The Senate voted Saturday to temporarily avert a Jan. 1 payroll tax increase and benefit cutoff for the long-time unemployed, forcing a reluctant President Barack Obama to make an election-year choice

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, rebuffed by Congress on a yearlong extension of a Social Security payroll tax cut, said Saturday that it would be “inexcusable’” for lawmakers not to lengthen the short-term deal when they return from their holiday break. The bill, passed by the Senate shortly before the president spoke briefly at the White House, would extend the tax cut and long-term ...

If Obama puts Clinton on the ticket, enthusiasm surges. Voters register. Organization mobilizes. Turnout soars. The base rallies. Main Street will be reassured.

WASHINGTON — The face of Republican opposition to President Barack Obama’s policy for handling suspected terrorists is a 43-year-old former prosecutor who has been in the Senate a mere 11 months. New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte is at the forefront of the escalating fight over whether to treat captured suspects as prisoners of war or criminals. The administration says it is determined to build on ...

President Barack Obama says veterans of conflicts overseas should not struggle to find work once they return home, and he's urging the House to follow the Senate's lead and do something to help them.