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Sen. Carl Levin will not seek re-election in 2014

UPDATED 23:27 PM EST, March 7, 2013 | KEN THOMAS, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Carl Levin announced Thursday he will not seek re-election in 2014, saying he wants to serve as Senate Armed Services chairman and an advocate for his home state of Michigan "without the distraction of campaigning for re-election."

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UPDATED 23:35 PM EST, February 24, 2013

Cruz's tactics boil Washington, but impress Texas

HOUSTON (AP) — Ted Cruz glanced at his black cowboy boots, beneath a silver Texas belt buckle, waiting for the admirers to stop clapping.

His arrival had turned a drop-by at a Houston lumber yard into a virtual campaign rally. At an earlier stop near Austin —at a gun manufacturer that churns out AR-15 rifles — cheering fans crowded next to employees, and one held a sign reading "Ted Cruz rocks!"

The new troublemaker of the U.S. Senate was home again, and savoring nothing short of a victory lap.

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UPDATED 12:28 PM EST, February 18, 2013

Senator Saying Sayonara

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns of Nebraska announced Monday that he will not seek re-election in 2014, explaining that he wants a "quieter time" to focus on his family following a busy political career that has included a stint as governor and President George W. Bush's agriculture secretary.

The Nebraska Republican announced in a statement that was retiring from the Senate after one term. He said he and his wife, Stephanie, had decided that the time has come "to close this chapter of our lives."

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UPDATED 23:54 PM EST, February 12, 2013

Senate panel approves Hagel for Pentagon chief

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bitterly divided Senate panel on Tuesday approved President Barack Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel to be the nation's defense secretary in a rancorous session at which Republican questioned the former GOP senator's truthfulness and challenged his patriotism.

On a party-line vote of 14-11, the Armed Services Committee voted to send the nomination to the full Senate, where Republicans have threatened to delay a vote on the president's choice to succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

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UPDATED 6:33 AM EST, February 12, 2013

Senate panel to vote on Defense nominee Hagel

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chuck Hagel faces his first major hurdle in his bid to become the nation's defense secretary as a bitterly divided Senate Armed Services Committee pushes toward a vote on his nomination.

The panel is scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon to discuss and vote on President Barack Obama's choice to succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is stepping down after four years as CIA director and Pentagon chief. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pressing for a full Senate vote on Hagel later in the week.

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UPDATED 7:29 AM EST, February 11, 2013

In post-election vacuum, Rubio on rise within GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Marco Rubio is taking center stage as Republicans search for a new leader.

In the nearly 100 days since President Barack Obama won a second term, the Florida senator has made calculated, concrete steps to emerge as a next-generation leader of a rudderless party, put a 21st-century stamp on the conservative movement and potentially position himself for a presidential run.

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UPDATED 6:30 AM EST, February 1, 2013

Fox's Geraldo Rivera weighing US Senate run in NJ

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Geraldo Rivera, who hosts a weekend show on Fox News Channel, said Thursday he's seriously thinking about running for U.S. Senate in New Jersey.

"Buckle your seat belts!" said Rivera before announcing, on his radio show on WABC-AM in New York, that he is "truly contemplating" a Senate bid.

He said he has spoken to some people in the New Jersey GOP about a run, but he didn't say what they told him.

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UPDATED 8:38 AM EST, January 1, 2013

'Fiscal cliff' deal to block pay hike for Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation to prevent the government from going over the so-called fiscal cliff will also block a $900 automatic pay hike for members of Congress.

It's one more reason for lawmakers to vote for the measure extending Bush-era tax cuts on individual income up to $450,000 while increasing rates for earnings above that threshold.

Under a 1989 law, lawmakers are supposed to receive automatic cost-of-living pay hikes, but as Congress' approval ratings have fallen, lawmakers have routinely voted to reject the raise.

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