Jon Ward

Peter Orszag, President Obama's former White House budget chief, issued a dire warning to the nation Friday about the inability of Democrats and Republicans to overcome political motivations and act to prevent a fiscal crisis. (more)

The unemployment rate and the nation’s increasingly precarious fiscal position – its enormous budget deficits and its ballooning debt – will be the dual points of emphasis in President Obama’s second State of the Union address on Tuesday. (more)

A number of the House GOP’s leading conservative members on Thursday will announce legislation that would cut $2.5 trillion over 10 years, which will be by far the most ambitious and far-reaching proposal by the new majority to cut federal government spending. (more)

There was much speculation coming into Chinese President Hu Jintao's appearance at the White House on Wednesday about how he would handle the inevitable questions about human rights in China during a rare appearance in front of U.S. reporters. (more)

Add David M. Walker, the former comptroller of the United States under Presidents Clinton and Bush, to the list of likely candidates to run for Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman seat in 2012. (more)

An observer seeking signs that the U.S. and China have had difficulty playing nicely with one another would only have to listen to the words used by President Obama and President Hu Jintao at the official start of the Chinese premier's state visit to Washington Wednesday morning. (more)

The arrival of Chinese President Hu Jintao in Washington Tuesday evening brought the U.S. face to face with the leader whose nation many Americans believe will supplant them as the world’s most dominant super power. (more)

President Obama moved Tuesday to undercut criticism by conservatives that he will unilaterally impose his agenda through regulation, announcing an executive order making economic growth a required criteria for federal rule-making. (more)

State governments are beginning to choose one of two directions to dig out of deep budget deficits, and the resulting clash of visions between raising taxes or cutting spending has some conservatives salivating at the contrast between liberal and conservative philosophies of how to create economic growth. (more)

President Obama this month has sustained the momentum he gained in December by playing the role of political strategist, world leader and, in the last week, the nation’s healer. (more)

A top official at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Thursday that the nation's largest business lobby would support eliminating most of the tax loopholes obtained by large corporations to move toward comprehensive tax reform that resulted in lower rates. (more)

Democrats on Wednesday criticized House Speaker John Boehner for missing a memorial service in Arizona for the victims of Saturday's shooting in Tucson, as partisan sniping continued around the edges of the attack and its aftermath. (more)

President Obama on Wednesday urged the nation not to 'turn on one another' in the wake of Saturday's shooting in Tucson of 19 people, including a congresswoman, and to be 'worthy' of the six who died in the attack. (more)

Barack Obama flew to Arizona Wednesday to deliver what may be one of the more politically treacherous speeches of his presidency. (more)

When all 63 new Republican House members arrived in Washington last week, they brought with them varying degrees of expertise in policy and politics. (more)

The casual observer may be forgiven for thinking that Michael Steele will be a non-factor this Friday when the Republican National Committee gathers to select its chairman for the next two years. (more)

Rep. Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania was the first House Democrat to stand and defiantly call out his vote against Nancy Pelosi's bid for minority leader on the first day of the new Congress Wednesday. (more)

The talk is of jobs and fixing the nation’s fiscal problems, but both sides in Washington are keeping their powder dry at the moment, looking for political advantage over the other. (more)

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner sent a cage-rattling letter to congressional leaders Thursday, warning that a failure to raise the debt limit could plunge the nation into an economic crisis more severe than 2008's and cost millions of jobs. (more)

House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that he has been "notified" by the Obama administration that they will request an increase in the current limit on the U.S. government's debt. (more)