Jim Banks

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kans., is moving to reintroduce a bill that would outlaw federal funding to trans surgeries and treatments nationwide.

The House has passed legislation to avert a partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies through September. In the Senate, the bill will need support from at least eight Democrats to get it to President Donald Trump’s desk. It’s one...

More than two dozen Senate and House Republicans demand the International Olympics Committee to align with President Donald Trump's executive order banning trans athletes from women's sports.

The report, presented to trustees at their January meeting, focused on oversight for the agency's investment office.

A Trump administration directive to pause all federal grants in late January triggered a flurry of emails from Nebraska government officials who expressed confusion and, in some cases, concern.

The 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is held in National Harbor, Maryland, from Feb. 20 to 22. Conservative leaders from the United States and around the world will attend and speak at this event. Day 1 of the conference begins at 10 a.m. ET on Feb. 20. Schedule: Opening (10 a.m.) Featuring: Matt Schlapp, [...]

Rep. Marlin Stutzman spoke with Fox News Digital about returning to Congress after an eight-year hiatus.

Critics cast doubt on effectiveness of policy, citing low volume of purchases by overseas buyers, as Labor seeks to improve housing affordabilityFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastProspective home buyers will face less competition from overseas, with Labor promising to ban foreign investors from purchasing existing homes for at least two years.But the restriction – which replicates a policy announced by the Coalition last year – will capture less than 0.4% of the housing market, casting doubts over its efficacy. Continue reading...

Belle da Costa Greene, who was JP Morgan’s librarian, became a lively fixture at Gilded Age mansions, country retreats, auction houses and art galleries. She was also a Black woman who passed as white.

State Sen. Mike Jacobson said he doubts the Trump administration will gut the federal Medicaid dollars he hopes to leverage for Nebraska through Legislative Bill 527 and 2024's LB 1087.

President Donald Trump made a rare appearance Tuesday with Elon Musk in the Oval Office before signing an executive order to continue downsizing the federal workforce.

During a closed-door lunch on Tuesday, two top Trump officials urged Republican senators to fast-track $175 billion in new border money.Why it matters: The White House is turning up the heat as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate GOP Leader John Thune's (R-S.D.) game of reconciliation chicken gets more hostile.Trump border czar Tom Homan and OMB chief Russell Vought told Republican senators that the administration is running out of money for their immigration crackdown. "After hearing these two gentlemen today, we're living on borrowed time," Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Justice Secretary Pam Bondi also sent a letter to lawmakers asking for more border resources, per to a copy obtained by Axios and first reported by Fox News.Between the lines: Speaker Johnson told his conference that he would not bring Graham's version of a budget reconciliation bill to the House floor — favoring "one big, beautiful bill" that would also address tax policy, Punchbowl first reported.Graham said he would also prefer one big bill, but the Senate and Graham's committee is "moving because we have to."Graham will begin marking up his bill in committee on Wednesday. It includes $150 billion for defense spending and $175 billion for the border.Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said the officials were careful not to explicitly back the House's one-bill or the Senate's two-bills strategy."I do think that at some point, somebody's going to have to get the House and the Senate on the same page," Hawley added. "I assume that somebody will need to be the White House."Zoom in: Homan and Vought stressed that they need funding to find tens of thousands of unauthorized immigrant kids who the government lost contact with after releasing them to caretakers."After Tom talked about trying to find these children, half of us started to cry," Graham said.The White House officials also assured senators that the $175 billion in Graham's bill would be enough to follow through on Trump's border promises for the full four years. "They're helping make the case for why the $175 billion budget bill that Lindsay [Graham] is pushing is important," Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) told Axios about the meeting.The bottom line: "I am urging the Speaker to invite [Homan and Vought] over and let them tell the House what they told us," Graham said.

Federal laws already cap the court at nine members but a constitutional amendment would prevent future changes by Congress.

Anyone prohibited from having access to the sensitive information since Jan. 20 must destroy all copies made from the department's systems.

Democrats pushed back against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as it turns its attention to the Education Department.

By abruptly shuttering the USAID only a fortnight after returning to Washington, President Trump is signaling that he will bring accountability and efficiency to foreign aid.

'de-banking certain industries'

Lincoln native and former UNL student Luke Farritor is reportedly one of several software engineers helping Tesla founder Elon Musk with his Department of Government Efficiency project.

Lutheran Family Services, which receives federal funding, found itself caught up in a political firestorm when Elon Musk amplified claims, without evidence, that it was engaged in money laundering.

The City Council unanimously approved resolutions allowing voters to decide in Lincoln's primary election this spring whether to extend the quarter-cent sales tax for street improvements for another eight years.

Jane Kleeb, the chair of Nebraska's Democratic Party who first gained political notoriety as a climate activist a decade ago, won a national leadership post Sunday within the DNC.

The Lincoln Fair Housing Coalition turned in more than 15,300 signatures, well over the number needed to get the question of additional renter protections on the May 6 ballot.

The Lincoln Fair Housing Coalition turned in more than 15,300 signatures, well over the number needed to get the question of additional renter protections on the May 6 ballot.

New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, seen at a hearing last month, ended the fourth quarter with $1.5 million in her campaign coffers.

Nucor Corp., the largest steel producer in the United States, endorsed President Donald Trump's tariffs, celebrating them as part of his "America First" agenda.

