Peter Welch

Democratic strategists think that Democratic hecklers during President Donald Trump's joint address to Congress were off base in disrupting the speech.

Democratic Vermont Sen. Peter Welch reintroduced a bill Friday to restore congressional funding to the United Nations' agency that employed terrorists who participated in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

FAIRFAX – Uncertainty around federal funding has hit home in Fairfax.

The Trumps and lawmakers from across the aisle have invited guests to Tuesday's joint address, representing some of the administration's top priorities. Here's a look at some of the names on the list.

'Shit that ain't true, that's what you just heard'

President Donald Trump is heading to Capitol Hill this week to deliver a speech to Congress. Trump will be speaking to the coequal branch of government he has bulldozed past this first month in office, wielding unimaginable executive power. With...

Critics warn of a constitutional crisis.

Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, from left, Chris Coons, D-Del., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., ranking member Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., conduct a news conference Thursday outside the FBI headquarters to voice opposition to director nominee Kash Patel.

The group, Doctors Against Genocide, called for lawmakers to protect Gaza's health care workers and help the medical institutions destroyed by Israeli forces.

Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and other Democratic members of Congress hold a press conference on the budget plan for Medicaid at 12:00 p.m. ET on Feb. 19.

The total number of backers, shared exclusively with Fox News Digital, comes just days before the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to advance Kash Patel's nomination to lead the FBI.

The Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general Tuesday evening, putting a longtime ally of Donald Trump at the helm of a Justice Department that has already been rattled by the firings of career employees seen as disloyal to the Republican president.The vote fell almost entirely along party lines, with only Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, joining with all Republicans to pass her confirmation 54-46.Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and corporate lobbyist, is expected to oversee a radical reshaping of the department that has been the target of Trump’s ire over the criminal cases it brought against him. She enters with the FBI, which she will oversee, in turmoil over the scrutiny of agents involved in investigations related to the president, who has made clear his desire to seek revenge on his perceived adversaries.Republicans have praised Bondi as a highly qualified leader they contend will bring much-needed change to a department they believe unfairly pursued Trump through investigations resulting in two indictments.“Pam Bondi has promised to get the department back to its core mission: prosecuting crime and protecting Americans from threats to their safety and their freedoms,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.But Bondi has faced intense scrutiny over her close relationship with the president, who during his term fired an FBI director who refused to pledge loyalty to him and forced out an attorney general who recused himself from the Justice Department’s investigation into potential ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign.While Bondi has sought to reassure Democrats that politics would play no part in her decision-making, she also refused at her confirmation hearing last month to rule potential investigations into Trump’s adversaries. And she has repeated Trump’s claims that the prosecutions against him amounted to political persecution, saying the Justice Department “had been weaponized for years and years and years, and it’s got to stop.”Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., praised Bondi as “accomplished and competent” but said his “grave concern is really about President Trump and what he is clearly demanding.”“That clearly is a loyalty oath to him as opposed to a demand for straightforward, candid advice, including if the president is asking for something to be done like the prosecution of a political adversary,” Welch said.Bondi’s confirmation vote came just hours after FBI agents sued the Justice Department over efforts to develop a list of employees involved in the Jan. 6 prosecutions, which agents fear could be a precursor to mass firings.Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove last week ordered the acting FBI director to provide the names, titles and offices of all FBI employees who worked on the Jan. 6 cases — which Trump has described as a “grave national injustice.” Bove, who defended Trump in his criminal cases before joining the administration, said Justice Department officials would carry out a “review process to determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary.”Justice Department officials have also recently forced out senior FBI executives, fired prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smith’s team who investigated Trump and terminated a group of prosecutors in the D.C. U.S. attorney’s office who were hired to help with the massive Jan. 6 investigation.Bondi repeatedly stressed at her confirmation hearing that she would not pursue anyone for political reasons, and vowed that the public, not the president, would be her client. But her answers at times echoed Trump’s campaign rhetoric about a politicized justice system.“They targeted Donald Trump,” Bondi told lawmakers. “They went after him — actually starting back in 2016, they targeted his campaign. They have launched countless investigations against him.” She added, “If I am attorney general, I will not politicize that office.”Trump nominated Bondi for attorney general after it became clear that his initial pick, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, could not win enough support from Republican senators to be confirmed.Bondi has been a fixture in Trump’s orbit for years, and a regular defender of the president-elect on news programs amid his legal woes. In a 2023 Fox News appearance, she suggested that “bad” Justice Department prosecutors would be investigated under the Trump administration.“The investigators will be investigated,” she said.Smith has said politics played no part in his decisions and the evidence his team gathered was sufficient for Trump to have been convicted at trial on charges of scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.Smith dropped that case and a separate one charging Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after Trump’s election win in November, citing longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting criminal cases against a sitting president.

ST. ALBANS CITY – In light of President Donald Trump’s threats to impose a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) met with business and industry leaders in St. Albans City Hall to hear their concerns.

Pam Bondi, President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice, echoed attacks on the agency she would lead if confirmed, but demurred on how she might handle tests of its independence. Bondi is a more traditional pick to lead the department than Trump’s initial choice, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). She’s a longtime prosecutor [...]

Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be attorney general, testifies Wednesday during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.

Attorney general nominee Pam Bondi said she has "absolutely not" spoken with President-elect Trump about appointing a special prosecutor to target President Biden during questioning from Senator Peter Welch, D-Vt.

Trump's attorney general pick, Pam Bondi, to face questioning from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Inside the Capitol, reminders of the violence are increasingly hard to find. Scars on the walls were repaired. Windows and doors broken by the rioters were replaced.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who supports expanding Social Security and Medicare and raising taxes on the wealthy, will get a seat on the Senate’s powerful Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over those big issues. Sanders supports increasing Social Security benefits for existing recipients by $2,400 a year and increasing cost-of-living adjustments to keep up with [...]

