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A group of bipartisan US congressmen is urging reform in UNRWA, the UN body that deals exclusively with Palestinian refugees and their descendants, and calling for alternative solutions to the containment of refugees in squalid camps. "The Palestinian refugees have been used as political pawns for the past 60 years by people who don't want peace in the Middle East," said Congressman Eliot Engel (D-New York) at a meeting of international parliamentarians hosted last week by the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus, a bipartisan pro-Israel parliamentary group. "The UN has been part and parcel of this conspiracy," he said. Engel, who...

In the summer and fall of 2015, many Illinois Republicans called for the party to retire incumbent US Senator Mark Kirk in the primary. Despite some party pressure, but obviously not enough, he refused to sit out the election. He campaigned for re-nomination, which scared both candidates and money out of the primary, and he won the spring… losing the fall as everyone predicted. Mark Kirk was elected narrowly in 2010, in a race that should have been a landslide even in Illinois. It was the best year for the Republican party in generations, and he was fortunate to have...

U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald — who toppled two Illinois governors and a top aide to the former vice president, and also went after the Chicago mob, a notorious police commander accused of torture and even international terrorists — is stepping down. The corruption-busting prosecutor said he will leave the post June 30 after serving nearly 11 years in the post, longer than anyone else in Illinois history. In a written statement, Fitzgerald said he told the White House, Attorney General Eric Holder, and U.S. Sens. Richard Durbin and Mark Kirk about his decision Wednesday morning. “When I was selected...

Republicans had excellent results in Tuesday’s high-stakes Senate races, winning numerous tough battles to preserve their majority in the chamber for the next two years. But Tuesday’s results revealed an interesting dynamic: The Republican Senate candidates who rejected President-elect Donald Trump and tried to go it alone were the only ones who ended up losing their races. Overall, there were eight Republican-held seats and one Democrat-held seat that were competitive going into Tuesday night: Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Missouri. Of the nine Republicans in these competitive races, six of them stood by Trump...

Republican Sen. Mark Kirk's campaign fired back at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday morning after the Manhattan billionaire said Kirk was "not doing so well" in the Illinois Senate race. Kirk's campaign manager, Kevin Artl, told Business Insider in a statement that the Illinois Republican was far outperforming Trump in the state. "The simple fact is that the Illinois Senate race is a statistical tie and Sen. Kirk is outperforming Donald Trump by a net of 13 points," he said.

Says they’re all orphans and widows because the men are 'all dead' Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth from Illinois blatantly misled attendees at a forum this week when she claimed that the United States does not accept military-aged male Syrian refugees into the country. Duckworth, who is running against incumbent Republican Sen. Mark Kirk for his Senate seat, said Wednesday at a roundtable event with the Illinois Farm Bureau that the U.S. predominantly accepts Syrian women and children who are widows and orphans. Duckworth went on to imply there are “no men of military age” brought into the United States under...

Two Illinois Republicans considered among the nation’s most vulnerable congressional incumbents are breaking from their party and its outspoken presidential nominee, Donald Trump, to push laws that would include a path to citizenship for people living in the country illegally. Rep. Bob Dold and Sen. Mark Kirk joined GOP Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and business leaders at an event Wednesday in Chicago. They argued comprehensive immigration reform would help the economy, ensure companies have the workers they need and is the right thing to do. “It’s about people before politics,” said Dold, whose district north of Chicago is home...

Donald Trump’s private meeting Thursday with Senate Republicans — designed to foster greater party unity ahead of the national convention in Cleveland — grew combative as the presumptive presidential nominee admonished three senators who have been critical of his candidacy and predicted they would lose their reelection bids, according to two Republican officials with direct knowledge of the exchanges. Trump’s most tense exchange was with Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has been vocal in his concerns about the business mogul’s candidacy, especially his rhetoric and policies on immigration that the senator argues alienate many Latino voters and others in Arizona....

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk will not support Donald Trump because the real estate mogul is “too bigoted and racist" for the people of his state, the Republican lawmaker said Thursday.

The following is a list of prominent Republicans who say they’re not planning to attend the Republican National Convention -- based on responses from their offices and previously published reports: Former President George W. Bush Former President George H.W. Bush 2008 Republican presidential nominee and Arizona Sen. John McCain 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney 2016 presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval Wyoming Gov. Matthew Mead South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson Kansas Sen....

