Politics

A placard expressing opposition to a Republican-penned measure sits outside the North Carolina Senate gallery in Raleigh, N.C., in the weeks after the election. (Gary D. Robinson / Associated Press) Even though the election was over a month ago, voters in some parts of the country are discovering that having their say at the ballot … Read more

The Democratic-controlled Senate dealt President Bush a smashing blow Thursday, rejecting the nomination of former Sen. John Tower as secretary of defense–the first time any American President has been denied one of his original Cabinet choices. The 53-47 vote culminated six full days of bitter, partisan quarreling on the Senate floor and nearly three months … Read more

A man receives both a flu and a COVID-19 vaccine at a CVS in Huntington Park on Aug. 28. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) President Trump once celebrated the COVID-19 vaccines released at the end of his first term as “one of the greatest achievements of mankind,” echoing the sentiments of mainstream medical officials … Read more

Republican Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez took the oath of office this month. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) While Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez, a newly elected Republican, was taking the oath of office in Sacramento last week, the phones of two supporters in Imperial County pinged with ecstatic updates from his staff about his first day at the … Read more

A Presidents Day celebration at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Running for president, Ronald Reagan repeatedly promised to “make America great again.” Thirty-six years later, Donald Trump grabbed the line and became the great plagiarizer. “Reagan was the original MAGA. No question. Trump swiped the line … Read more

A trade war under Trump would bring major losses for California agriculture, experts warn As President-elect Donald Trump vows to impose tariffs on imports from China, Mexico and Canada, economists are warning that a retaliatory trade war could cause major financial damage for California’s agriculture industry. In an analysis published before the presidential election, researchers … Read more

Outgoing U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) speaks at this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Earlier this year, as Republicans sought to ban books with Black history and LGBTQ+ themes from schools across the country, the nation’s first openly gay Black senator stepped onto the Senate floor and read … Read more

Then-President Trump appears alongside “Fox & Friends” co-host Pete Hegseth at a Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride at the White House in 2017. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) For weeks, President-elect Donald Trump has faced a barrage of criticism over his nomination of Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary. Hegseth, an Army National Guard major and … Read more

Moving swiftly to fill a large and painful vacancy in his Cabinet, President Bush on Friday nominated six-term Republican Rep. Dick Cheney of Wyoming to be his new defense secretary. Cheney, a respected, low-key former White House chief of staff under President Gerald R. Ford, said at a White House press briefing that he “agonized” … Read more

There is a time for partisan politics and there is a time for responsible government. Nowhere is this distinction more salient than with the volatile issue of illegal immigration. For if there ever was an appropriate time for harsh rhetoric –and The Times, which strongly opposed Proposition 187, doesn’t think there ever was and doesn’t … Read more