Senators are alleging the “oligarch” is the power behind the throne of a second Trump presidency.

Her call follows Democrats introducing a bill that would amend the Constitution and ensure that the popular vote chooses the president.

'The popular vote should prevail'

Several Senate Democrats propose abolishing the Electoral College, a proposed move that GOP Sen. Mike Lee described as "a phenomenally bad idea."

Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Peter Welch of Vermont introduced a constitutional amendment last Thursday that would create 18-year term limits on the Supreme Court.Yes, that Joe Manchin—the Democrat-turned-independent who wants President Joe Biden to pardon Donald Trump to heal the nation and has accused both sides of being too partisan and extolled the virtues of the filibuster even as Republicans used it to thwart his party’s agenda—thinks the Supreme Court is so broken that it needs reforming.“The current lifetime appointment structure is broken and fuels polarizing confirmation battles and political posturing that has eroded public confidence in the highest court in our land,” Manchin said in a statement. "Our amendment maintains that there shall never be more than nine Justices and would gradually create regular vacancies on the Court, allowing the President to appoint a new Justice every two years with the advice and consent of the United States Senate."The 18-year term limit is the same number of years Biden said Supreme Court justices should be limited to.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (I) and Vermont Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have introduced a resolution to impose 18-year term limits on Supreme Court justices, which would require some turnover on the high court every two years. Specifically, their resolution calls for a constitutional amendment to institute nonrenewable 18-year terms for new Supreme Court justices, [...]

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders is making an attempt to block some U.S. arms to Israel over civilian deaths in Gaza.

Trump named Dr. Oz to lead the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid—as his team reportedly eyes cuts to Medicaid.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray asking for “the complete evidentiary file” from the bureau's investigation into allegations of sex trafficking of minors against former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), whom President-elected Trump has tapped to become the next attorney general. The Democratic senators, led by Judiciary [...]

Congress returned to Washington this week with just five weeks left in this year’s legislative calendar. With a Continuing Resolution (CR) that expires December 20, 2024, either a year-end spending package or a new Continuing Resolution will need to be passed to continue funding the government. There are several health policies that may be included in this package, including policies expiring at the end of the year. Must-pass items, such as extensions for Medicare COVID-era telehealth flexibilities and policy changes that enjoy broad bipartisan, bicameral support, such as Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Reform and BIOSECURE, are on the docket for consideration. Must-PassTelehealth Extension: Medicare FlexibilitiesThe IssueMedicare telehealth flexibilities put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic will expire at the end of this year following a two-year extension in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Prior to the pandemic, telehealth coverage was only available with... Read the complete article here...© 2024 Foley & Lardner LLP

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will force votes on resolutions to block more than $20 billion in offensive aid to Israel next week, multiple sources told Axios.Why it matters: Sanders' resolutions will almost certainly be defeated on the Senate floor, but they will give a good snapshot of just how strong the sentiment against Israel's war effort in Gaza is amongst Senate Democrats.Sanders has long been a leading critic of the Israeli government and U.S. support for its war in Gaza.The resolutions that Sanders will raise next week would block the Biden administration from sending billions of dollars in offensive aid to Israel.The Biden administration has been reluctant to withhold arms, and announced Tuesday that it would not enforce its ultimatum to cut aid if humanitarian conditions in Gaza did not improve.The big picture: The Sanders resolution will give a good snapshot of just how strong the sentiment against the Israeli war in Gaza is amongst Senate Democrats.Sanders was joined by Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in introducing the resolutions to block the arms sales. The aid that would be blocked includes tank munitions, F-15IA aircrafts and mortars, if all the resolutions were to be passed.Sanders is forcing the vote at the same time that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is planning to pass a bill that would crack down on antisemitism on college campuses.Go deeper: Senate soundly rejects push to scrutinize Israel aid

'Those of us concerned about grassroots democracy and economic justice need to have some very serious discussions,' Sanders said.

BURLINGTON — U.S. Senator Peter Welch, D-Vt., is celebrating this week's 60th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Wilderness Act of 1964, legislation that established the National Wilderness Preservation System.

As the closure of Albany’s designated space for camping looms closer, many people still don’t know where they will go next.

The Harris campaign says she'd give families $6,000 when they have a new baby, and would restore the pandemic-era child tax credit, too. It's part of an economic plan focused on the cost of living.

Vice President Harris’ campaign on Thursday will roll out some of her housing policy proposals including that she supports efforts aimed at lowering the cost of rent and supporting renters struggling financially, according to details obtained by NBC News from a campaign official.

“I really don’t know what we are going to do or where we are going to go."

Montana Sen. Jon Tester and Vermont Sen. Peter Welch deserve credit as the only two Democratic senators, along with a handful of Democratic representatives, who had the courage to speak publicly about what average folks have believed for some while.

So close, yet so far.

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez plans to resign after being convicted on federal corruption charges.

Democrats quickly rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris as their likely presidential nominee Sunday after President Joe Biden ‘s ground-shaking decision to bow out of the 2024 race.

Democrats are quickly coalescing around Vice President Kamala Harris as their likely presidential nominee after President Joe Biden’s ground-shaking decision to bow out of the 2024 race

President Biden said he will not be running for reelection, a historic decision that comes after mounting pressure from many within his own party. Biden said he will serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in 2025. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” he said. [...]

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on the South Lawn of the White House on July 11, 2022.

It's a critical weekend ahead for President Joe Biden

President Joe Biden feels angry and betrayed by top Democrats who have privately expressed concerns about his ability to stay in the 2024 election.