Consumer Financial Protection Bureau holds stance against added payday borrower protections

WASHINGTON – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has not budged on its June decision cutting additional protections.  “There was insufficient evidence and legal support for these requirements,” CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger wrote in a Sep. 23 letter to Rep. Maxine…

White House Ukraine call summary “damning,” Hoyer, other Democrats, say

WASHINGTON – Democratic lawmakers escalated the partisan furor over the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump Wednesday after the White House released a summary of a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Democrats called “damning.” The president asked…

Pelosi sets formal impeachment inquiry into Trump; Maryland Democrats concur

WASHINGTON – For the fourth time in history, Congress is opening an impeachment inquiry into the president of the United States, an extraordinarily fast-moving development after months of debate among Democrats over whether to proceed with such a constitutionally serious…

Cardin, Brown say Andrews military families are paying for Trump’s wall

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Maryland – With sewage backups, flooding, mold and pests, and frequent internet, phone, and air conditioning outages, Joint Base Andrews is in desperate need of a new child care center. Congress allocated $13 million to replace the…

Maryland legislators disappointed with Trump’s State of the Union address

WASHINGTON – Maryland’s Democratic lawmakers were cold to President Donald Trump’s call for unity in Tuesday’s State of the Union, saying it failed to break any new ground. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Mechanicsville, said he didn’t want to call…

Maryland legislators pleased with shutdown deal, but Democrats hit Trump

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has come to an agreement with Democrats to reopen the government for three weeks. Several Maryland lawmakers quickly responded that they hoped to find a path to avoiding another shutdown. Minutes…

Maryland lawmakers promise to fight Trump “tooth and nail” after SOTU

By JULIA LERNER, JULIA KARRON, JAROD GOLUB, ABBY WALLISCH and HANNAH YASHAROFF Capital News Service WASHINGTON – Maryland’s Democratic lawmakers pushed back against President Donald Trump’s rhetoric in his first State of the Union address, calling for action and not…

Maryland Democratic lawmakers press oversight of Trump administration

Since Donald Trump’s first week as president, Maryland Democratic lawmakers have been at the forefront of a widespread effort to hold the administration accountable for potentially illegal or unethical behavior, possible conflicts of interest, questionable travel practices, and contacts with Russians during and since last year’s presidential election.

Cardin among critics who want change in war-fighting policy

WASHINGTON – The International Criminal Court last week said it plans to begin investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Afghan conflict. The probe will include looking into actions by the International Security Assistance Force, which includes American…

In Maryland politics, the war on rural is dead — long live the war on rural?

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — In 2009, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley closed the visitor center at the Sideling Hill cut, the symbolic gateway to Western Maryland, as a cost-saving effort. Some saw the move as personal, or at least confirmation of…