foreign affairs

Several House Republicans, who gathered outside a secure room in the basement of the Capitol Visitor’s Center Wednesday made a public attempt to force themselves into a secure area of the House they had been barred from entering.

The area, known as the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), is where Republican and Democratic Members of the Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight Committees heard testimony from Laura Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. Cooper is the latest witness to provide testimony to the panels leading the impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump.

The United States should not take orders about using military force against Iran even if Saudi Arabia’s government declares Tehran was behind an attack on its oil facilities, congressional Democrats are telling President Donald Trump.

Trump signaled on Sunday evening and again on Monday morning that he is standing by for Saudi officials to sort out just what happened and who launched what U.S. officials said appeared to be armed drone and cruise missile strikes on the Saudi facilities. The attacks are expected to pare Saudi production and drive up oil and gas prices — but Democrats are concerned the incident might compel Trump to launch retaliatory strikes on Iran, which they say would be contrary to American interests.

The White House budget office on Thursday evening sent a proposal to trim unspent foreign assistance funds by “north of $4 billion” to the State Department for review, according to a senior administration official.

The final price tag of the rescissions package, which could also target unspent balances at the U.S. Agency for International Development, would likely change before being formally submitted to Capitol Hill, the official said.

President Donald Trump’s summits in North Korea and Russia have received tepid support at home, with less than a third of Americans saying the trips were a success in an Economist/YouGov poll released Wednesday.

The June 12 meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was successful 28 percent of respondents said, while 33 percent said it was unsuccessful and 39 percent said they were not sure.