Dems discuss pairing health with loan reform

House and Senate Democratic leaders spent a significant portion of their meeting Tuesday with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel discussing the possibility of pairing an overhaul of student lending with health care in the reconciliation bill, according to congressional aides. Read More

Obama Pleads With Dems to Pass His Health Bill

The president urges uneasy rank-and-file moderates and progressives to focus on the positives rather than their deep disappointment with parts of his massive health care overhaul. Read More

Democrats would nix healthcare over abortion

A dozen House of Representatives Democrats opposed to abortion are willing to kill President Barack Obama's healthcare reform plan unless it satisfies their demand for language barring the procedure, Representative Bart Stupak said on Thursday. Read More

Top Dems looking to Obama for health care momentum

Democratic congressional leaders hope President Barack Obama's unveiling of his final health care package Wednesday will help resuscitate an effort that seemed all but dead until recently. Read More

Dems: Emanuel’s ‘gut instincts’ trump Obama’s

Rahm Emanuel is officially a Washington caricature. He's the town's resident leviathan, a bullying, bruising White House chief of staff who is a prime target for the failings of the Obama administration. Read More

Dem centrists pose challenge for Obama

The future of President Obama’s health care overhaul now rests largely with two blocs of swing Democrats in the House of Representatives — abortion opponents and fiscal conservatives — whose indecision signals the difficulties Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces in securing the votes necessary to pass the bill. Read More

Democrat calls for Rangel to yield tax-writing job

A House Democrat is urging Rep. Charles Rangel to step aside as the top tax writer in Congress a day after the ethics committee said he violated travel rules by letting corporations pay for his trips to the Caribbean. Read More

Obama hopes Dems, GOP can 'bridge differences'

President Barack Obama has spelled out one key goal of his health care summit, saying political leaders must determine whether there is "too big a gulf" to find consensus on the divisive issue Read More

Democrats could bypass GOP on health care bill

As a major White House meeting on health care reform approaches this week Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged Tuesday that he may use a controversial parliamentary shortcut to bypass GOP opposition and pass a bill. Read More

Democrats cautiously embrace Obama health plan

Congressional Democrats cautiously embraced President Barack Obama's new health care plan as their last hope for enacting a comprehensive overhaul. Read More