by deficits. But the boom times are beginning to fade. The wars in...

  • U.S. and China: Co-dependent Trade Rivals

    Chinese exporters had a whacking great December, posting a year-to-year gain of 14.1 percent and giving China its first annual trade surplus in four years. The U.S. trade deficit grew by 15.8 percent...

  • Tax Reform Gets Green Light in GOP-Run States

    By Nanette Byrnes, Reuters

    Hopes for overhauling the federal tax system are fading in Washington, but in some state capitals, tax reform experiments are fast taking shape. Across the South and Midwest, Republicans have...

  • Top Venezuelan leaders in Cuba to support Chavez

    Top Venezuelan leaders in Cuba to support Chavez

    By Andrew Cawthorne, Reuters

    CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's three most powerful government figures after President Hugo Chavez gathered in Havana on Sunday to check on their ailing leader's condition and meet with Cuban allies...