United States Government News Digest

Alejandro N. Mayorkas, a Cuban immigrant who grew up in California, is the first U.S. Cabinet official impeached in nearly 150 years.

A judge ruled GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene can move forward with their lawsuit against two California cities where rallies were canceled.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has finalized a rule to increase support to disaster survivors and small businesses needing relief following a federally declared disaster. The rule becomes effective for all disasters declared on or after July 31, 2023.

Rep. Barbara Lee took her campaign for Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat to Fixin’s restaurant and told local Black leaders what she plans to accomplish.

The race to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein is shaping up to be a close contest between two congressional colleagues who have built national profiles but appeal to different generations of Democratic voters.

Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, up for reelection in 2024, said she received a call from former mayor Sam Liccardo last week, letting her know he is considering running for her or Congresswoman Anna Eshoo's seat.

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee filed federal paperwork to enter the race for the held by long-serving Sen. Dianne Feinstein, joining a field that already includes two other House members.

The state will attempt to enshrine marriage equality in the state constitution.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced Feb. 14 that she will not run for her Senate seat in 2024, a major moment given that the fight to succeed her is already under way. She says she intends to accomplish “as much for California as I can” until her term ends.

President Joe Biden declared the storm damage in Santa Cruz County a major disaster, clearing the way for federal aid.

According to the state's vaccine dashboard, less than a third of eligible Santa Cruz County residents have received the bivalent COVID-19 booster shot.

Before transitioning northward to the 16th District, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo secured a series of funding wins equating to millions in federal dollars.

Reports, which include former President Donald Trump's tax returns, highlight the failures of the mandatory IRS program to audit presidential and vice-presidential tax returns.

There are less than 50 USDA-inspected meat-processing plants in California. Nevada County ranchers face rising difficulties in getting their meat to the market.

Avi Kwa Ame National Monument will protect sacred Native American sites, wildlife.

In November, Associate Justice Kelli Evans became the third Black associate justice on the California Supreme Court. Black justices now make up half of the associate justices on the state’s High Court.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has unanimously approved its staff recommendation to surrender the license for the four lower PacifiCorp dams on the Klamath River in California and Oregon—and begin the dam removal process.

Members of Congress are inquiring about a failed U.S Forest Service plan that could have saved Grizzly Flat from destruction. In a Nov. 18 letter, lawmakers demanded answers on shortcomings of the Forest Service’s Trestle Forest Health Project.

The case for nuclear power as a climate solution got a big boost when the Biden administration announced it's giving Pacific Gas & Electric Co. a $1.1-billion grant to help the company keep operating California's last nuclear plant.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not seek to lead House Democrats for another term, but will remain in Congress.

House Republicans voted to nominate Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as the next speaker, putting the Bakersfield lawmaker on track to achieve a long-sought ambition.

A week after the election and two California congressional races are neck and neck: Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) and Republican opponent John Duarte are evenly matched in the 13th District. And there’s still no clear winner in the 22nd, where Assemblyman Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) and Republican incumbent David Valadao (R-Hanford) are similarly tied. The races will determine whether the congressional majority is red or blue.

Republican Congressman Tom McClintock will keep a seat in congress in a newly drawn 5th Congressional District after defeating Democrat Michael Barkley on election night. The district, which encompasses all or parts of El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Stanislaus, Madera and Fresno counties, gave McClintock 60.1% of votes.

California Assemblyman Kevin Kiley has a 9,000-plus vote lead on Dr. Kermit Jones to serve District 3 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Matsui, the victor with 65 percent of vote, will represent Elk Grove, downtown Sacramento, Florin, Galt and Rancho Murieta.

Candidates for the newly created California 3rd Congressional District are Kermit Jones, a physician and veteran, and former deputy attorney general Kevin Kiley.

Santa Clara County school board candidates zeroed in on student mental health and substance use at a recent community-hosted forum. Dozens of attendees turned out for a virtual forum last week organized by the African American Community Services Agency, SOMOS Mayfair, Vietnamese American Roundtable, Jewish Community Relations Council of Silicon Valley and Latinos United for...

In an interview, US Senate candidate Mark Meuser likens his status as a Republican in California to a "missionary in the Dark Continent.” Republican National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon decodes the gaffe as Meuser “not going where it’s easy…but going where it’s hard.”

Peter Hernandez and Zoe Lofgren are in the runoff for the redrawn 18th Congressional District, which includes all of San Benito County, as well as the eastern half of Monterey and Santa Clara counties and the southeastern part of Santa Cruz County.

Senators from California and Nevada have sent a letter urging the Biden Administration to re-establish the Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee and to address senior leadership staffing issues within the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.