JIM RISCH

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a resolution condemning the detention and death of Mahsa Amini.

U.S. sanctions going forward must focus on depriving President Vladimir Putin of the oil revenue and arms supplies he needs to press his war in Ukraine.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has given easy bipartisan approval to admitting Finland and Sweden into NATO.

The United States’ top negotiator for Iran nuclear talks has made the case to lawmakers for sticking with Iran nuclear talks.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s team has been meeting with senators on Capitol Hill.

President Joe Biden stirred some of the first public cracks in transatlantic unity over the invasion of Ukraine with his comments in Warsaw that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” tarnishing an otherwise successful four-day trip to Europe.

Just two years ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was at the center of impeachment proceedings that deeply fractured Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

"He is literally killing innocent civilians, girls and boys, men and women, and grandparents in order to try to bludgeon them into submission," Sen. Rob Portman said of Putin's attacks on Ukraine. "If that's not escalatory, I don't know what is."

GOP senator says a war between NATO and Russia 'would end pretty quickly'

Russia Ukraine War Congress Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, speaks during a news conference with Republican lawmakers about Ukraine, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 2, 2022, in Washington. From left, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., Portman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON — (AP) — The U.S House has overwhelmingly approved a resolution “steadfastly, staunchly, proudly and fervently” in support of Ukraine. Graham said Wednesday that he is introducing a new resolution to hold Putin and those around him accountable for the assault on Ukraine in international courts.

The House has overwhelmingly approved a resolution that, in its own words, “steadfastly, staunchly, proudly and fervently” supports Ukraine.

A firm that tracks cryptocurrency transactions says $33.8 million in the digital currency has been donated to Ukraine’s government and non-governmental organizations there since the start of Russia’s invasion.

As lawmakers gather for President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address, they are finding common ground in support of Ukraine.

U.S. and European officials are holding one key financial sanction against Russia in reserve.

The U.S. Senate is considering a resolution in support of Ukraine’s independence while stopping short of legislation to impose sanctions on Russia.

U.S. Senate leaders from both parties have issued a joint statement signaling solidarity with an independent Ukraine.

President Joe Biden’s pick to monitor and combat prejudice against Jews around the world finally got her day before the Senate committee that will evaluate her nomination.

President Joe Biden and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta discussed financial transparency as the East African leader visited the White House on Thursday.

The nomination of a Pakistani-born businessman who'd be the highest-ranking Muslim in the U.S. government is in jeopardy because Senate Republicans have repeatedly blocked his confirmation.

Blinken received bipartisan jabs from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee amid criticism over the Biden administrations handling of the withdrawal.

Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, who leads the Defense Intelligence Agency, gave that estimate while speaking at the Intelligence & National Security Summit. Experts have long said the Taliban still maintains ties to al-Qaida, which took sanctuary in Afghanistan prior to 9/11. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., demanded to know how intelligence about the collapse of the Afghan government had been so wrong. Blinken defended the withdrawal and the end of America's longest-running war as "the right thing to do" after 20 years. In response, Blinken said he would soon be appointing a senior official to oversee U.S. policy toward Afghan women and girls.

Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch grilled Secretary of State Antony Blinken about who in the White House has the authority to “press the button” to silence President Joe Biden in a strange exchange during a Senate hearing that was supposed to be about the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has endured a second day of harsh bipartisan criticism of the Biden administration's Afghanistan withdrawal.

The United States says it's sending a special envoy to Ethiopia as the fast-moving conflict in the Tigray region has spread into neighboring regions and Ethiopia’s government calls on all able citizens to stop the resurgent Tigray forces “once and for all.”.

Congress Biden War Powers Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, right, speaks to Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., left, before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. In testimony before the committee Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman encouraged repeal of the 2002 measure. Ending the war authorization against Saddam's Iraq made clear that the Iraq government of today was a partner of the United States, and removed a grievance for rival Iran to exploit, Sherman said. “The ayatollah is listening to this debate,” Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, said of Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Top lawyers for the State Department and Pentagon told committee members on Tuesday that the Biden administration believes it has adequate legal authority for any similar strike, even with repeal of the Iraq war measures.

Voters need to start holding these politicians accountable for their votes against democracy, writes Bob Kustra.

The Biden administration says it has resumed U.S. assistance to the Palestinians, including to the U.N. agency that deals with Palestinian refugees.

But the move was immediately criticized as inadequate by senior Republican lawmakers who noted the administration had not penalized any additional companies or individuals for work on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. U.S. officials have long said they fear Russia will use the pipeline as a political tool against its neighbors. However, congressional Republicans were unimpressed and denounced the administration for failing to impose any sanctions on additional targets, notably people and firms in Germany, which is a strong Nord Stream 2 proponent. “I am deeply troubled and disappointed by the State Department’s report on Nord Stream 2 activities and their decision to forgo additional sanctions on other entities involved in its construction," Risch said. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire has co-sponsored legislation opposing the pipeline with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and has been outspoken in her criticism of Nord Stream 2.

The former astronaut defeated Republican Sen. Martha McSally, who was appointed to the seat after McCain’s death in 2018. Daines’ first election in 2014 broke a Democratic lock on the Senate seat that had lasted more than 100 years. The six-term congressman from northern New Mexico defeated Republican Mark Ronchetti, a former television meteorologist, and Libertarian Bob Walsh. Reed cruised to victory over Waters, an investment consultant who mounted earlier unsuccessful campaigns for state Senate and U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. Warner defeated Republican challenger Daniel Gade in a low-key race in which the incumbent had a massive cash advantage.

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2019, file photo, former national security adviser John Bolton gestures while speakings at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)WASHINGTON Congress seems largely done with John Bolton. President Trump is clearly ethically unfit and intellectually unprepared to be the president of the United States. I dont have anything to say about it," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Idaho Sen. James Risch, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters that Im not doing any interviews on John Bolton."

WASHINGTON A bitterly divided Senate panel voted along party lines Thursday to advance President Donald Trumps choice to head the Voice of America and other U.S. government-funded international broadcasters that have been the subject of harsh criticism from the White House. After rejecting eight Democratic requests to postpone the move, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee sent Michael Packs nomination to the full Senate on a 12-10 vote. Democrats oppose the nomination of Pack, a former associate of Trump political adviser Steve Bannon, in part because of questions about his past business dealings. Recent criticism of VOA from Trump and the White House has intensified their concerns about his nomination. Yet, the uproar over Voice of America and its recent coverage of Chinas handling of the pandemic overshadowed the possible legal issues.

WASHINGTON Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr on Friday submitted the final report in the panel's three-year Russia investigation to the intelligence community for a declassification review. The report on the panels counterintelligence findings including whether President Donald Trumps campaign coordinated with Russia marks the conclusion of its Russia probe, which it first launched in January 2017. It had been the final known investigation of Trumps 2016 campaign and Russia that was still active. Committee members have remained quiet on the panels conclusion on whether Trumps campaign coordinated with Russia. But Burr has said several times that he has seen no evidence of such collusion, a conclusion that would be in line with the House Intelligence Committees own Russia report in 2018.