They’re coming for your home. Right now. I suggest you save it. I can guide you, but you must do exactly as I say. Except, this isn’t The Matrix. You’re no actor, like Keanu Reeves, playing a distraught programmer-hacker named “Neo.” Nor am I an actor, like Laurence Fishburne, playing your guide “Morpheus.” This is real life, baby. Your home or apartment—and the neighborhood in which you live—is under siege. “Agents”—sans black glasses and black business suits—who work for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have written a new regulation called “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” (AFFH) that...

As Donald Trump held closed-door meetings Thursday with top Republican leaders, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois cautioned that the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's "radical" and "extreme" positions will pose a challenge for Republican candidates in Illinois, including U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk. Kirk, who is up for re-election, has said he will support his party's presidential nominee — even if it is Trump — but will not attend the GOP's national convention in Cleveland in July. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, who is not on the ballot in November, said he will not attend the party's presidential nominating convention — nor...

When President Obama first nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, Senate Republicans were united in their wall of opposition — no meetings, no hearing, no vote. And while Garland’s path remains a very uphill battle, some Republicans are starting to shift their tone. Two weeks into the nomination fight, 16 Republican senators now say they will meet with Garland — over 25 percent of the GOP caucus — according to a running count by NBC News. That includes senators up for re-election in Blue States, such as New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte and Illinois’ Mark Kirk, who will be the...

Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois on Friday became the first Republican senator to call for an up-or-down vote on Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, saying on a Chicago radio show that his colleagues ought to “just man up and cast a vote.” That Kirk would be first to break with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other GOP colleagues, who believe the next president should pick the replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia, is not particularly surprising: Kirk was already one of two Republican senators, with Susan Collins of Maine, to call for hearings.

Kerry on Gitmo Detainee Who Returned to Terrorism: ‘He’s Not Supposed to Be Doing That’ BY: Aaron Kliegman February 24, 2016 5:45 pm Secretary of State John Kerry lamented Wednesday that a terrorist who the Obama administration released from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay subsequently returned to fight for al Qaeda, telling lawmakers “he’s not supposed to be doing that.” Appearing before the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Kerry made the statement while testifying about the State Department’s budget request for the fiscal year 2017. During the hearing, Sen. Mark Kirk (R.,...

As the paramedic held my hand, I worried that might be the last human I would ever touch. I was 52 years old and in the middle of a severe stroke. The ambulance ride that day flashed by as I focused on that paramedic and my hand, all the while my stroke intensified. More than a week later, I regained consciousness only to face more surgeries and a long, grueling regimen of rehabilitation.

With Donald Trump continuing to dominate the Republican presidential primary field, many of the GOP's senior leaders are beginning to contemplate the down-ballot consequences of having the controversial outsider atop the ticket. Typically, control of the Senate and House are heavily influenced by the outcome of the presidential contest, and a bruising general election contest between Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton almost certainly would affect the outcome of some of the congressional races.

Saturday, December 05, 2015 ILLINOIS Kirk sides with U.S. Senate Democrats on gun rights WASHINGTON DC - During four crucial votes on Second Amendment issues, U.S. Senator Mark Kirk departed from the Republican majority last week in D.C. Illinois' junior senator chose instead to vote with senior Senator Dick Durbin and the Democrat minority. Kirk was the only Republican to vote with Democrats on the following votes on December 3:

Senators on Thursday rejected a push by Sen. Rand Paul to tie a battle over accepting refugees in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks to an ObamaCare repeal bill. Senators voted 10-89 on the amendment from the Kentucky Republican, who is running for president. Sixty votes were needed for the amendment to be adopted. Republicans Sens. John Barrasso (Wyo.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Mike Lee (Utah), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Jeff Sessions (Ala.), Richard Shelby (Ala.), David Vitter (La.) and Paul supported the amendment. Paul's amendment would place a "pause" on issuing visas to more...

In a speech before Congress on Tuesday Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) excoriated his fellow politicians for not listening to the American people on illegal immigration. He also ripped into President Obama for “acting like an emperor” and forcing amnesty upon the American people without their consent or the work of Congress.Senator Cruz spoke in support of the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act, which he is cosponsoring, demanding that the government enforce our already existing immigration laws and acting against liberal Sanctuary Cities who continue to flout our laws.“This class of illegal aliens has a special disregard and disdain...