In the News
UN climate talks launch with few lawmakers planning to attend
by Amelia Davidson
The COP30 global climate talks are set to kick off in Brazil this week, with a limited United States presence — and only a fraction of the congressional lawmakers who have become staples at the conference. The ongoing government shutdown has stymied lawmakers’ plans to head to the talks in Belém, leaving just a handful of Democratic House members as the likely federal elected presence at the gathering. World leaders started making remarks last week ahead of the conference's formal … Continue Reading
November 10, 2025
"It's complete BS": Dems go ballistic over Senate shutdown deal
by Andrew Solender
November 04, 2025
Interior Secretary Faces Scrutiny for Travel Amid Shutdown
by Maxine Joselow
Doug Burgum, the interior secretary and President Trump’s energy czar, is on a weeklong swing through the Middle East and Europe, with stops in Abu Dhabi for a major oil summit and in Athens for a global energy gathering. Mr. Burgum has suggested that one goal of the trip is to negotiate more sales of American oil and gas to the rest of the world, one of the president’s top priorities. Yet some critics are questioning whether it’s appropriate for the interior secretary to be traveling abroad … Continue Reading
October 31, 2025
White House removes Atlantic from oil lease consideration after political backlash
by Ben Lefebvre
The Interior Department has removed the federal waters off the Atlantic coast from President Donald Trump’s upcoming offshore drilling plan after Republicans in the region pressed to keep oil and natural gas rigs away from their shores, three people familiar with the latest moves told POLITICO. The five-year leasing plan, aimed at reopening areas long closed to drilling, will still seek to allow rigs off the California coast, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss private … Continue Reading
October 29, 2025
Marin food aid recipients face federal benefit lapse
by Richard Halstead
Some 15,500 people in Marin County will not receive their expected Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program allocations on time because of the federal government shutdown. SNAP, also known as CalFresh or food stamps, provides qualified applicants with a card that may be used like a debit card in participating grocery stores and farmers markets. The allotted funds for November will not be loaded onto their cards. “Obviously, we’re extremely concerned,” said Kari Beuerman, assistant director … Continue Reading
October 24, 2025
East Wing demolition highlights loopholes in preservation law
by David Jordan
The Trump administration’s decision to demolish the East Wing of the White House without consulting preservation agencies and organizations is a reflection in part of the unusual position the building has in historical preservation law. And when it comes time to jump through bureaucratic hoops to construct the actual 90,000-square-foot ballroom, President Donald Trump has stacked the deck of the local planning commission in such a way as to make approval all but a foregone conclusion. Sara … Continue Reading
October 24, 2025
With East Wing gone, questions now turn to Trump’s ballroom donors
by Dan Diamond and Victoria Bisset
President Donald Trump’s swift demolition of the White House’s East Wing this week stunned conservationists and many Americans. But ethics experts and Democrats say they are turning to a question related to the next phase of the project: whether the donors behind the planned $300 million ballroom that will replace the demolished annex will receive any benefits in return. Tech companies and defense contractors such as Google, Lockheed Martin and Microsoft, as well as wealthy individuals such … Continue Reading
October 23, 2025
House Democrats request details on White House ballroom from President Trump
by Arden Farhi, Jennifer Jacobs
House Democrats, disturbed by what they see as the destruction of a historic landmark, are demanding answers about the forthcoming White House ballroom. In a letter to President Trump, a trio of Democrats expressed concern about "transparency, funding priorities, the physical integrity of the White House and the ethical integrity of the Administration it houses." Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, along with Democratic Reps. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona and … Continue Reading
October 20, 2025
Bipartisan bill to combat wildfires set for committee vote
by Marc Heller
As the threat of wildfires continues to grow, lawmakers plan to take action this week with a vote on significant legislation that seeks to reduce wildfire threats in and around national forests. The main sponsor of the bill said he’s increasingly confident of its prospects. Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) said Friday that he believes at least three Democrats on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee will support his “Fix Our Forests Act," S. 1462, which would speed forest-thinning … Continue Reading
October 20, 2025
Pipeline safety bill back on the Senate agenda
by Amelia Davidson
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee will mark up a bill this week that would reauthorize the nation’s pipeline regulator and could potentially spark debate over pipeline protests. The committee will vote Tuesday on S. 2975, the "PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025," to reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s safety programs for the first time since 2020. The bill is led by Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas), ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and … Continue Reading
October 18, 2025
Marin ‘No Kings’ protests draw thousands countywide
An estimated 11,000 demonstrators gathered across Marin on Saturday as part of the “No Kings” nationwide movement to protest Trump administration policies and promote action aimed at political change. Rallies were held throughout the county. The largest, at an estimated 6,000 demonstrators, packed the Marin County Civic Center fairgrounds — a crowd similar to a “No Kings” protest held there in June. Another 5,000 people were present at rallies in Corte Madera, Novato, Sausalito and western … Continue Reading