Even in peak flying conditions, experts said, the airspace around Reagan Washington National Airport can challenge the most experienced pilots, who must navigate hundreds of other commercial planes, military aircraft and restricted areas around sensitive sites.

'Holding assistance hostage'

Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee to be ambassador to the United Nations, told Senate Foreign Relations members last week that she favored “tailored cuts” in U.S. funding for the United Nations.

Kristi Noem’s heated rhetoric on immigration belies a stark economic reality in her own state: With unemployment at 1.9% — the lowest in the country — South Dakota has grown increasingly dependent on the same migrants she may be tasked...

Diana Elias, a Lincoln resident who fled Iraq 15 years ago, was one 5,000 service members who provided support at Trump's inauguration.

Members of Nebraska's largest public employees union voted to approve a new contract with the state that includes salary increases as high as 19% for some workers.

Mexico has experienced President Donald Trump’s inauguration as if it were a political earthquake.

The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy announced Friday it awarded nearly $10 million in grants to fund 163 waste reduction and recycling projects across the state.

A newly paved section of 98th Street opens; a StarTran driver settles a lawsuit with the city; Lancaster County commissioners respond to accusations regarding campaign contributions.

Nawaf Haskan's wife initially couldn't leave Iraq in 2017 when Trump first assumed office. Eight years later, the Lincoln man's sister and her family face a similar uncertain fate.

A bill to strictly limit two powers used by the Biden administration is getting a renewed push in Congress as the Trump administration narrows immigration programs.

The Annex Group's third affordable housing project in Lincoln-- a 175-unit complex at 933 N St. downtown -- will open in 2026.

Gov. Kristi Noem’s heated rhetoric on immigration belies a stark economic reality in her own state.

The once and future president returns to power with know-how and a very different team.

City Hall: Opponents of a proposed solar farm in Lancaster County say campaign contributions to board members create a conflict of interest. The head of a state watchdog group agrees.

After Donald Trump sought to overturn his 2020 election loss, and a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, many believed his political days were over. But now he's back. What can we expect from the second Trump administration?

President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House is the culmination of a political comeback that many in both parties believed would never happen. Now, Trump is promising swift action despite paper-thin GOP majorities in Congress. CBS News chief election & campaign correspondent Robert Costa talks with Republican Senator Jim Banks, a staunch Trump ally, and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders about what to expect in the second Trump administration.

Under Sen. Teresa Ibach’s proposal, individuals who do not have U.S. citizenship but are in the country legally and able to work could become certified law enforcement personnel.

The Nebraska Court of Appeals on Tuesday affirmed a Columbus man's conviction for election falsification for voting in one county while living in another in the 2020 general election.

Nebraska lawmakers will consider 25 proposed legislative rules changes Thursday, including proposals that would make it easier for bills to overcome filibusters and harder for senators to wage them.

The Trump transition proved today that it can impose its will on the Hill, even with a nomination that looked cooked before the holidays.Why it matters: Not a single Republican showed signs on Tuesday of opposing Defense nominee Pete Hegseth. Now he's got a clear path to the Pentagon."Pete Hegseth hit a home run," Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) said on Fox News after the hearing.Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Tuesday that Hegseth did well and expects he'll be quickly confirmed.Here's the formula:Survive the first two weeks: Trump's team got past the news cycles about Senate Republicans being quietly concerned about Hegseth's nomination. They've told us for a month that if he can get to his nomination hearing, he'll be fine.Sic MAGA foot soldiers on anyone suspected of falling out of line. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) was noticeably friendly at today's hearing. Ernst told local radio on Wednesday that she'll vote to confirm Hegseth.Stonewall the Dems: Only the committee's top Democrat — Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) — was allowed to see Hegseth's background check. Democrats were denied second rounds of questioning today. Hegseth didn't meet with any of the rank-and-file Dems ahead of today's hearing.Take advantage of the media's shattered glass: Today's most TV-ready moments from Senate Dems — Tim Kaine's hypotheticals on Hegseth's red lines and his behavior ... Kirsten Gillibrand's condemnation of his comments on women in the military ... Mazie Hirono's questions on his drinking — are unlikely to reach MAGA viewers.Zoom in: If you look past the spicy back-and-forth on Hegseth's character, there was a strong line of questions about whether he can do the job.The most prominent: Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) tried to pin down Hegseth on whether he's ever led a major negotiation. She asked if he's familiar with high-level pacts like ASEAN.The Republicans on the panel were very clear that this isn't a dealbreaker. They even suggested that his lack of traditional experience running bureaucracies would benefit someone trying to clean house at the Pentagon.They backed him as he suggested he'd purge top brass and cut hundreds or thousands of civilian support staff in the Pentagon."The Dems struggled to land a blow or a gotcha moment," Banks told Axios after the hearing."With today's performance, I believe Pete Hegseth's path to confirmation has been assured," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Axios.Go deeper:Five questions Hegseth dodgedHegseth claims "smear campaign"Hegseth says he was blocked from working Biden inauguration over tattoo

Conservatives on social media praised Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth's performance at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday where the exchanges often became fiery.

Democrats say Hegseth’s lack of experience, comments about women and Black troops, and allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct make him unfit to serve. Some takeaways from the hearing:

The surgery at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha was expected to take about four hours and require anesthesia, according to a news release sent late Wednesday afternoon.

Trump continues to fill out his administration in the weeks leading up to his inauguration.