October 17, 2025
Feds plan to cut millions in North Coast clean energy grants
by Jeff Quackenbush
Among the $7.56 billion in clean energy grants the U.S. Department of Energy said it plans to cancel are said to be $157.6 million in commitments tied to the North Coast. Secretary Chris Wright announced Oct. 2 the termination of 321 financial awards for 223 projects in 16 states. Recipients were given 30 days to contest the action. Seven of the grants are said to be connected to the North Coast, according to a list circulated by Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, but the … Continue Reading
October 16, 2025
House Democrats Blast Trump’s Antifa Designation and Terrorism Memo Targeting Critics
by Jessica Corbett
Over 30 Democrats in the US House of Representatives wrote to President Donald Trump on Thursday to condemn his designation of antifa as a domestic terrorist organization and a related memorandum targeting the Republican’s opponents. Democratic Reps. Mark Pocan (Wis.), Jared Huffman (Calif.), and Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) led the letter, which builds on criticism that has mounted since late last month, when Trump issued the executive order against antifa—even though the nationwide anti-fascist … Continue Reading
October 16, 2025
US House Dems slam Trump moves to quash public demonstrations, dissent
by Ashley Murray
House Democrats demanded Thursday that President Donald Trump rescind two ominous directives they say target protest and dissent in the United States, including directing federal law enforcement resources to investigate groups that are “anti-American” and “anti-Christian.” In a letter to the White House the lawmakers sharply criticize a “complete and utter lack of any legal basis” for Trump’s Sept. 22 executive order “Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorism Organization” and his Sept. 25 … Continue Reading
October 15, 2025
OUTPOST INTERVIEW: Huffman Blasts ‘Disastrous Health Care Cuts’ and Trump’s ‘Blatant Bullying’ as Government Shutdown Enters Week Three
by Isabella Vanderheiden
As the government shutdown enters its third week, the Outpost thought it’d be a good idea to check in with Rep. Jared Huffman about the latest happenings on Capitol Hill. In short, Democrats and Republicans are still at odds over spending priorities and appear no closer to agreement. Earlier today, the Senate tried — and failed for the ninth time — to advance a House-passed measure to reopen the government. Senators voted 51-44 on the GOP-led funding bill, which would have funded the … Continue Reading
October 06, 2025
Rep. Huffman addresses questions about Prop. 50, ICE operations, more
by Robert Schaulis
This Sunday, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) fielded questions from community members at a town hall meeting at the Sam Lopez Community Center in Crescent City. The congressman addressed questions about local issues, including work on Last Chance Grade and the $2.1 billion diversionary tunnel plan that Caltrans is planning to undertake at that site, as well as a number of state and national issues like the ongoing government shutdown, which had pushed into its fifth day by Sunday … Continue Reading
October 03, 2025
Trump admin, DOE to cut $87M in tribal energy project funding in Humboldt County
by Robert Schaulis
This week, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Voight announced that the Trump administration would cancel nearly $8 billion in approved funding for green energy projects throughout 16 states (all of which voted for Kamala Harris in the 2020 election) in a move Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) has characterized as “mafioso politics.” Those cancelled funds, according to a list released by House Appropriations Committee Democrats, include an $87.6 million award to the Redwood … Continue Reading
October 02, 2025
Damage from Trump's $8B energy hit list would spill into GOP districts
by James Bikales, Kelsey Tamborrino, and Josh Siegel
The Trump administration’s termination of roughly $8 billion in clean energy projects in blue states will choke off funding to dozens of projects aimed at shoring up the grid and creating thousands of manufacturing jobs — and the pain is likely to stretch into more than two dozen GOP districts, according to a list obtained by POLITICO. The Department of Energy’s list of more than 200 affected projects, which circulated Thursday on Capitol Hill, includes two massive West Coast projects aimed … Continue Reading
October 02, 2025
Government shutdown: Bay Area Democrats lay out demands in health care fight
by Sergio Quintana
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and two fellow Bay Area legislators gathered in San Francisco on Thursday to explain why Democrats are digging in their heels during the government shutdown. Pelosi and the two other congressmen laid out the main demands Democrats said Republicans will need to agree to before they will agree to continue funding the government. The first is to roll back cuts to Medicaid funding that were signed into law on July 4. The second is extending tax credits for people … Continue Reading
October 02, 2025
White House points the finger at immigrants — and California — for government shutdown
by Alexei Koseff, Sara DiNatale
One of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature policy achievements, expanding a health insurance program for low-income Californians to include undocumented immigrants, has been pulled into the fight over the ongoing federal government shutdown. As the standoff over health care funding continued for a third day Friday with no end in sight, the Trump administration and Republican allies claimed Democrats are holding the country hostage to give benefits to undocumented immigrants. “They are doing it … Continue Reading